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Ahead of the encroaching Russian forces, Ukrainian volunteers have been evacuating civilians from Ocheretyne and other villages, posting videos on social media showing older residents leaving badly destroyed apartment buildings, along with their pets, and with belongings packed into cardboard boxes. A photograph taken on April 11, 2024, near the town of Chasiv Yar, in Donetsk region, shows smoke rising from fires after bombing. Anatolii Stepanov/AFP/Getty ImagesAbout 40 kilometers (25 miles) north of Ocheretyne, on another piece of higher ground, the town of Chasiv Yar is also firmly in Russian sights. “The situation around the town of Chasiv Yar is difficult,” Nazar Voloshyn, spokesman for the Ukrainian Ground Forces’ “Khortytsia” operational-strategic group, told CNN. Ukraine’s vulnerability in the face of the FAB threat highlights another huge need for Kyiv – more air defenses.

Persons: Oleksandr Syrskyi, Novokalynovo, Boris Rozhin, Anatolii Stepanov, Velyka, Volodymyr Zelensky, ”, Mike Johnson, Jake Tapper, “, Vladimir Putin doesn’t, Lloyd Austin, Chasiv Yar, ” Nazar Voloshyn, Yurii Fedorenko, Yar, Chasiv, ” Voloshyn, Zelensky, Victoria Butenko Organizations: CNN, Ukrainian, United States Congress, Russian, Getty, Ukraine’s Eastern Command, ” Artillery, US, House Defense, House, Ukrainian Armed Forces, Kremlin, Nazi, Ukrainian Ground Forces, Separate Assault Brigade, Reuters, Ukrainian Telegram, FAB, Kyiv, NATO Locations: Russia, Ukraine, Ocheretyne, Avdiivka, Ukrainian, Novokalynove, Donetsk, Ocheretyno, AFP, Tonenke, Pokrovsk, Europe, Russia’s, Chasiv, Nazi Germany, Kalynivka, Ivanivske, Zaporizhzhia region, Chasiv Yar, Kharkiv

☆ Ukraine war live updates: Russia steps up offensive in east Ukraine as forces look to seize major town by May 9, Ukraine says
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-16 | by ( Holly Ellyatt | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Russian forces continue to pummel eastern Ukraine in a bid to advance farther into the Donetsk region while Ukraine continues to suffer shortages of manpower and materiel. The commander-in-chief of Ukraine's armed forces, Oleksandr Syrskyi, said Monday that Russian forces were aiming to capture the town of Chasiv Yar in Donetsk by May 9, the date on which Russia commemorates Soviet victory in World War II. Chasiv Yar lies west of Bakhmut, which was captured by Russian forces last May. Capturing Chasiv Yar would give Russia another strategic gain in Donetsk and could allow it to advance on industrial hub Kramatorsk. Syrskyi did not present evidence for his claim.

Persons: Oleksandr Syrskyi, Chasiv Yar, Syrskyi Organizations: Russian Locations: Ukraine, Donetsk, Chasiv Yar, Russia, Soviet, Bakhmut

☆ Russia is using chemical weapons against Ukrainian troops to create panic before it attacks: report
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-08 | by ( Tom Porter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Russia is using chemical weapons against Ukrainian forces, The Telegraph has reported. The report says Russia is using the weapons to create panic before launching attacks. AdvertisementRussia is launching daily attacks on Ukrainian positions using prohibited chemical weapons, The Telegraph has reported. The report, citing front-line Ukrainian troops, says Russian forces are using the weapons in a bid to create panic before launching attacks on Ukrainian positions. It says Russia is using drones to drop grenades filled with CS gas, a chemical agent whose use in war is banned under the Chemical Weapons Convention.

