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Kylian Mbappé of France during the UEFA Euro 2024 Football Championship match between Austria and France on June 17, 2024
Footballer Kylian Mbappé attacks France’s far right
“We’re at a crucial moment in our country’s history,” Mbappé warned, alluding to what he sees as threats posed by Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally, which performed spectacularly in the recent European parliamentary elections, spurring President Emmanuel Macron to dissolve parliament and call for snap elections. Mbappé encouraged fans to vote on June 30 to block the “extremes knocking at the doors of power.”
Many players on the French team are immigrants or children of immigrants – Mbappé’s parents are from Cameroon and Algeria – putting them at odds with Le Pen’s plans to limit migration strictly. Mbappé’s announcement came hours after his teammate, Marcus Thuram, also urged fans to vote against the far right.
His call to action came after tens of thousands took to the streets of France on Saturday to denounce the far right in protests organized by labor unions and supported by the newly formed left-wing coalition. Polls show the National Rally in the lead, but we’ll be watching to see whether the backlash gains momentum against the far-right’s success ahead of the vote at the end of the month.
GZERO 2023 music playlist
It was a bumpy year, so bump and groove your way into the New Year with our 2023 playlist! We scoured the charts from Buenos Aires to Beijing for songs that captured the zeitgeist, from Ice Spice to Fela Kuti — and make you wanna boogie.
Playlist tracks
Inflation - “Expensive shit” by Fela Kuti
French protests – “Paris is a bitch” by Biga*Ranx
West African coups - “Soldier Take Over” by Yellowman
Milei elected - “Desesperada” by Sara Hebe
European migration - “Desaparecido” by Manu Chao
Politics in general - “Liar’s Dub” by Max Romeo
Climate change failure - “Sogno otro mundo” by Apres la classe and Manu Chao
Struggle between Mexico government and drug cartels - “La People” by Peso Pluma
Nigerian election - “I Told Them” by Burna Boy
Xi Jinping wins historic third term as Chinese president - “Paint the Town Red” by Doja Cat
25th anniversary of Good Friday agreement - “Jackie Down the Line” by Fontaines DC
War in Ukraine - “Heart of Steel” by Tvorchi
Power Barbie - “Barbie World” by Nicki Minaj & Ice Spice
George Santos - “Banned in DC” by Bad Brains
UAW/SAG strikes - “Never Cross a Picket Line” by Billy Bragg
China economic weakness - “Made in China” by Higher Brothers and Famous Dex
Ukraine - “Running Up That Hill” by Kate Bush
Rise of AI - “Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots Pt. 1” by The Flaming Lips
Colombia’s new drug policy – “Don’t Sniff Coke” by Pato Banton
US telling on India for killing Hardeep Singh Nijjar – “Exposing me Remix” by FBG Duck
Elon Musk unravels – “Where Is My Mind?” by Pixies
Chinese spy balloon – “Somebody’s Watching Me” by Rockwell
Biden-Xi meeting – "Bad Idea Right" by Olivia Rodrigo
The Black Sea grain deal – "Is It Over Now? (Taylor's Version) by Taylor Swift
Biden runs for president (again) – “Never Gonna Give You Up” – By Rick Astley
Putin survives Prigozhin revolt -- "Houdini" by Dua Lipa
Putin to Lukashenko – “Lil Boo Thang” by Paul Russell
North Korea fires more missiles for attention – “I’m Just Ken” by Ryan Gosling
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Russian service members drive tanks during drills held by the armed forces in the Rostov region, Russia.
What We’re Watching: Launch of Russian offensive, China-Iran talks, Macron’s midnight deadline
The Russian offensive has begun
After much speculation about Russia’s next military steps, NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said Monday that Russia has begun a new offensive in Ukraine. "We see how they are sending more troops, more weapons, more capabilities,” he said during a press conference in Brussels. Russia’s immediate goal, according to Eurasia Group analysis, is to gradually overwhelm outnumbered Ukrainian forces and take full control of the so-called Donbas region of Donetsk and Luhansk provinces, two of the Ukrainian regions Russia annexed last September. The early timing of this new escalation suggests Russia hopes to make significant gains before powerful new weapons sent by the West arrive in Ukraine. It’s also possible that Ukrainian forces will respond to Russia’s incremental escalation by trying not only to repel Russian attacks but to advance south to cut the land bridge Russian forces established last year between the Donbas region and Crimea. The bottom line: This new Russian offensive will offer the first true test of military strength since Moscow mobilized 300,000 more troops last fall. The world will learn a lot about whether the Russian army has greatly improved its training, weaponry, and ability to coordinate a large-scale operation.
