Blinken in Ukraine; Mexico decriminalises abortion, and more

This is The World In Brief From The Economist. Our Top Stories America pledged additional security for Ukraine worth $175 million. The announcement came as Anthony Blinken, America's Secretary of State, visited Kiev, Ukraine's capital for the third time since the war began. In the eastern city of Kostia Antonovka, meanwhile, Russian shelling killed at least 16 people and injured many more, according to Volodymyr Zelensky, Ukraine's president. Mr. Zelensky called the Russians, quote, terrorists, and said that the death toll from the strike could yet rise. Mexico's Supreme Court decriminalized abortion across the country two years after its struck down criminal penalties for the procedure in the northern state of Coahuila. The earlier ruling set a precedent nationwide, though many of Mexico's 32 states, most of which had until now outright bans on abortion, were yet to act on it. Mexico joins a small but growing contingent of Latin American countries that have relaxed restrictions. The EU announced that six tech companies, including Alphabet, Google's parent company, Amazon and Apple, will be considered gatekeepers under the new Digital Markets Act. The designation means they will be subject to additional antitrust regulations. The DMA enforces stricter competition rules on big tech firms in a bid to curb their dominance and promote start-up innovation. A Nigerian appeals court rejected petitions to overturn President Bolo Tanubu's election victory from February. The petitions, brought by opposition parties, accused the election commission of being marred by irregularities and alleged that Mr. Tanubu was not qualified to run. The opposition previously suggested that protests could erupt if the court dismissed the petitions. Poland's Central Bank cut its benchmark interest rate by 0.75 percentage points to 6 percent confounding markets which had predicted a 0.25 percentage decrease. Poland has yet to tame inflation, its annual rate was 10.1 percent in August. Some economists accused the bank of cutting rates to stimulate Poland's economy and boost the ruling party ahead of a general election in October. The past three months have been the hottest ever measured according to the Copernicus Climate Change Service, an EU-funded program. Last month was the warmest August on record and the second hottest month ever after July 2023, with temperatures an estimated 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial averages. In August, sea surface temperatures also hit 20.98 degrees Celsius, their highest monthly average. Harvard was named the worst university for free speech in America by the foundation for individual rights and expression, a pro-speech outfit. The university scored zero out of 100 in their rankings, which were based on a sample of 55,000 undergraduates across the country. The report said that campaigns to disinvite speakers contributed to end quote abysmal speech environment. And figure of the day, $510 trillion, the world's wealth in 2020, up from $160 trillion in 2000.