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☆ Opinion | Haiti Has Overcome Other Crises. This Time, We Can’t Do It Alone.
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-01 | by ( Jean W. Pape | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

As an infectious disease doctor working in Haiti for over 40 years, I have wrestled with countless tragedies. We now have around 200 gangs, armed with military-grade weapons, rampaging through our neighborhoods, killing, kidnapping and raping our citizens. Our police force of 9,000 is powerless, its members having become targets of gruesome gang violence or recruitment efforts. Over the past several months, it has become clear to me that we can’t do it alone. Haitians cannot overcome this crisis — the worst I have seen in my life — without foreign intervention.

Persons: Volker Türk, Jovenel Moïse, — Organizations: Civilian, United Nations Locations: Haiti, Covid

[1/5] TANAKA whose real name is Kim Kyung-wook, speaks during an interview with Reuters in Seoul, South Korea, May 16, 2023. Now Kim exemplifies the changing attitudes of young Koreans as ties with Japan thaw. DEMAND REBOUNDThe quarrels are being left behind as the enthusiasm of young Koreans fuels a sharp rebound in demand for Japanese consumer products. That compared with a 90% drop in imports of Japanese beer in 2019, when the intensifying feuds made it an early target of a sweeping boycott. "China is clearly less preferred than countries like the United States and Japan," Kim said, citing Beijing's curbs on freedom in Hong Kong and during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Persons: TANAKA, Kim Kyung, Kim Hong, Ji, Jeong, Tanaka, idolises, I've, it's, Kim, Fumio Kishida, Yoon Suk, James Kim, Hyonhee Shin, Heekyong Yang, Jimin Jung, Daewoung Kim, Clarence Fernandez Organizations: Reuters, REUTERS, South, Korea's, Relations, Asahi Group Holdings, Costco, Hankook Research, Asan Institute, Policy Studies, Thomson Locations: Seoul, South Korea, Ji SEOUL, South Korean, Japan, Tokyo, Korean, China, Russia, North Korea, United States, Hong Kong

☆ Wagner's chief says his army isn't strong enough to topple Putin, responding to rumors he is planning a coup: report
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-30 | by ( Tom Porter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Wagner Group chief Yevgeny Prigozhin denied planning a coup. Kremlin ally Igor Girkin had claimed that Prigozhin may be preparing to topple Vladimir Putin. Prigozhin instead implied that Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu could stage a coup because he has access to the Russian Special Forces, the ISW added. Wagner, Prigozhin said on Telegram, simply wants reforms in Russia, according to the report. Girkin said insults Prigozhin has made about top Russian officials in expletive filled videos indicate he is planning to seize power.

☆ Ukraine peace plan is only way to end Russia's war, says Zelenskiy aide
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-29 | by ( Max Hunder | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

He pushed back on a flurry of peace initiatives from China, Brazil, the Vatican and South Africa in recent months. "There cannot be a Brazilian peace plan, a Chinese peace plan, a South African peace plan when you are talking about the war in Ukraine," Zhovkva said in an interview late on Friday. Zelenskiy made a major push to court the Global South this month in response to peace moves from some of its members. Moscow has bolstered ties with Global South powers during the war in Ukraine, including by selling more of its energy to India and China. 'PEACE SUMMIT'Zhovkva said the reaction to Ukraine's 10-point peace plan had been extremely positive at the G7 summit.

☆ Women’s Tennis Suddenly Has a Big(ish) Three
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-29 | by ( Matthew Futterman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

And yet something has been happening with this group lately in the rivalry-starved women’s game — something that could all come together in a glorious rumble during the next two weeks at the French Open. The first of the three to play at Roland Garros, Sabalenka, started her tournament with a win over Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine in a match tinged with wartime bitterness. Ever since Ashleigh Barty of Australia retired while atop the rankings in March 2022 at age 25, Swiatek, Rybakina and Sabalenka have been hogging nearly all of the most prestigious trophies. Swiatek has been among the most outspoken critics of Russia’s invasion, helping to raise millions of dollars to support relief efforts in Ukraine. Rybakina and Sabalenka hail from the two countries perpetrating the war, as Kostyuk reminded everyone Sunday.

☆ Russian Missile Attack on Kyiv Sends Civilians Racing for Cover
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-29 | by ( Marc Santora | Natalia Yermak | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Even in a city where people have adapted the routines of ordinary life to wartime, the spectacle unfolding overhead in Kyiv was areminder that while the fighting has been concentrated hundred of miles east, the Ukrainian capital still has a Russian bull’s-eye on it. Ballistic missiles began roaring in shortly after 11 a.m. Monday — a rare daytime barrage that sent city residents racing for cover — and were quickly shot down. Then the attacks erupted again early Tuesday, making it clear that even as Kyiv, aided by Western allies, builds up its air-defense system, Russian forces are intent on testing for soft spots. Russia is trying to “confuse and mislead our air defense system,” Yurii Ihnat, a spokesman for Ukraine’s Air Force Command, said in an appearance on national television over the weekend. “It uses the topography of the area to disappear from radars.”

