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Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian stands at attention while armed military personnel from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps parade during a military parade commemorating the anniversary of the Iran-Iraq War in Tehran, on Sept. 21, 2024.
Hard Numbers: Iran’s elite fighters go off the grid, Cognac takes on China, Egyptian weapons flood Somalia, Argentines empty their mattresses, “Noise shouter” wins Kiwi election
800: Some 800 protesters, many on tractors, hit the streets in the southwestern French town of Cognac this week, in a “spirited” display of anger at the possibility of Chinese tariffs on European brandy. Losing the huge Chinese market could cripple the struggling Cognac industry. Beijing and Brussels are locked in a series of trade disputes over European food products and Chinese electric vehicles. The EU on Monday filed a World Trade Organization challenge against China’s recent investigation of European dairy goods.
2: A second Egyptian shipment of heavy weapons has arrived in Somalia, in a move that could stoke simmering tensions between both countries and neighboring Ethiopia. Egypt and Ethiopia are at odds over a major Ethiopian dam across a Nile tributary, while Somalia is angry at Ethiopia’s support for separatists in the region of Somaliland. Against that backdrop, Egypt and Somalia signed a security agreement earlier this year.
8 billion: Since Argentina’s radical libertarian President Javier Milei took office last December, chainsawing his way through government spending and imposing severe austerity measures, the country’s foreign currency deposits have surged by $8 billion. The data suggest growing confidence in his ability to stabilize an economy that has bounced from crisis to crisis for decades, though the upcoming expiry of an amnesty for hidden currency is also part of the story. See our exclusive interview with Milei here.
50,000: With more than 50,000 votes counted, the results are in: The hoiho, also known as the “yellow-eyed penguin,” has won New Zealand’s bird of the year election, seeing off a dark bird challenge from the karure – an all-black species of “goth” robin. The winner, whose name means “noise shouter” in the Maori language, is thought to be the world’s rarest penguin. It is also one of its most endangered, suffering a population decline of nearly 80% over the past 15 years.
Chinese pilots deplane from a JH-7 fighter-bomber in preparation for the 9th China International Aviation and Aerospace Exhibition, known as Airshow China 2012, in Zhuhai city, south Chinas Guangdong province, 10 November 2012.
Hard Numbers: China rattles the saber, Egypt’s inflation falls, Japan props up yen, Spain wins Euros
30: Taiwan’s defense ministry recorded 30 Chinese combat jets and seven warships in the skies and waters around the islandon Saturday and said it was monitoring “waves” of missile tests in Inner Mongolia province. These are the third large-scale maneuvers around Taiwan this week.
27.5: Inflation rates in Egypt have dropped for the fourth straight month to 27.5%, down from an agonizing 38% peak in September. However, economists warn that fuel, medicine, fertilizer, and naturalgas markets remain volatile, and Egypt’s most needy families are smarting from a 300% increase in the price of subsidized bread.
22 billion: A Bloomberg analysis of the Bank of Japan’s accounts found it had likely spent approximately $22 billion propping up the anemic yen, which has lost 11% of its value this year, on Thursday. This would mark the third time the central bank has directly intervened in the currency market — an expensive practice, but Tokyo has few other options while the difference between US and Japanese interest rates remains so vast.
2-1: Spain beat England 2-1 in a thrilling final of the Euro 2024 championship on Sunday, marking their fourth time bringing home the cup. England, the country that invented modern football, has never won. In Miami, Argentina won the Copa America 1-0 against Colombia, but the event was marred by botched security that saw scenes of panic as unticketed fans rushed and overwhelmed barriers.Displaced Palestinians, who fled Rafah after the Israeli military began evacuating civilians from the eastern parts of the southern Gazan city, ahead of a threatened assault, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, travel on a vehicle, in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip May 6, 2024.
Hamas accepts cease-fire proposal, but Israel still strikes Rafah
On Tuesday, the Israeli military reported its tanks had rolled into Rafah and established control over the Gaza side of the border crossing with Egypt. The incursion was more restrained than the long-threatened ground invasion was expected to be, likely because Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is facing pressure to agree to a cease-fire with Hamas, which is backed by the United States and Arab nations.
On Monday, Hamas unexpectedly accepted a Qatari-Egyptian cease-fire proposal for Gaza, which Israel says it is examining. The deal would secure the release of hostages still being held in Gaza. But rather than stalling the invasion, the Israeli war cabinet “unanimously decided” to continue with plans for the invasion and launched strikes in eastern Rafah late Monday.
The diplomatic breakthrough – which followed mass weekend protests demanding the Israeli government bring home the remaining hostages held in Gaza – was meant to put pressure on Netanyahu. The United States and other key allies had also been pressuring Israel to refrain from attacking Rafah.
“Netanyahu is trying to have it both ways — continue talks in Egypt by sending a team while proceeding with attacks into Rafah,” says Eurasia Group analyst Greg Brew. ”The door hasn't closed on a deal yet.”