Raisi heads to China in bid to deepen ties
Ebrahim Raisi is bringing one hefty entourage to Beijing this week on the first visit by an Iranian president to the Middle Kingdom in 20 years. With Iran’s economy reeling from western sanctions over its nuclear program, its shipment of drones to Russia for the war in Ukraine, and its brutal crackdown on protesters following the in-custody death of Mahsa Amini, Tehran hopes to foster economic growth by deepening trade ties with China. Raisi’s main goal is to implement a sweeping 25-year cooperation agreement the two countries signed in 2021 that includes economic and security cooperation. He is scheduled to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping, and talks about reviving the Iranian nuclear deal are expected. The countries have grown closer in recent years – China remains Iran’s top trading partner, and Beijing has supported Tehran’s successful bid to join the Shanghai Cooperation Association and even supports the country’s efforts to join the powerful BRICS economic bloc of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. The push for greater cooperation comes despite a recent tussle over China’s support for negotiations to settle a territorial dispute between Iran and the United Arab Emirates over three islands Tehran has controlled since the 1970s. We’ll be watching to see whether Xi and Raisi have any big announcements this week.
Macron vs. Midnight
Reforming France’s unsustainably generous pension system is the single biggest policy priority for President Emmanuel Macron’s second term. The bean counters say it has to happen, but the protesters on the streets say the move isn’t exactly popular. Well, now it’s crunch time: Debate on the first reading of the reform bill in the lower house of parliament must end by the stroke of midnight this Friday. Facing staunch rejection from trade unions and the left, Macron’s centrist minority government is hoping to pull along a more or less reliable group of center-right MPs in support of raising the retirement age from 62 to 64 by 2030. But a number of those deputies are already asking for big concessions, including waiving the new retirement age for anyone who worked even a single month in their teens (that’s most people). Procedural quirks give the government some leverage: Unless MPs explicitly vote NON, the reforms would return to the Senate, where they have strong support. The clock is ticking …Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky walks outside No. 10 Downing Street in London, ahead of a bilateral meeting with British PM Rishi Sunak.
Hard Numbers: Zelensky goes to London, French protesters at it again, Korea compensates Vietnam victim, Brazilian wildcats seek help, Russian vodka in Africa
20,000: The UK military will train an additional 20,000 Ukrainian soldiers in 2023, British PM Rishi Sunak announced during Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's visit on Wednesday, his first trip to London since the Russian invasion almost a year ago. The UK is expanding its training program to cover pilots to fly fighter jets, which Zelensky is desperate to get his hands on despite NATO resistance and Sunak's own reservations.
3: It’s an encore of the encore. French trade unions have now led three waves of strikes against proposals to raise the retirement age. Tuesday’s walkouts hit public transport, schools, and oil refineries. The government wants most French people to retire at 64 instead of 62 — why is that so contentious? Read more here.
30 million: For the first time, South Korea will compensate a Vietnamese victim of atrocities carried out by Korean forces that fought alongside the US in Vietnam. Nguyen Thi Thanh, who survived a massacre of civilians, will receive 30 million won (about $24,000.)
20,000: As many as 20,000 illegal “wildcat” miners who have occupied — and allegedly terrorized – an indigenous reservation in northern Brazil are asking the government to help them leave ahead of a planned military operation to evict them.
15: A Russian-owned distillery in the Central African Republic produces packets of Wa Na Wa vodka for 15 cents apiece. This is just a small example of a vast economic, military, and cultural push by the Kremlin to win friends and influence people across sub-Saharan Africa.
Demonstrators at a rally in Chambery, France, against proposed pension reform.
Hard Numbers: French workers unite, Chile chooses climate over copper, Kazakhstan sets election date, Aus Open marathon
1.7: Strikes in France on Thursday saw more than a million workers protest President Emmanuel Macron’s proposed reform to the pension system. The government points out that there are now just 1.7 workers per retiree in France, down from a ratio of 4-1 half a century ago, which is putting increasing pressure on state resources.
2.5 billion: Chile’s government has rejected a whopping $2.5 billion copper and iron mining project from a private Chilean company saying that it would harm wildlife and water sources. The case, which made its way through the courts, is the latest sign that leftist President Gabriel Boric is following through on his pledge to put climate before profit.
12: Some 12 months since thousands of Kazakhs protested against a proposed fuel tax hike, sparking the worst political crisis in the former Soviet republic in a decade, President Qasym-Zhomart Toqaev has dissolved the lower house of parliament, scheduling new elections for March 19. Toqaev positioned himself as a change candidate after years of authoritarianism, but many Kazakhs aren’t buying it.
5:45: After a mind-blowing 5-hour, 45-minute marathon, British tennis legend Andy Murray beat Aussie Thanasi Kokkinakis at the Australian Open in one of the longest matches in pro-tennis history. Murray, who has an artificial hip after years of hard play, told the crowd in Melbourne after the game wrapped up at 4 am, “it’s obviously amazing to win the match … but I also want to go to bed now.”