Ukraine & NATO, Argentina, 2 Billion dollar schemes, & more!

Global Headlines

Ukraine Denied NATO membership

The annual NATO summit was held this week on Tuesday the 11th & Wednesday the 12th which has taken place once every year since the forming of the organization in 1949. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy attended the summit in expectation of an official invitation for Ukraine to join the alliance & expressed his anger when the decision did not go in his favor. NATO’s reasoning for not extending the invitation was very vague, stating “We will be in a position extend an invitation to Ukraine to join the alliance when allies agree and conditions are met”. NATO has an open door policy, meaning any European country is free to apply with the latest being Finland in April 2023. Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in early 2022, NATO countries (especially the United States) have expressed their support for Ukraine both in the media & in giving countless amounts of financial aid & military equipment in an effort to strengthen their fight against Russia. Although the discussion of Ukraine joining the alliance has been a topic of discussion more over the last year, it is nothing new. They initially expressed interest in membership in 2002 & applied for membership for the first time in 2008 but were denied at the summit in Bucharest the same year. NATO-Ukraine relations even go back as far as 1991. NATO is very faint on the topic of Ukrainian membership, the leaders agreed to a “fast track” membership but gave no timeline, & there response for the denial of membership at the recent summit as stated earlier was very vague. Why is this? One reason, Article 5 of the treaty of NATO which highlights the principal of collective defense essentially stating if one country is attacked, the rest have to get involved. Ukraine membership would immediately launch all 31 countries into war with Russia given their current ongoing conflict. Article 5 has only been invoked one time following the 9/11 attack on the United States. Simply put, Ukraine is far to much of a risk to be given membership, the upside of Ukrainian membership is abysmal compared to an all out war with Russia & it’s allies. This especially becomes true when you see Putin’s attitude towards Ukraine. Putin feels that true Ukrainian sovereignty is only possible with Russian partnership. He views Ukrainians and Russians as one people due to shared history, achievements & culture. Putin has said he is open to dialogue with Ukraine as long as the west stops giving military and financial aid. He has stated he respects Ukraine defending its own interests & desire to be a free nation, but does not want Ukraine defending the interests of western influences which in his belief is currently taking place. In his mind Ukraine belongs to Russia and is being stolen or taken away from Russia by NATO countries. When you look at Putin’s view of Ukraine and couple it with the history of NATO which was founded initially to provide security from the Soviet Union, you can understand why tensions become high surrounding the topic of Ukraine between Russia and the West. It is also important to note that Putin described the collapse of the Soviet Union the “greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the century”. As to what the future holds for Ukraine, only time will tell.

Here is a link to an essay written in July 2021 which gives further insight into Putin’s views on Ukraine written by Putin himself

Inflation in Argentina

Sky high inflation has damaged the South American nations already declining economy as the Argentinian Peso continues to weaken. To give an insight into how quickly prices rise, overall costs went up 7.3% in the month of June alone and an index of the prices of food, restaurants, clothes and hotels are have reached a 10.1% increase month over month. Some merchants are doing away with the Peso all together, many coffee shops & real estate brokers on the famous “Florida Street” in downtown Buenos Aires are only accepting payment in USD because it is “more stable”. An area like Florida street can afford to do this being more popular and upscale compared to other areas around the country, & more people in this area have access to U.S dollars. During April of this year alone Argentinians withdrew more than $1 billion United States Dollar deposits from banks in reaction to the continuous plummeting of the Peso. How did it get this bad? The inflation was massively elevated following the economic collapse of Argentina in 2018, when its foreign debt obligations grew to unsustainable levels & the Peso collapsed against the US dollar. The government then received a $57 billion dollar relief package by the International Monetary Fund (its largest ever credit package) with the understanding that Argentina would make an effort to reduce public spending and inflation, but it only began to spiral even further. During the pandemic while most economy’s were shut down Argentina was scheduled to pay a $500 million interest payment to foreign creditors which they failed to do. The current drought has not helped either, the economy severely relies on exports of crops which production was just cut to 50%. In response to this in recent years, the government has printed vast amounts of money in an effort to counter the issue which only provides an extremely short term solution & temporary relief. Once that money gets into circulation, the prices rise further, and the cycle repeats itself. The main group of people effected by this are the middle & lower class, with wage growth at only 6.86 percent falling just below the growth of consumer prices. As bad as this is at the moment for Argentinians, it seems like the worst is behind them. A recent analysis polled by this week by Argentina’s central bank forecast the annual inflation this year at 142.4%, down from 148.9% in the previous poll. By 2024 analysts see the annual rate of consumer prices trimming down to 105% & with an upcoming election in the fall, inflation will without a doubt be one of the main issues the next elect will have to address.

