News Briefs

Prabowo Subianto is Indonesia’s new president. Indonesian Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto has been announced the winner of the presidential election in one of the world’s largest democracies. The two losing candidates vow to contest the result in court over alleged irregularities. They have three days to do so. Mr. Subianto was accused of rights abuses under the past dictatorship. He chose the son of the outgoing President Joko Widodoas as his running mate, and a court allowed it even though the son was younger than required. Subianto won 58.6% of the votes. Jakarta police are anticipating protests.

Bernie Moreno wins Ohio’s GOP primary U.S. Senate race. Mr. Moreno is a Cleveland businessman who was endorsed by former President Donald Trump. He will face Democratic U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown in November in what is expected to be one of the country’s most competitive contests in the battle for control of the chamber. Voters chose Mr. Moreno over state Sen. Matt Dolan and Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose.  

Ireland’s Prime Minister Leo Varadkar resigns. In a surprise move, Mr. Varadkar said on March 20 he would step down as Ireland’s prime minister and the leader of the governing Fine Gael party for “personal and political” reasons. Mr. Varadkar’s departure as head of the three-party coalition does not automatically trigger a general election. He said he had asked for a new leader of the party to be elected ahead of Fine Gael’s annual conference on April 6, following which parliament would vote on that person becoming prime minister. In 2017, Mr. Varadkar became the youngest person and the first openly gay person to hold the office.

Afghanistan school year starts without girls. The Taliban barred girls from attending classes beyond sixth grade, making it the only country with restrictions on female education. The Taliban’s education ministry marked the start of the new academic year March 20 with a ceremony that female journalists were not allowed to attend. The Taliban have barred women from higher education, public spaces, and most jobs as part of harsh measures they imposed after taking power in 2021. The United Nations estimates 5 million girls were out of school before the Taliban takeover due to a lack of facilities and other reasons. 

Book Review: The daughter of an Afghan tribal leader, Pashtana Durrani grew up in Pakistan, but was drawn back to Afghanistan to bring education and hope. Her autobiography inspires and illuminates.

Vietnamese President Vo Van Thuong resigns. The Communist Party’s Central Committee approved his resignation after a little over a year in the job, writing in a statement March 20 that “violations by Vo Van Thuong have left a bad mark on the reputation of the Communist party.” Mr. Thuong is the latest official to leave office amid an intense anti-corruption campaign. He is the second president to resign in two years, something analysts call a worrying sign for political stability in a country that plays a key role in U.S.-China competition and a growing one in global manufacturing.

Biden administration gives Intel $8.5 billion to develop computer chips. In addition to direct funding, the Biden administration will provide the California tech company with $11 billion in loans to build plants in Arizona, Ohio, New Mexico, and Oregon. President Joe Biden plans visit to Intel’s facility in Chandler, Arizona, on March 20. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo says the deal would put the United States in a position to produce 20% of the world’s most advanced chips by 2030. The U.S. designs advanced chips, but its current inability to produce them domestically has emerged as a national security and economic risk.

Supreme Court allows Texas border law. A divided Supreme Court has lifted a stay on a Texas law that gives police broad powers to arrest migrants suspected of crossing the U.S.-Mexico border illegally while a legal battle over immigration authority plays out. The Biden administration is suing to strike down the measure, arguing it’s a clear violation of federal authority that would hurt international relations and create chaos in administering immigration law. A judge could order the arrested migrants to leave the United States. Texas has argued it has a right to take action over what it calls a crisis at the southern border.

Illegal crossings have hit historic highs on President Biden’s watch, and immigration now tops the list of Americans’ concerns, ahead of inflation.

Russia to move its border children. Moscow plans to evacuate about 9,000 children from a border region because it is being continuously shelled from the Ukrainian side, officials say. Kyiv’s forces have been increasingly striking at targets behind the front line that has moved little after more than two years of war. Authorities said on March 19 that the children will be moved to areas farther east, away from the border. The announcement came a day after Russian President Vladimir Putin said the Kremlin wants to create a buffer zone to help protect border regions from long-range Ukrainian strikes and cross-border raids.

Graphic: What two years of war has cost Russia and Ukraine, illustrated in charts. 

Haiti’s violence spills into wealthy suburbs. At least 10 people were killed in the streets of the upscale Petion-Ville Port-au-Prince suburb on March 18 amid gunfire and looting on the outskirts of Haiti’s capital. There were also reports of thefts of electricity equipment that cut the power supply as lawlessness spread to affluent areas. Armed gangs who have been increasing their power in recent years took advantage of the absence of Prime Minister Ariel Henry to escalate violence, attacking infrastructure including police stations and government offices. Mr. Henry announced his resignation last week, but a transition council has yet to be appointed.

