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This morning’s 3-by-3 travels across an anti-freedom Indonesian law, a healthcare strike in Mozambique, record-breaking American marijuana consumption, and more. Let’s fly!

Politics

• U.S. announces $275 million package to defend Ukraine

As Russian troops press an offensive into Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, the U.S. has announced a $275 million package of high mobility artillery rocket systems, artillery rounds, anti-tank systems, tactical vehicles, and more. U.S. assistance was tied up in Congress for months before a bipartisan Senate majority passed a foreign aid bill in late April, allocating almost $61 billion to Ukraine. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin recently attended a monthly meeting of about 50 defense leaders committed to Ukraine’s defense and pledged to keep weapons flowing regularly, aiming to counteract the advantage Russia took while Ukraine awaited help.

• Indonesia’s press and creative freedom are in danger

After first considering changes in 2020, Indonesia’s parliament has now proposed new language for its 2002 broadcast law that would ban investigative journalism, making it so local journalists could not cover stories around nepotism, corruption, or other exposing matters. The bill would also ban any content with mysticism, violence, or LGBTQ expression, deeming such matter as negative and harmful to the public in the Muslim-majority nation. Civil society groups, the Press Council, and prominent creatives fear what the bill would do to Indonesia’s spirit as the world’s third-largest democracy, notably attacking freedom of expression.

• Norway, Ireland and Spain plan to recognize a Palestinian state

Norway, Ireland, and Spain will join 140 existing countries in recognizing a Palestinian state, moving in step with a recent U.N. General Assembly vote to grant new rights and privileges to the Palestinian Authority. Since the 1967 Mideast War when Israel seized its present-day control of east Jerusalem, the West Bank, and the Gaza Strip, no major Western country (such as the U.S., Britain, or France) has recognized a Palestinian state outright, instead only supporting the idea of it as part of a two-state settlement with Israel. While Palestinian authorities hope this recent support can create momentum among other EU and UN nations, Israel’s Prime Minister Netanyahu sees the recognition as a direct reward for Hamas terrorism — recalling ambassadors to the three countries and stopping the transfer of tax revenue earmarked for the Palestinian Authority in response.

Business

• VP Harris plans to double Africa’s internet access by 2030

Vice President Kamala Harris first committed to digital innovation in Africa when she visited the continent last year and has now launched a set of public-private initiatives to increase internet access from 40% to 80% by 2030. Provided Africa’s under-index on foreign direct investment (3.5% of investment worldwide compared to 18% of the global population), the proposals involve big money and expert partners: the Mobilizing Access to the Digital Economy Alliance, formed collaboratively by the African Development Bank Group, Mastercard, and other organizations, will give 100 million African people and businesses access to the digital economy through infrastructure building, skills training, and hardware savings — initially focusing on access for farmers in Kenya, Tanzania, and Nigeria. Additionally, the Women in the Digital Economy Fund seeks to address the continent’s gender disparities and has already received over $1 billion in public-private commitments, with notable contributors including the U.S. Agency for International Development, the Mozilla Foundation, and Pfizer.

• U.S. sues Live Nation for illegally achieved monopoly

The U.S. Department of Justice has sued Live Nation for allegedly using illegal tactics to monopolize the live music industry, resulting in higher ticket prices, “seemingly endless” venue fees, and worse service for consumers. Attorney General Merrick Garland has called for the courts to dismantle the company, which owns over 250 American venues, manages approximately 60% of concert promotions, and controls over 80% of major entertainment ticket sales via subsidiary Ticketmaster — accusing it of stifling competition by using exclusive long-term deals and threatening venues. Live Nation denies these allegations, attributing high ticket prices to factors like online scalping and production costs, and argues that the lawsuit is a politically motivated anti-business effort.

• Hundreds of Mozambique patients die in health worker strike

The Association of United Health Professionals of Mozambique and its 50,000 union members have been on strike for three weeks — nurses, psychologists, drivers, and cleaners all hoping for overtime pay, better equipment, and improved working conditions. Though doctors are still active, more than 1,000 patients have died so far from the strike’s resulting lack of care. The southern African nation’s healthcare system was already one of the weakest in the world, with fewer than 3 doctors per 100,000 people and more than half of the country needing to walk at least an hour to access the nearest health facility (many of which are out of medicine).

Culture

• Scarlett Johansson’s ChatGPT controversy

When OpenAI released its new GPT-4o system last week featuring conversation abilities in 5 distinct voices, actress Scarlett Johansson was struck by one called “Sky” and its “eerily similar” resemblance to her own voice. She authored a statement explaining that OpenAI CEO Sam Altman had reached out to her last year with an offer to voice this system and “bridge the gap between tech companies and creatives” — to which she declined for personal reasons. In response to her request for transparency into the creation of “Sky,” OpenAI has now provided a substantiated account that another actress was hired to record the voice before Johansson was ever contacted, with the unidentified actress’s agent explaining that Johansson was never even mentioned as a reference during the recording process.

• Daily marijuana use surpasses daily drinking in the US

For the first time, a new study using the 2022 National Survey on Drug Use and Health shows that more Americans use marijuana every or nearly every day than drink alcohol at that same frequency — 17.7 million people compared to 14.7 million. The per capita rate of daily or near-daily use has increased 15-fold since 1992, likely encouraged by legality across many states and public acceptance more broadly. Though less stigmatized today, health professionals reflect on this data with concern, referencing research that high-frequency marijuana users are more likely to become addicted and develop cannabis-associated psychosis.

• Cassie Ventura urges people to believe victims the first time

In November, singer Cassie Ventura sued ex-boyfriend Sean “Diddy” Combs for a violent 2016 incident at an InterContinental Hotel in Los Angeles — of which video footage has now surfaced and validated Ventura’s claims of physical assault. After Combs issued an apology video on social media, Ventura shared her own statement expressing gratitude for the outpouring of love and emphasizing the damage of domestic violence, asking people to take the matter seriously and believe victims when they describe their “powerless” situation. Combs is currently undergoing several lawsuits involving allegations of sexual assault, rape, and sex trafficking, which are likely to be affected by this development.

Written by Outer Voice founders & intern Elina Shah

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