Three news stories summarized & contextualized by analytic journalist Colin Wright.
Power cut across Nigeria as workers go on strike
Summary: Millions of Nigerians remain without electricity after a general strike over the cost of living in the country led to the shut-down of electricity substations by union workers.
Context: Unions in the country are demanding a significant increase to the local minimum wage of 30,000 naira per month, which is about $22, saying they can’t survive on that pay, and the government has offered to double that wage, though workers have contended that even double wouldn’t cover the cost of enough rice to feed the average person’s family for a month, much less other food, shelter, and expenses; the government has said raising pay beyond what they’ve offered would lead to the collapse of the economy and closure of many businesses that wouldn’t be able to afford to stay in operation, and this is the fourth general strike since President Tinubu stepped into office last year—Tinubu deciding to remove a fuel subsidy and overseeing a substantial drop in the value of the naira after unpegging its value from the US dollar, both decisions having contributed to the country’s current economic crisis, though the government says these are necessary measures for the long-term success of the economy.
—BBC News
Russia-China gas pipeline deal stalls over Beijing’s price demands
Summary: A major gas pipeline deal between Russia and China has reportedly stalled as the Chinese government has demanded lower prices on the gas that would flow through the new Power of Siberia 2 pipeline between the countries, and the Russian government has balked at this new demand, though may have to accept it, due to Russia’s increasing economic reliance on China.
Context: Russia’s state gas monopoly, Gazprom, has been shambling along at a reduced level since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which led to an almost complete decoupling of Russia from its at the time primary customers in Europe, and it suffered a loss of nearly $7 billion last year, alone, due to the difficulty it has faced replacing those customers, due to sanctions on its activities; China has been happily buying discounted energy products from Russia during this time, and now it’s saying, in essence, we’ll keep buying your gas and helping you survive this shortfall, but we want close to the same price you charge domestically, which is heavily subsidized; China would also only commit to buying a small portion of what the new pipeline could carry annually, which would leave Russia prone to further, probably China-favoring negotiations, down the line.
—Financial Times
In blow to PM, Brexit champion Nigel Farage to stand in UK election
Summary: In a somewhat surprising move, the politician-turned-TV host who served as one of the most vocal proponents of the UK’s “Brexit” departure from the EU, Nigel Farage, has announced that he’ll be a candidate in next month’s election, leading the right-wing Reform Party.
Context: The currently governing Conservative party already faced a pretty bleak outlook in the coming election, as polls show they’ll likely be stomped by Labour in particular, but Farage continues to enjoy a significant following in further-right political circles, and he’s likely to claim some portion of the votes that would have otherwise gone to the Conservatives, possibly further worsening their impending political fortunes.
—Reuters
A combination of persistent bad weather and the spread of disease in Brazil, which is the world’s largest exporter of orange juice, has caused a surge in futures prices for the product, other markets (like Florida) unable to pick up the slack because of their own combination of weather and economic issues.
—Sherwood News
$1 billion
Initial sum Melinda French Gates has committed to spending over the next two years on people and organizations focused on women, families, and reproductive rights.
The announcement of this new wave of donations came alongside an announcement that Gates would be leaving the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to do her own thing, contributing to different sorts of projects and using different metrics of success for those projects than her ex-husband, Bill Gates, who also spends most of his time on philanthropic efforts, these days.
—The New York Times
One Sentence News / June 5, 2024