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Todays briefing:
A 7-Minute Heist at the Louvre
SARB: “No Green Mandate”
Zelenskyy’s Volatile Meeting
💎 7-Minute Heist at the Louvre
In a stunning daylight robbery, thieves stole "priceless" French crown jewels from the Louvre Sunday in just seven minutes.
Why it matters: The heist is being called the "most brazen - and possibly the most costly - theft ever staged at the Louvre," striking a symbolic blow against one of the world's most famous cultural institutions.
"It seems like a scenario out of a film or a television series."
The Big Picture: This heist is the latest in a disturbing pattern of recent robberies at French cultural institutions.
Last week: The President Jacques Chirac Museum was robbed.
September: Thieves stole gold nuggets from the National Museum of Natural History.
September: High-value porcelain was stolen from the Adrien Dubouché museum.
"We will recover the works, and the perpetrators will be brought to justice. Everything is being done, everywhere, to achieve this."
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🏦 SARB: No Green Mandate
South African Reserve Bank (SARB) Deputy Governor Fundi Tshazibana has forcefully rejected calls for the central bank to use its monetary policy tools—like quantitative easing or rate-tilting—to finance the green transition.
Why it matters: Tshazibana warned that swapping inflation credibility for climate subsidies would erode the bank's main mandate and ultimately do "more harm than good."
"Proposals for central banks to finance the fight against climate change... are misguided and sure to fail in their objective.
That is a big no."
Driving the News: Central banks from Washington to Frankfurt are facing growing pressure to expand beyond their traditional inflation-fighting remit and use their operational toolkits to tackle climate change.
The need is acute: Africa requires at least $70 billion a year for climate adaptation, but tracked flows cover barely a quarter of that.
Tshazibana’s rebuke, delivered at the University of London, specifically targeted two proposals she called "nonstarters":
Modifying inflation targeting by adding climate objectives, which would be expected to lower rates to make green finance cheaper.
"Green QE" (quantitative easing), which would involve funding climate projects directly off the central bank's balance sheet.
While she agreed climate change is a risk to financial stability, she argued it cannot be directly mitigated through monetary policy.
"If you tell everyone that you are deliberately setting rates low to finance green interventions, that process of dismantling credibility just spirals faster. ... It is pretty much the worst option in the toolkit."
Bottom Line: She concluded that compromising the central bank's hard-won credibility would mean "abandoning the main tool" it has to fight inflation.
🚨 Trump to Zelenskyy: Take Putin's Deal or Be "Destroyed"
Why it matters: President Trump pressured Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in a volatile White House meeting on Friday to accept Russia's terms, warning Vladimir Putin would "destroy" Ukraine if he didn't, according to people familiar with the matter.
The meeting ended with no commitment for long-range Tomahawk missiles, sparking a rush by European allies to rally behind Kyiv.
Behind the Scenes: A "Shouting Match"
The meeting on Friday was "tense" and "volatile," descending into a "shouting match" with Trump "cursing all the time," people familiar with the matter said.
Another source described it as "not easy" and "bad," while clarifying:
"Nobody shouted, but Trump was tough."
Trump tossed aside maps of the Ukrainian front line, insisting he was "sick" of seeing them.
"This red line, I don't even know where this is. I've never been there."
Trump rejected Zelenskyy's plea for Tomahawk missiles, at least for now, making clear his priority is diplomacy and fearing the weapons could undermine it.
The meeting ended abruptly after 2.5 hours. Trump intends to meet Putin in Budapest in the next two weeks.
Zoom In: The "Deal" on the Table
Trump urged Zelenskyy to accept Putin's demands, insisting Ukraine surrender the entire Donbas region. He also repeated talking points from his call with Putin a day earlier.
He reportedly told Zelenskyy that Putin called the conflict a "special operation, not even a war."
Trump warned the Ukrainian leader he was losing the war.
"If [Putin] wants it, he will destroy you."
Putin's new offer, relayed by Trump, involves Ukraine ceding the Donbas in exchange for small areas of the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions.
Trump later posted on Truth Social that he told both leaders it was time to "stop where they are."
"Let both claim Victory, let History decide!"
The Pushback
Zelenskyy and European allies swiftly moved to counter the pressure.
Zelenskyy told Trump that Ukraine's stance on its territory "remains unchanged" and ceding the Donbas is a "non-starter."
"To give [the Donbas] to Russia without a fight is unacceptable for Ukrainian society, and Putin knows that."
Zelenskyy contrasted the two leaders' motives:
"Trump wants a quick victory... Putin, however, wants the total occupation of Ukraine."
What's Next
🇪🇺 EU leaders will meet Thursday to aim for an agreement on the €140bn Russian asset loan and discuss more sanctions.
📞 A coalition of the willing will hold a call with Zelenskyy on Friday regarding more military support.
🇭🇺 Trump is expected to meet with Vladimir Putin in Budapest within the next two weeks.
Last week’s results:
What do you believe is the single biggest driver behind the recent wave of Gen Z-led protests?
⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ Lack of economic opportunity
⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ Widespread government corruption
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 The power of social media to mobilize
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 Specific unpopular government policies