EGN NEWS DESK
U.S. House passes overseas support bundle
The House voted on Saturday in favor of $95 billion in long-stalled overseas support for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, resoundingly approving the funds over months of objections from Republicans on the far proper. The Senate is anticipated to cross the laws as early as tomorrow, and it’s virtually sure to develop into regulation.
As a part of the bundle, the House additionally superior a invoice that will power the Chinese firm ByteDance, mother or father of TikTok, to both promote the app or danger a nationwide ban within the U.S.
In Ukraine, the vote was met with aid as troops are swiftly working out of weapons and munitions. The Pentagon has stated it might resume sending weapons to Ukraine inside days.
“I actually do imagine the intel,” stated Speaker Mike Johnson, a Republican, who marshaled bipartisan help to cross the invoice. “I feel that Vladimir Putin would proceed to march by means of Europe if he had been allowed.”
Details: The laws consists of $60 billion for Kyiv; $26 billion for Israel and humanitarian support for civilians in battle zones, together with Gaza; and $8 billion for the Indo-Pacific area.
Iran appears to face down after Israel’s assault
Iran seems to have chosen de-escalation after Israel’s retaliatory assault on Friday. Iranian officers and state information media downplayed the assault.
Israel additionally appears to have tried to skirt a broader struggle. Its strike — a response to Iran’s volley, which itself was a reply to Israel’s lethal strike on the Iranian embassy compound in Damascus, Syria — was notably restricted. It broken an air protection system at a navy base close to Isfahan, in central Iran.
“It stays to be seen whether or not this newest tit-for-tat will create some type of deterrence for either side,” Farnaz Fassihi, our U.N. bureau chief, who covers the shadow struggle, instructed my colleague Daniel E. Slotnik. “Neither aspect actually appears to need to go into an all-out struggle with one another.”
Iran’s considerations: Inflation is working at an annual charge of 32 p.c, a restive inhabitants has constantly challenged the federal government’s legitimacy and even supporters of the hijab rule have criticized its enforcement.
Myanmar’s battle could also be shifting
After years of battle in Myanmar, rebels have scored victories over the navy junta, doubtlessly turning the tide of the struggle. If they push into the nation’s heartland, they may unseat the highly effective navy.
My colleague Hannah Beech embedded with one of many insurgent teams on the entrance strains in Karenni State, the place resistance forces stated they held greater than 90 p.c of the territory. “This time is completely different,” she explains on this quick video.
For extra: Why has this struggle — which might break aside a rustic of 55 million folks — been so internationally ignored? Here is a few background and context.
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Rahul Gandhi, the scion of an Indian political dynasty, is attempting to unseat the prime minister, Narendra Modi. He traveled throughout the nation to attempt to pull his once-dominant party, the Indian National Congress, out of the political wilderness.
The Australia Letter: The spouse and daughter of our Sydney bureau chief had been purchasing simply minutes earlier than the latest mall stabbings. “Sometimes the information — and the worst information of all, involving dying and tragedy — hits as near dwelling for us because it does for these we write about,” Damien Cave writes.
A Chinese doping investigation
On Saturday, my colleagues printed a surprising revelation: Seven months earlier than the pandemic-delayed Tokyo Olympics, 23 of China’s greatest swimmers examined constructive for a similar banned drug at a home meet.
Chinese officers secretly cleared them of doping. The World Anti-Doping Agency, which oversees nationwide drug-testing packages, accepted China’s principle {that a} mass contamination occasion was accountable and allowed China to maintain the outcomes secret.
Several athletes who examined constructive — together with practically half of the Chinese swimming staff despatched to Tokyo — went on to win medals, together with three golds. Many nonetheless compete for China. Some, together with the two-time gold medalist Zhang Yufei, above, are anticipated to compete in Paris this summer season.
The investigation has shaken the swimming world. An American who received silver in Tokyo stated she felt her staff had been “cheated.” A British gold medalist is demanding bans. The sports activities minister in Germany, the place a documentary on the case was broadcast Sunday, demanded an investigation. And international antidoping officers are preventing bitterly.
Recap: Read takeaways from the investigation.
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Bake: This moist Persian almond cake is spiced with cardamom — and good for a Seder. Here are different concepts for Passover, which begins tonight.
Read: In “New Cold Wars,” my colleague David Sanger tracks shifts within the U.S. strategy to re-emerging nice energy competitions this century.
