Slovakia hosts the Visegrád Group’s V4 summit, Somalia launches a TV channel aimed at countering al-Shabaab propaganda and Taiwan heads to the polls in local elections.
“Every hour is getting harder.” Russia’s assault on Ukraine’s essential services has caused blackouts in hospitals and cut off power and water in cities.
The Biden administration has imposed new sanctions on Tehran and expressed support for protesters, as the Iranian government aids Russia in the Ukraine war and continues nuclear enrichment.
Russia’s latest strikes in Kyiv cause more power cuts, as the European Parliament votes to declare Moscow a state sponsor of terrorism. Turkey threatens to launch a land operation against Kurdish militants in Syria and the European Space Agency wants to send more people to the moon.
Missile attacks on Ukraine’s battered power grid are an “obvious crime against humanity,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has told the UN Security Council. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy appealed to the United Nations Security Council on Wednesday to take action to stop Russian airstrikes targeting vital infrastructure that have once again plunged Ukrainian cities into darkness and cold as winter sets in.
“Today is just one day, but we have received 70 missiles. That’s the Russian formula of terror,” Zelenskyy said via video link to the Council chamber in New York. He said hospitals, schools, transport infrastructure and residential areas had all been hit. “When we have the temperature below zero, and millions of people without energy supplies, without heating, without water, this is an obvious crime against humanity,” he told the meeting in New York. In his speech,
Zelenskyy called for the adoption of a UN resolution condemning energy terror. Ukraine is waiting to see “a very firm reaction” to Wednesday’s airstrikes from the world, he added. The Council is unlikely to take any action in response to the appeal since Russia is a member with veto power. However, Zelenskyy called for Russia to be denied a vote on any decision concerning its actions.
“We cannot be hostage to one international terrorist,” he said. “Russia is doing everything to make an energy generator a more powerful tool than the UN Charter.” Russia’s UN ambassador Vasily Nebenzya responded by complaining that it was against Council rules for Zelenskyy to appear via video and rejected what he called “reckless threats and ultimatums” by Ukraine and its supporters in the West.
Prosecutors want to speak with the former vice president as a witness to former President Donald Trump’s efforts to remain in power, and he is said to be considering how to respond.
Even the country’s de facto leader had downplayed expectations. After a win over Lionel Messi’s Argentina, one of the most shocking results in World Cup history, Wednesday will be a national holiday.
Dr. Anthony S. Fauci said the administration was optimistic that “we’re not going to see a repeat of what we saw last year,” when the Omicron variant swept through the country.
Turkey mulls expanding military operations against Kurdish militants in northern Syria. Plus: Moldova’s energy crisis, New Zealand considers lowering the voting age and the latest technology news.
Ron DeSantis, Ted Cruz, Mike Pompeo, Nikki Haley and other Republicans with a potential eye on 2024 gathered in Las Vegas at a moment of deep vulnerability for Donald Trump.
Monocle’s editorial director Tyler Brûlé, Fabienne Kinzelmann and Oliver Strijbis discuss the weekend’s biggest news stories. Plus, check-ins with our friends and correspondents in Hong Kong, Lisbon and London.