Shock and war: Myanmar junta exploits quake

Myanmar Earthquake and Humanitarian Crisis

• The ruling junta declared a week of national mourning following a massive earthquake, but launched airstrikes on resistance fighters within hours, including in areas near the disaster's epicentre.
• The National Unity Government declared a unilateral humanitarian ceasefire, which the junta ignored by intensifying bombing operations even while rescue workers were retrieving bodies.
• The United Nations has appealed for $8 million in aid, though the primary challenge remains bypassing the regime to reach populations outside junta-controlled areas.
• The current death toll stands at 1,700, though officials anticipate the figure will rise significantly due to the impossibility of assessing true casualties.
• Information access is severely restricted; the junta has banned foreign journalists, and local journalists operate under extreme danger, creating a communications blackout.
• State capacity to respond is critically low: the junta controls less than half the country, the hospital system is depleted of staff and essential medicines, and public services have collapsed due to civil disobedience.
• Infrastructure damage in the second-largest city, Mandalay, includes the destruction of both bridges connecting it to the town of Sagine, forcing rescue supplies to be ferried across the river.
• Reports from Sagine indicate the smell of corpses is overwhelming, suggesting the actual death toll is far higher than the official count.
• The junta has attempted to kidnap rescue workers in Mandalay and forcibly conscript them into the military.
• Aid access is unlikely in contested regions, such as the area north of Sagine town, where resistance forces hold power but the junta blocks relief entry.
• The disaster is projected to deal a massive blow to resistance forces, which depend on local community support now consumed by basic survival needs.
• The junta views the earthquake as a tool to consolidate power, planning to direct aid only to loyalist areas rather than addressing the existential nature of the crisis.

Cessation of Voice of America and State-Funded Broadcasters

• The Trump administration has moved to silence Voice of America (VOA) and similar federally funded networks (Radio Free Europe, Radio Liberty, Radio Free Asia), ending over 80 years of global broadcasting.
• These stations, which previously broadcast in 48 languages, were cut to reduce federal spending and eliminate what the administration views as inefficient soft power instruments.
• State propaganda outlets in China and Russia have publicly celebrated the shutdown, with Chinese media describing the stations as "dirty rags" and Russian state media noting the US accomplished what they could not.
• The decision aligns with broader administration efforts to cut USAID and other global institutions, signaling a withdrawal from maintaining American global primacy.
• VOA and its counterparts were originally funded by the CIA before transitioning to overt federal funding; critics cite their history of incitement (e.g., Hungarian Revolution of 1956) and cost as justifications for cuts.
• The administration is motivated by a "small government" ideology, anti-globalism, and a culture war narrative that views federal staff as a "globalist elite."
• The administration is dismantling these organizations rapidly to keep opponents off balance and preempt legal challenges, hoping to outlast lawsuits or secure foreign funding (e.g., from European nations for Radio Free Europe).
• The closure impacts two main groups: audiences seeking unfiltered American perspectives and residents in authoritarian states (China, North Korea, Iran, Cuba) who rely on these networks as surrogate media.
• Specific regional coverage loss includes broadcasts to the Caucasus, Siberia, Xinjiang, and Tibet, where these stations have a unique ability to break stories on corruption and human rights abuses like the Uyghur re-education camps.
• The shutdown represents a loss of belief that the US has a model to export and a reduction in the capacity to hold foreign institutions accountable.

2025 Economist Glass Ceiling Index

• Sweden ranked first in the 2025 index, ending its two-year streak of winning, while Turkey finished last among the 29 OECD countries analyzed.
• The index is calculated using 10 measures covering salaries, parental leave, political representation, and the career pipeline from university to management.
• While women graduate university at higher rates than men (45% vs 37%), labor force participation remains lower across all nations, creating a barrier to career progression.
• The gender pay gap has remained stagnant at 11% across the OECD group despite legislative efforts like pay gap disclosure laws.
• Women's representation on company boards has increased from 21% in 2016 to 33% currently, with New Zealand, France, and the UK approaching gender parity on boards.
• Women now hold nearly half of managerial positions in Sweden, the US, and Latvia, and women hold over 34% of parliamentary seats globally, a record high.
• Britain ranked 14th overall, driven by a 41% female representation in Parliament following the July 2024 elections, up from less than 10% in 1997.
• Japan reached a record high of 16% female lawmakers after October elections, though it ranks 27th overall due to other structural factors.
• The "motherhood penalty" remains a significant factor, with the US (ranked 19th) being the only OECD nation without federally mandated parental leave.
• Childcare costs in the US exceed one-third of average wages, and only New Zealand and Switzerland have higher relative costs, contributing to lower female workforce participation.
• Generous leave policies in Hungary (79 weeks of paid leave) and Slovakia (69 weeks) contrast sharply with countries like Japan and South Korea, which have generous paternity leave but low uptake by new fathers.