Hello. We cover the sustained bombardment in Ukraine, China’s new economic plan and the fallout from a terrorist attack on a mosque in ...
Hello. We cover the sustained bombardment in Ukraine, China’s new economic plan and the fallout from a terrorist attack on a mosque in Pakistan.
Russian attacks halt evacuations
As Russian forces continued to bomb Ukraine, at least three people – a mother and her children – were killed outside Kyiv as they tried to get to safety. For the second day in a rowauthorities canceled an evacuation of the besieged port city of Mariupol.
Russian forces were struggling to move forward on several fronts. Ukraine’s military said it was successfully defending its position in fierce fighting north of Kiev and troops were also holding back the Russians to the east, where President Vladimir Putin’s forces were embroiled in clashes around ‘an airport.
Families are torn apart. Some Ukrainians find that their Russian parents, jumped on government misinformation, do not believe that there is a war. Others separate: wives flee while husbands are forced to stay and fight, which some Ukrainian women call “A little death.”
Flights: Ukraine President, Volodymyr Zelensky, repeated his calls that NATO imposes a no-fly zone, despite bipartisan opposition US lawmakers and reluctance of European allies. On Saturday, Putin said any countries that imposed one would be considered enemy combatants. US discusses how to supply Polish Soviet-era fighter aircraft to Ukraine.
China’s New Economic Plan
China has detailed a plan develop your economy, calling stability a “top priority.” The changes come as the national leader, Xi Jinping, is set to claim a new term in power.
Despite global uncertainty over the coronavirus pandemic and the war in Ukraine, Chinese leaders have sought to project confidence and calm. The government’s annual work report released on Saturday did not even mention the Russian invasion.
The implicit message seemed to be that China could ride out European turmoil – and focus on keeping its people satisfied and employed ahead of a fall Communist Party meeting when Xi is increasingly certain of extending his term in office. power.
Details: Beijing calls for heavy government spending and loans. Spending on social protection and education are both expected to increase by around 10% this year. China’s military budget will increase by 7.1% to around $229 billion, a sign that Beijing is preparing for an increasingly dangerous world.
Domestic policy: The plan suggests that China prioritize economic growth, with an expansion target of “around 5.5%”, rather than domestic consumer spending. Beijing has tried to lift the economy out of reliance on debt-fueled infrastructure and housing construction.
Islamic State bombs Pakistani mosque
The regional affiliate of the Islamic State, Islamic State Khorasan, or ISIS-K, claimed responsibility for the bombing a Shiite mosque in Peshawar, northwest Pakistan. The attack left at least 63 dead and nearly 200 injured.
Pakistani police said on Saturday they had identified the suicide bomber and the network behind the attack. Both Islamic State and Pakistani security officials said the suicide bomber was an Afghan national.
The Islamic State, a Sunni Muslim terror group that views Shiites as heretics, has claimed responsibility for several previous attacks in Pakistan. It was the biggest and deadliest to date, and one of the worst terrorist attacks in Pakistan in years.
Context: ISIS-K formed in Afghanistan in 2015 and opened a chapter in Pakistan in 2019. Security officials say the group continues to operate from Afghanistan but was displaced by the Afghan Taliban. Officials believe around 1,600 of its fighters escaped when the Taliban overran a prison outside Kabul in August.
Other bombardments: Last fall, the group carried out bombardments in Shiite mosques in Afghanistan, killing and injuring dozens.
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ARTS AND IDEAS
A poem by Auden, prominently displayed
Elisa Gabbert has been reading “Museum of Fine Arts,” a 1938 poem by WH Auden, for over 20 years. The poem is inspired by a painting by Pieter Bruegel the Elder, “Landscape with the Fall of Icarus”.
In Bruegel’s masterpiece, a plowman doesn’t seem to notice Icarus, half-immersed in the sea after his fall from the sun. “The painting is a commentary on the strained relationship between attention and disaster – just like the poem: Something is only a disaster if we notice it,” writes Elisa in careful reading of it for the Times.
“The message seems simple enough,” she continues, “but the poem is full of rich, hidden details that you might miss if, like a farmer with your head down – or a distracted museum visitor – you don’t look at the edges .”
Next, Elisa shows us these edges. She takes us through other hidden works referenced in the poem before going deeper into the structure of the piece. It also puts the meditation on suffering into context – despite its detached tone, Auden wrote the poem when Europe was on the brink of war.
A word of advice: it is best to read the article on a desktop computer.
PLAY, WATCH, EAT
What to cook
That’s it for today’s briefing. See you next time. – Amelie
PS Sabrina Tavernise will join “The Daily” as the show’s second host, alongside Michael Barbaro.
The last episode of “The Dailyis about the US primaries and redistricting fights.
You can reach Amelia and the team at briefing@nytimes.com.
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