WORLD ROUNDUPLibya’s Deadly Floods | U.S. Landmark Sanctions on Turkey | Urgency Against China, and more
· Libya’s Deadly Floods Show the Growing Threat of Medicanes
Entire neighborhoods of the Libyan city of Derna have vanished following devastating floods wrought by Storm Daniel. Such storms are rare—but climate change will supersize them.
· U.S. Imposes Landmark Sanctions on Turkey
Accusing a NATO ally of helping Russia could mortally damage U.S.-Turkish relations
· Does Japan’s Economy Prove That Neoliberalism Lost?
Economists are rethinking East Asia’s “miracle” as the Washington Consensus falters
· Can China Reverse its Slowing Economic Growth?
Now, more than ever, China needs visionary leadership to promote economic reform.
· The Case for Urgency Against China
Washington has spent years avoiding hard decisions; addressing the threat from China will necessitate a substantial reallocation of resources within the defense budget
Libya’s Deadly Floods Show the Growing Threat of Medicanes (Bryson Masse, Wired)
Storm Daniel, which has killed at least 5,000 people in Libya, with 10,000 more missing, was no normal weather. This rare, destructive, subtropical monster was supersized by unusually warm Mediterranean waters. When it slammed into the Libyan coast, it did so with such force that it caused two dams inland to collapse, releasing a tsunamic wall of water down the Wadi Derna river that destroyed much of the eastern city of Derna. This kind of storm—known as a “Mediterranean tropical-like cyclone,” or medicane—is rare. The climate crisis, counterintuitively, will make these storms rarer. But, when they do hit, they could be bigger than ever before.
Medicanes are the smaller siblings of the hurricanes and typhoons that barrage coastal locations around the world. As Hurricane Lee has shown over the Atlantic Ocean, warm water and humidity can quickly turn major storm systems into life-threatening monsters. And as the planet warms, more storms will get super big, super quick.
While medicanes are rare, their destructive power can be immense—especially when they hit countries ill-equipped to cope with such ferocious weather events. These storms rotate like regular hurricanes and have the same distinct “eye” feature. And, like hurricanes, they can cause significant damage when they make landfall.
U.S. Imposes Landmark Sanctions on Turkey (Alexandra Sharp, Foreign Policy)
In a surprise announcement, the U.S. Treasury and State departments imposed sanctions on five Turkish corporations as well as one Turkish national on Thursday for allegedly helping Russia to evade sanctions over its war against Ukraine. The Biden administration accused these shipping companies of repairing vessels connected to Russia’s defense ministry and transporting Russian goods that have military applications, such as drones and sensors.
The sanctions are part of a larger campaign announced on Thursday intended to debilitate Moscow’s economy, energy, and military sectors. More than 150 targets—including Russia’s largest carmaker as well as companies in Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, and Georgia—are among the sanctioned entities. The sanctions package is one of the largest ever imposed by the U.S. State and Treasury departments in history.
Does Japan’s Economy Prove That Neoliberalism Lost? (Michael Hirsh, Foreign Policy)
Japan is up while China is down—and in danger of Japan-like deflation. The United States is practicing Japanese-style protectionism and industrial policy, while Japan is championing what Washington used to promote: newer, better open trade rules.
These trends represent a
