The U.S. carried out its first airstrike against Al-Shabab militants
Somalia was recently attacked with another drone attack in the U.S.’s 15-year war against the country. This was just hours before the Russian President, Vladimir Putin, launched a full-scale attack on Ukraine, leading to widespread international condemnation for possible war crimes. The US Africa Command unit (AFRICOM) said the Tuesday bombing targeted Al-Shabab extremists who attacked partner forces near Dububle, a city in Somalia.
For decades, the United States has been a partner with Somalia in the fight against terrorism, but at outgoing President Donald Trump’s direction, Washington chose to withdraw its troops in 2021. The troops have been redeployed to Kenya and Djibouti to keep an eye on the situation in Somalia. According to a report from the US Africa Command, the team carried out 72 strikes in 2020, compared to 10 in 2021.
A US attack on Somalia was known for the first time in 2022, and it was the fifth since President Joe Biden came to power. Like any other president, Donald Trump escalated the U.S. war in Somalia by bombing the country more in the first two years of his presidency than Barack Obama had in eight years in office. . According to the Somali National Army Chef General, over 60 Al-Shabab militants were killed, and their main tax offices were destroyed. No civilians were hurt or killed.
There have been fears that militants are planning to disrupt the country’s ongoing elections. The African Union has decided to restructure its operations in Somalia after reaching an agreement with the federal government. According to rumors, U.S. President Joe Biden wants to send soldiers back to Somalia, but no decision has been made yet.
Sources: NY Times, Democracy Now.
A highly contagious and deadly form of bird flu has been barreling across the U.S
In recent weeks, A highly contagious and deadly strain of avian influenza has been sweeping across the eastern half of the United States, killing both wild birds and farmed poultry and raising fears that an unchecked outbreak could be disastrous for an industry that was devastated seven years ago by a similar virus. Government officials and Tyson Foods Inc (TSN.N) said that a flock of around 240,000 hens owned by a business in Kentucky tested positive for a highly fatal form of bird flu, threatening the US poultry sector. “It’s important to note that avian influenza is not a risk to public health and it’s not a food safety risk,” Mike Stepien, a spokesman for the Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, said.
According to Kentucky officials, broiler hens in Fulton County, Kentucky, near the Tennessee border, were infected with the same H5N1 strain of highly dangerous avian flu as the turkeys in Indiana. Kentucky’s first outbreak of the very lethal avian flu killed over 50 million U.S. chickens. According to state officials, birds from the diseased flock will be culled and will not be consumed.
After dozens of wild birds tested positive along the US East Coast, the virus is likely to be spread by wild birds. According to the US government, the US is the world’s largest producer and second-largest exporter of poultry meat. Kentucky is the seventh-largest producer of chicken meat, according to the USDA. The chicken business in the United States exports over 18 percent of its production, and it is the largest user of feed grains.
The disease is hitting the market when poultry supplies are in limited supply due to high demand and labor difficulties at meat facilities due to the COVID-19 epidemic. According to government data, frozen chicken supplies in the United States were down 14% from a year ago at the end of December, while turkey stockpiles were down 23%. Disease in meat-producing animals results in more restrictions on US exports, with China banning poultry products from Kentucky. Due to an epidemic at a commercial turkey farm in Indiana, importers like China and Korea banned poultry purchases from Indiana.
Sources: NY Times.
Kyiv under attack
The situation in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv is difficult after Russia began bombing the city in the early hours of Friday. Russian troops continued to expand their attack on Kyiv, striking the city from different directions. The Russian invasion of Ukraine began Thursday with massive air and missile strikes and ground troops moving in from the north, east, and south.
The Russian forces entered the northern neighborhood of Obolon, a densely populated area just 9 kilometers north of the city’s parliament and center. Residents of Kyiv took shelter in basements as the Russian military continued their assault on Ukraine’s capital overnight. Tanks, gunfire, and explosions are shaking the city of over three million people. Ukrainians slept in bomb shelters and metro stations overnight as Russian attacks on the capital continued.
Vitali Klitschko, the mayor of Kyiv, claims 35 people were injured in nocturnal violence. He said more than 1,000 Russian soldiers had been killed so far during the conflict. The Russian military also attacked kindergarten and orphanage. Russia also occupied the defunct Chernobyl nuclear power plant, providing ground troops with a route less than 60 miles from the capital. Ukrainian officials have told civilians in the capital to prepare Molotov cocktails, a homemade bomb, to fight back alongside the army and National Guard. The Ukrainian officials have also called for as many citizens as possible to sign up for the armed forces to protect the country.
The EU is imposing fresh sanctions and export limits on Russia’s financial, energy, and transportation sectors. As a result of Russia’s role in the attack on Ukraine, the EU will add more Russian citizens to the blacklist. United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom have also declared new sanctions on Moscow. EU also stated it has agreed on an asset freeze against Putin and Lavrov. It wasn’t obvious how much of an influence an asset freeze on Putin or Lavrov would have. The step was supposed to send a message to Putin that if he doesn’t stop the invasion of Ukraine, he might become an international embarrassment.
Sources: Sources, The Guardian.
Effect of war on stock markets
Domestic stock markets fell almost 3% on Thursday morning, joining a global stock sell-off as the worsening situation between Russia and Ukraine and rising crude oil prices weighed on investors’ minds. Brent oil surpassed the $100 mark as the Ukraine conflict worsened, and Asia-Pacific stocks slumped on fears of supply disruptions and penalties. Gold, a safe-haven asset in times of uncertainty, gained 1% to $1,932 per ounce.
Japan’s, Hong Kong’s, South Korea’s, and Australia’s stock markets fell by up to 3%. On Wednesday, the Dow Jones fell 1.38 percent and the Nasdaq fell 2.6 percent. The Sensex opened for trading with a loss of 1,800 points. All sectoral indices are in the red IT, telecom, realty, auto, and metal stocks trading with a loss of up to four percent. Tata Motors trade with a loss of 6 percent, RIL 3.5 percent, TCS 2.86 percent, and HDFC Bank 2.85 percent. The Small-cap index shed 4.27 percent due to heavy losses in the category.
According to analysts, if an investor has a long-term investment plan, they should keep investing, and mutual fund investors should continue their SIP plan without breaking it. The downturn, on the other hand, will provide an opportunity for investors to purchase high-quality equities at attractive prices. Before making any substantial investments, investors should wait and let the scene unfold. Investing must be limited to stocks that are fairly valued or have a decent earnings expectation.
If the Ukraine conflict worsens, the stock market will suffer significant losses, as oil prices are expected to remain high. While the US Federal Reserve will meet next month to decide whether to raise interest rates and tighten liquidity, there are expectations that the Fed would not be doing aggressively. Another concern is the impact of rising crude oil prices on the Indian economy, which is happening when inflation is near 6%, well above the RBI’s upper range.
Sources: Daily Mail, BBC.