Spring begins in the Northern Hemisphere. This year’s vernal equinox arrives on March 19. The Earth’s axis is tilted at an angle as it travels around the sun. On the equinox, the Earth’s orbit lines up so both hemispheres get the same amount of sunlight. This means day and night last about the same amount of time, and marks the start of a new season. Solstices are the opposite. They happen when the Earth is tilted most strongly toward or away from the sun, so day and night are very different lengths.

Israeli officials to head for Washington. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has agreed to send officials to discuss a prospective Rafah operation with Biden administration officials, according to White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan. The White House has been skeptical of Mr. Netanyahu’s plan to carry out an operation in the southern city of Rafah, where about 1.5 million displaced Palestinians are sheltering, as Israel looks to eliminate Hamas following its deadly Oct. 7 attack. Mr. Biden and Mr. Netanyahu spoke on March 18 for the first time in more than a month.

As the pressures grow on President Joe Biden to restrain Israel in Gaza, his administration’s rhetoric has gotten tougher. In response, Benjamin Netanyahu is talking tough as well, but is the pressure having an effect?

Hong Kong passes new national security law. The legislation, passed unanimously on March 19, is widely seen as the latest step in a sweeping political crackdown that followed pro-democracy protests in 2019 and comes after a similar law passed in Beijing four years ago. The law grants the government more power to quash dissent and increases punishments for treason, insurrection, and disclosing state secrets. Critics worry the new law will further erode the city’s civil liberties while businesspeople and journalists have expressed fears that such a broad law will affect their day-to-day work.

EPA bans all uses of asbestos. The Environmental Protection Agency announced a comprehensive ban on asbestos, a deadly carcinogen still used in some products. The final rule marks a major expansion of EPA regulation under a landmark 2016 law that overhauled regulations governing tens of thousands of toxic chemicals in everyday products. The new rule would ban chrysotile asbestos, the only ongoing use of asbestos in the United States. The substance is found in products such as brake linings and gaskets and is used to manufacture chlorine bleach and sodium hydroxide, also known as caustic soda. 

Anti far-right protests grow across Germany. Millions of Germans are protesting the rise of the far-right in huge rallies across the country for weeks, attending events with slogans such as “Never Again is Now.” Demonstrations in big cities such have drawn hundreds of thousands of participants. The protesters are alarmed by the growing popularity of the far-right Alternative for Germany, or AfD party. While the populist party has been on the rise for years, the current outrage was triggered by a recent report that right-wing extremists met to discuss the deportation of millions of immigrants, including some with German citizenship.

Death toll for Gaza’s children over 13,000, says UNICEF. The U.N. children’s agency reported thousands more have been injured in Israel’s offensive, adding many children were suffering from severe malnutrition and did not “even have the energy to cry.” International criticism of Israel continues to rise because of the death toll of the war, the starvation crisis in Gaza, and allegations of blocking aid deliveries into the enclave. A U.N. expert said earlier this month that Israel was destroying Gaza’s food system as part of a broader “starvation campaign.” Israel rejected the accusation.

With Gaza on the brink of famine; children already dying of starvation, according to the United Nations; and aid supplies slowed by Israeli restrictions, the malnutrition death rate is expected to rise in the coming weeks. Also on the rise are desperation and violence.

EU gives Egypt $8 billion for migrant crisis. The European Union has agreed to give Egypt €7.4 billion ($8.1 billion) as part of a push to stem migrant flows to Europe. The proposed EU package is designed to boost cooperation in renewable energy, trade, and security and includes loans, investments, and grants. The agreement, unveiled on March 17 in Cairo, raises Egypt to a “strategic partnership” with the EU. European governments are concerned about instability in Egypt, a country of 106 million people, and its struggle to raise foreign currency, where economic adversity has pushed increasing numbers to migrate in recent years.

From rising migration to daring expressions of political discontent, what it means that Egypt is nearing economic collapse.

Vladimir Putin wins 87.8% of the vote in Russia’s election. The March 17 election cemented his already tight grip on power in a victory he said showed Moscow had been right to stand up to the West and send its troops into Ukraine. Mr. Putin is set to embark on a new six-year term that will see him overtake Josef Stalin and become Russia’s longest-serving leader for more than 200 years if he completes it. Mr. Putin’s margin of the vote is the highest-ever result in Russia’s post-Soviet history. Communist candidate Nikolai Kharitonov finished second with just under 4% of the vote.

Russia’s opposition once featured an array of political parties, and even some limited space for genuine critics of Vladimir Putin and the Kremlin. What remains of that today?

Brazilian military officials accuse former president. Judicial documents show that top Brazilian military leaders declared to police that former President Jair Bolsonaro presented to them a plan to reverse the results of the 2022 election he lost, but they refused and warned him that they would arrest him if he tried it. The testimonies of Mr. Bolsonaro’s former Army and Air Force commanders, released by the Supreme Court, are the first direct mention of the right-wing leader as the person planning a move to change the results of the 2022 election won by his rival, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.