Persons: —, Marc, Michael Blum, Russia's, Volodymyr Zelenskyy Organizations: Ukrainian, Telegraph, Service, CS, Chemical, Convention, 810th Naval Infantry Brigade, Kyiv Post, Republicans Locations: Russia, Ukrainian, Chasiv Yar, Donetsk, Ukraine, Russian, Kyiv

☆ As Russia tests for weak spots, Ukraine is banking on enemy mistakes
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-06 | by ( Tim Lister | Victoria Butenko | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

CNN —It generated little attention: another Russian assault in eastern Ukraine, across barren, pock-marked fields, met by determined, nimble resistance. But these frequent mechanized ground attacks by the Russians are like sand-blasting – eroding Ukrainian defenses in multiple spots along the frontlines. Yusov told CNN that recruitment in Russia continues, for contract soldiers, prisoners and international mercenaries. The Ukrainians won’t acknowledge such attacks but Yusov told CNN cryptically that refineries are military targets and “damage there is quite natural. Matthew Schmidt told CNN: “Whatever NATO can get to Ukraine is enough to stabilize its position, not to change it meaningfully.

Persons: Kateryna Stepanenko, Russia’s, ”, Narciso Contreras, Andriy Yusov, Kurt Campbell, Yusov, Matthew Schmidt, Oleksandr Syrsky, Ukraine “, –, Nazar Volosyn, “, Roman Pilipey, Putin, Jens Stoltenberg, Trump, what’s, Dmytro Kuleba, ” Kuleba, Andriі Kovalenko, Petr Pavel, Stepanenko, ” Stepanenko Organizations: CNN, Institute for, Russian, Anadolu, Getty, “, Ukrainian Defense Intelligence, UK’s Defense Ministry, National Security Department, New Haven University, NATO, Ukrainian, Congress, National Security and Defense Council, European Union Locations: Ukraine, Russian, Tonenke, Donetsk, Washington, Karlivka, Russia, North Korea, Ukrainian, Chasiv Yar, Kyiv, AFP, Rostov, Czech, Europe

☆ Russian assault piles pressure on fragile Ukrainian defensive line in the east
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-01 | by ( Nick Paton Walsh | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

The UK statement, which was shared on X, said: “Russian forces have maintained a gradual advance West of Avdiivka. Their apparent fall in just over a month after a prolonged and brutal Russian assault is indicative not only of Russian momentum, but also the fragility of Ukraine’s defensive lines. Ukraine’s military declined to comment on who is currently in control of Tonenke in response to a question from CNN. Troops CNN spoke to in frontline areas expressed concerns about the lack of Ukrainian defensive positions, personnel and munitions. The ISW said the Ukrainian forces appeared to have repelled the Russian mechanized assault, an apparent reference to the Umanske attack.

Persons: Kostiantyn, Donald Trump, Zelensky, ”, Yuriy Butusov, Butusov, Vlada, ISW, Chasiv Yar, Victoria Butenko, Svitlana Vlasova, Yulia Kesaieva Organizations: CNN, Kyiv, GOP, Washington, European Union, Ukraine’s, Staff, Russian, Troops CNN Locations: Russian, Avdiivka, Russia, Ukraine, Ukrainian, Washington, Kyiv, Umanske, Tonenke, Berdychi, US, Bakhmut

Instead, Ukrainian soldiers say they must sit and await an order to join the fight around them. The unit’s commander, Yaroslav, said he understood the war in Ukraine might feel “very far away” to Western politicians. That’s going to be very bad for us.”Residents of the eastern Ukrainian village of Zhelanie being evacuated due to ongoing shelling. If the situation gets critical… we are friends with the boys (Ukrainian soldiers), they come here for water. Another woman, who asked to speak anonymously, said Ukrainian soldiers had based themselves near civilians, were drawing Russian fire on the area, and were using up local resources.

Persons: Yaroslav, ” Yaroslav, “, Oleksandr, ”, Garrison Foster, Anna Maja Rappard, Viktor, wistfully, Ocheretyne, “ I’m, Valentina, “ It’s Organizations: Ukraine CNN, CNN, United States Congress, ”, CNN Russian, Avdiivka, Republican, CNN CNN Locations: Ocheretyne, Ukraine, Chasiv Yar, Bakhmut, Western, Russian, Europe, Ukrainian, Ivanivske, Avdiivka, Moscow, Russia, Orlivka, Georgia, ”, Zhelanie, Kaliningrad, Half

☆ After Retreat, Ukraine Digs in to Repel New Russian Attacks in East
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-19 | by ( Feb. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +4 min

