Zelensky warns of global risks of Russian aggression
Speaking at an annual meeting of world leaders at the UN General Assembly, Volodymyr Zelensky, the Ukrainian president, presented the Russian invasion as a global threat that would not stop at Ukraine’s borders. He added that Russia was weaponizing essentials like food and energy “not only against our country, but against all of you.”
President Biden also condemned Russia’s “naked aggression” and said the US would continue to stand with the “brave people of Ukraine.” If the world pleases Russia, he asked, “can any member state in this body be confident that it will be protected? If we allow Ukraine to be divided, is the independence of any country safe?
Unity is a common theme for the General Assembly, when the leaders and representatives of nearly 200 countries meet. But the world has become increasingly polarized: Russia’s war against Ukraine pits Moscow against the US and its allies, while tensions between China and the United States rise.
More weapons: While Zelensky spoke in New York City, defense ministers and other top officials met in Ramstein, Germany, to discuss providing military aid to Ukraine. The US Defense Secretary said Abrams battle tanks will arrive soon, bringing with them a powerful weapon to help Ukraine advance in its slow-moving counteroffensive.
Also at the General Meeting:
Tensions between Canada and India are rising
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau this week accused India of being involved in the killing of a Canadian citizen in June, sparking an all-out diplomatic war, prompting vehement denials from India and leading to the expulsion of diplomats from both countries.
Yesterday, Trudeau firmly rejected the Indian government’s denial of any involvement in the killing and urged his allies to come together to challenge India. “It is not our intention to provoke or escalate,” he said. “We are simply laying out the facts as we understand them, and we want to work with the government of India.”
Background: Years of diplomatic tension are behind the rapid collapse of relations. In New Delhi’s eyes, Western countries – especially Canada – have stood idly by as extremist Sikh groups, including those led by the murdered Canadian citizen, have supported a secessionist cause that threatens the Indian state.
Azerbaijan begins military operation in Nagorno-Karabakh
Azerbaijan said it has launched a military operation in the Armenian enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh, killing 25 people and raising fears of a widening conflict in a fragile region where the interests of Russia, Turkey and Western countries are increasingly clashing.
Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry issued what appeared to be an ultimatum, stating that only the “dissolution” of the unrecognized pro-Armenian government in the area would “achieve peace and stability.” The breakaway authorities asked Azerbaijan’s leaders in Baku, the capital, to cease hostilities and start talks. Azerbaijan responded by calling on the breakaway government to give up arms and dissolve itself by raising a white flag.
THE LAST NEWS
Around the world
The Punan people of the island of Borneo lived as nomads, subsisting on bearded pigs, starchy plants and forest products. But they were misunderstood, mistreated and deprived of their ancestral lands by the Indonesian government.
In the 1990s, anthropologists believed that the group’s traditional hunter-gatherer lifestyle had disappeared. And so many experts were skeptical when an anthropologist and a geneticist said in 2018 that they had learned that there was a clan of about thirty families.
Lives lived
British balladeer Roger Whittaker, who filled concert halls in Europe and America and sold as many as 60 million albums, has died at the age of 87.
SPORTS NEWS
On tour with Union Berlin: From blood donations to the Bernabéu.
Changes in the Champions League: Don’t mourn the group stage.
Singapore Grand Prix driver rankings: Perfection from Carlos Sainz and a statement from Liam Lawson.
ARTS AND IDEAS
Everything quiet on set
Major Hollywood productions have long brought money and prestige to British film crews, and a record 6.3 billion pounds ($7.8 billion) was spent on film and high-end films in Britain last year, according to the British Film Institute TV productions. Nearly 90 percent came from American studios or other foreign productions.
Now a downside has come to light: when Hollywood goes on strike, work also stops on the other side of the Atlantic. “We are so dependent on American studio productions for our work,” says Charlotte Sewell, a costume designer in London.
