America gained just 49,000 new jobs in January as unemployment fell from 6.7% to 6.3%—a meagre improvement that showed the continuing impact of covid-19 on the labour market. Job-loss numbers for December, the first month in which employment dropped since April, were revised: the initial loss of 140,000 was raised to 227,000.
Both houses of Congress passed a budget resolution including President Joe Biden’s $1.9trn stimulus bill, with votes split along party-lines. In the Senate Kamala Harris, the vice-president, had to cast the tie-breaker. The votes set the stage for the package, which is designed to alleviate some of the economic pain inflicted by the pandemic, to be passed by budget reconciliation, side-stepping the need for Republican support.
The International Criminal Court ruled that it has jurisdiction over Palestine, clearing the way for an investigation into alleged war crimes carried out there both by Israel and Palestinian militias. Because it is occupied by Israel, the ICC had been unclear whether its remit extended to the territory; Israel is not an ICC member. Binyamin Netanyahu, Israel’s prime minister, promised to protect Israeli citizens and soldiers from 「persecution」.
Yoo Myung-hee, South Korea’s trade minister, withdrew from the competition to lead the World Trade Organisation, clearing the way for Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, a former Nigerian finance minister. The WTO does not hold elections but relies on a consensus emerging for a candidate. Ms Okonjo-Iweala already had support from governments in Africa and Europe but had been rebuffed by America under Donald Trump.
Twitter and Instagram were blocked in Myanmar, as the army looked to quell growing public opposition to the coup it carried out on Monday. Facebook was banned earlier this week, with generals citing the need for 「stability」.
After years of bloody civil war, Libya has a chance of peace. UN-backed talks in Geneva yesterday produced an interim government with the aim of holding national elections later this year. But stability is far from guaranteed—the factions who fought the war have little appetite to give up their gains and their foreign backers show little sign of withdrawing.
Blackstone and Global Infrastructure Partners teamed up with Cascade, Bill Gates’s investment firm, to bid £3.5bn ($4.7bn) for Signature Aviation, a private-jet servicing firm badly wounded by the pandemic. The two private-equity groups had been locked in a bidding war over the publicly listed company. Investors still see potential for growth as the rich shun commercial flights.
A look ahead
Keep it down: the ocean grows noisier
On a calm day, the ocean can seem almost silent. But to its inhabitants, it is never quiet. Its natural orchestra spans the swish of kelp forests and the grind of undersea plates. But according to new research published in Science, a journal, human activity both pollutes, and silences, the ocean’s soundscape. Modern shipping, undersea construction, pile-driving and even aeroplanes exert a profound sonic impact on Earth’s largest ecosystem, wearing upon many sea creatures. In some places, though, humans make the ocean quieter. Hunters have deprived the world of much of its whalesong, and with coral-reef erosion the burble of many species vanishes. The authors say that even with existing policy, advancing technology makes it entirely possible to mitigate oceanic noise pollution. They argue that less aural disturbance is essential to sustaining healthy marine life. After all, sound travels further in the water, and no one likes a racket in their home.
Kimchi or coleslaw? Minari
After earning accolades at last year’s Sundance Film Festival,「Minari」 opens in American cinemas on February 12th. Its director, Lee Isaac Chung, draws from his childhood experiences to craft a film of subtle power that is both a classic 「life on the farm」 story and an immigrant tale. A Korean-American family moves to rural Arkansas, where the father, Jacob, hopes to find success as a vegetable-farmer. Relationships come under strain as Monica, the mother, questions the practicality of this plan and their son, David, resists the affections of his grandmother, called from Korea to watch over the children. He wonders why she cannot be a 「real grandma」 who bakes cookies and refrains from swearing. With most of the dialogue in Korean, this Oscar contender has sparked a debate over the assumption that English is America’s default language. In some ways, the debate reflects this Korean-American family’s own struggles with identity.
掃碼添加客服進讀者交流群
免費分享資源
（已添加主編助理的不需重複添加）