The Latest Photos From Ukraine View All 91 Images"The Ukrainian military has established itself on new lines of defence and is successfully repelling attempts by the Russian invaders to develop an offensive," Brigadier-General Oleksandr Tarnavskyi wrote on Telegram messenger. The capture of Avdiivka pushes Ukrainian forces further from the Russian-held bastion city of Donetsk, an important logistics hub used by Moscow to support its operations across partially-occupied eastern Ukraine, a region known as the Donbas. Serhiy Zgurets, director of the Kyiv-based Defence Express consultancy, predicted Russian forces would try to "straighten out" the front line around Mariinka and launch a fresh push around the town of Vuhledar, which is held by Kyiv. Pavel Mogila, commander of an armoured unit in a Russian militia force fighting for Ukraine, said they helped evacuate forces from the city using three vehicles. Moscow unilaterally declared it had annexed the Ukrainian regions of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia in 2022 despite not fully controlling any of them.

Persons: Pavel Polityuk, Tom Balmforth, Avdiivka's, Republicans scupper, rearm, Oleksandr Tarnavskyi, Dmytro Lykhoviy, Avdiivka, Serhiy Zgurets, Zgurets, Chasiv Yar, Vladimir Putin, Maksym Zhoryn, Pavel Mogila, Taran, Oleh, Putin, Yuliia Dysa, Peter Graff Organizations: Tom Balmforth KYIV, Kremlin, U.S, Republicans, Ukrainian, Defence Express, Kyiv, Third Assault Brigade, 110th Brigade Locations: Avdiivka, Russia, Bakhmut, Mariinka, Kyiv, Russian, Donetsk, Moscow, Ukraine, Vuhledar, Chasiv, Luhansk, Kherson, Zaporizhzhia

☆ Russia raises its flag in Avdiivka, then presses the advantage on a vulnerable Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-18 | by ( Tim Lister | Maria Kostenko | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

The Russian military may have sensed a window of vulnerability in its adversary. Ukraine’s better units are exhausted after two years of combat; there is a new commander-in-chief, Oleksandr Syrskyi; and Ukrainian troops are short of shells and vulnerable to relentless air strikes. The daily update from the Ukrainian military provides a glimpse of the firepower now being brought to bear by the Russians. This is how the enemy gained the advantage, destroying everything and advancing in the city.”Ukrainian servicemen build a temporary fortification near Avdiivka. President Volodymyr Zelensky said Saturday that in Avdiivka, seven Russians were being killed for every Ukrainian soldier lost.

Persons: they’ve, Ukraine’s, Oleksandr Syrskyi, Volodymyr Zelensky, Vladimir Putin’s, ”, “, Ivan Tymochko, –, Firsov, Anatolii Stepanov, Chasiv Yar, Yevlash, ” Yevlash, Diego Herrera Carcedo, ’ Organizations: CNN, Russians, General Staff, Ukrainian Land Forces, Lyman, TV, Getty, Forces Locations: Avdiivka, Donetsk, Russia, Russian, Luhansk, Bakhmut, Kupiansk, Zaporizhzhia, Russians, Kharkiv, Robotyne, Severodonetsk, AFP, Mariinka, Vuhledar, Chasiv, Kramatorsk, Ukraine, Anadolu, Ukrainian

☆ Russian forces push into Ukraine’s Avdiivka, piling pressure on new army chief
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-10 | by ( Andrew Carey | Maria Kostenko | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Avdiivka, to the northwest of Donetsk city, remains the scene of some of the heaviest fighting as Russian forces continue their push from the north into the center of town. Even so, the DeepState mapping site suggests Russian forces are perhaps no more than several hundred meters away from the main supply route into town. Serhii Tsekhotskyi, an officer with the 59th Separate Motorized Infantry Brigade, told Ukrainian television that Russia was deploying large numbers of troop into the battle for Avdiivka. Lying just a few kilometers north of Donetsk airport, captured by Russian forces in early 2015 after months of periodically heavy fighting, Avdiivka has been firmly in Moscow’s crosshairs ever since. East of Kupiansk and the Oskil river, along the northernmost stretch of the battle, an army spokesman told Ukrainian television on Saturday that Russian forces were pressing.

