Winter is fast approaching in Ukraine. Here’s what comes next for the conflict
Until a few weeks ago, it looked as though the conflict in Ukraine would head into the bitter winter months frozen in place – with neither side making appreciable progress.
That prognosis has changed with the sudden and successful Ukrainian offensive through most of occupied Kharkiv, which has galvanized Ukraine’s Western backers as much as it has led to recriminations in Moscow.
The Russian military must now ask itself what sort of force, and where exactly they are deployed, can regain the initiative after Ukraine captured more territory in one week than Russian forces had in five months.
There are important political dynamics involved too. The Kremlin faces tough choices: whether to declare a general mobilization to reinvigorate its increasingly ragged units in Ukraine and how to manage a budget deficit – even though it’s sitting on historically high foreign reserves.
‘My children saved my life’: the terrifying toll of a political scandal in South Korea
Exclusive: Dongyoun Cho, who resigned from politics after a storm over painful details from her private life, speaks out about sexism, suicide and social change
Asenior political aide who was forced to resign during the 2021 South Korean presidential election after revelations about her private life has said that online tormentors drove her to attempt suicide.
Speaking out in the hope that her story will help South Korean society address its damaging obsession with the private lives of public figures, Dongyoun Cho said the scandal had made her consider moving overseas, but added that she was determined to use her experience to help other women.
France's Friendly Neighborhood Right Winger"I'm an Authoritarian Mayor"
Robert Ménard was once a leftist who helped found Reporters Without Borders. Now, his politics have slid far to the right – and he has become immensely popular far outside of the city where he is mayor. What does his success say about the rest of France?
Robert Ménard doesn’t drink alcohol. Ever. He also stays away from coffee and tea, and shuns meat. And he hates bullfighting. Taken together, it seems like a list of reasons why he might be considered unfit for a political leadership position in southern France. Bull fighting is something of a religion in the region – and the city of Béziers, where he is mayor, is surrounded by vineyards.
"I know, it all sounds quite difficult," says the 69-year-old Ménard in his blue, linen suitcoat, his face slightly scrunched up as usual. It's 7 p.m. on a warm summer’s evening in Béziers, time for an apéritif. "But I don’t like alcohol," he says. Regarding bullfighting, he continues: "And coming together to witness death is something I’ve always found disconcerting."
Iranian woman's death galvanises critics of 'morality police'
As Iran reels from a woman's death after her arrest by its "morality police", the Sunday front page of financial newspaper Asia declared: "Dear Mahsa, your name will become a symbol."
The police unit -- responsible for enforcing Iran's strict dress code for women, notably the wearing of a headscarf in public -- had already faced growing criticism in recent months over its excessive use of force.
The death of Mahsa Amini, 22, has reignited calls to rein in its actions against women suspected of violating the dress code, in effect since the 1979 Islamic revolution.
The day after her funeral, nearly all Iranian press dedicated their front pages to her story on Sunday.
Typhoon leaves tens of thousands of buildings without power
THE ASAHI SHIMBUN
September 18, 2022 at 18:49 JST
Residents in southern Kyushu were urgently advised to evacuate as a very powerful typhoon approached, leaving tens of thousands of buildings without power.
The special warning for heavy rains was issued for Miyazaki Prefecture by the Japan Meteorological Agency on Sept. 18 following torrential rain there.
The agency said it was possible that disaster had already struck some areas in the prefecture as the typhoon, the 14th of the season, brought unprecedented levels of rain to that part of southern Japan.
London braces itself for massive security operation ahead of Queen’s funeral
London police chiefs and medics are bracing themselves for a security nightmare at the Queen’s funeral on Monday as they balance the need to protect the world’s top leaders and dignitaries with the public’s desire to mourn their much-loved monarch.
Some have compared the event in scale to the London Olympics, but in truth the state funeral – the first in Britain since Winston Churchill died in 1965 – is likely to dwarf the 2012 sporting extravaganza.
Codenamed “Operation London Bridge,” arrangements for Britain’s longest-serving monarch have been carefully pored over for years by the many agencies involved, with the Queen herself signing off on every detail before her death.
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