Global Courant 2023-05-01 01:59:07
Ukraine is preparing for a military attack
Ukrainian soldiers are gearing up for a spring offensive and the country is under pressure to show some success in bolstering soldier and civilian morale, bolstering Western support and recapturing stolen territory.
With fighting in the eastern Donbas region in a bloody stalemate, part of southeastern Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia region could prove to be the next major theater, a focal point of the long-awaited counter-offensive. The Times spent two weeks there near the front lines, documenting life in the trenches.
The fighting there is intensely personal. My colleagues spent time with the 110th Territorial Defense Brigade, and most of the soldiers come from areas now occupied by Russia. “We just want to kick them off our country, that’s it,” said a 32-year-old former teacher. “If we don’t stop this, we’ll have no place to return.”
Strategy: Zaporizhzhia forms the heart of a southern land bridge, connecting Russian territory with the occupied Crimean peninsula. A military strike by Ukraine there makes sense, military officials and experts say: If Ukraine punched south through Russian lines, it could split Russian forces and cut key supply lines.
Obstacles: Ukraine must overcome heavily armed defense lines reinforced by Russian forces over the past 10 months. After 14 months of non-stop fighting, Ukrainian soldiers are exhausted and Ukraine’s artillery supplies are dwindling. US officials say the counter-offensive is unlikely to change momentum significantly.
Other Updates:
Fear of civil war in Darfur
Two weeks of fighting in Sudan has sparked renewed violence in Darfur, a region that suffered from a two-decade genocidal conflict that left as many as 300,000 people dead. Experts fear a security vacuum exploited by militias and armed tribes could lead to civil war.
Armed groups have looted healthcare facilities and burned households. Marketplaces have gone up in flames. Civilians are arming themselves against militias and against the Rapid Support Forces, the paramilitary group fighting the Sudanese army.
Background: The recent instability dates back to the early 2000s, when the military and the former dictator allied with Arab fighters, “the Janjaweed,” to crush mostly non-Arab rebel groups. A widespread campaign of rape, murder and ethnic cleansing followed. In the 2010s, the Janjaweed became the RSF, now fighting its former ally, the Sudanese military.
In the capital: A total collapse of the health care system could only take a few more days, the Sudanese doctors’ union warned.
No truce: A ceasefire that was due to end last night fell apart on Saturday as the capital, Khartoum, came under artillery fire and airstrikes.
Yoon’s chilly return to South Korea
Last week, President Yoon Suk Yeol received a warm welcome from President Biden in Washington, but he plays a different tune at home. The South Korean public has serious doubts about Yoon’s foreign policy, which is aligning his country more closely with the US and Japan.
Many also question the power of the “Washington Declaration,” the new nuclear deal with the US that codified a US commitment to defend South Korea with nuclear weapons if North Korea were the first to launch such an attack. In return, the South disavowed any attempt to pursue its own nuclear arsenal.
Some have called the agreement pragmatic. But critics felt Yoon gave too much away for too little. For such skeptical South Koreans, Washington’s promise “just amounts to rhetoric however you package it,” said a Seoul-based researcher.
THE LAST NEWS
Asia Pacific
Decades ago, stretch limousines were a symbol of prosperity, used almost exclusively by the rich and famous. Over time, they became more of an ordinary luxury, booked for children’s birthday parties or by teenagers attending prom.
Thanks to ride-sharing apps, the Great Recession, and new regulations, almost no one seems to be riding them these days.
ART AND IDEAS
China’s shopping entertainment
Countless Chinese are part of an explosive wave of live shopping that combines entertainment with consumerism and has changed the way people buy and sell. Star sellers can amass huge followings and eye-popping fortunes through the format, which combines influencer culture with live online videos.
The most famous streamers have become celebrities, such as Li Jiaqi, whose prowess at trying on and putting on makeup products has earned him the nickname “lipstick king.”
Live shopping originated in China several years ago and then became ubiquitous during the coronavirus pandemic. Now nearly half of China’s one billion internet users have tried live shopping, even though it remains largely unknown in the West. (Last year, an estimated $500 billion worth of goods were sold via livestream on apps like Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok, or Kuaishou.)
But the government is seeking tighter controls on e-commerce as part of a broader crackdown on the technology sector. Some celebrity hosts, who have come under government scrutiny, have abruptly disappeared from view.
