Our Monday morning stroll around the world

🇸🇩 The UN officially declared famine in Sudan’s Darfur region. Sudan’s ongoing year-long civil war has left 25+ million people on the brink of mass famine, representing the largest current hunger crisis in the world. The UN’s declaration on Thursday marked the third global famine assessment since the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, an international food security standard, was established in 2004.

🌎 The US suspended travel permits for four Latin American countries due to potential scams. On Friday, the Department of Homeland Security issued a temporary pause on new two-year travel permits for residents from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela over concerns their US sponsors may be illegitimate. The move follows an internal Homeland Security review which reportedly found ~3,200 sponsors were responsible for 100,000+ filings, and that 24 of the top 1,000 Social Security numbers used by sponsors corresponded to dead people.

🇷🇺 Russia legalized crypto mining and the use of crypto for international payments. Under the new laws, Russia’s Central Bank will be able to transfer money overseas using private digital currencies by the end of this year, allowing Russia to circumvent sanctions that currently cut it off from global payment networks. In a separate announcement, Russia unveiled plans to adopt a mass digital version of the ruble by July 2025.