US Democrat John Podesta, responsible for implementing the Inflation Reduction Act, on December 20, 2022 in Washington. KEVIN DIETSCH / GETTY IMAGES VIA AFP

John Podesta is an old hand in politics, as we get to know in the American series. The 74-year-old Democrat was overshadowed by Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, led Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign and is now an advisor to Joe Biden. And as such responsible for the implementation of the famous Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), which is intended to reindustrialize America thanks to massive subsidies for ecological change.

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As the craftsman of the great globalization adventure of the 1990s under Clinton, he is now responsible for closing this chapter without hesitation. “We will not apologize that American taxpayer dollars must fund American investments and jobs,” he said in an evidence-focused interview with the Financial Times on Friday, February 24.

Evidence that bears the seeds of a radical change in international trade and a serious problem for Europe, based on the philosophy of free trade. “The United States is completing and accelerating its economic retreat begun since the end of Bretton Woods in 1971,” economist Véronique Riches-Flores said in her latest February 24 note.

“fragmentation risk”

During an official visit to the United States on November 30, 2022, President Emmanuel Macron already underlined the “risk of fragmentation of the West”. Since then, this European panic has been fueled by the very clear messages from industrialists from the old continent, who threaten to favor the United States in their new investment decisions, given the tax breaks on offer and energy prices.

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It is no coincidence that the American measures concern the energy transition. In addition to the urgency to act, this is the sector most dependent on public subsidies for its development. The latest example so far is the attempt by offshore wind power producers in the UK to try to renegotiate their contracts with the UK government, according to the Financial Times.

On the other side of the English Channel, energy projects are accelerating from Rome to Berlin, via Paris or Amsterdam. Should this be done by reserving aid for European investment and jobs? The French are for it; The big northern exporters, led by Germany, are vehemently opposed, fearing the spiral of retaliation that decimated the economy of the 1930s. Finding a deal will require changing the European software and coming to terms with the Americans. It’s not up for grabs.

As the dead are counted and tears dried on the beach at Cutro, it’s time again to look at numbers and cards. Just as it is necessary to analyze what politics (didn’t) do in order to understand why we are once again witnessing another tragedy at sea.

The migratory route, passing through Greece and Turkey and reaching Italy via the Balkans, has certainly not stopped in recent years. But after the money that the European Union paid to the government of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, after the building of the wall between Turkey and Greece, after the barriers set up by the Visegrád states, the mass pushbacks in Croatia and Trieste, this way is partially expired altered shape. And part of the migratory flow began two years ago to enter Calabria by sea along a dramatically dangerous route.

According to Frontex data, in 2022 there are 29,000 migrants on the Aegean route, of which 18,000 have landed in Italy. Only one in three landed in Greece and then tried to travel on overland via the Balkans. The rest went by sea. This route is populated by Afghans fleeing the fall of Kabul in August 2020, Syrians trying to leave behind a war that seems never to end, Pakistanis, Iraqis and Iranians looking for a life of rights. To this list we could now add those displaced by the earthquake on the Turkey-Syria border, a tragedy that left millions of people, especially Syrians, homeless. And that could increase the departures again.

It is no coincidence that Greece has tightened border controls along its land and sea border with Turkey in these hours. “The mass movement of millions of people is not a solution,” said Greek Migration Minister Notis Mitarachi, stressing the need to send emergency aid to Turkey and Syria “before that happens”. Mitarachi, the leader of the centre-right government, promised at a conference on European border management outside Athens on Friday that the expansion of a controversial wall along the land border would continue, whether EU-funded or not. The 22-mile, 16-foot-tall barrier will double in size by the end of the year. It also said it would buy dozens of new Coast Guard vessels to patrol the Aegean islands off Turkey’s coast. Mitsotakis, whose four-year term ends in July, was significantly tougher on the migration issue than his left-wing predecessor Alexis Tsipras. The government’s actions, including forced evictions or the deportation of refugees to border areas, have drawn strong criticism, not least from the EU.

In this scenario, the position of Ankara and especially that of Turkish President Recep Taypp Erdogan also weighs. In 2016, Brussels issued Ankara a check for 6 billion euros to ensure that the migration route to Europe was effectively halted. Other billions were provided by Brussels and by individual governments, including Italy. But thinking of stopping the currents with walls, barriers, barbed wire has so far proved a losing strategy. While arrivals along the eastern Mediterranean route were almost 98% lower in 2020 than in 2015, arrivals increased in 2021 and 2022. In 2021, arrivals accounted for 15% of the total, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Nations (UNHCR). . Of the 53,275 migrants who arrived in Italy in 2021, 7,900 ended up in Calabria.

