Tag: Russian Invasion of Ukraine (2022)

U.S. Aims to Turn Taiwan Into Giant Weapons Depot

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WASHINGTON — American officials are intensifying efforts to build a giant stockpile of weapons in Taiwan after studying recent naval and air force exercises by the Chinese military around the island, according to current and former officials. The exercises showed that China would probably blockade the island as a prelude to any attempted invasion, and Taiwan would have to hold out on its own until the United States or other nations intervened, if they decided to do that, the current and former officials say. But the effort to transform Taiwan…

Your Monday Briefing: Indonesia’s Stadium Tragedy

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An Indonesian stadium tragedy At least 125 people died when soccer fans rushed the field after a professional soccer match in Malang, Indonesia, on Saturday. Many were trampled. The police fired tear gas into the tightly packed crowds, leading to a stampede. Survivors said that the gas was fired indiscriminately into the stands, forcing the overcapacity crowd to rush for the exits. Many are angry at the police response, which observers said had made the situation worse. “If there wasn’t any tear gas shot into the stands, there would have…

Oil Prices Tumble to Their Lowest Level Since January

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The U.S. benchmark oil price tumbled below $80 a barrel on Friday for the first time since January as traders grew increasingly worried that much of the world was headed into a recession or was already in one. The steady fall in prices from more than $120 a barrel a few months ago could easily reverse if the European Union severely limits its purchases of Russian oil as it has threatened to do. But for now, the falling oil price has offered consumers some relief from inflation. Oil prices had…

Putin Threatens to Escalate War as India Distances Itself From Russia

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Underlining Russia’s widening isolation on the world stage, Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India told President Vladimir V. Putin on Friday that it is no time for war — even as the Russian president threatened to escalate the brutality of his campaign in Ukraine. The televised admonishment by Mr. Modi at a regional summit in Uzbekistan came just a day after Mr. Putin acknowledged that Xi Jinping, China’s leader, had “questions and concerns” about the war. Taken together, the distancing from Mr. Putin by the heads of the world’s two…

In Central Asia’s ‘Great Game,’ China Seeks the Advantage

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BEIJING — As Xi Jinping, China’s leader, visited Central Asian countries this week, he stepped off planes to rousing performances by rows of dancers, musicians and ceremonial guards. Uzbekistan’s leader called him “the greatest statesman,” Chinese state media declared, while the leader of Turkmenistan praised his “wise leadership.” They draped him in medals. For Beijing, the pomp and fanfare that greeted Mr. Xi, as well as the effusive rhetoric of his counterparts, served to show that China is not isolated despite coming under pressure from the United States and much…

Putin Nods to Xi’s ‘Concerns’ on Ukraine War

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President Vladimir V. Putin acknowledged on Thursday that China had “questions and concerns” about Russia’s war in Ukraine, a notable, if cryptic, admission that Moscow lacks the full backing of its biggest, most powerful partner on the world stage. Mr. Putin met China’s leader, Xi Jinping, on Thursday in their first in-person meeting since Russia invaded Ukraine, and as Mr. Xi traveled abroad for the first time since the start of the pandemic. But rather than put on a show of Eurasian unity against the West as Russia struggled to…

Putin to Meet With Xi Jinping Today in Uzbekistan

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President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia said Moscow understood that China had “questions and concerns” about the war in Ukraine, according to the Interfax news agency — a notable, if cryptic, admission from Mr. Putin that Beijing may not fully approve of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. He made the remark as he met with Xi Jinping, the leader of China, on Thursday in Uzbekistan. China has staked out a neutral position on the invasion publicly, even as it has echoed the Kremlin’s rhetoric about Russia being treated unfairly by the…

Your Monday Briefing: Ukraine Gains Ground

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Nuclear: Ukraine has begun shutting down the Zaporizhzhia power plant, a safety measure as fighting continues around the facility. China: Russia said a senior Chinese official offered Beijing’s most robust endorsement yet of the invasion. China’s lockdowns hit Xinjiang Yining, a city in the Xinjiang region of western China, is under a grueling, weekslong pandemic lockdown. Residents say they face a lack of food and medicine, as well as a drastic shortage of sanitary pads for women. Many of Yining’s 600,000 residents are relying mostly on neighborhood officials to deliver…

Russia says that a senior Chinese official expressed support for the invasion of Ukraine.

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A senior Chinese official offered Beijing’s most robust endorsement yet of Moscow’s war in Ukraine, telling a group of Russian lawmakers on Friday that China “understands and supports Russia,” particularly “on the situation in Ukraine,” according to an official Russian description of the meeting. Li Zhanshu, the third-ranking member of the Communist Party of China, visited Moscow last week after attending an economic forum in the eastern Russian city of Vladivostok, where he met with President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia. Mr. Li is the highest-level Chinese official to leave…

Your Friday Briefing: Queen Elizabeth II Dies at 96

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Queen Elizabeth II is dead at 96 Queen Elizabeth died peacefully yesterday afternoon after more than 70 years as the British head of state. She was Britain’s longest-reigning monarch. Here is her obituary, photos from her reign and live updates. The queen was widely revered as she presided over Britain’s adjustment to a post-colonial era and saw it through its divorce from the E.U. Her years as sovereign were a time of upheaval. Still, she sought to project the royal family as a bastion of permanence in a world of…