Fadi al-Batsh, a Palestinian engineering lecturer, was assassinated in Malaysia and there is speculation that the Mossad, the Israeli intelligence organization, was involved in the killing. Batsh was reportedly a member of Hamas, the Palestinian group in control of the Gaza Strip and which is currently involved in widespread protests against Israeli control in the Gaza. Israel did not comment on the speculation but The Times of Israel stated that “Israeli reports said the dead man was an expert on attack drone and rocket systems.” Hamas charged that Israel was “internationalizing” the Israeli-Palestinian dispute.
A Poster of Fadi al-Batsh being Hung in the Gaza Strip
Every year the World Bank publishes the World Development Report which summarizes the Bank’s views on the global economy particularly as it affects poorer countries. The Guardian has published an article on a working draft for the bank for this year’s Report which proposes “lower minimum wages and greater hiring and firing powers for employers as part of a wide-ranging deregulation of labour markets deemed necessary to prepare countries for the changing nature of work.” Labor groups have sharply criticized the draft which apparently regards the diminishing power of labor as an inevitable consequence of globalization and automation. Let’s hope that this draft is significantly changed before it is adopted by the Bank as official policy.
Adam Mount and Ankit Panda have written an excellent article raising many questions about North Korea’s declaration that it would stop nuclear bomb and missile testing. The article outlines all the issues that were not covered by the declaration and some of them–like the issue of enriching uranium for additional nuclear bombs–are likely to be highly contentious. If the negotiations with US President Trump are to be effective, these issues have to be very specifically and tightly nailed down.
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