标题: 2022.03.08 乌克兰人道主义疏散 [打印本页] 作者: shiyi18 时间: 2022-3-8 20:28 标题: 2022.03.08 乌克兰人道主义疏散 The world in brief
Catch up quickly on the global stories that matter
Updated less than 1 hour ago (11:29 GMT / 06:29 New York)
Some residents of the north-eastern Ukrainian city of Sumy, just 50km from the Russian border, boarded buses travelling south along a “humanitarian corridor” before the evacuation was reported to have been suspended. Russian forces have committed to protecting five such routes out of Ukrainian cities they are shelling. At least 21 civilians have been killed in Sumy, according to Ukrainian officials. The UN says over 2m people have now fled the country.
The European Union was reported to be considering a “massive” joint bond sale to finance energy and defence spending prompted by Russia’s invasion. It plans to reduce its reliance on Russian gas by two-thirds this year. Earlier, Russia warned that it would stop its natural gas supply to Europe in response to the West’s sanctions. America said it was in “very active discussion” with European allies over a ban on imports of Russian oil. But Germany rejected the idea of an embargo.
The World Bank approved $723m in grants and loans to Ukraine, intended to keep the government and its services functioning throughout the conflict by, for example, paying pensions, hospital workers’ wages and providing aid. The package includes loans and grants from Britain, Denmark, Iceland, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands and Sweden. The bank says it is working on a further $3bn package and support for neighbouring countries taking in Ukrainian refugees. Meanwhile Australia and Japan announced new sanctions on Russian and, in Japan’s case, Belarusian officials.
The London Metal Exchange suspended nickel trading after a 250% increase in the metal’s price this week, driven by fears of disrupted supply out of Russia. On Monday, it introduced new rules in an attempt to calm the trading of other volatile metals. Russia is a large producer of nickel, which is used to make stainless steel and car batteries. It is also a key producer of wheat and aluminium.
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Fitch, a ratings agency, suspended operations in Russia, joining a growing list of Western businesses leaving the country. JPMorgan, an American bank, excluded Russia from all of its fixed income indices, which are used widely as benchmarks. Meanwhile, Morgan Stanley, another American bank, said Russia was set for a “Venezuela-style default” as early as April 15th when the grace period on coupon payments from Russian dollar bonds expires.
Volodymyr Zelensky, Ukraine’s president, said he was “not hiding” in a late night video showing himself in his office in Kyiv, the capital. Mr Zelensky promised that the country would rebuild everything destroyed by Russian forces. Earlier on Monday, Mr Zelensky warned that the war would spread beyond Ukraine. He once again stressed the need to secure the country’s airspace.
Other news
The Biden administration proposed tightening limits on pollution from buses and commercial lorries. The draft rule would require cuts in nitrogen-oxide emissions starting in model year 2027, and would reduce such emissions by up to 60% by 2045 • Record rainfall prompted flood warnings in Sydney, Australia’s biggest city; about 80,000 people have been asked to evacuate. Floods in the region have killed 20 people since February 27th.
Oil markets rattled by war
PHOTO: DPA
When America’s secretary of state said his country was discussing “the prospect of banning the import of Russian oil” with European and other allies, prices spiked. On March 6th, after Antony Blinken spoke, the price of Brent crude touched $139 before settling at about $120. Analysts think war could force the price to $200; Russia says a ban would send it to $300.
Oil supply was constrained even before Russia invaded Ukraine. Demand slumped during the pandemic before rebounding sharply in 2021. But under-investment and disruptions caused by covid-19 are still crimping global output. Russia is the world’s second-biggest petroleum exporter. It typically exports 4.5m barrels of crude and 2.5m of oil-products each day.
An oil embargo is the most powerful economic weapon America has yet to wield. And many companies are already avoiding Russia’s oil, although Germany has rejected the idea of an embargo. But even graduated sanctions, like those imposed on Iran, could cause a market panic. A total ban would hit the global economy hard.
Planning for the next pandemic
PHOTO: EYEVINE
How would the world respond to the next “Disease X”, a pathogen currently unknown to science? On Tuesday the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, a charity, and the British government are hosting a summit in London to figure this out. In light of the social and economic devastation caused by SARS-CoV-2, the Global Pandemic Preparedness Summit wants the world to be able to respond more rapidly.
