Your Friday Briefing

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/20/briefing/ukraine-meeting-germany-debt-limit.html

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Around 50 allies of Ukraine will meet at Ramstein Air Base in Germany today to chart the next steps in the defense of Ukraine. Already, they have made it clear that they intend to furnish a major infusion of military aid that is expected to total billions of dollars’ worth of matériel to help the country fend off Russian aggression as the war nears its first anniversary.

Ukraine has redoubled its pleas for more advanced weapons, like tanks and air defense missiles, ahead of an expected Russian springtime offensive that could be decisive in the war.

The countries that signed a pledge of support after the meeting, including Poland, Latvia, Lithuania, Denmark, the Czech Republic, the Netherlands and Slovakia, said in a joint statement that they were committed to “collectively pursuing delivery of an unprecedented set of donations” in support of Ukraine.

Germany: One big question remains: Will Berlin in the end agree to send advanced, German-made battle tanks to Ukraine? Or at least allow other countries that now have them to do so?

Details: U.S. officials said they planned to send nearly 100 Stryker combat vehicles as part of a roughly $2.5 billion shipment of arms and equipment. Estonia said it would send its largest military aid package, worth about $122 million. And Britain reiterated its commitment to sending Challenger 2 tanks and also said it would supply 600 Brimstone missiles.

The U.S. reached its $31.4 trillion debt cap yesterday, the total amount it can borrow. The country is now gearing up for a bitter partisan battle over raising the cap, as the Treasury Department begins using a series of accounting maneuvers to ensure the federal government can keep paying its bills — and federal workers — ahead of what’s expected to be a protracted fight over whether to increase the borrowing cap.

The milestone is a product of decades of tax cuts and increased government spending by both Republicans and Democrats. But at a moment of heightened partisanship and divided government, it is also a warning of the entrenched battles that are set to dominate Washington and could end in economic shock.

Newly empowered House Republicans have vowed that they will not raise the borrowing limit again unless President Biden agrees to steep cuts in federal spending. He, in turn, has said he will not negotiate conditions for a debt-limit increase, arguing that lawmakers should lift the cap with no strings attached to cover spending that previous Congresses authorized.

Letter to Congress: “The period of time that extraordinary measures may last is subject to considerable uncertainty, including the challenges of forecasting the payments and receipts of the U.S. government months into the future,” wrote Janet Yellen, the Treasury secretary. “I respectfully urge Congress to act promptly to protect the full faith and credit of the United States.”

Warnings: Economists said that the nation risks a financial crisis and other immediate economic pain if lawmakers do not raise the limit before the Treasury Department exhausts its ability to buy more time.

More than a million protesters, chanting slogans like “retirement before arthritis,” took to the streets in France to protest the government’s plan to raise the legal age of retirement to 64 from 62. Striking workers across the country closed schools, stopped many trains, disrupted the Paris Metro, lowered electricity output and curtailed flights.

Emmanuel Macron, France’s centrist president, who is in the first year of his second and final term, wants to push through an overhaul of what he views as an untenable pension system. But in a country where work is viewed by many as a burden rather than an opportunity, and retirement as the panacea beyond it, his determination has ignited fierce resistance.

Labor unions, from the extreme left to the moderate center, united behind the protests, as did often splintered left-of-center political parties. Marine Le Pen, the leader of the extreme-right National Rally party that has attracted growing support among the working class, also called for “an unjust reform” to be blocked.

What’s next: A long confrontation, involving further strikes, seems inevitable. For the French left, which has failed to reach even the runoff round of the last two presidential elections, defeating pension changes amounts to a critical test of its heft and ultimately of its eventual capacity to return to power.

Around the World

Israel’s right-wing government and the country’s judiciary are locked in a standoff after the prime minister delayed in complying with a Supreme Court ruling that called for the dismissal of a government minister.

Weary of crackdowns and lockdowns, businesspeople are moving out of China and taking their wealth with them. Many have found a new home in Singapore.

A video featuring Ranjit Singh Veer driving his bus in the West Midlands of Britain and leading a Punjabi bhangra dance crew has drawn tens of thousands of views.

From the U.S.

An internal investigation failed to identify the person who leaked a draft of the ruling overturning Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court said.

The Supreme Court is poised to reconsider rules around online speech, potentially leading to the most significant reset since the 1990s.

Support for Donald Trump is wavering among the nation’s evangelical leaders, who provided crucial backing in his ascent to the White House.

The State Department has a new typeface: It will replace Times New Roman with the sans-serif Calibri to help with readability.

A storied surfing competition in Hawaii is held only when the conditions are exactly right. Last week, the call went out.