Weekend Papers Summary
NEW YORK TIMES
-Satellite images and video reveal clues about stronger Iranian Air Force. Iran has publicly touted the supposed purchase of one of Russia’s most advanced combat aircraft, a deal Russia has not confirmed. But video and satellite images suggest Iran is preparing for the planes’ arrival, which would be most significant upgrade to its fighter jet fleet in decades.
-US calls off search for unidentified objects it shot down. The end of the search for objects downed over Alaska and Lake Huron raises the possibility that the devices will never be collected and analyzed.
-US and China vie in hazy zone where balloons, UFOs and missiles fly. American officials are worried China is far along in developing military technology that operates in the unregulated high-altitude zone of “near space.”
-Sen. John Fetterman’s disclosure of depression signals new openness on mental health. Fetterman is the latest public figure to disclose mental health struggles, an indication of growing acceptance. But some stigma remains.
-The owner of derailed Ohio train has seen rise in accident rates and profits. Experts say a focus on financial returns may be partly to blame for accidents like the one in Ohio, which still regularly occur on railroad networks.
-With GOP feeling heat, senator retreats from review of entitlements. The backtracking by Senator Rick Scott signaled how Republicans have pulled away from calls to overhaul Social Security and Medicare — at least for now.
-Western leaders pledge support for Ukraine ‘as long as necessary.’ As Russia’s war approaches its second year, Ukraine’s supporters faced questions at the Munich Security Conference about how long their resolve will last. Unlike others at the Munich conference, President Emmanuel Macron underscored that peace talks were the ultimate goal.
-President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine opened the Munich Security Conference on Friday with a video address pleading for faster weapons deliveries.
-Financial woes thrust Lyft, long in Uber’s shadow, into the spotlight. Lyft recovered from pandemic restrictions slower than Uber, and critics said it lacked ambitious investments to distinguish itself from its rival.
-Uproar Hits CNN as Don Lemon is rebuked for comments about women. Mr. Lemon’s assertion that Nikki Haley is not “in her prime” roiled the network and put a harsh spotlight on its struggling morning show.
-Man kills 6, including ex-wife, in rampage in Mississippi, officials say. The shooter is in custody after going on a killing spree in Arkabutla, a community of about 290.
THE FINANCIAL TIMES
-The White House will next week hold secret talks with Taiwan’s foreign minister Joseph Wu and national security adviser Wellington Koo as part of a special diplomatic dialogue intended to remain private to avoid sparking an angry reaction from China. Five people familiar with the secret talks — known as the “special channel” — said Wu and Koo would lead the delegation.
-“China is using all kinds of methods to gather intelligence, whether sending people into the US, investing in companies, or satellites,” says Michael Chertoff, a former homeland security secretary. “We shouldn’t be shocked if one of its tools involves aerial surveillance.” The US has been on higher alert as a result. In recent years, Washington has cracked down on Huawei, the Chinese telecoms firm that it believes helps China conduct electronic espionage.
-Chancellor Olaf Scholz has admonished Germany’s allies for failing to deliver tanks to Ukraine after having spent months urging Berlin to do so. Speaking at the Munich Security Conference, Germany’s leader who was long criticized for his hesitancy in arming Ukraine, was asked if he was now pushing other nations to provide the heavy weaponry they had promised.
-The price of European natural gas has fallen to its lowest level since the build-up to Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, boosting the EU and UK economies and delivering a blow to President Vladimir Putin’s war effort.
-The former head of engineering at the collapsed cryptocurrency exchange FTX is nearing a plea deal with federal prosecutors, according to people familiar with the matter, potentially bolstering the criminal case against founder Sam Bankman-Fried. Nishad Singh, who worked at FTX’s affiliated trading platform Alameda and then at FTX itself, would be the third high-level employee to co-operate with the government, after former Alameda chief Caroline Ellison and FTX co-founder Gary Wang pleaded guilty to several charges in December.
-A son of Qatar’s former prime minister, Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber Al Thani, one of the Gulf state’s richest men, has submitted an offer for Manchester United, as bidding gets under way for the Premier League club. The son, Sheikh Jassim, confirmed his bid for one of the world’s biggest and most prestigious football clubs to the Financial Times.
-Indian authorities have reported evidence of tax irregularities at a “prominent international media company” following a three-day search at the BBC’s offices in New Delhi and Mumbai this week.
The country’s finance ministry said on Friday that tax officials had uncovered “crucial evidence” of discrepancies between the broadcaster’s income from Indian operations and taxes paid, as well as failure to pay tax on money transfers.
-A human player has comprehensively defeated a top-ranked AI system at the board game Go, in a surprise reversal of the 2016 computer victory that was seen as a milestone in the rise of artificial intelligence. Kellin Pelrine, an American player who is one level below the top amateur ranking, beat the machine by taking advantage of a previously unknown flaw that had been identified by another computer. But the head-to-head confrontation in which he won 14 of 15 games was undertaken without direct computer support.
-Retail investors are pouring record amounts into US stocks, potentially giving small traders even greater sway over markets than at the height of the “meme-stock” mania two years ago.
Then, an army of bored amateur traders trapped at home during the pandemic drove up the share prices of several small, struggling consumer companies such as video games retailer GameStop, cinema operator AMC Entertainment and home goods chain Bed Bath & Beyond.
-Energy companies are making plans to go public in the US at the fastest rate in six years, as a sector that has long been out of favor benefits from renewed investor appetite for businesses that generate steady cashflows rather than prioritizing long-term growth.
-German gas importer Uniper, one of the biggest corporate casualties of the war in Ukraine, has taken a €4B hit on its Russian subsidiary after losing control over the company. The nationalized energy giant, rescued by Berlin in a multibillion-euro bailout last year, said it was given no access to information about its power generation subsidiary Unipro since the final three months of last year.
-The number of EU businesses filing for bankruptcy rose to the highest level for at least eight years in the fourth quarter, indicating that more of the struggling “zombie” companies kept afloat by government aid during the pandemic are starting to collapse.
NY POST
-Self-help guru Marianne Williamson appears to be readying to launch a 2024 primary challenge against President Biden, arguing that there is a disconnect between the 80-year-old commander-in-chief and average Americans.
“Apparently Biden’s going to run on a message that the economy is getting stronger. I think that speaks to the disconnect between the analysis of party elites versus the struggle of everyday Americans,” Williamson told Politico in an interview released on Friday.
-Gen Z workers are feeling burnout and stress on the job more than any other age group, new data finds. An estimated 91% of Gen Zers are reporting such stress, higher than the 84% average, according to stats from an annual well-being survey by insurance giant Cigna. The stress has become “unmanageable” for 23% of the demographic, and 98% say they’re feeling symptoms of burnout from their jobs.
-Artificial intelligence is on a rapidly aggressive pace to take over “clerical white collar work,” IBM CEO Arvind Krishna said. Amid the explosion of language-based AI ChatGPT, a “marketing moment” Krishna called “incredible” during an interview with the Financial Times, he also forecasted what sort of jobs the tech will likely be displacing. Fields like customer service, human resources, and positions within finance and health care could all see automation — not years from now but in the current day, according to Krishna.