Who am I?
And what am I doing here?
I see many new people in this space this week, so I’ll introduce myself to all the new faces.
I’m Cristina Maza, a U.S.-based journalist covering foreign policy and defense for National Journal in Washington, D.C. You can frequently find me roaming the halls of the U.S. Congress, asking lawmakers questions about foreign policy and international affairs that make them stop and stare at me funny.
In my previous life, I lived in and reported from Central America, Central Asia, Western Europe, the Balkans, the Caucasus, Southeast Asia, and the United Kingdom. I am perpetually nostalgic and homesick for somewhere.
This newsletter is published every Sunday. I include links to everything I have written and the week's most important news. My expertise is in Eastern Europe and the European Union, so you’ll find a lot of news from that part of the world. But I try to include information from every continent.
I also run a small independent publication called Lazo Magazine in my free time. I publish the stories of people like me, individuals with dual identities and a shifting sense of where they belong, or people who are curious about the world and want to understand how we’re all connected. It offers a mix of travel, culture, and political stories. If you upgrade to a paid subscription, all your money goes to supporting writers.
I’m offering all new subscribers a 15% discount before the holidays.
Thanks so much for being here! You can send story tips, complaints, questions, or whatever to c.maza@protonmail.com.
Lazo Magazine is on social media. You can follow along on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram. You can also donate to Lazo Magazine.
What I’m writing:
• I wrote about what Donald Trump’s nominees for key cabinet positions could mean for the relationship with Russia and China and U.S. intelligence sharing. This story is unlocked and free to read.
My weekly news blurbs:
What I’m reading:
• New Lines Magazine has a report from a Norwegian archipelago near the North Pole where a quarter of the residents are non-Norwegian.
• The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists has a deep dive into how Western oil companies fought against a basic anti-corruption rule to avoid reporting payments to foreign governments.
• U.S. intelligence partially declassified a report that describes Russian President Vladimir Putin’s potential assassination targets, suggesting that Alexander Bednov and several other pro-Russia “insubordinate separatists in Ukraine” were killed on the Kremlin’s orders. Bloomberg has the report.
• Russian President Vladimir Putin said Russia will continue to test and start mass-producing the hypersonic ballistic missile launched at Ukraine, CNN reports.
• Ukraine has lost over 40 percent of the territory it captured in Russia's Kursk region following its August surprise incursion, Reuters reports.
• Georgia is suspending talks on its bid to join the European Union for four years, given what the prime minister described as “blackmail and manipulation” by some of the bloc’s politicians, the Associated Press reports. His announcement outraged the opposition and triggered a new wave of protests.
• Over 100 serving Georgian diplomats have signed an open letter criticizing the new government's suspension of EU accession talks, Reuters reports.
• Protests resumed in Georgia following a government announcement that the country had suspended its bid to join the European Union for four years, the New York Times reports.
• Two U.S. bombers training with the Finnish Air Force were intercepted by Russian jets near Russia's exclave of Kaliningrad, Reuters reports.
• German Chancellor Olaf Scholz suggested sabotage or hybrid warfare may have caused the recent DHL cargo plane crash in Lithuania, CNN reports.
• A far-right, pro-Russia candidate, Călin Georgescu, won a shock victory in the first round of Romania's presidential election, the BBC reports. The second round presidential election runoff is on December 8.
• Renew Europe leader Valérie Hayer wants TikTok’s CEO to explain the platform’s role in Romania’s presidential election to the European Parliament, as researchers warn of covert activity on thousands of fake accounts, Politico Europe reports.
• Albanian opposition MPs and activists blocked the main streets in Tirana and accused Edi Rama’s government of corruption, demanding a technocratic caretaker cabinet take over until next year’s election, the Associated Press reports. The leaders of Albania’s two biggest opposition parties, Sali Berisha and Ilir Meta, have also been charged with corruption.
• The Financial Times reports that France has dropped its opposition to non-European Union companies accessing EU-funded financial incentives for Europe’s defense industry. Brussels is now pushing to develop a stronger domestic arms industry that is less dependent on the U.S.
• Politico Europe has a big feature on how Irish-Americans are funding the push for Irish reunification.
• Israel approved a proposal mandating all government-funded bodies to refrain from communicating with or placing advertisements in the Haaretz newspaper, Haaretz reports.
• Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank are allegedly adopting tactics similar to those deployed in Gaza, including airstrikes and the use of human shields, the New York Times reports.
• The Biden administration warned Israel that its decision to stop issuing administrative detention orders against West Bank Israeli settlers suspected of attacking Palestinians could increase violence in the territory, Axios reports.
• An independent commission report blamed Netanyahu and top Israeli generals for failing to prevent the October 7 Hamas-led attacks, citing “arrogant” policies and groupthink, the Times of Israel reports.
• Armed members of the Venezuelan security forces surrounded Argentina’s embassy in Caracas, where opposition leaders are hiding, CNN reports.
• Chilean prosecutors confirmed they are investigating President Gabriel Boric for sexual harassment, the Associated Press reports.
• Pakistan deployed its army in the nation’s capital with orders to shoot protesters if necessary amid escalating deadly clashes between the police and supporters of former Prime Minister Imran Khan, the New York Times reports.
• Part of Myanmar’s rebel army said it is willing to hold talks with the junta, Reuters reports.
• The deployment of Chinese security companies in Myanmar to safeguard Beijing’s economic and strategic interests risks drawing Chinese nationals into the nation’s civil war, potentially leading to deadly incidents and diplomatic crises, the South China Morning Post reports.
• The International Criminal Court prosecutor Karim Khan said he will seek an arrest warrant for Myanmar's military chief for crimes against humanity in the alleged persecution of the Rohingya, Reuters reports.
• The United Nations Humanitarian Coordinator in Chad announced the launch of an investigation into allegations of sexual exploitation of Sudanese refugees by aid workers following the publication of a gut-wrenching Associated Press report. The Associated Press has the story.
You can write to me for any reason: c.maza@protonmail.com