☆ A debt-ceiling deal may be close but the crisis likely isn't solved for good. Here's what would happen if the US actually defaulted on its debt.
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-27 | by ( Phil Rosen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

So the Treasury market remains intact in this scenario? JL: The broader US economy will suffer, the stock market will suffer, there will be higher unemployment. So just because the Treasury market ends up doing fine does not mean good news for the US economy. If you think the stock market isn't signaling there's a recession looming, David Rosenberg says otherwise. The AI hype gripping the stock market will resemble a mini dot-com bubble, according to UBS's Art Cashin.

☆ Putin is still too reliant on Prigozhin's 'meat army' to punish the mercenary leader for his public defiance: reports
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-24 | by ( Erin Snodgrass | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The minor victory comes as Wagner leader Yevgeny Prigozhin continues to publicly slam Russia's military. The Wagner-won victory in the strategically-unimportant city complicates Russian President Vladimir Putin's likely response to Prigozhin's exceedingly defiant and chaotic attitude. And yet Prigozhin continues to play an important role in the war, even after taking a veiled barb at the Russian president, himself, earlier this month. In a rare moment of recognition, Putin even directly congratulated the Wagner Group following their alleged seizure of Bakhmut. Prigozhin said Saturday he would pull his Wagner troops from Bakhmut come Thursday, where they would reorganize and undergo additional training.

☆ Japan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-24 | by ( Kevin Klowden | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

China has so far not acted in an aggressive manner toward shipping in the South China Sea, but the very potential of action creates a clear threat to the economies of Japan and South Korea. Nowhere is that more evident than in President Xi Jinping's "nine-dash" declaration, through which Beijing claims sovereignty over almost all the South China Sea. And of all the countries with cause to be concerned about that claim, perhaps none have more on the line than Japan and South Korea. For Japan and South Korea, the threat to their supply chains and energy imports is a far more real and present issue. Even in a non-wartime situation, China has taken the position that the South China Sea is a controlled territory rather than open international waters under Chinese guardianship.

Persons: Kevin Klowden, Xi Jinping's Organizations: Milken Institute, weekend's Locations: China, South China, Japan, South Korea, Ukraine, East, East Asia, Beijing, Spratly, United States

☆ Summer Movies 2023: Here’s What’s Coming to Theaters and Streaming
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-24 | by ( Ben Kenigsberg | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

WHITE BIRD R.J. Palacio’s novel “Wonder” was adapted into a movie nearly six years ago. In this film, based on a follow-up book, the bully (Bryce Gheisar) of the first story learns about intolerance from his grandmother (Helen Mirren), a Holocaust survivor who shares her wartime experiences with him. (Aug. 25 in theaters)SCRAPPER A girl (Lola Campbell) is resourcefully getting by on her own after her mother’s death when her father (Harris Dickinson) returns. Charlotte Regan wrote and directed. (Aug. 25 in theaters)

☆ UN concerned by lack of grain ships going to one Ukrainian port
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-22 | by ( Michelle Nichols | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The Black Sea grain deal - brokered by the U.N. and Turkey last July - allows for the safe export of ammonia and Russia has been pushing for the pipeline to be restarted. Russia agreed last week for the Black Sea pact to be extended for two months. The Black Sea grain deal ground to a halt last week as Russia decided whether to continue it. He noted that no fertilizers, including ammonia, had yet been exported under the Black Sea agreement. The Kremlin said on Monday that the EU's reluctance to reconnect Russia's state agricultural bank to SWIFT showed the bloc's "non-constructive stance" on the Black Sea grain deal.

☆ Live updates: Russia's war in ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-20 | by ( Heather Chen | Andrew Raine | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

The move is in response to the "regularly anti-Russian sanctions" imposed by the US administration, according to a statement from Russia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Friday. Hours earlier, at the Group of Seven summit, the Biden administration unveiled new sanctions targeting Moscow for its war in Ukraine. An adviser to the mayor of Mariupol in southeastern Ukraine claims the explosions took place at a base for Moscow's forces. US diplomatic appointment: US President Joe Biden formally nominated James O'Brien to serve as the top State Department official for European affairs — a key role for guiding Washington's response to Russia's war in Ukraine. NATO developments: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told CNN he is still not prepared to support Sweden's NATO membership, repeating his claim that Stockholm has allowed terrorist organizations to harbor in the country.

