Headlines March 16, 2023 from Democracy Now!

In Moscow, Russian President Vladimir Putin welcomed Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad to the Kremlin earlier today. Assad said he welcomed a Russian proposal to set up new military bases in Syria, and said Damascus had agreed to recognize Russia’s annexation claims over occupied parts of Ukraine.

Stock markets in Asia have tumbled after Credit Suisse bank signaled it will borrow up to $54 billion from Switzerland’s central bank. The bailout pushed European markets higher, after investors fled Credit Suisse and other financial stocks a day earlier amid fears the sudden collapse of U.S. banks SVB and Signature might trigger a wider financial crisis. In another sign of turmoil in the banking sector, shares of San Francisco-based First Republic Bank have fallen by nearly three-quarters over the past week, after ratings firms downgraded the bank’s credit rating to “junk.”

In Israel, hundreds of thousands of protesters have returned to the streets after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu forged ahead with plans to upend Israel’s system of checks and balances by gutting the power of the judiciary. In Jerusalem, thousands blocked roads outside the country’s Supreme Court; elsewhere, protesters took over a Tel Aviv highway, among dozens of other “disruptions” in cities and towns nationwide. The renewed protests came after Netanyahu rejected a compromise proposal to defuse the crisis put forward by Israel’s president, Isaac Herzog, who warned in a televised address that Israel stands on the brink of “civil war.”

President Isaac Herzog: “Whoever thinks that a true civil war, where human life is at stake, is a border we won’t reach has no clue. Specifically now in the 75th year of the state of Israel, the abyss is at arm’s reach.”

Meanwhile, tensions between Israel and Lebanon rose after Israel’s army said it killed an armed man who entered northern Israel and set off a car bomb on Monday, severely injuring an Israeli civilian. Israel’s military said it was investigating whether Hezbollah fighters from Lebanon were behind the blast.

In Indonesia, Indigenous people say construction of the new national capital is pushing them off their land, making them fear for their homes and livelihoods, as the nation prepares to move its seat of government from Jakarta to the east coast of the island of Borneo. Nusantara is set to be inaugurated as Indonesia’s new capital next summer. In 2019, President Joko Widodo announced the move away from Jakarta, which is rapidly sinking into the Java Sea. This is Balik tribal chief Sibukdin. bq. Sibukdin: “There is a large forest area in the new capital’s construction zone which used to be an arable land and the livelihood of our people. We are not hoping that it will be given back to us, but please do not disturb what we are left with, where we have been living for years. We’ve had enough. We’ve had to give in, and we can’t let this be taken, too.” The Indonesian government has pledged to build a sustainable, carbon-neutral city, but environmentalists warn its construction will lead to massive deforestation, threatening endangered species.

The Biden administration has approved a $31 billion merger between Canadian Pacific Railway and Kansas City Southern — the first major rail merger approved by U.S. regulators in more than two decades. The new company, named Canadian Pacific Kansas City, will operate freight rail traffic over more than 20,000 miles of track in the United States, Mexico and Canada. The merger brings the number of major U.S. rail firms down to six. It follows February’s derailment of a freight train in Ohio that spread toxic chemicals across the town of East Palestine. This week, the inter-union coalition Railroad Workers United passed a resolution opposing the merger, noting that rail industry consolidation has resulted in less competition, fewer jobs, severe traffic congestion, dissatisfied shippers, delayed passenger trains and serious safety concerns.