What We're Watching: Russian annexations, Brazilian election, DeSantis-Biden truce

September 29, 2022

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"Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, Kherson - Russia!" A banner on a screen set up ahead of an expected ceremony and concert in Moscow to declare four Ukrainian regions part of Russia.

REUTERS/Evgenia Novozhenina

Bluffs called in Ukraine

On Friday, Vladimir Putin will announce that four regions of Ukraine – Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson – have become part of Russia following referenda in those places that virtually no one outside Russia considers legitimate. Russian officials, including Putin himself, have said that Russia will defend its territory by any means necessary, including with nuclear weapons. This warning will have no impact on Ukrainian forces, who appear close to retaking the strategically important city of Lyman in Donetsk as part of its remarkably successful counter-offensive. Nor will it weaken support for Ukraine from America and Europe. So, what happens when Ukrainian soldiers score more victories on land that Putin claims is part of Russia? We’re about to find out.

Brazil’s election: one and done?

This Sunday, voters go to the polls in the most polarized presidential election in the country’s history. The top two vote-getters are certain to be the incumbent, right-winger Jaír Bolsonaro, and his biggest nemesis, leftist former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. The only real question is whether Lula, who currently leads Bolsonaro by double digits in some polls, will get more than 50% of the vote, winning the election outright in the first round and avoiding a late October runoff. If so, will Bolsonaro accept the result? He has spent months riling up his supporters with baseless doubts about the credibility of the electoral system. Some even fear a January 6th scenario if he loses. As his communications minister said, ominously, earlier this week: we are now nearing the “moment of truth.”

Hurricane halts DeSantis-Biden feud … for now

Hurricane Ian left more than 2.5 million people without power Thursday after slamming into Florida. Early reports reflect a death toll of 14, which is expected to rise in the coming days. Having already left 11 million Cubans in the dark, the storm is working its way up America’s Eastern Seaboard, raising the risk of floods and outages. President Joe Biden has called it potentially the “deadliest hurricane in Florida history,” while Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis described it as a 1-in-500-year event from which the state will struggle to recover. DeSantis, a Republican star who recently grabbed headlines for flying migrants to Martha’s Vineyard, and the president say they’ve set politicking aside amid the disaster. DeSantis accepted federal assistance after speaking with Biden, noting that he was “thankful” for the help. Will the pause in their rivalry last, or will the two soon tussle over the amount of disaster aid Florida will get? Biden is planning to visit the state, so we’ll be watching to see whether DeSantis greets him with open arms … or has somewhere else to be. The closer we get to Election Day, the more DeSantis will want to convince GOP voters he can stand up to Democrats — and therefore should be the Republican presidential nominee in 2024.

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Can the IMF change to help more women?

Matthew Kendrick

When a country hits rock bottom financially, the International Monetary Fund is meant to step in with funds to stabilize the economy without damaging its society — or the gender gap. But studies show that these programs often push women out of work at a disproportionate rate to men as the economy contracts. Matthew Kendrick reports from the World Bank-IMF Annual Meetings on a push to build more equitable programs.

North Korean troops move into Russia’s border area with Ukraine

Russia's President Vladimir Putin and North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un attend a farewell ceremony before Putin's departure at an airport in Pyongyang, North Korea June 19, 2024.

Gavriil Grigorov/Reuters

Kyiv says that roughly 12,000 North Korean troops are in Russia, a far greater number than reported by the US, though it remains unclear precisely how many have entered what Ukraine referred to as the “combat zone.”

Will Japan’s LDP lose its grip on power?

October 23, 2024, Kamagaya, Japan - Japanese Prime Minister and leader of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) Shigeru Ishiba reacts to his supporters after he delivered a campaign speech for his party candidate Hisashi Matsumoto for the general election at Kamagaya in Chiba prefecture, suburban Tokyo on Wednesday, October 23, 2024.

(photo by Yoshio Tsunoda/AFLO)

As Japan heads to the polls this Sunday, Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba’s decision to call an early election just weeks after taking office is turning out to be a high-stakes gamble.

Global economy at risk if Middle East conflict expands, says World Bank's Ayhan Kose

- YouTube

youtu.be

While the global economy shows signs of growth and decreasing inflation, the near future involves risks, including the escalation in the Middle East impacting oil prices, strained China-US relations, and an increasingly challenging tariff and trade environment, said Ayhan Kose, World Bank Deputy Chief Economist. He discussed the geopolitical tensions influencing the global economy with GZERO's Tony Maciulis at the IMF and World Bank Annual Meetings in Washington, DC, in a GZERO Global Stage interview.

What We're Watching: Russian annexations, Brazilian election, DeSantis-Biden truce

Bluffs called in Ukraine

Brazil’s election: one and done?

Hurricane halts DeSantis-Biden feud … for now

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North Korean troops move into Russia’s border area with Ukraine

Kyiv says that roughly 12,000 North Korean troops are in Russia, a far greater number than reported by the US, though it remains unclear precisely how many have entered what Ukraine referred to as the “combat zone.”

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Will Japan’s LDP lose its grip on power?

As Japan heads to the polls this Sunday, Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba’s decision to call an early election just weeks after taking office is turning out to be a high-stakes gamble.

Global economy at risk if Middle East conflict expands, says World Bank's Ayhan Kose

What We're Watching: Russian annexations, Brazilian election, DeSantis-Biden truce

Bluffs called in Ukraine

Brazil’s election: one and done?

Hurricane halts DeSantis-Biden feud … for now

GZEROMEDIA

Subscribe to GZERO Media's newsletter: Signal

More from GZERO Media

This week World Bank announced a bold initiative to bridge the gender divide by creating more economic opportunity, broadening female leadership, and reducing gender-based violence in the next 5 years as 2030 approaches.

There are times when we need more context, and there are times when we do not. How do we tell the difference?

Kyiv says that roughly 12,000 North Korean troops are in Russia, a far greater number than reported by the US, though it remains unclear precisely how many have entered what Ukraine referred to as the “combat zone.”

GZEROMEDIA

Subscribe to GZERO Media's newsletter: Signal

Georgian Dream insists the country is still on track to join the EU, as critics accuse the party of pushing Georgia in an increasingly anti-Western, authoritarian direction.

In 2001, a Goldman Sachs economist coined an acronym for the four largest and most promising “emerging market” economies: Brazil, Russia, India, and China became known as the “BRIC” countries.

With the latest polls still showing Donald Trump and Kamala Harris neck and neck in the swing states, both candidates are heading to Texas, a far less competitive state, with hopes of reaching key voter groups nationwide.

As Japan heads to the polls this Sunday, Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba’s decision to call an early election just weeks after taking office is turning out to be a high-stakes gamble.