And not only. After the earthquakes on the border between Turkey and Syria, the numbers could rise. Erdogan is due to vote in May and faces major challenges. First and foremost, rebuilding your country and dealing with the corruption that entails, but also dealing with the Syrian minority, which has a massive presence in the region hit by the earthquakes. So far, the sultan has extended aid to earthquake-hit Syrian areas where pro-Turkish militias operate, and has allowed homeless Syrian refugees to return to Turkey with a 3-month permit, a decision taken by at least 3,000 Syrians them decided to go home. But another 5 million refugees remain in Turkey and many more could arrive if the flow of aid to north-west Syria is not sufficient. And tensions with the country’s minority, which existed before the earthquake, threaten to worsen. Difficult, then, because Erdogan is not tackling the issue according to a scheme already in place, using refugees to put pressure on Europe while avoiding granting recognition of these rights to the Syrian minority, so as not to anger his constituency.

In Croatia, due to heavy snowfall and gusty winds, roads from Dalmatia to the interior and vice versa have been closed to traffic since yesterday. Hundreds of stranded people spent the night in rest areas on the closed A1 highway and in emergency shelters organized in several cities, Croatian media reported.

At the beginning of the week there was no relaxation, the roads in the Lika and Gorski Kotar regions remained closed. The Croatian Automobile Club announced that in the late morning the motor vehicles were being organized into convoys to accompany them on the journey to Dalmatia. Authorities warned to avoid unnecessary travel.

Up to 70 centimeters of fresh snow

In the mountainous regions of Lika and Gorski Kotar there was heavy snowfall yesterday, in some places up to 70 centimeters of fresh snow fell. In addition, storm squalls and hurricanes with speeds of up to 150 km/h obstructed traffic.

In addition to the road service, the fire department and mountain rescue services helped countless people who were trapped in the streets with their vehicles. According to reports, around 25 vehicles that ignored the driving ban got stuck on the A1 in the Sveti Rok Tunnel last night.

Hundreds slept in emergency shelters

More than 500 people spent the night in organized shelters in Gracac, Gospic, Obrovac and Knin, reported the N1 news portal. Due to the strong wind, many ferry connections in the Rijeka, Kvarner and Dalmatia areas were also disrupted. The Croatian meteorological service has issued warnings for strong gusts of wind towards the coast today.

The body of model Abby Choi, 28, was found dismembered, some parts cooked and stored in a refrigerator in Tai Po city Hong Kong.

Abby Choi has been missing since last Tuesday the 21st, she was supposed to go get her son from her exhusband but has not turned up.

According to the Daily Star, police officers still don’t know if the crime took place at the home where she was staying or at another location where she was later transported.

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The victim’s exhusband is the prime suspect. He’s on the run and there’s a warrant out for his arrest. The suspect’s parents and brother were arrested for alleged involvement in the murder.

The motivation for the crime may have been money, a fortune of R$66 million.

Dismembered model and digital influencer

Abby Choi, a wellknown digital influencer with more than 100,000 followers on Instagram who has appeared in several fashion magazines, was reported missing on Tuesday last week.

On Saturday 25th, police said several remains of his body were found in a house: the limbs were found in a refrigerator and human tissue was found in two pots. Upon further examination of the home, police found what they believe to be Choi’s skull, hair, and several ribs.

The model’s exhusband Alex Kwong, his father Kwong Kau and brother Anthony Kwong were charged with the murder on Monday. Choi’s former motherinlaw, Jenny Li, was charged with obstructing justice for destroying evidence.

At the property where the remains were found there was a chainsaw and a meat grinder used to mince human flesh, Superintendent Alan Chung told reporters. Forensic analysis revealed that there was a hole in the back of the model’s head.

“We believe the victim was assaulted in the vehicle. [que a levou para casa] and he was already unconscious when he arrived,” Chung said on Sunday night, April 26.

According to police, Choi had a financial dispute with her exhusband and his family over a luxurious property.

The model divorced Kwong and married Chris Tam, a member of a wealthy Hong Kong family.

Choi’s exhusband was arrested on Saturday while trying to flee the city by boat. A fifth suspect linked to the victim’s former fatherinlaw was arrested Sunday on charges of “collaborating with criminals.” /AFP and AP