April 14, 2023

*) US air force employee in custody over classified Pentagon documents leak The FBI has arrested an employee of the US Air Force National Guard over leaks of classified documents. US Attorney General Merrick Garland said the FBI arrested 21-year-old Jack Teixeira in connection with the online leaks, which the Pentagon called a "deliberate, criminal act”. Some of the most sensitive leaked details are related to Ukraine's military capabilities and shortcomings, as well as information about US allies including Israel and South Korea. *) Ukraine reports unrelenting Russian attacks on besieged Bakhmut Russia's military has pressed on with its unrelenting attacks on the war-ravaged eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut while continuing to shell the southern city of Kherson. Ukrainian Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Malyar said heavy fighting gripped all parts of the eastern front. She said pro-Kiev forces repelled attacks in most areas. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and other senior officials are pressing allies for more weapons that Kiev hopes will enable it to launch a major counter-offensive later this year. *) Brazilian President Lula slams US dollar in China tour Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has criticised the outsized role of the US dollar in the world economy during an official visit to China. Lula questioned who decided that the dollar would be the world’s currency and why countries should be tied to it for trade. He made the remarks in Shanghai during the inauguration of his political ally, Dilma Rousseff, who has been named president of the new development bank set up by BRICS nations to counter the IMF and the World Bank. Lula also had strong words for the IMF, alluding to accusations that the organisation forces harsh spending cuts on cash-strapped countries in exchange for bailout loans. *) North Korea tests new solid-fuel ICBM Hwasong-18 North Korea said it successfully tested for the first time a solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile known as Hwasong-18, hailing it as a