If politics truly is showbusiness for ugly people, then maybe this month is the Golden Globes: not the main event, half the room already knows who won, but hey, at least there's a bit of global branding?
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UNITED STATES
As we foreshadowed, Congress has now passed its big bipartisan sanctions bill, which President Trump is now expected to sign. It’s designed to empower (though not require) the president to impose tariffs of up to 100% on nations (principally China and India) still financing Putin’s invasion of Ukraine via energy deals. (PBS)
SAUDI ARABIA
DC has started the process for a $24.3B sale of F-35 Lightning II fighter jets to Saudi Arabia, the Kingdom’s first shot at the West’s only in-production fifth-gen fighter. Lawmakers now have 30 days to try and kill the idea, which would fulfil a longstanding request from Riyadh. (AA)
CHINA
Beijing has reportedly asked Iran to rein in its Yemen-based Houthi allies, in response to a request by Saudi Arabia. (Reuters)
JAPAN
The Bank of Japan bumped its benchmark rate up to a generational high of 1.25% earlier today (Friday), in a widely anticipated move to head off inflation and stop the yen from sliding further. And yet… the yen lost another ~0.5%! (Bloomberg $)
AUSTRALIA
Officials are mulling a ban on smart recording glasses in government workplaces, citing privacy and national security concerns. (Guardian)
TIMOR LESTE
Dili has pushed back the production timeline for its flagship Greater Sunrise gas project by another two years, now to 2034. (The Star)
EGYPT
A Facebook page inspired by the US cartoon SpongeBob SquarePants has racked up nearly two million followers for its satirical depiction of life in modern Egypt. The cartoons, generated with AI, poke fun at the high cost of living, intractable traffic, and even President al-Sisi’s corruption. (BBC)
UNITED NATIONS
A UN Human Rights Council-appointed panel has found “reasonable grounds” to believe the US has committed war crimes in Iran, citing airstrikes on an elementary school in Minab, and a sports complex in Lamerd. DC has rejected the report and its HRC parent body as “spouting unserious nonsense”, arguing the only war criminal here is Iran. (UN)
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