Persons: Oleksandr Tarnavskyi, Serhii, “, ”, Boris Rozhin, Bakhmut, Avdiivka, Moscow’s crosshairs, Volodymyr Zelensky, Oleksandr Syrskyi, Syrskyi, Valerii Zaluzhnyi, Chasiv Yar Organizations: CNN, Russian, Motorized Infantry Brigade, Avdiivka, Presidential Press Service, Reuters, Land Forces, Storm Locations: Ukraine, Kyiv, Donetsk, Russia, Avdiivka, Kharkiv, Ukrainian, Kupiansk, Bakhmut

CNN —At least 30 people were killed and another 40 injured in two different explosions in Balochistan province on Wednesday, a day before Pakistan’s general elections. The blasts took place in the Killa Saifullah district outside an election office belonging to Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI) and in the Pishin district near the office of an independent candidate. According to police, a large number of workers were in the office at the time of the explosion. Those injured in the Pishin blast have been taken to hospital, Medical Superintendent Tehsil Headquarters Hospital Dr. Habib Ur Rehman said. The blasts come amid rising tensions in Pakistan ahead of Thursday’s election.

Persons: Pakistan’s, Saifullah, Yasir Bazai, Maulana Samiul Haq, Maulana Abdul Wasay, Asfand Yar Kakar, Pishin, Dad Mandokhail, Habib Ur Rehman, Liz Throssell, Amaq Organizations: CNN, Jamiat Ulema, UN, Human Rights, Islamic, ISIS Locations: Balochistan, Saifullah, Jamiat, Pishin, Quetta, Pakistan, Islamic State Pakistan Province

☆ Lysychansk: At least 28 killed in strike on Russian-occupied town in eastern Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-04 | by ( Maria Kostenko | Alex Stambaugh | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —At least 28 have been killed in an attack on a building in the town of Lysychansk in the Russian-occupied region of Luhansk in eastern Ukraine, the region’s Moscow-installed head said Sunday. Ukraine’s defense ministry has not commented on the incident. Lysychansk was taken over by Russian forces in July 2022, becoming the last town in the key region of Luhansk in eastern Ukraine to fall. Last month, the Russian Defense Ministry said it stopped Ukrainian drones headed toward Moscow and St Petersburg. In December, Ukraine launched an attack on the Russian border city of Belgorod, killing at least 24 and wounding 108 others.

Persons: Republic Leonid Pasechnik, Pasechnik, Lysychansk, Chasiv Yar Organizations: CNN, Luhansk People’s, Russian, Russian Defense Ministry, St Locations: Lysychansk, Russian, Luhansk, Ukraine, Moscow, Republic, Ukrainian, Luhansk People’s Republic, Russia, Crimea, St Petersburg, Russia’s Bryansk, Belgorod, Kharkiv, Bakhmut, Avdiivka

☆ Ukraine’s soldiers ‘in deep defense mode’ as uncertainty lingers over commander-in-chief
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-03 | by ( Andrew Carey | Maria Kostenko | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

A presidential spokesman denied the report but a source familiar with the matter said an announcement was expected within days. Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces Valerii Zaluzhnyi. Valentyn Ogirenko/Reuters/FileA senior army spokesman with responsibility for the same region drew attention to another Ukrainian deficit opposite Russia, in comments on Ukrainian television – namely, a lack of ammunition. Where previously, Russian forces had been firing 60,000 rounds a day along the entire front line, the number currently was about half that, he said. “We are in deep defense mode and are holding back the enemy.