2 Billion Dollar scandal from Mozambique

Manuel Chang, the former finance minister of Mozambique, has been extradited from South Africa to the United States after nearly five years in prison. He is set to face trial for his alleged involvement in a $2 billion fraud and corruption scandal related to fraudulent government loans. The loans were intended for infrastructure projects but were misused, leading to accusations of bribery and corruption. Chang's extradition comes after his unsuccessful attempts to avoid being sent to the U.S. South African courts dismissed Mozambique's requests for his return. The scandal surrounding the fraudulent loans caused a financial crisis in Mozambique, resulting in the International Monetary Fund withdrawing its support. The loans were meant to fund the purchase of fishing vessels and naval patrol boats for Mozambique's fishing industry. Chang's lawyer expressed his client's relief at being able to confront the charges in the United States and expects him to be fully vindicated. Chang was arrested in 2018 at Johannesburg's O.R. Tambo International Airport based on a U.S. warrant. He was indicted in a New York federal court for his alleged role in defrauding American and international investors. Several individuals, including Ndambi Guebuza, the son of Mozambique's former president, have already been convicted and sentenced in Mozambique for their involvement in the scandal. Ndambi Guebuza received a 12-year prison sentence. In 2021, Credit Suisse, the Swiss bank involved in the corrupt loans, agreed to pay $475 million to settle bribery and kickback allegations. The case against Chang is ongoing, and he has yet to comment on the charges brought against him.

Trending

Afraid of heights?

A British man was apprehended by authorities on Monday after he climbed more than halfway up the Lotte World Tower in Seoul, South Korea, using only his bare hands. The skyscraper, which stands as the world's fifth-tallest at 555 meters (1,820 feet) and 123 stories high, attracted the attention of over 90 emergency personnel, police, and other responders

Kentucky man strikes gold

A man in Kentucky made an extraordinary discovery of over 700 rare gold coins from the Civil War era on his private land. The collection includes various types of coins, such as U.S. gold dollars, gold Liberty coins, and a 2.5-dollar coin featuring the Statue of Liberty's visage. Additionally, there are $10 and $20 coins among the trove. The combined value of these 700 coins is estimated to be approximately $2 million.

Bank of America

In the latest scandal involving Bank of America, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has issued an order demanding the bank to pay a hefty sum exceeding $250 million. The allegations against the bank include the opening of fraudulent accounts, withholding credit card rewards, and unlawfully charging excessive fees. This incident adds to the bank's history of illegal credit card practices, for which it has already faced substantial fines in the past.

Off the beaten path

The Secret Service has concluded its investigation into the cocaine found at the White House, stating that they were unable to identify a person of interest due to a lack of physical evidence. The cocaine was discovered on July 2 in a container used to store electronic devices before entering the West Wing. The Secret Service conducted a thorough review of security systems and protocols, examining individuals who accessed the area where the substance was found. However, forensic analysis did not yield sufficient DNA or latent fingerprints for investigative comparisons. The FBI confirmed that the substance was indeed cocaine. No surveillance footage was available to identify the individual responsible for depositing the cocaine. As a result, without concrete evidence, the investigation could not pinpoint a specific person of interest among the numerous individuals who passed through the area. Many people online and on Twitter believe it was President Joe Biden’s son, Hunter due to him being at the White House when it was found and his history of drug use.

Fast facts

-Bitcoin reached its highest point in 13 months today

-The richest country in the world in terms of GDP per capita is Luxembourg, with a GDP per capita of $135,700.

-The Taliban administration halted all activities by Sweden in Afghanistan on Tuesday in response to the burning of a Koran in Stockholm last month

-After a 10 year ban, planes coming from Libya are now allowed to fly over Italian airspace

-There are two credit cards for every person in the United States.

Quote of the week

“Waste no more time arguing about what a good man should be. Be one”

-Marcus Aurelius