US Congress Secures Debt Limit Bill
In recent weeks, global economists have been paying close attention to the ongoing debate regarding the debt ceiling in the United States. The debt ceiling refers to legislation which limits the amount of money the Treasury Department is allowed to borrow in order to fund government spending. Since 2009, the national debt in the US has very nearly tripled. As a consequence, the debt ceiling had nearly been reached, prompting fears of a worldwide economic crisis.
However, on 1 June Congress finally passed a new bill raising the limit on government borrowing, by suspending the debt ceiling until 2025. Though the ceiling has not yet been raised, this suspension means that it will not interfere with the 2024 presidential election and will instead be an issue for the winner of that election to deal with the following year. President Joe Biden signed it into law on 3 June.
What has previously made legislating the debt ceiling difficult is the lack of any accord between Democrats and Republicans. This bill received a rare display of bipartisan support, however, passing by a vote of 63-36 in the Republican-controlled senate (made up of 44 Democrats, 17 Republicans and two independents) alongside a vote of 314-117 in the Democrat-controlled House (made up of 165 Democrats and 149 Republicans) the previous day. Such cross-party agreement underlines the significance of the bill to the stabilisation of the global economy.
4 Killed After Earthquake in Haiti
In the early hours of Tuesday this week, a 4.9 magnitude earthquake occurred in the coastal city of Jérémie in Haiti, leaving 4 people dead and a further 36 injured. According to the U.S. Geological survey, it was at a depth of 6 miles and followed torrential rain which had already killed 15 people and displaced thousands more. Approximately 31,600 homes have been flooded since this rain began. Floods have continued to pose a threat following the earthquake, with Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry stating that his government will take “urgent measures” to ensure the safety of the Haitian people.
This is the third serious earthquake Haiti has suffered in the past 13 years. It follows a 7.2 magnitude quake, which took place two years ago in the southern part of the country, and a magnitude 7 quake from 2010, which killed at least 200,000 due to it being located in the highly populated capital city of Port-au-Prince. Unfortunately, efforts to rescue those impacted by these climate catastrophes are being hampered by the fact that many regions of Haiti are currently under the control of criminal gangs.
UN Suspends Food Aid in Ethiopia
In recent months, large deliveries of food aid have been stolen in Ethiopia, according to media reports. On Friday, the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) announced the immediate temporary suspension of food assistance to the country. Ethiopia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and USAID have also announced their commitment to addressing aid diversion. Here is the link to their joint statement. The WFP’s Executive Director Cindy McCain assured that: “nutrition assistance to children, pregnant and breastfeeding women, school meals programmes, and activities for building the resilience of farmers and pastoralists will continue uninterrupted”.
Out of Ethiopia’s population of approximately 120 million people, some 20 million Ethiopians rely on food aid. Drought and conflict, particularly the recent war in the Tigray region, are the major factors that have caused this dependence. The United States suspended aid the day before the UN, saying they had uncovered a campaign to divert assistance but did not say who was responsible.
Māori Communities Threatened by Marine Heatwaves, Rising Sea Levels
The Māori people of New Zealand are currently among the most vulnerable to climate change.
New Zealand has experienced record-breaking marine heatwaves over the past five years, with upward spikes as high as 4C. Most recently in April this year, temperatures reached up to 1.5C above normal despite the country heading into winter.
These warming seas are driving away many species of fish, and have contributed to the mass die-offs of shellfish and other marine creatures traditionally relied upon as food sources by generations of Māori people. Notably, in 2020, hundreds of thousands of mussels were cooked to death on a beach in North Island.
“Every Māori community around the country that still maintains a relationship with the moana [ocean] would notice the changes,” says Mere Takoko, the Aotearoa country leader for Conservation International.
The people are working to adapt, with the Whakatōhea iwi for example investing heavily in an off-shore mussel farm buffered against extreme temperature changes. However, the sense of loss is unmistakable. Takoko says, “Indigenous peoples enjoyed a very strong affinity with the beautiful oceans… in losing these taonga [cultural treasures], we actually lose part of our culture.”
In addition, New Zealand is facing major sea rises “much sooner than we thought”, with some areas already sinking 3-4mm per year, and one in seven people living in flood-prone areas.
Māori cultural sites – marae – are among the most exposed to consequent rising sea levels. 80 percent of marae are built on flood-prone or low-lying land, with countless homes, plantations, and burial sites at risk. 10-year-old Simone Manning, a girl in the Far North community of Mitimiti expresses frustration with the threat to her ancestral home: “You need to let us have more of a say… we are most impacted by the choices made by older generations.”
The government must work quickly to relocate coastal communities and implement more climate adaptation plans. Māori communities have been working with scientists on ways to adapt, such as developing transportable maraes; however, moving away from areas that have been their home for generations remains a tough prospect.
Top Indian Wrestlers’ Months-long Fight Against Sexual Abuse Goes Unresolved
(CW: mention of sexual abuse)
Indian wrestlers, including Olympic medallists Sakshi Malik and Bajrang Punia and two-time Olympian Vinesh Phogat, have been protesting on the streets since January. They are calling for the arrest of Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh – Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) president and member of Parliament from the ruling Baharatiya Janata Party – in connection with serious accusations of sexual abuse.
The protests began on January 18 with a sit-in at the Jantar Mantar observatory in New Delhi, which lasted over a month. Hundreds of protesters were joined in solidarity by active and retired wrestlers from across the country. Phogat posted a letter to the Indian Olympic Association spelling out their complaints and demanding the closure of the WFI. Initially this seemed to be a success; the Sports Ministry on January 21 announced that it would conduct a probe of WFI and stripped Singh of all administrative powers.
However, months passed with no update and the protests resumed on April 23, evoking a much harsher response from the Indian government. Scuffles broke out and on May 28 carloads of protesters were detaine, including Malik, Punia and Phogat themselves who were subsequently charged with rioting and disorder. Photos of the world-class athletes being dragged away by police have sparked public outrage. State politicians and former Supreme Court justices have decried the police brutality, and the International Olympic Committee has condemned the detainment of the wrestlers and criticised the “lack of results” in the investigation.
The wrestlers threatened to throw their medals into the Ganges – India’s holiest river – before farmer leaders convinced them to postpone the gesture. Anurag Thakur, the sports minister, subsequently said the police would complete their investigation by June 15 and requested the wrestlers not to demonstrate until then.
Young girls are now expressing doubt to Malik about a wrestling career. “When the government isn’t listening to us, how will the common people, the common women, trust that their voice will be listened to?” she says.
“This is a fight for the respect of our daughters and sisters,” Punia says during a rally speech. “We are asking for justice.”
Singh continues to deny all allegations, insisting they are merely “politically motivated”.