Persons: Oleksandr Syrskyi, ” Syrskyi, Volodymyr Zelensky, Valerii, Syrskyi, ”, Zaluzhnyi, Ukrainian Armed Forces Valerii, Valentyn Ogirenko, ” Illia Yevlash, Yevlash, Chasiv Yar, Oleksandr, Dmytro Lazutkin Organizations: CNN, President’s, Staff, Ukrainian Armed Forces Locations: Kupiansk, Kharkiv, Ukraine, Tabaivka, Luhansk, Russia, Bakhmut, Avdiivka

☆ For eastern Ukrainians, the ordeal of war is entering its second decade
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-01 | by ( Max Hunder | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

It is now close to the front line between Ukrainian and Russian forces, and many of its buildings are damaged or destroyed. Like most people from Chasiv Yar, Tkachov has moved further from the fighting though some remain. All of them have lived through nearly a decade of war, a reminder that for millions in eastern Ukraine the conflict has rumbled on since 2014, long before Russia's full-scale invasion in February last year grabbed the world's attention. BUILD-UPUkraine and its Western allies say Russia infiltrated eastern Ukraine with fighters and intelligence operatives to stage a coup in Donbas in 2014 which Moscow subsequently supported with regular troops. FULL-SCALE WARThe U.N. human rights office estimated that more than 14,000 military personnel and civilians were killed in eastern Ukraine from early April 2014 to the end of 2021.

Persons: Tkachov, Alina Smutko, CHASIV, Chasiv Yar, Vladimir Putin, Viktor Yanukovych, Yanukovych, Max Hunder, Mike Collett, White Organizations: REUTERS, Reuters, Russian, Russia, Timothy Heritage, Thomson Locations: Kostiantynivka, Ukraine, Donetsk region, Donbas, CHASIV YAR, Chasiv, Russian, Russia, Moscow, Donetsk, Luhansk, Soviet Union, Ukrainian, CRIMEA, Kyiv, Crimea, Sloviansk, Soviet

☆ Little food, a beating and lice: What freed Israeli hostages are saying about being held by Hamas
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-01 | by ( Rachel Clarke | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

The details below have been compiled from comments by freed hostages to their families, their carers and sometimes to reporters. Under the terms of the deal between Israel and Hamas, most of those released are women, children and foreign workers. Ruth Munder, a released Israeli hostage, walks with an Israeli soldier shortly after her arrival in Israel on November 24. Emily Hand told her father that they always had breakfast and sometimes lunch or an evening meal. Emily Hand said she was not hit and her father said he believed harsh voices were enough to make her do what was wanted.

Persons: –, It’s, Adina Moshe, Eyal Nouri, “, ” Moshe, Nouri, keener, ” Nouri, Yocheved, Emily, Thomas Hand, Hand, “ It’s, ”, Hila Rotem, Raaya Rotem, ” Hand, “ She’d, Hila, bedclothes, Ruth Munder, Eitan Yahalomi, Deborah Cohen, Omer Lubaton Granot, ” Granot, Lifshitz, Grandmother Ruth Munder, Israel’s vise, ” Munder, ” Adina Moshe, Emily Hand, she’s, Uthai Saengnuan, Eitan, Yair Rotem, it’s, Yar Rotem, ” Chumpron Jirachart, Manee Jirachart, I’ve, Elma Avraham, Hagai Levine, ” Eitan Yahalomi, Efrat Bron, Harlev, ” Bron, ” Israel, CNN’s Rachel Clarke, Joseph Ataman, Wolf Blitzer, Kate Bolduan, Bianna Golodryga, Jessie Gretener, Poppy Harlow, Jacqueline Howard, Lauren Izso, Ed Lavandera, Phil Mattingly, Kocha OIarn, Clarissa Ward Organizations: CNN, Rotem, United Nations ’ Office, Humanitarian Affairs, BFMTV, Israel’s, UN, Sourasky Medical, Israeli Defense Forces, Schneider Children’s Medical Center of Israel Locations: Israel, Palestinian, Gaza, Tel Aviv, Atlanta

For Skachkova, the final straw was her son telling her that he was frightened by the constant shelling nearby. "My mother didn't want to go," Skachkova told Reuters, recalling how she had told her daughter that she did not want to be a burden. Moscow denies targeting civilians but the U.N. refugee agency says about 5 million Ukrainians have been internally displaced by Russia's invasion. Families with children usually stayed for a few days, while older evacuees were harder to find permanent homes for and sometimes stay for months. She was told by Ukrainian soldiers who rescued her that she would have died had she stayed another two days.

