Wednesday morning news drop
Parliament gave Zelensky a hero's welcome. He gave us something else: a cold dose of reality More than 7,000 kilometres away, the guest of honour sat somewhere in the middle of a war zone. Standing on the floor of the House of Commons, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau introduced "our friend" Volodymyr Zelensky, president of Ukraine. (CBC)
Dollars or Rubles? Russian Debt Payments Are Due, and Uncertain. Citing sanctions, the Russian government warned it might pay foreign debt obligations in rubles. Credit rating agencies say a default is imminent. (New York Times)
The Ukrainian Cultural Sites at Risk of Destruction With Ukrainians facing continued attacks from Russian forces, the heritage that forms their national identity is also under siege. (Bloomberg)
Russia’s war has already failed: The country’s credibility as a geopolitical power is eroding before our eyes, says our military analyst in the first of her weekly columns (Prospect)
The Weapon the West Used Against Putin: The way in which the U.S. disclosed intelligence ahead of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine could drastically change geopolitics in the future. (The Atlantic)
Inside the 18 Minutes of Trading Chaos That Broke the Nickel Market When the commodity’s price went vertical last week, the metals industry plunged into turmoil not seen since the Tin Crisis of 1985. (Businessweek)
The Great Tech Hub Exodus Didn’t Quite Happen Two years into the pandemic, US tech jobs remain concentrated in a handful of coastal hubs. But a new set of cities is gaining ground. (Wired)
Scott Hall Understood the Soul of Wrestling Fans At a basic level, pro wrestling is about effortlessness, the art of making staged violence look smooth and natural. Nobody made it look easier than Razor Ramon. Scott Hall passed away at age 63, 1958-2022 (Ringer)