标题: 2022.06.06 首都基辅发生了爆炸 [打印本页] 作者: shiyi18 时间: 2022-6-6 17:46 标题: 2022.06.06 首都基辅发生了爆炸 The world in brief
Catch up quickly on the global stories that matter
Updated 14 hours ago (20:22 GMT+1 / 15:22 New York)
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The governor of Luhansk said Severodonetsk was now divided “more or less” in half between Ukrainian and Russian troops. It had been reported that 70% of the strategically important eastern city had been captured by Russia, until a Ukrainian counterattack. Meanwhile, explosions were reported in the capital, Kyiv, during the early hours of Sunday morning.
Emmanuel Macron insisted that Vladimir Putin must not be “humiliated” in Ukraine, despite the Russian president making a “historic and fundamental” mistake in invading his neighbour. France’s president, who said he has spent hundreds of hours talking with Mr Putin, wants to keep open the possibility of a diplomatic end to the war. Ukraine’s foreign minister said Mr Macron risked humiliating France and that only “putting Russia in its place” would bring peace. Later, Mr Putin threatened to strike targets he has so far spared, if America supplies Ukraine with longer-range missiles.
North Korea carried out probably its biggest single missile test, a day after its southern neighbour and America finished joint military exercises. South Korean authorities reported that the north fired at least eight short-range ballistic missiles into the sea off its east coast, concluding that this was a “test and challenge” for the security posture of the new South Korean government.
The World Health Organisation said that there have been 780 confirmed monkeypox cases over the last three weeks in countries where it is not endemic. It is the first time that the usually mild infection has spread beyond west and central Africa, mainly to Europe and America. The WHO declares that the global risk level from monkeypox is “moderate”.
In Bangladesh, a huge explosion at a storage depot killed at least 49 people and injured hundreds more. The accident happened at Sitakunda, near the city and seaport of Chittagong. Firefighters were also killed in the blast. Some reports suggested that it may have been caused by chemicals stored in transport containers catching fire.
Dozens of people were killed, including children, when gunmen opened fire on the congregation and set off explosive devices in a catholic church in Nigeria. The attack happened in the town of Owo in the southern state of Ondo, hitherto a relatively peaceful part of the country. No group has yet claimed responsibility for the attack.
Six people were arrested in Hong Kong as police tried to smother any attempt to mark the anniversary of the massacre that took place around Tiananmen Square in 1989. People carrying flowers or wearing black were targeted in the city, which until 2019 was the only place in China where Tiananmen memorials were permitted. Authorities there now toe the mainland’s repressive line on the subject.
Word of the Week: écoponts, “wildlife bridges” in French. France is building overpasses for animals to reduce roadkill and help them roam more freely. Read the full story.
Nordic wargames
PHOTO: REUTERS
Sixteen countries, 45 warships, 75 aircraft and more: the fortnight-long BALTOPS 22 military exercise will start on Sunday. This year’s annual Baltic wargame led by America—practising everything from amphibious operations to anti-submarine warfare and mine-clearance—will be especially charged with political signals.
First, it demonstrates America’s commitment to defend Europe as Russia invades Ukraine. The USS Kearsarge, a big amphibious assault ship, has been calling in at several Nordic ports. Second, it tells Russia that its aggression is uniting the West, not dividing it. If and when Sweden and Finland join NATO the Baltic Sea will become, in effect, a NATO lake.
Third, it is a chance for Sweden, this year’s host, and Finland, another regular participant, to show their military worth to NATO. And it gives them an opportunity to work alongside Turkey even though its government is still blocking their accession to the military alliance. Wargaming is diplomacy by other means.
A poverty of politics in Mexico
PHOTO: REUTERS
Six of Mexico’s 32 states elect new governors on Sunday, in a litmus test for the country’s political parties. Morena, the party of President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, which governs at national level, is likely to dominate. Polls suggest its candidates will win at least three of the races, adding to the 18 states it already runs. These gains would give Morena clout going into federal and presidential elections in 2024.
However, that Morena is likely to do so well is mainly testament to the failures of the opposition. Mr López Obrador remains popular but disapproval of him is rising, especially on security. Gangs have, largely unchallenged, expanded into more areas of the country. Morena suffered losses in mid-term elections last year, losing its supermajority in the national congress and denting its ability to pass constitutional changes. But opposition parties have failed to offer a positive alternative vision. Unhappy Mexicans don’t have much of a political choice.
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Height can increase disease risk
PHOTO: ALAMY
Being short is bad for a person’s health. So is being tall. Scientists have long known that a person’s stature alters their risk of various diseases. Generally, diminutive people have more heart disease, whereas beanpoles are prone to circulation problems, such as varicose veins and heart flutters. Yet the extent to which these discrepancies are caused by environmental factors, such as diet, has been unclear.
