For the last edition of the semester, the Monday Briefing takes us to the US, where a historic sentence regulating abortion is reportedly about to be overturned by the Supreme Court. In other news, the European ban on oil, inflation in Turkey, violence against media in Mexico, and much much more. Also, make sure to find the Tra i Leoni issue n. 99 on our website.
Spotlight
On January 22nd, 1973, the US Supreme Court pronounced the Roe v. Wade decision, the sentence that de facto made abortion legal and accessible at a federal level. In American recent legal tradition, it is commonly considered as a quite controversial decision, as it represents the first attempt to standardize common practice at a federal level on such a divisive and delicate theme. Prior to 1973, in fact, every State had its own legislation, and in at least 30 of them, abortion was regulated by common law, meaning by judicial precedents, rather than by a codified set of laws.
Last Monday, Politico diffused a draft opinion in which Justice Samuel Alito, who currently sits on the Supreme Court, writes that the Court has voted to strike down the Roe v. Wade decision. The authenticity of the document was confirmed by Chief Justice John G. Roberts. While the Court’s definitive decision on the matter will be rendered official in June, when the Court will be called to express a sentence on the State of Mississippi’s request to recognize its quite restricting abortion law as acceptable, a stance in which Roe v. Wade is overturned would effectively allow States to make abortion illegal.
Logically, the consequences would mostly affect the more conservative American States, which have already limited access to abortion in the past few years and would then have a legal base to make it illegal altogether. Note that the US Supreme Court is currently composed of 3 Democrats and 6 Conservatives, with 3 of the latter having been appointed by former US President Donald Trump.
Around the World
Brussels proposes EU import ban on all Russian oil. Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, vowed on Wednesday that the EU would phase out all supplies of crude or refined Russian oil in an “orderly fashion”. The ban would hit crude oil within six months and refined products by the end of the year. Hungary is holding up an EU plan to ban almost all imports of Russian oil, saying it would block the move, which requires unanimity among the bloc’s 27 member states.
Fed implements first half-point interest rate rise since 2000. The Federal Reserve increased the target range of the federal funds rate to a range of 0.75 per cent to 1 per cent, which corresponds to half a percentage point increase in the policy rate. This has been the biggest rate hike by the Fed since 2000, and the first time that it raised rates at consecutive meetings since 2006. This move marks the Fed’s transition to a “neutral monetary policy”, namely, one that neither stimulates nor slows down economic activity.
Sinn Féin on brink of historic victory in Northern Ireland. Promising “a bright future for all of us” a jubilant Sinn Féin clinched a historic victory in Northern Ireland’s elections to become the region’s biggest political force for the first time in over a century. With all but two seats to the Stormont assembly decided, the nationalist party, long associated with the paramilitary IRA, had 27 seats. It can no longer be caught by the Democratic Unionist Party, for years the region’s dominant force, which had amassed 24.
Spain Prime minister’s phone ‘targeted with Pegasus spyware’. The Spanish government has said the mobile phones of the prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, and the defence minister, Margarita Robles, were both infected last year with the Pegasus spyware that its manufacturers claim is available only to state agencies.
Election results 2022: Boris Johnson admits tough losses for Tories. The Conservatives have suffered significant losses at Thursday’s local elections, losing almost 500 seats and control of 11 councils. The party shed support to the Liberal Democrats in southern England, and lost key London councils to Labour.
First lady Jill Biden makes unannounced trip to Ukraine. First lady Jill Biden spent part of Mother’s Day making an unannounced trip to Uzhhorod, Ukraine. At a converted school that now serves as temporary housing for displaced citizens, Biden met with Ukrainian first lady Olena Zelenska, who has not been seen in public since the start of the war on February 24.
Iraq engulfed by dust storm, leaving dozens hospitalised and flights grounded. A thick layer of orange dust settled across Iraq’s streets as the latest in a series of dust storms afflicted the country. The phenomenon, causing low visibility and grounding flights, is expected to become increasingly frequent due to the region’s declining rainfall.
South Africa’s latest surge is a possible preview of the pandemic’s next chapter. Coronavirus cases are surging again in South Africa and the country is facing a possible fifth wave earlier than expected. As the spike is linked to two sub-variants part of the Omicron family, monitoring the current situation in South Africa could improve the understanding of the virus’s future evolution.
Inflation in Turkey soars to almost 70% as cost of food and transport rises. The increase in the global energy prices and the weakness of the Turkish lira resulted in 69.97% annual inflation in April. Turkey has been experiencing the highest inflation rates since the economic crisis in 2002, which are exacerbated by Erdogan’s staunch opposition to high interest rates.
Finland and Sweden face security dilemma ahead of Nato decisions. Finland and Sweden’s upcoming potential decision to join Nato is feared to be perceived as a provocation by neighboring Russia. Resolving to join Nato would still leave the Nordic countries liable to Russian attacks, without any guaranteed defense response from Nato members, while their application for membership is processed.
Anti-Putin Russians Are Leaving, With a Push From the Kremlin. Russian organizations and opposition figures to the Kremlin are increasingly being labelled by the Russian government as “foreign agents” forcing them to flee the country.
