“Lawmakers in El Salvador took advantage of a newly streamlined constitutional reform process to eliminate public financing of political campaigns Wednesday, making good on a promise of President Nayib Bukele. The reform passed with 58 of the Congress’[s] 60 lawmakers voting in favor – carried largely by Bukele’s allies’ supermajority. The legislation now goes to Bukele for his signature. ‘Political parties can finance themselves like we financed ourselves in 2019,’ Bukele wrote on X. ‘Difficult? Yes, it was difficult. But wasn’t it better that way?’ Political parties had received money from the government based on the number of votes they obtain in elections, or had to return money that was advanced if their vote totals fall short of expectations.” (02/12/25)
“Divisions flared in Kyiv on Thursday, as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed a decree sanctioning a former president and several wealthy businessmen. Chocolate baron and former Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, a political opponent and longtime nemesis of Zelenskyy, was sanctioned on suspicion of ‘high treason’ and assisting a terrorist organization — prompting criticism and allegations of a ‘politically motivated’ witch hunt. Zelenskyy first announced the intention to impose sanctions on the ex-president and politically connected businesspeople in a video published Wednesday evening.” (02/13/25)
“Two British nationals — a man and a woman — have been arrested in Iran, the Foreign Office has confirmed. News of their arrest first came from state-run media in Iran which said they were in custody in the south-eastern city of Kerman, accused of unspecified security-related offences. It did not name them but published a photograph of them with their faces blurred, meeting the British ambassador, Hugo Shorter, at the prosecutor’s office in Kerman on Wednesday. The Foreign Office currently advises against all travel to Iran, saying that British and British-Iranian dual nationals are at ‘significant risk’ of arrest, questioning or detention. ‘Having a British passport or connections to the UK can be reason enough for the Iranian authorities to detain you,’ the advice says.” (02/13/25)
“The State Department was planning to buy $400 million worth of ‘Armored Tesla’ later this year, according to its 2025 procurement forecast, a document outlining projections of anticipated contracts, which was published in December. But after reports emerged on Wednesday of the potential for conflict of interest given Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s prominent role in the Trump Administration, the document was updated, removing mention of Tesla and changing the line item to ‘Armored Electric Vehicles’ instead.” (02/13/25)
“Kuwaiti TV host Fajr Al-Saeed has been sentenced to three years in prison on charges of spreading false news and misusing the internet, following a ruling by the Kuwait Criminal Court reported by Kuwaiti media on Thursday. The decision comes after Saeed’s controversial statements on normalisation with Israel and her outspoken political views, which have sparked debate both in Kuwait and across the region. Saeed was initially detained on 9 January, with authorities accusing her of promoting normalisation with Israel.” (02/13/25)
“Attorney General Pam Bondi announced Wednesday that the Justice Department is suing New York state officials, including Gov. Kathy Hochul, for policies that allegedly limit cooperation with immigration authorities. … The New York suit comes after the Justice Department announced last week it’s suing the city of Chicago, as well as Cook County and the state of Illinois over sanctuary laws that prohibit local law enforcement from aiding U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in arresting undocumented immigrants.” [editor’s note: The state regimes have no constitutional obligation to assist the federal regime with anything – TLK] (02/12/25)
“Belarusian authorities released a jailed US citizen, a Belarusian journalist for a US-funded media outlet and an opposition supporter in what the White House on Wednesday called a ‘remarkable victory’ for the Trump administration. The release is viewed as a bid by Minsk to repair ties with Washington. … White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed the release of the three, including ‘one American and two individuals from Belarus, one of whom worked for Radio Liberty.'” (02/13/25)
“The social media platform X reportedly will pay President Donald Trump $10 million to settle a lawsuit over suspension of his account in the wake of Capitol intrusion on Jan. 6, 2021, which was then called Twitter and not owned by Elon Musk. The settlement was reported by several media outlets, including CBS News and The Wall Street Journal. Late last month, Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, paid $25 million to Trump to settle a 2021 lawsuit over its own suspension of his accounts following the Capitol attack.” (02/12/25)
“At least 20 people have been injured, some of them seriously, after a car drove into a group of people in the German city of Munich, authorities said. Authorities did not provide details of the incident near downtown Munich that took place about 10:30am (09:30 GMT) on Thursday, including whether the victims were hit deliberately. Police said on social platform X that the driver was ‘secured’ at the scene and no longer poses any danger. A damaged Mini Cooper could be seen at the scene.” (02/13/25)
“A U.S. aircraft carrier collided with a cargo ship Wednesday evening in the eastern Mediterranean Sea near Port Said, Egypt, the service’s Sixth Fleet announced. The USS Harry S. Truman did not suffer flooding, damage to its nuclear-powered engines, or injuries to its crew, according to the fleet. Port Said, the nearest port to where the collision occurred, is at the northern end of the Suez Canal, which connects the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea. The other ship involved in the collision, the Panama-flagged merchant vessel Besiktas-M, is a Panama-flagged bulk cargo carrier, according to the online VesselFinder database. Its status, and that of its crew, is unclear. The ship transited the canal in the hours before the collision.” (02/13/25)
