Situation Reports

EU antitrust regulators are unlikely to order a breakup of Google over its anti-competitive tactics in the company's ad tech business as they had previously warned due to the complexity of such an order, Reuters reported Sept. 13.

OpenAI announced on Sept. 12 the release of its new o1 model, codenamed Strawberry, which is intended to be able to reason logically through complex problems and provide step-by-step answers to users on how the problem was worked out.

The Standing Committee of the National People's Congress on Sept. 13 passed a motion to raise the retirement age for Chinese workers from 60 to 63 for men, 55 to 58 for women in white collar jobs, and 50 to 55 for women in blue collar jobs.

Tuareg rebels under the Strategic Framework for the Defense of the People of Azawad (CSP-DPA) on Sept. 11 claimed the alliance's first reported use of drones in targeting the Goundam camp in Mali's Timbuktu region, which houses Malian soldiers and Wagner alias Africa Corps forces, French Radio International reported the same day.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian concluded his first trip abroad since taking office in July with a trip to Iraq, which took place from Sept. 11-13 and included visits to Baghdad, Iraqi Kurdistan and Basra, Rudaw reported Sept. 13.

China's central bank announced it signed a memorandum of understanding with the Maldivian Ministry of Economic Development and Trade to strengthen trade and investment by boosting local currency settlement for current account transactions and direct investment, Reuters reported Sept. 13.

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa signed the controversial Basic Education Laws Amendment (BELA) bill into law, but delayed the implementation of two controversial clauses relating to language policy and the powers of school governing bodies, Bloomberg reported Sept. 13.

Senegalese President Bassirou Diomaye Faye announced in an address to the nation that he was dissolving the National Assembly and calling snap legislative elections on Nov. 17, Radio France Internationale reported Sept.12.

The White House announced on Sept. 13 that it would propose new trade rules denying de minimis exemptions for goods that would otherwise be subject to U.S. Section 301, Section 232, and Section 201 tariffs on Chinese goods, Reuters reported Sept. 13.

Chile's Prosecutor's Office seized the cellphone of Supreme Court Justice Angela Vivanco, who is also facing an internal process that could culminate with her expulsion from the country's constitutional court, El Pais reported Sept. 12.