News 3/25/24 in News stories

RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR

The attack on a Moscow-area concert hall that killed hundreds has dealt a blow to President Vladimir Putin’s image as a tough guy who is able to defend Russia from all threats. It came less than a week after a Kremlin-orchestrated election victory gave him six more years in power.
Key points:

Putin quickly sought to use the attack to serve his political goals. Appearing on TV on Saturday, hours after the attack, Putin alleged a link between the gunmen and Ukraine, saying the assailants planned to flee there. He made no mention of the Islamic State group, which claimed responsibility, or of Kyiv’s denial of involvement.

Putin’s statement signaled an apparent intention to escalate the war and tighten a political crackdown at home. Kremlin critics assailed Putin for focusing Russia’s massive police and security services on stifling political opponents, human rights groups and LGBTQ+ activists, while leaving the country unprotected from threats by armed extremists.

If Putin follows up by directly blaming Ukraine for the attack, he will likely use it as justification for even fiercer strikes. Hours before Friday’s bloodshed, the Russian military unleashed a barrage on Ukraine’s energy system, crippling its largest hydroelectric plant and leaving over 1 million people without power. More strikes followed over the weekend. read more

Trump could soon learn how New York wants to collect $457M

Former President Donald Trump could find out Monday how the state aims to collect over $457 million he owes in his civil business fraud case, even as he appeals the verdict that led to the gargantuan debt.

Why this matters:
The presumptive Republican presidential nominee has been trying to avoid having to post a bond for the entire sum in order to hold off collection while he appeals, but courts so far have said no.

State Attorney General Letitia James told ABC News last month that if Trump doesn’t have the money to pay, she would seek to seize his assets. She didn’t specify what holdings she meant, and her office has declined more recently to discuss its plans. Meanwhile, it has filed notice of the judgment, a technical step toward moving to collect.

Seizing assets is a common legal option when someone doesn’t have the cash to pay a civil court penalty. In Trump’s case, potential targets could include such properties as his Trump Tower penthouse, aircraft, Wall Street office building or golf courses.
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Iran’s currency hits a record low

Iran’s currency plunged 613,500 to the dollar, as the country celebrated the Persian New Year. Many Iranians have seen their life savings evaporate as the rial has fallen to about one-twentieth of what it was worth in 2015.

Why this matters:

Iran’s relations with the west have been at exceptional lows since then-U.S. President Donald Trump abandoned a deal that called for an end to Iran’s nuclear program in return for access to frozen funds and other benefits. President Joe Biden said he was willing to re-enter a nuclear deal with Iran, but formal talks to try to find a roadmap to restart the deal collapsed in 2022 and tensions in the Middle East have increased significantly, making nuclear diplomacy with Iran more complicated.

Dire economic conditions have contributed to widespread anger at the government in the past but have also forced many Iranians to focus on putting food on the table rather than engaging in high-risk political activism amid a fierce crackdown on dissent. More on this