Persons: Alina Smutko, Skachkova, Denys, Scherbak, Maria Maliarenko, Chasiv Yar, Yulia Nikonova, Denys strode, Max Hunder, Ivan Lyubysh, Timothy Organizations: REUTERS, Reuters, Timothy Heritage, Thomson Locations: Toretsk, Ukraine, Kostiantynivka, Donetsk region, KOSTIANTYNIVKA, Donetsk, Moscow, Tetiana, Bakhmut, Chasiv, Russian, Skachkova

☆ Atari 2600+ sees its future in retro gaming — and maybe in a handheld too
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-30 | by ( Michael Nam | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —The Atari home video game system took the late1970s and early 1980s by storm, complete with faux wood paneling and a classic joystick with a big red button. Centipede - Atari 2600 VCS Videogame ArcadeImages/Alamy Stock PhotoWith Rosen at the helm, the company is taking a closer look at its own history to chart its future, releasing remastered or reimagined versions of its classics like “Missile Command” and “Centipede,” producing the critically acclaimed “Atari 50” interactive documentary, and introducing its soon-to-be released retro console the Atari 2600+. They’re radically different things.”The retro console arrives in November at a $130 price point and in a more compact version. While it comes packaged with 10 games in a single cartridge, the console will also play new titles and work with original Atari 2600 and 7800 game cartridges. Atari is reimagining the classic "Haunted House" video game.

Persons: Wade Rosen, Rosen, ” Rosen, “, They’re, ”, Tengku Bahar, there’d, It’s Organizations: CNN, Atari, “, Command, Getty, Nightdive Studios, Nintendo, PlayStation Locations: Hong Kong, AFP

☆ Ukraine marks 82nd anniversary of Babyn Yar killings by Nazi forces
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/5] Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy takes part in a commemoration ceremony for the victims of Babyn Yar (Babiy Yar), one of the biggest single massacres of Jews during the Nazi Holocaust, in Kyiv Ukraine September 29, 2023. Over the next two years, many more people were killed at Babyn Yar. The Ukrainian foreign ministry urged the world to prevent such killings happening again and drew attention to Russia's invasion of Ukraine 19 months ago. "The memory of Babyn Yar and the slogan 'Never again' are the moral basis of humanism and opposition to any forms of aggressive-chauvinistic ideologies, in particular, Russian aggression against Ukraine," it said in a statement. Zelenskiy is Ukraine's first ethnically Jewish president, although he is not publicly religious.

Persons: Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Babyn Yar, Babiy Yar, Roma, Anna Pruchnicka, Timothy Heritage, Philippa Fletcher Organizations: Nazi, Thomson Locations: Nazi, Kyiv Ukraine, KYIV, Ukraine, Kyiv, Babyn, Soviet Union, Ukrainians, Ukrainian, Russia

CNN —A Spanish aid worker has been killed in eastern Ukraine after a projectile fell on the vehicle she was traveling in, according to Spanish foreign minister José Manuel Albares. The woman has been named by Spanish public broadcaster RTVE as Emma Igual, the director of an NGO named “Road to Relief” which focuses on evacuating civilians from the Ukrainian frontline. In the post, the NGO said a Canadian volunteer named Anthony “Tonko” Ihnat was also killed in the attack, which CNN has not been able to independently verify. The remaining passengers, according to the NGO, are German medical volunteer Ruben Mawick and Swedish volunteer Johan Mathias Thyr. He added that they have been given medical assistance, with one hospitalized with head and limb injuries.

