World in Brief - The Economist Roundup

 

World in Brief

The Economist Roundup

February 9, 2024

The special counsel investigating Joe Biden’s handling of classified documents said that although the American president “wilfully retained and disclosed” classified material, his actions did not warrant criminal charges. But the report, which was made public on Thursday, was damaging in another way, detailing examples of Mr Biden’s “faulty” memory, including his inability to recall when his vice-presidency ended. Mr Biden hastily arranged a speech in which he defended his mental faculties.

 

Election results in Pakistan were delayed: despite polls closing at 5pm local time, only a handful of results have been released. Early counting suggested candidates backed by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party—which was barred from the contest and is led by Imran Khan, a jailed former prime minister—had performed better than expected. Authorities suspended mobile-phone services on Thursday citing a “recent surge in terrorist incidents”. The election has been marred by violence.

 

Vladimir Putin, Russia’s president, suggested that Evan Gershkovich, a Wall Street Journal reporter held in Moscow on spying charges, could be swapped for a Russian assassin detained in Germany. During a rambling interview with Tucker Carlson—his first with Western media since he invaded Ukraine—Mr Putin also told the former Fox News host that he had no interest in attacking Poland or Latvia, and that America should stop arming Ukraine.

 

Keir Starmer, leader of Britain’s opposition Labour Party, said that he would slash his flagship programme of green investments from £28bn ($35bn) a year to just £4.7bn. Sir Keir blamed the Conservative government for mismanaging the economy. The plan was announced in 2021 when borrowing costs were low, but Labour’s leadership feared it had become a liability that the Tories could exploit at the upcoming general election.

 

Volodymyr Zelensky dismissed Ukraine’s commander-in-chief, Valery Zaluzhny. The president has sparred with the highly popular general over how to conduct war with Russia. Mr Zelensky said he had asked Mr Zaluzhny to remain “part of the team”. Rustem Umerov, the defence minister, said that Ukraine’s military leadership needed to be changed. Oleksandr Syrskyi, the head of Ukraine’s ground forces, has replaced Mr Zaluzhny.

Mr Scholz goes to Washington

Olaf Scholz, Germany’s chancellor, will be in Washington, DC on Friday. In quieter times his meeting with Joe Biden would be a relaxed chat between seasoned centre-left politicians. But the NATO allies are preoccupied by wars in Ukraine and the Middle East and troubles at home. America is worried about Germany’s slumping economy and the weakness of its armed forces; Germany is spooked by congressional dysfunction and the prospect of Donald Trump returning to the presidency.

Mr Scholz will be hoping that the European Union’s recent pledge of €50bn ($54bn) in new funding for Ukraine will help persuade Europe-bashing Republicans to release more American money. He has another strong argument: Germany’s GDP is one sixth of America’s, but its aid to Ukraine, €38.3bn so far, amounts to more than half of what its transatlantic ally has spent. Still, the quiet, acerbic chancellor will need more than numbers to charm hard-line legislators.

Ukraine’s drone war

Drones have dominated the war in Ukraine. So much so that Volodymyr Zelensky, Ukraine’s president, announced on Tuesday that he was establishing a new military branch—the futuristic-sounding Unmanned Systems Forces—dedicated to their supply and use. Drones can do everything from reconnaissance to strikes, but the ones taking the battlefield by storm at the moment are so-called First Person View drones. Derived from racing quadcopters, they are guided to targets by pilots on the ground who watch a video feed through goggles.

Ukraine is on track to build at least 1m drones this year, and Russia has also increased production significantly. They cannot replace artillery—shells fly farther, do wider damage and work through bad weather. But they certainly supplement it. That is particularly important for Ukraine. Some of its front-line brigades are reporting a desperate shortage of ammunition as they cling on in the face of intense Russian attacks around the eastern city of Avdiivka. Drones could make all the difference.