☆ Ukraine's Zelensky and India's Modi meet in Japan for first face-to-face since Russia invasion
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-20 | by ( Simone Mccarthy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the sidelines of the Group of Seven (G7) summit in Japan Saturday, the first in-person meeting between the two since Russia’s invasion began. Modi – who has so far refused to condemn the invasion – said India would do “everything we can” to help end the war. For me, it is an issue of humanity.”For his part, Zelensky invited Modi to join Ukraine’s peace efforts to bring the war against Russia to an end. Winning support or understanding from leaders like Modi could be a key motivation also driving Zelensky to attend the G7, analysts have said. Zelensky’s peace plan, in contrast, calls for the restoration of Ukraine’s internationally recognized borders and the withdrawal of Russian troops.

☆ South Korea's Yoon thanks Japan's Kishida for his efforts to mend ties
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol shakes hands with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida during a joint press conference after their meeting at the presidential office in Seoul on May 7, 2023. ... Read moreSEOUL, May 21 (Reuters) - South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol said on Sunday that Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's words resonated with many South Koreans when earlier this month he said that "his heart hurts" for those who suffered as wartime labourers under Japan's colonial rule. Yoon made the remark at a meeting with Kishida on the sidelines of the Group of Seven (G7) Summit in Hiroshima in Japan. Ahead of their meeting on Sunday, Yoon and Kishida visited the Hiroshima Memorial Peace Park to pay their respects at a memorial for Korean victims who had perished in the atomic bombings in 1945. "I feel that our visit was important for both Japan and South Korea relations, as well as for us to pray for world peace," Kishida said to Yoon ahead of the meeting.

Vadym Boychenko, mayor of Mariupol, at his office in the city hall of Mariupol, Ukraine, on Wednesday, Jan. 12, 2022. Russian service members work on demining the territory of Azovstal steel plant during Ukraine-Russia conflict in the southern port city of Mariupol, Ukraine May 22, 2022. A view shows the building of a theatre destroyed in the course of Ukraine-Russia conflict in the southern port city of Mariupol, Ukraine April 10, 2022. Before Russia's invasion last February, Mariupol was affectionately known as the mighty Ukrainian city with a fierce, steel heart. A local resident reacts while speaking outside a block of flats heavily damaged during Ukraine-Russia conflict in the southern port city of Mariupol, Ukraine April 18, 2022.

☆ Zelensky, Ukraine's president, plans to appear in person at Japan's G7 summit
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( Simone Mccarthy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

G7 member countries, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States, include the largest backers of Ukraine’s defense. Diplomatic pushEarlier this week, Zelensky completed a whirlwind European tour, where he made a bid to restock Ukraine’s military arsenal during stops in Italy, Germany, France and the United Kingdom. Zelensky will also attend the Arab League summit in Saudi Arabia on Friday, two Arab diplomats confirmed to CNN. Zelensky met with envoy Li Hui earlier this week, China’s Foreign Ministry said Thursday. Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry earlier that day had confirmed Li met Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba and discussed “ways to stop Russian aggression.”

☆ As China, Russia, and Trump challenge the old rules of global politics, G7 aims to shore them u
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( Stephen Collinson | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Editor’s Note: This story was adapted from CNN’s Meanwhile in America, the email about US politics for global readers. CNN —The old rules of politics are being smashed all over the world. Russian President Vladimir Putin rejected international law and the concept of national sovereignty by marching into Ukraine. This week’s G7 summit of industrialized nations in Japan will focus on the war in Ukraine, the threat from China, climate change and international trade. But the underlying theme of the talks will be an effort to shore up international rules and practices.

☆ Ukraine and Russia Renew a Deal to Allow Ukraine to Ship Grain
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-17 | by ( Matthew Mpoke Bigg | Gulsin Harman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Ukraine and Russia agreed Wednesday to a two-month extension of a wartime deal that allows Ukraine to ship its grain across the Black Sea, a rare example of cooperation between the two countries. Under the Black Sea Grain Initiative, which began last July, Ukraine, a major exporter of wheat, corn and sunflower oil, can transport grain and other food products along a corridor past Russian naval vessels that have blockaded Ukraine’s ports since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion 15 months ago. The shipments are subject to inspection off the coast of Istanbul, while empty cargo ships headed to Ukraine’s ports are also checked, in part to ensure they are not carrying weapons. Grain exports are important for Ukraine’s economy and their resumption also helps maintain the stability of global food prices, which rose sharply during the first months of war, as grain intended for export piled up in Ukrainian ports and warehouses. The resulting shortages and price increases raised the threat of famine in parts of the Middle East and Africa.