A study of 280,000 adults in PLOS Genetics, a journal, narrows in on how height influences health. Researchers controlled for environmental factors by ignoring participants’ actual height, and instead predicting their height from their genes, thus cutting out the influence of upbringing. This allows them to find causal links between height-increasing genes and over 100 health conditions. Height usually increases the risk of nerve disorders and skin infections. But tall people can console themselves with the fact that they are less likely to suffer from clogged arteries.
Weekend Profile: Chesa Boudin, San Francisco’s prosecutor who dislikes prosecuting
PHOTO: GETTY IMAGES
The job of district attorney in San Francisco can vault people to high places. It used to be held by Kamala Harris, America’s vice-president. However, if Chesa Boudin, San Francisco’s current DA, is going anywhere, it is back onto the job market. On June 7th voters will decide whether to “recall” him from office. San Franciscans blame him for a spike in homicides. They say he has failed to rein in open-air drug dealing and clean up homeless encampments.
Mr Boudin surely has the most unusual background of any DA in America. His parents were members of the Weather Underground, a leftist group, and were both convicted for their role in an armed robbery that left two police officers and a security guard dead. (They were the unarmed getaway drivers.) Mr Boudin was raised by the group’s leaders, making frequent visits to prison to see his parents and developing an intimate knowledge of the criminal-justice system.
After graduating from college, he went to Venezuela and worked as a translator for Hugo Chávez, the country’s autocratic left-wing president, and co-wrote a book about the Bolivarian revolution. One of Mr Boudin’s articles from the time argued the world should “congratulate” Mr Chávez for abolishing term limits. He went on to study at Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar, attended Yale Law School and became a public defender. When campaigning to become San Francisco’s DA in 2019, he promised to eliminate cash bail and lock up fewer people. But many in the city now feel his policies have let miscreants operate without consequence. Murders and burglaries are up. In 2021, his office secured just three convictions for drug-dealing, compared with 90 by his predecessor in 2018.
Mr Boudin says the recall campaign against him is politically motivated and funded by Republicans. Yet people of all backgrounds are irked by the city’s deterioration under his watch. Whether or not Mr Boudin is able to hold on to his job (polls suggest his removal is likely), his call to treat criminals and ex-convicts more humanely has changed lives. That includes his father’s. Mr Boudin sought clemency for his dad, who was locked up in New York, and publicly made his case to Andrew Cuomo, then the state’s governor. Last year Mr Boudin’s father was pardoned, after serving 40 years of a 75-year sentence.
Weekend crossword
Welcome to our new crossword, designed for experienced cruciverbalists and newcomers alike. Both sets of clues give the same answers, all of which feature in articles in this week’s edition of The Economist:
Cryptic clues
1 down Real forces crumble in this habitat (5,5)
1 across Fool! Depart for a long river! (5)
2 across At first little gives faith victor will produce Chinese fundraiser (4)
3 across Amos baffled a country (5)
Factual clues
1 down “The rainforests of the ocean” (5,5)
1 across The EAC’s newest member (5)
2 across Together, they owe 52% of China’s GDP (4)
3 across Where Penny Wong went on June 2nd (5)
Email all four answers by 9am BST on Monday to crossword@economist.com, along with your home city and country. We will pick randomly from those with the right answers and crown one winner per continent in Friday's edition.
The winners of this week’s quiz
Thank you to everyone who took part in this week’s quiz. The winners, chosen at random from each continent, were:
Asia: Jin-Hong Park, Suwon, South Korea
North America: Melissa Markham, Austin, United States
Central and South America: George Power Porto, Lima, Peru
Europe: Patrice Bailly, Aix en Provence, France
Africa: Ailsa Green, Choma, Zambia
Oceania: Alison Morris, Sydney, Australia
They all gave the correct answers of Gareth Bale, Key West, Buster Keaton, Val d’Isère and Rosemary Clooney. The theme is actors who played Batman: Christian Bale, Adam West, Michael Keaton, Val Kilmer and George Clooney.
Don't let it end like this. Tell them I said something.
照片。REUTERS
周日，墨西哥32个州中的6个州选出了新的州长，这是对该国各政党的一次试金石考验。总统安德烈斯-曼努埃尔-洛佩斯-奥布拉多(Andrés Manuel López Obrador)的政党在全国范围内执政，该党可能会占据主导。民意调查显示，该党的候选人将赢得至少三场比赛，加上该党已经经营的18个州。这些成果将使莫雷纳在2024年的联邦和总统选举中具有影响力。