Three news stories summarized & contextualized by analytic journalist Colin Wright.

Netanyahu snaps back against growing US criticism after being accused of losing his way on Gaza

Summary: Following a speech by US Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer last week, in which he said Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu had “lost his way” following Hamas’ sneak-attack against Israel on October 7, 2023, and in which he called for an election so the people of Israel could potentially put someone else in control of the country and its retaliation against Hamas in Gaza, Netanyahu said that Schumer’s comments were inappropriate and offensive, and that Israel will not hold an election at the behest of a foreign government.

Context: This was an interesting exchange, as it’s assumed that Schumer was serving as a stand-in for the Biden administration, saying things that the US government itself cannot say, and doing so via the highest-ranking Jewish official in the United States; this statement was given in a context in which Israel does seem to be losing a lot of support, their external monetary and military backing still largely in place, but its allies at times going around it to try to help Gazan citizens who are reportedly suffering from war crimes perpetrated by Israeli troops, and who are reportedly starving, en masse, as a result of the Israeli government keeping sufficient aid from flowing into the region.

—The Associated Press

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Niger revokes military accord with US, junta spokesperson says

Summary: The military junta that’s governing Niger has announced that it is revoking the military accord it had with the United States, effective immediately, and that US military personnel and civilians working on the two bases it has in Niger must leave the country.

Context: The US had a little more than 1,000 troops in Niger as of 2023, and they were primarily there to help local governments deal with Islamic State and al Qaeda-affiliated militants in the region; the military junta took control of Niger following a successful coup against the democratically elected government in July of last year, and since then it has been tightening ties with the military rulers of neighboring countries, to the dismay of neighboring democratic governments.

—Reuters

Argentina’s Senate rejects Milei's “mega-decree” of reforms

Summary: A so-called “mega-decree” proposed by Argentine President Milei has been rejected by the country’s Senate, calling into question his ability to overhaul the government as he had planned.

Context: The vote was 42-25 against the bundle of more than 300 regulations, and while it still has a chance to survive a vote in the lower house, Milei’s party has a minority of seats in both chambers of Congress; some analysts think his shock approach of scrapping the country’s existing economic policies, replacing them with more laissez-faire versions of the same could help Argentina emerge from its long-time pattern of inflation and default, others question the legitimacy of his theories, and more immediately, everyday people living in Argentina have suffered sky-high inflation and intense levels of poverty, both of which have been amplified by his actions, so far.

—Deutsche Welle

The potential forced sale of TikTok (and a ban if the China-based company that owns it doesn’t divest) has raised questions about the consequences of TikTok disappearing from the US market, as the company rakes in billions of dollars in advertising revenue, and boasts tens of millions of highly engaged users (even if the app still lags behind some other networks, like YouTube, in terms of persistent engagement).

—The Wall Street Journal

100 Mbps

Data transmission speed (for downloads—it’s 20 Mbps for uploads) the US Federal Communications Commission has set as the new broadband internet benchmark.

That’s up from the 25 Mbps down and 3 Mbps up standard (which is pretty slow, for modern purposes) set in January of 2015.

The Commission voted 3-2 to make the change, with Republicans in the FCC opposing the new standard; a 2-2 deadlock (due to an empty chair on the Commission) prevented any kind of movement on this issue for years.

—Ars Technica

Trust Click

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