Persons: José Manuel Albares, “, RTVE, Emma Igual, Chasiv Yar, Anthony “ Tonko, Ihnat, Ruben Mawick, Johan Mathias Thyr, Ruslan Kravchenko Organizations: CNN, Spanish, Relief Locations: Ukraine, New Delhi, Spanish, Ukrainian, Sloviansk, Bakhmut, Chasiv, Canadian, Russia, Kyiv

☆ Beyoncé Fuels a Small-Business Boom
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-06 | by ( Sanam Yar | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

When Virgo season dawned, Beyoncé — perhaps the world’s most famous Virgo, who named a track on her seventh album, “Renaissance,” after the star sign — had a birthday request. The performer, now in the last month of her Renaissance World Tour, posted a message on her website and Instagram on Aug. 23 encouraging fans to wear silver to her concerts through Virgo season, which ends on Sept. 22. “We’ll surround ourselves in a shimmering human disco ball each night,” the message read. Virgo season together in the house of chrome.”The tour has already been a fashion show, with attendees wearing bejeweled cowboy hats and more looks inspired by the album’s visuals and Beyoncé’s stage outfits. On TikTok, concertgoers posted videos of their original non-silver looks set to audio of high-pitched screaming.

Persons: Beyoncé —, —, concertgoers, Gayle King, Rosie O’Donnell Locations: Las

☆ How Classical Composers Made Music After the Holocaust
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-02 | by ( Kira Thurman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Perhaps she’d learned them in the early days after the war, when she’d performed with Holocaust survivors at a hospital in 1945. Jansen does not appear in Jeremy Eichler’s new book, “Time’s Echo,” but the impulse to turn to music during and after the Holocaust is at the heart of it. Eichler, The Boston Globe’s chief classical music critic, suggests that music can help us remember what we’ve lost. “Time’s Echo” is an engrossing recovery project that reveals the depths of Europe’s ability — and inability — to mourn those losses. Not only do we remember music but, just as importantly, “music also remembers us,” Eichler argues.

Persons: Jeremy Eichler, Fasia Jansen, Brecht, she’d, Jansen, Jeremy Eichler’s, Eichler, we’ve, —, Richard Strauss’s “, ” Arnold Schoenberg’s “, ” Benjamin Britten’s “, ”, Dmitri Shostakovich’s “ Babi Yar, ” Eichler, “, ” Schoenberg Organizations: The Boston, Central Locations: German, Hamburg, Neuengamme, Warsaw, Europe

☆ Former generals weigh in on how much say the US should have in Ukraine's counteroffensive as Kyiv's frustration with critics boils over
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-02 | by ( Ryan Pickrell | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +12 min

Ukraine has blamed a lack of equipment and tough defenses while some in the West have put the blame on Kyiv's forces. "Everyone is now an expert on how we should fight," Ukraine's defense ministry said on social media Thursday. He wrote that the general is "extremely talented," but "he has never before" coordinated the kind of operations Ukraine is executing now. AdvertisementAdvertisementThe US has reiterated that it will continue to support Ukraine's war effort, even as the counteroffensive is expected to potentially last for at least a couple more months and the conflict possibly for years. In a recent conversation with Insider about Ukrainian operations, Hodges said that the Ukrainians "have recognized that they have to adapt, which is what they're doing."

Persons: Dmytro Kuleba, it's, —, Jose Colon, Jack Keane, Keane, Metz, Michael O'Hanlon, George S, O'Hanlon, Hertling, Valery Zaluzhny, Diego Herrera Carcedo, Mick Ryan, Michael Kofman, Franz, Stefan Gady, Ben Hodges, David Petraeus, Mark Milley, Milley, Petraeus, Frederick Kagan, Hodges, Kyiv's, Ryan Organizations: Service, —, PKP, Ukrainian Army, Anadolu Agency, Getty, US Army, Institute for, Street, Patton's Third Army, NATO, intel, Army, Foreign Affairs, US Central Command, CNN, Joint Chiefs, Staff, The Washington Post, American Enterprise Institute, Russia, Nazis Locations: Ukraine, Wall, Silicon, Kyiv, Europe, Chasiv Yar, Russia, Donetsk Oblast, America, Ukrainian, France, Metz, Vietnam, Korea, US Army Europe, Australian, American, Singapore, Japan, United States, Philippines

☆ JPMorgan: The world's food supplies face a bleak future. These are the 3 biggest threats, and the companies best-positioned to tackle food insecurity.
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-25 | by ( Mark Reeth | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

Investors need to know exactly where the threats to the world's food supply are coming from, what themes are beginning to emerge in this new reality, and how they should be investing. New threats to the world's food supplyIn her report, Chang highlighted the ongoing problems affecting the world's food supply: war, weather, and the weaponization of food. One of the most devastating recently implemented restrictions on food supply is India's decision to ban the exportation of non-Basmati white rice. The combination of war, weather, and the weaponization of food has taken a toll on the world's food availability. And within food innovation, JPMorgan analysts like Philippine food and beverage maker Monde Nissin (MONDE PM) and Thailand-based seafood producer Thai Union (TU TB).