Israel’s war cabinet said it would continue to work on a deal, sending delegates to Cairo on Tuesday to negotiate aspects it still finds objectionable (the deal’s full details are not publicly known).
We’re watching for Hamas’ reaction to the Rafah attacks and how it affects any longer-term cease-fire prospects.
Firefighters work at the site where a building collapsed following the earthquake, in Hualien, Taiwan, in this handout provided by Taiwan's National Fire Agency on April 3, 2024.
Hard Numbers: Taiwan earthquake, Ukrainian drone strikes, Sisi’s third term, Exodus from Haiti’s capital, Africa’s youngest elected leader
7.4: A 7.4-magnitude earthquake, followed by several mighty aftershocks, struck Taiwan on Wednesday. The quake killed nine people, injured at least 821, damaged buildings and infrastructure, and triggered mudslides. It was the largest to hit the country in 25 years and was also felt in parts of China.
800: Ukraine on Tuesday carried out drone attacks over 800 miles into Russian territory in the Tatarstan region, striking Russia’s third-largest oil refinery and a drone factory. With the war against its next-door neighbor in its third year, Ukraine has ramped up drone strikes inside Russia.
89.6: President Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi of Egypt on Tuesday was sworn in for a third six-year term after being reelected in December against several unknown candidates who never really stood a chance. Sisi, who has frequently been criticized by rights groups over his authoritarian tendencies, garnered 89.6% of the vote in an election victory he described as a rebuke of the “inhumane war” in Gaza.
53,000: The situation in Haiti is dire. Gang violence has led over 53,000 people to flee the country’s capital, Port-au-Prince, in less than three weeks. The UN warned that most are heading to rural areas that don’t have the infrastructure or resources to deal with a large influx of people.
19: From prison to the presidency… Bassirou Diomaye Faye was sworn in as Senegal’s new president on Tuesday, just 19 days after his release from prison. The 44 year old, who was arrested for alleged defamation last year, is Africa’s youngest democratically elected leader. Faye won the election in a landslide and is promising “systemic change.”
Jeong Bo-mi, 37, and her baby in Seoul, South Korea, April 7, 2016.
Hard Numbers: South Korea's baby money, Cobalt and reproductive issues in the DRC, Egypt gets bailed out, Calif. braces amid storms, New Japanese words hit dictionary
75,000: In South Korea, where the overall fertility rate is expected to plummet to 0.68 this year, significantly lower than the 2.1 deemed essential by the OECD for maintaining a relatively steady population, a construction firm is providing employees with a $75,000 reward for every child they have. This initiative is just one of numerous attention-grabbing incentives being introduced as policymakers and businesses contend with the nation's demographic challenges.
56: A study from NGO’s Rights & Accountability in Development and Afrewatch found 56% of respondents in 25 villages near five major cobalt mines reported serious concerns over related health issues, including miscarriages and birth defects. Cobalt production is critical for electric vehicles and batteries and has ramped up over the past decade fueled by the green energy transition.
8 billion: The International Monetary Fund confirmed Saturday it will more than double the bailout loan it is issuing to Egypt to $8 billion, as Cairo’s economy nears collapse with dwindling foreign reserves and soaring inflation. Egypt secured a similarly sized aid package from the EU as well, which will be disbursed over three years.20 million: Some 20 million West Coasters were facing flood watches thanks to a big storm that slammed the Golden State over the weekend. While much of the state faced up to three inches of rain, the foothills of Southern California were expecting up to six. The havoc came just a week after Gov. Gavin Newsom expanded a state of emergency to 11 counties that struggled with powerful storms in early February.
23: The Oxford English Dictionary added 23 Japanese words in its latest update. More than half of the borrowed words relate to cooking, while a number also relate to art like Kintsugi, an increasingly popular way of repairing broken pottery with gold lacquer.
Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin shaking hands with US president Jimmy Carter
On the 45th anniversary of the Israel-Egypt peace treaty, it is more critical and at risk than ever
45 years ago today, a handshake between Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin laid the groundwork for nearly half a century of peace and cooperation between neighboring Israel and Egypt.
The Israeli-Egyptian relationship has survived two Palestinian uprisings and a series of wars between Israel and Hamas, despite Cairo’s early advocacy of the Palestinian cause. And now, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowing to send Israeli troops into Rafah, on the Egyptian border with Gaza, Egypt’s peace with Israel puts Cairo in a humanitarian quandary.
What is the Israel-Egypt peace treaty? After fighting five wars over three decades, Israel and Egypt made peace in Washington D.C in 1979, marking the first ever peace treaty between an Arab country and Israel.
The negotiations were the first successful effort at establishing lasting peace between Israel and one of its Arab neighbors. Egypt had lost the Sinai Peninsula to Israel in 1967, providing Tel Aviv with a crucial bargaining chip to secure its southern border and neutralize the region’s most powerful Arab country.
