A panel of judges from the International Criminal Court on Friday cleared the way for an investigation against Israel and Hamas for alleged war crimes in the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem.
Why it matters: An ICC prosecutor could now investigate alleged war crimes during the 2014 war in Gaza, as well as the construction of West Bank settlements by Israel.
Kuaishou, a Chinese short-video and livestreaming app, raised $5.4 billion in its IPO. Its shares then nearly tripled in Friday trading, pumping the company’s valuation to $159 billion.
Why it matters: It's the largest global IPO in over a year, and the largest global tech IPO since Uber in May 2019. Plus, it means Kuaishou is now valued just a TikTok short of rival ByteDance.
China appears to have taken another major step in its quest to move the world away from the dollar and position itself as a major power in the world's financial markets.
What happened: China's central bank has set up a partnership with SWIFT, the global system for cross-border payments, through its digital currency research institute and clearing center.
Daily cases of COVID-19 are currently falling across most of the world, and deaths — which had been climbing globally until late January — are also beginning to decrease.
The big picture: We can only learn so much from this 30,000-foot view, and there's plenty to fear from the emerging variants. Plus, cases and deaths had been so high that even after climbing down from the peak, we're still pretty close to the summit.
French President Emmanuel Macron reiterated his call for European "strategic autonomy" at an Atlantic Council forum on Thursday, saying, “Our duty, definitely, is not to put ourselves in a situation to depend on a U.S. decision.”
Why it matters: It will disappoint some in Washington to hear Macron apply that framework to competition between the U.S. and China.
“America cannot afford to be absent any longer from the world stage," President Biden declared on Thursday in his first foreign policy address since taking office.
The big picture: Biden argued that by emphasizing democratic values, recommitting to alliances and investing in diplomacy, the U.S. could rebuild its global leadership and out-compete China.
French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday lambasted social media networks for their decisions to “suddenly cut the mic” as soon as they were sure Donald Trump was leaving power, particularly as they'd effectively “egged President Trump” on during his presidency.
Why it matters: Speaking at an Atlantic Council forum, Macron said the decisions to ban Trump by platforms like Twitter and Facebook may have seemed sensible in the short term, but did not provide a “democratic answer.” Other world leaders like Germany's Angela Merkel have previously raised similar concerns.
President Biden on Thursday will announce an end to U.S. support for offensive operations in Yemen, where a brutal civil war has resulted in one of the world's worst humanitarian crises, White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said at a press briefing.
Why it matters: Pulling support for the war in Yemen was one of Biden's top foreign policy campaign promises. It marks a significant reversal from U.S. policy under former President Trump, who vetoed bipartisan resolutions passed by Congress that called for the U.S. to stop providing weapons to the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen.
Increasing lockdowns, a mutating virus and a botched vaccine rollout have the eurozone headed for a double-dip recession, weighing heavily on its currency and pushing the dollar higher.
Why it matters: The weak dollar (down 10% from its 2020 highs) has been a linchpin for some of the biggest consensus trades this year — strong commodities, skyrocketing U.S. equity prices and emerging market stocks and bonds.
The United Kingdom on Thursday launched a new clinical study to test the effects of mixing COVID-19 vaccines.
Why it matters: Per a statement from Oxford University virologist Matthew Snape, chief investigator of the world-first study: "If we do show that these vaccines can be used interchangeably in the same schedule this will greatly increase the flexibility of vaccine delivery."
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