Governments, international agencies, scientists, NGOs and pharmaceutical firms want to discuss a “100-day plan” to develop safe and effective vaccines, medicines and diagnostics quickly enough to prevent future pandemics from occurring. CEPI needs $3.5bn to implement these ideas. The meeting’s organisers hope to draw attention to the prospect of a new deadly disease. Even as the covid-19 pandemic recedes, and the world focuses on Ukraine, that is a critical task.
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The Economist’s glass-ceiling index
PHOTO: GETTY IMAGES
Four Nordic countries—Sweden, Iceland, Finland and Norway—once again top our glass-ceiling index as the best places for working women. The index measures the role and influence of women in the workforce across the OECD club of mostly rich countries. Japan and South Korea, where women must often still choose between a family or a career, fill the bottom two places. America sits in 20th out of 29 countries.
A country’s performance on the index is measured along ten metrics, including the gender pay gap, parental leave, the cost of child care, educational attainment and representation in senior management and political jobs. We give more weight to the indicators which affect all women (such as labour-force participation) and less to those which affect only some (such as maternity pay). Paternity pay is also included. Studies show that where fathers take parental leave, mothers tend to return to the labour market, female employment is higher and the earnings gap between men and women is smaller. You can explore the index here.
By Invitation: Malala Yousafzai on International Women’s Day
PHOTO: AGNÈS RICART
This is an excerpt from a guest essay by the Nobel peace-prize laureate. You can read the full article here and visit our related hub here.
Young women want equal access to education. We want leaders to invest in our future. We also want our perspectives to inform the plans and policies that affect us. In honour of International Women’s Day, I’m excited to collaborate with The Economist to expand my work to amplify young women’s voices as By Invitation’s first guest editor.
I have invited four young women to each contribute a guest essay to By Invitation on issues that are deeply connected to girls’ education: conflict, climate, digital inclusion and discrimination. Freshta Karim, an Afghan women’s rights activist, writes about her experience fleeing her home and about the future for Afghanistan’s women and girls. Kiara Nirghin, an inventor from South Africa, considers how the pandemic has widened gender gaps in science and the value of getting more girls involved in technical subjects. TK Saccoh, an anti-colourism advocate from Sierra Leone, reflects on the ways in which racism and gender discrimination affect girls’ learning and how teachers can help. Vanessa Nakate, a climate activist from Uganda, calls for an inclusive approach to discussing, teaching and legislating on global environmental issues.
The names on France’s presidential ballot
PHOTO: GETTY IMAGES
The official list of candidates running for the French presidency will be published on Tuesday. The country will vote in a two-round presidential election on April 10th and 24th. Laurent Fabius, president of the constitutional council, yesterday validated 12 candidates, all of whom received the required 500 signatures from elected officials. Among them is the sitting president, Emmanuel Macron, who confirmed last week that he is running for re-election.
There are five candidates to his right. They include the centre-right Valérie Pécresse, as well as the nationalist-populist Marine Le Pen and the hard-right Eric Zemmour. Six sit to his left, including the Socialists’ Anne Hidalgo, the Greens’ Yannick Jadot and the hard-left Jean-Luc Mélenchon. The Economist’s forecasting model now gives Mr Macron a 99% chance of reaching the second round. The campaign is turning into a race to meet him in a final run-off, which our model suggests he remains the strong favourite to win.
A film envisions Ukraine after war with Russia
PHOTO: BEST FRIEND FOREVER
With breathtaking cinematography, “Atlantis” imagines a Ukraine that has emerged, victorious, from war with Russia in 2025. After its premiere at the Venice Film Festival in 2019, the Ukrainian film was praised. Variety called it “poetically pure”. But despite a string of awards, Valentyn Vasyanovych’s picture failed to take off. With real war now raging, that is changing. “Atlantis” is being added to more streaming services, including iTunes, MUBI and Amazon Prime. Cinema releases are in the works, including one in Italy next month.
Mr Vasyanovych’s subsequent film, “Reflection”, looks at secret prisons in Russian-controlled eastern Ukraine. A Ukrainian journalist who was tortured in one such prison was a consultant for that film. In “Atlantis” Mr Vasyanovych depicts his homeland amid the aftershocks of war. Now, since he is somewhere near Kyiv, scenes of a current one are playing out in front of him.
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