Meanwhile, Sadat’s failed attempt to retake Sinai during the 1973 Yom Kippur War led him to doubt his ability to overcome Israel militarily. But he needed Sinai to reopen the economically crucial Suez Canal, and a major ally to replace the Soviets who supported his predecessor Gamal Abdel Nasser. Negotiations with Israel at Camp David allowed Egypt to regain control over the Sinai peninsula, boost its economy, and bring the US on as an ally.
The treaty has enabled the two countries to make billions in cross-border trade and economic partnerships. Cairo also receives over $1 billion a year in military and economic aid from the US, while it coordinates with Israel in the fight against terrorism in Sinai.
Misery for civilians in Gaza. Even before Oct. 7, Egypt has been concerned that Israel could resolve the Gaza issue at its expense. Since Hamas’s attack on Israel, Egypt has held that a temporary or permanent displacement of Gazans to its territory, whether intentional or unintentional, is not up for discussion.
While Egypt is facilitating humanitarian aid into Gaza, hosting a deluge of refugees would strain its economy, which is already on life-support.
More than 1 million displaced Palestinians are squeezed into tent camps between the border of Rafah and Egypt's thinly populated Sinai Peninsula. Cairo fears that if it were to allow a mass exodus of Palestinians — starving, sick, and desperate as they may be — Israel might never let them go back. Cairo is cautious not to seem like it is collaborating with Israel against the Palestinians — but it also doesn’t want to inadvertently let in Hamas and worsen the insecurity issues in Sinai.
Egypt is building a cement-walled security perimeter near the border to hold up to 150,000 people in case the border is breached during an Israeli assault on Rafah.
The Oct. 7 attack already stalled the peace process between Saudi Arabia and Israel. If an invasion of Rafah jeopardizes the Israel-Egypt relationship, a foundational component of rapprochement between Israel and the Arab world, it would be another strategic win for Hamas at the detriment of the entire region's security.
A volcanic eruption takes place, near Grindavik, Iceland, March 16, 2024, in this handout picture obtained by Reuters.
Hard Numbers: Icelandic volcano erupts, India sets election date, EU aids Egyptian economy, South Sudan schools close amid extreme heat
40: Just 40 minutes after authorities received indications of an eruption late Saturday, lava shot from a huge fissure on the Reykjanes Peninsula near Grindavik and the famed Blue Lagoon. The fourth — and probably biggest — eruption to have hit here since December nearly took services by surprise. The town and resort were both evacuated shortly after the eruption.
960 million: The largest-ever democratic exercise is set to begin on April 19 with a whopping 960 million voters participating in India’s parliamentary elections. Indians will head to the polls for seven electoral phases through June 1, with the count set to take place on June 4. Populist Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party is expected to secure another five years at the helm of an increasingly religiously divided India — but one that is also tipped to become the third-largest world economy by 2027. For GZERO’s guide to world elections in 2024, click here.
7.4 billion: The EU has agreed to send Cairo a funding package of €7.4 billion ($8.06 billion) between now and 2027 to help stabilize Egypt’s economy and wean it off Russian gas. The Egyptian economy has been hard hit by recent economic crises – most notably, the Israel-Hamas conflict in Gaza, which is impacting tourism and shipping in the Suez Canal.
113: Children in South Sudan are unable to attend school starting today, owing to an extreme heat wave that could raise the mercury as high as 113 degrees Fahrenheit. All schools have been ordered to shut down, and parents are being advised to keep kids indoors with the scorching temps set to last for up to two weeks.A Palestinian woman reacts to an Israeli airstrike amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, on March 3, 2024.
Israel no-shows Gaza ceasefire talks
On Sunday, Israel boycotted talks in Cairo after Hamas rejected its demand for a list of hostages who still remain alive, though other parties carried on. Hope for a Gaza cease-fire is fading despite earlier US optimism that a deal was possible ahead of next week’s Ramadan deadline.
On Saturday, a US official told reporters that Israel had agreed to the framework of a deal and "the onus right now is on Hamas” to respond. But in addition to the rejected demand for a hostage list, the proposal does not meet Hamas’ main demand for a permanent end to the war, and a Palestinian official told Reuters the deal was ”not there yet” after Hamas officials arrived in Cairo.
Meanwhile, at least 15 children have starved to death in northern Gaza, according to health authorities, raising fears of mass famine. The United States air-dropped aid into the enclave on Saturday, but not at any scale that can solve the problem: The operation dropped some 38,000 meals, while over 2 million Gazans need food. US Vice President Kamala Harris called for Israel to allow more aid into Gaza on Sunday, ahead of a visit from Israeli war cabinet member Benny Gantz — a visit which could add complications.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly dressed down Gantz — his political rival — over the latter’s “unauthorized” upcoming trip to Washington. Gantz claims his meetings with Harris on Monday and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday will strengthen ties between the two countries and gain support for Israel’s ground campaign.
But Netanyahu loyalists see it as a power play — President Joe Biden’s relationship with Netanyahu is reportedly at a low point – and accuse Gantz of acting like a “Trojan horse.” We’ll be watching his reception in Washington and the reaction in Jerusalem.