Israel: 3 People Reported Killed in Attack. Two assailants, at least one of them armed with an ax, attacked passers-by in an Israeli town on Thursday night, killing at least three, according to initial reports from eyewitnesses, the police and emergency services. The Israeli authorities described the assault, in which several other people were wounded, as a terrorist attack.
Ninth Mexican journalist killed this year as violence against media soars. Luis Enrique Ramìrez, a veteran journalist and columnist at El Debate, was found dead on the side of a highway, the state’s attorney general said on Twitter. His murder marks the ninth death of a media worker in a unprecedentedly bloody year for the country which has drawn international scrutiny
UK aid cuts have forced 40,000 children out of school, charity says. More than 40,000 Syrian children are out of school as a direct result of British aid cuts and more schools could soon close, a leading charity has said. British funding for 133 schools run by Syria Relief ended on 30 April, as the government cut its total foreign aid spending from its commitment of 0.7% of gross national income to 0.5%.
North Korea Tests a Submarine-Launched Missile. On Saturday, just three days before South Korea’s elected president is set to take office, North Korea tested a submarine-launched missile. It was the second missile test to take place in the country this week. The missile was launched from a submarine instead of an underwater platform, a tactic that extends the range of the country’s ballistic and nuclear arsenal.
Italian News
Decreto aiuti, ok in cdm: contributo di 200 euro per chi ne guadagna meno di 35mila. M5s non vota in polemica con la norma che apre all’inceneritore a Roma. Il consiglio dei ministri ha approvato un decreto che prevede un aiuto di 200 euro ai lavoratori che ne guadagnano meno di 35 mila. Secondo Mario Draghi, saranno 28 milioni gli italiani che beneficeranno di tale aiuto, che va incontro alle esigenze esposte dai sindacati. Tra gli altri punti, troviamo l’estensione di tre mesi del bonus sociale per le bollette e ulteriori velocizzazioni delle procedure autorizzative per gli impianti di energia da fonti rinnovabili.
Draghi: “Lavoriamo per la pace in Ucraina, la priorità è il cessate il fuoco”. Mario Draghi interviene a Strasburgo durante la planetaria del Parlamento Europeo e ancora una volta condanna l’invasione dell’Ucraina da parte della Russia. La priorità, dice, deve essere il raggiungimento di una cessate il fuoco e un rilancio dei negoziati. Ha aggiunto: “Il buon governo non è limitarsi a rispondere alle crisi del momento. E’ muoversi subito per anticipare quelle che verranno”.
Grattacielo bruciato a Milano, archistar (gratis) per il restauro: da Stefano Boeri a Mario Cucinella, i nomi in lizza. La ristrutturazione del palazzo che aveva preso fuoco in via Antonini ad Agosto 2021 è rallentata da un lungo e complesso iter burocratico, tuttavia si inizia a discutere il futuro di tale immobile. Il progetto sarebbe quello di riuscire a completarlo entro il 2026 per i Giochi Olimpici. Alcuni noti architetti si sono offerti al condominio per elaborare progetti preliminari a titolo gratuito. Tra i molti nomi, ci sono quelli di Stefano Boeri, Mario Cucinella e Alessandro Scandurra.
Altolà di Conte a Draghi, niente fiducia sul decreto aiuti. Conte guarda con sospetto quella che definisce un’imboscata in Consiglio dei ministri sull’inceneritore di Roma e intanto spunta l’ipotesi di un nuovo passaggio in Cdm, per garantire un’erogazione più veloce. del bonus di 200 euro a lavoratori e pensionati. Conte, però, commenta su quanto Draghi ha detto riguardo il “Superbonus” in Parlamento europeo e dice: “Mi ha meravigliato che proprio difronte al Parlamento europeo abbia trovato modo di parlare male di una misura che sta facendo correre il Paese” e che “gli ha consentito di fare il giro dell’Europa e fregiarsi dell’aumento del 6% del Pil”.
Bocconi News
- On Saturday, May 7th, the final of the Bocconi Intramural tournament was held at the Bocconi Sports Center. Featuring the participation of the Bocconi Media Center, the cheerleading team and live music, the event included competitions in various sports
- Between May 17th and May 19th, it will be possible to vote for the CNSU (Consiglio Nazionale degli Studenti Universitari)
In Case You Missed it:
Issue n. 99 of Tra i Leoni has been published! The main theme of the issue is desensitization to tragedy, with Linda Bia Fasoli’s editorial on the importance of “turning the sensors back on”.
On the TiL Rundown column, Sergiu Lazar dissected the Lehman Brothers bankruptcy.
Bojan Zeric e Marco Visentin hanno intervistato Damiano Canale, professore ordinario di filosofia del diritto, per i referendum su cannabis ed eutanasia che la Corte costituzionale ha giudicato non ammissibili.
Ali Aun from Bocconi Students for Diplomacy and International Cooperation (BOSDIC) analyzed the public reaction to the removal of Pakistan’s prime minister through a vote of no-confidence and how this will affect the diplomatic relations of the new government.
Jemmy Suwannaluck ha scritto sull’Artivismo, una nuova forma di arte politica.