Persons: UNICEF — that's, Global Research Joyce Chang, Chang, El, Hilary, CJ Cheiljedang, Mengniu Dairy, Kubota, Jeronimo Martins SGPS Organizations: JPMorgan, Hurricanes, UNICEF —, Global Research, Grain Initiative, Food Policy Research, Food, Agriculture Commodities, ASEAN, Mahindra, LG, Thai Union, TU, Jeronimo Martins SGPS SA, Tesco PLC, J Sainsbury PLC, Koninklijke Ahold Delhaize, Carrefour SA, Yara International ASA, OCI, OCI NA, Bayer AG, PepsiCo Locations: Ukraine, California, Canada, East Coast, Russia, Africa, Asia, India, El, South Korean, HK, South Korea, Philippine, Thailand, Europe

CNN —One year after catastrophic floods devastated swathes of Pakistan, some 4 million children in the South Asian nation remain without access to safe water, the United Nations children’s agency has warned. “Vulnerable children living in flood-affected areas have endured a horrific year,” Abdullah Fadil, UNICEF Representative in Pakistan, said in the statement. “The climate-related disaster deepened pre-existing inequities for children and families in affected districts,” UNICEF said in the statement. Children pick vegetables from water at a flooded market after heavy rainfall in Lahore on June 26, 2023. Fadil from UNICEF said the agency has called on the government of Pakistan and its partners to “increase and sustain investment in basic social services for children and families.”He added: “We cannot forget the children of Pakistan.

Persons: ” Abdullah Fadil, “, Asim Hafeez, Dera Allah Yar, Fida Hussain, Imran Khan, Khan, ”, Stephen Innes, Arif Ali, Fadil Organizations: CNN, United Nations, UNICEF, UNICEF Representative, Bloomberg, Getty, International Monetary Fund, World Bank, Capital Economics, Analysts Locations: Pakistan, Karachi Division, Sindh province, Pakistan’s, Dera, Jaffarabad district, Balochistan, AFP, Asia, Lahore, South Asia, Afghanistan, India

Here are some details of the impact:* DEATHThe war has caused death on a level not seen in Europe since World War Two. The war has left nearly 500,000 troops either dead or injured, according to the New York Times. Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said on Sept. 21 that 5,937 Russian soldiers had been killed since the start of the war. When added to Crimea, which Russia annexed from Ukraine in 2014, Russia now controls about 17.5% of Ukraine, an area of about 41,000 square miles (106,000 square km). Shortly after Russia's invasion of Ukraine, international oil prices spiked to their highest levels since the records of 2008.

Persons: Chasiv Yar, Violeta Santos Moura, Sergei Shoigu, Julie Kozack, William Burns, Putin, Guy Faulconbridge, Philippa Fletcher Organizations: REUTERS, United Nations, Human Rights, New York Times, Russian, Reuters, Belfer, Harvard Kennedy School, International Monetary Fund, CIA, European Union, Kiel Institute, Thomson Locations: Chasiv, Ukraine, Donetsk, Europe, United States, Ukraine's, Russia, Crimea, Russian, UNHCR, UKRAINE Russia, Massachusetts , New Hampshire, Connecticut, wastelands, RUSSIA, Moscow, China, Saudi Arabia, Britain, Germany, Japan

CHASIV YAR, Ukraine—Some of Ukraine’s biggest gains in its counteroffensive have come around the city of Bakhmut, which Russia seized in May after months of bloody fighting. But soldiers near there say advances have slowed in recent days amid stiff Russian defense and counterattacks, denting hopes that Kyiv could soon retake the city.

Persons: CHASIV YAR, denting Organizations: Ukraine’s Locations: Ukraine, Bakhmut, Russia

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