A WEEK IN BRIEF
A Week in Brief: Volume XLV
A Week in Brief: Sunday, 17 Dec. 2023 to Saturday, 23 Dec. 2023
Saturday, 23 Dec. 2023…
Politics and Elections…
The former U.S. president and current 2024 Republican front-runner Donald J. Trump reportedly stood by his xenophobic remarks.
“I’m not a student of Hitler,” Trump in an interview with conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt on Friday, 22 Dec. 2023. “I never read his works. They say that he said something about blood. He didn’t say it the way I said it, either, by the way, it’s a very different kind of a statement.”
Trump, defending his comments that immigrants are “poisoning the blood” of the nation, insists his remarks weren’t racist. The former president, denying comparisons made with rhetoric used by Adolf Hitler, maintains he isn’t a student of the NAZI party leader.
Curiously, in a Benjamin Kentish written article for the U.K.’s Independent newspaper on Monday, 20 March 2017, Trump “reportedly owned a copy of Adolf Hitler’s speeches and kept them in his bedside cabinet”.
Further, something Kentish references in his 2017 published piece, Vanity Fair journalist Marie Brenner wrote in her 1990 published article of how Trump’s then wife, Ivana, confirmed she had “told her lawyer Michael Kennedy that from time to time her husband reads a book of Hitler’s collected speeches…”.
The publication Ivana spoke of during the Vanity Fair interview, kept in a cabinet by Trump’s bed, is titled My New Order. The previous year, on Monday, 3 Oct. 2016, Alison Flood writing for the U.K.’s The Guardian, addresses a then new edition of Hitler’s My New Order featuring Trump on the back cover of volume one.
Friday, 22 Dec. 2023…
Business and Economy…
The Chinese government, in an odd turn of events, passed a series of new regulations on Friday, 22 Dec. 2023 aimed at limiting video game microtransactions.
The new rules, in what could arguably be considered government overreach, bans video game producers from incorporating into products rewards for players that log on for multiple consecutive days. The government, also addressing how many players receive rewards for first time monetary spending, has banned multiple other rewards.
Law and Crime…
Jorge Glas, the now former Ecuadorian vice president, reportedly requested on Friday, 22 Dec. 2023 asylum in Mexico.
Sports…
Manchester City football club, on Friday, 22 Dec. 2023, achieved a first for the team when it picked up the 2023 FIFA Club World Cup. The English team, in what was arguably a nail-biting final, saw Manchester City defeat Brazil’s Fluminense by 4 goals to 0.
Rodrigo Hernández Cascante, commonly referenced as either Rodri or Rodrigo by Manchester City supporters, was recognised for his talent with the tournament’s Golden Ball award.
Thursday, 21 Dec. 2023…
International Relations…
Angola, on Thursday, 21 Dec. 2023, has reportedly left OPEC over a dispute on crude oil production quotas.
Law and Crime…
Thirteen people, on Thursday, 21 Dec. 2023, were reportedly killed at Prague’s Charles University during a mass shooting that also saw a further 24 other individuals injured.
The shooter, a Charles University attending student, was killed shortly after police arrived on campus. It is reported, prior to arriving on campus, he had killed his father. He is also suspected, on Friday, 15 Dec. 2023, of having killed another man and his daughter.
Sports…
The European Court of Justice, on Thursday, 21 Dec. 2023, ruled on threats made by FIFA and UEFA to sanction football clubs considering a move to the European Super League. The threats made by the two football governing associations, according to the ruling brought by the European Court of Justice, are unlawful.
Wednesday, 20 Dec. 2023…
Business and Economy…
Junior doctors in England, on Wednesday, 20 Dec. 2023, began their longest strike action to date. the strike action, spanning nine days, is reportedly addressing on-going pay disputes with the National Health Service.
Disasters and Accidents…
Twelve persons, on Wednesday, 20 Dec. 2023, were killed during a mining car accident in Heilongjiiang when it reportedly ran off the tracks. The accident saw a further 13 other individuals injured.
International Relations…
Venezuela, in efforts furthering international relations between the two countries, reportedly released on Wednesday, 20 Dec. 2023 ten Americans and has extradited known fugitive Leonard Glenn Francis.
The U.S. State Department, following Venezuela’s lead, has released Alex Saab in a prisoner exchange. Saab, for many years, has been a close ally of Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro.
The deal between the two countries concerned will see Venezuela release a further 20+ political prisoners from jail.
Tuesday, 19 Dec. 2023…
Politics and Elections…
The Colorado Supreme Court, recognising the significance of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution on the coming 2024 U.S. Presidential Election, has ruled former President Donald J. Trump is disqualified from the state’s primary ballot.
Monday, 18 Dec. 2023…
Armed Conflicts and Attacks…
It was reported on Monday, 18 Dec. 2023 that BP, the British multinational oil and gas company, has suspended all shipments through the Red Sea.
This action, in an understandable response to increasing Houthi attacks on commercial vessels, came the same day the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations reported an incident occurring some 24 nautical miles southeast of the Port of Mokha.
The M/V Swan Atlantic, a Norwegian-owned tanker, was en route to Réunion, had also been attacked in the Red Sea. The owner of the vessel reported the ship was struck by an “unidentified object”. A small but containable fire was immediately taken care of by the ship’s crew. No injuries were reported.
Disasters and Accidents…
Flash flood warnings, on Monday, 18 Dec. 2023, were issued as a major storm struck the North-eastern United States. The storm, further to disrupting numerous scheduled flights, caused schools to close due to safety concerns.
Law and Crime…
Lao Rongzhi, a serial killer known to have murdered at least seven individuals between 1996 and 1999, was executed in China on Monday, 18 Dec. 2023. Chinese police, after a lengthy investigation, arrested Rongzhi in 2019.
Sunday, 17 Dec. 2023…
Business and Economy…
It was reported on Sunday, 17 Dec. 2023 that the Civil Aviation Authority has approved the go-ahead for SaxaVord Spaceport. The spaceport, to be situated on Scotland’s island of Unst, will be the United Kingdom’s first facility build specifically to accommodate vertical rocket launches. The first lauhches, even though nothing has been confirmed, are expected to take place in 2024.
Disasters and Accidents…
Nine workers were killed and a further three individuals were injured, on Sunday, 17 Dec. 2023, during an explosion at a Nagpur district factory in India.
Politics and Elections…
Chadians, on Sunday, 17 Dec. 2023, were seen voting in a referendum on a new constitution. The new proposed constitution was drafted by the country’s Constitutional Council.