Plenty of uncertainty around global wheat production and trade remains, especially in the Black Sea, since 2023-24 grain crops are far from settled. Wheat SU among major exporters in May 2022 was pegged at a 15-year low of 13.5% for 2022-23, expanding to 13.75% by February 2023. This SU trend in major wheat exporting countries is not exclusive to 2022-23. USDA has 2023-24 Ukraine wheat production at 16.5 million tonnes with exports at 10 million, down from 20.9 million and 15 million in 2022-23, respectively. OTHER HOTSPOTSIn top exporter Russia, USDA shows 2023-24 wheat production down 11% from last year's record, though exports are seen edging up 2% to a new high.

☆ 'Loud mouth' Prigozhin's public feuding with Russia's military leaders is an effort to blame the Kremlin for Wagner's failures in Bakhmut, military expert says
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( Erin Snodgrass | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Yevgeny Prigozhin and Russia's military brass have been locked in a public feud for monthsMeanwhile, Prigozhin's Wagner Group troops have sustained significant losses in Bakhmut. For months, Wagner troops have borne the brunt of the attritional fighting in Bakhmut as the frontlines grinded to a brutal stalemate. The White House in February said Wagner troops had suffered 30,000 casualties since the war began in February 2022. A mural depicting mercenaries of Russia's Wagner Group that reads: "Wagner Group - Russian knights." "I think they probably hate [Prigozhin] because he's such a loud mouth," Hodges said of Russia's defense leaders.

Eastern Ukraine CNN —As their country fights to repel Russia’s forces, Ukrainian women are taking on roles and responsibilities previously unavailable to them, often in challenging and dangerous circumstances. In their absence, Ukrainian women are stepping up. Underground mining, forging hot metals, and operating heavy machinery – these are just a few of the jobs Ukrainian women weren’t previously permitted to do. Tetiana was one of the first to raise her hand when the miining company asked for female volunteers to work underground. When hundreds of miners were conscripted into the military, Tetiana’s mining company asked for female volunteers to work underground.

☆ Opinion: How will Russia’s war end? Zelensky’s representative in the US has an unflinching view
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( David A. Andelman | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +17 min

Ukraine's ambassador to the US, Oksana Markarova, greets Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as he arrives in Washington on December 21, 2022. From the start, our president has been very vocal, saying that we need to liberate Ukraine within its internationally recognized borders. We heard it also from our strategic partners here, and even at the recent phone call of our president with President Xi. Andelman: So why did President Zelensky recently have a long conversation with Xi Jinping? Andelman: You know President Zelensky very well personally.

☆ Shell-shocked animals at Kyiv Zoo are being given anti-depressants as Russia ramps up its missile attacks
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( Sophia Ankel | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

A Russian rocket struck Kyiv Zoo in a massive overnight airstrike, The Guardian reported. No animals were killed, but have been getting increasingly stressed, the zoo's director said. The director said some animals have been given anti-depressants to help them get through the war. The zoo has been giving animals sedatives and anti-depressants to cope with the ongoing strikes. The zoo, which houses nearly 4,000 animals and 200 species, has remained a popular Kyiv attraction even in wartime.

☆ An Autobiographical Novel Reclaims a Jewish History in Occupied France
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( Julie Orringer | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

She asks her mother to tell her all she knows, and her mother, who has by now researched this history extensively, complies. But the few clues available lead only to further questions, and Anne and her mother take the search into their own hands. Each new piece of information they unearth carries with it a freight of pain, a reminder of what was lost. But Anne, having chosen this search, persists: “I’m your daughter, Maman,” she tells her mother. “You’re the one who taught me how to do research, to gather information, to make even the smallest scrap of paper speak.

☆ Zelenskyy proposed bombing a Russian pipeline and using long-range missiles to hit targets outside Ukraine's borders, leaked documents show
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-14 | by ( Katherine Tangalakis-Lippert | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Intelligence documents leaked last month offered a glimpse into Ukraine's wartime strategy. Among the Ukrainian's secret plans: occupy Russian villages and bomb an oil pipeline. Among the extreme strategies Zelenskyy considered: occupying Russian villages, bombing an oil pipeline that transfers Russian oil to Hungary, and firing long-range missiles at targets beyond the Russian border. In another meeting, the Ukrainian leader lamented, "Ukraine does not have long-range missiles capable of reaching Russian troop deployments in Russia nor anything with which to attack them." Representatives for the Pentagon and Ukraine's Ministry of Defense did not immediately respond to Insider's requests for comment.

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