Category: World News

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Ukraine Information: Zelensky Visits a Metropolis Simply Miles From the Entrance, Underscoring Ukraine’s Features

Ukraine News: Zelensky Visits a City Just Miles From the Front, Underscoring Ukraine’s Gains

BELGOROD, Russia — Military trucks and armored personnel carriers spray-painted with the letter Z rumble through intersections, and groups of men in camouflage gear walk the streets shopping for military items like thermal underwear. Refugees are pouring out of areas in Ukraine recently lost to the enemy.

The sounds of nearby explosions have become a regular occurrence in Belgorod, 25 miles from the Ukrainian border, and concerned shopkeepers are calling the police and reporting imaginary bomb threats, a sign of paranoia beginning to spread. Residents are expressing concern about what’s to come next, with some even speculating that Ukrainian troops could make a move they’ve been avoiding for nearly seven months and enter Russian territory.

“It’s like they’re already here,” an ashen-faced woman told a vendor in the city’s central market after the sound of an explosion.

President Vladimir V. Putin has tried to keep life as normal as possible for most Russians as he wages his war in Ukraine and make hostilities a distant memory. But with Ukrainian forces now on the offensive, Belgorod residents feel war is on their doorstep.

“There are so many rumors, people are scared,” said Maksim, 21, a trader at the market.

He sold thermal underwear, camouflage jackets and other sporting goods that once belonged to hunters and fishermen but are now being bought up by soldiers and their families. Like most other residents interviewed for this article, he declined to give his full name for fear of retribution.

Tension prevailed at the market, a maze of stalls selling clothing, household goods and military equipment. Although the city of Belgorod is not under direct attack, Russia’s military air defenses intercept missiles in the distance. The sounds of explosions ring out, and in the Komsomolsky district, houses and property are hit with debris.

Recognition…Valerie Hopkins/The New York Times

On Monday, a college of teachers, a shopping mall and a bus station held evacuation drills as officials assured concerned civilians at the scene that the drills were planned in advance. The regional administration is evacuating towns and villages along the border as they come under Ukrainian fire. Denis, a local businessman, recently paid someone to dig a 10-foot-high bomb shelter in his backyard.

Many residents of the city fear that the risks to their safety are growing.

“We’re scared, and it’s especially hard when you work with children,” said Ekaterina, 21, a kindergarten teacher who said shrapnel fell on the school earlier this week. “The kids are running around yelling ‘rockets,’ but we tell them it’s just thunder.”

While most Belgorod residents support the government in Moscow and the war effort, some express frustration that the rest of Russia still lives as if it is not fighting an all-out war.

“How are they not ashamed!” exclaimed a middle-aged woman named Lyudmila from the Komsomosky district.

“In Moscow, they celebrate City Day, while here blood is spilled,” she said, referring to a city-wide celebration last week honoring the founding of the Russian capital that included fireworks and the ceremonial opening of a large Ferris wheel by Mr Putin . “Here everyone is worried about our soldiers, while there everyone is partying and drinking!”

Even those supporting the war effort have privately expressed frustration that the Kremlin insists on calling it a “special military operation” when they can see it is a full-blown war. Many are wondering if there will be a draft, and if so, how soon.

The refugees arriving from Ukraine also make the reality of the war clear.

Thousands of people have arrived from eastern Ukraine in recent months, particularly last week when Ukrainian troops retook areas in the northeast held by Russian soldiers. Some were worried about living under the control of the Ukrainian government in Kyiv, while others, particularly those who had acquired Russian passports or accepted jobs in the occupation administration, feared being treated as collaborators, according to activists who help them leave the country .

Recognition…Valerie Hopkins/The New York Times

“They tried to live their lives, work in hospitals, schools and shops, but this site understands this as cooperation with the occupiers,” said Yulia Nemchinova, who has been helping refugees in Belgorod. Ms Nemchinova, who holds pro-Russian views, left her native Kharkiv just across the border in 2014 after her husband had legal troubles with Ukrainian authorities.

But she also said many people felt shocked and effectively betrayed by a Russian army they saw as liberators, but which is now on the run in the face of a full-scale Ukrainian offensive.

“You were promised: Russia is here forever,” said Ms. Nemchinova.

As journalists and investigators uncover evidence of atrocities and human rights abuses committed by Russians during the occupation, those who recently fled to Belgorod say the retreating Russian army told them to leave because of possible retaliation.

In interviews in Belgorod, people who fled an area recently recaptured from Ukraine said they feared that when the Ukrainian army entered the local administration building, the soldiers would find the lists of people who received jobs or humanitarian aid from the Russian interim administration had accepted and were assigned penalties for collaboration. People were also afraid because Ukraine passed a law punishing cooperation with the occupation authorities with 10 to 15 years in prison.

A woman named Irina said her boyfriend, a former Ukrainian border guard, posted his personal information to a Telegram group that purported to name collaborators.

“There’s no going back,” Irina, 18, said in an interview at a clothes bank where newly arrived refugees collected clothes and food. Her mother and sister stayed in their village, and she said she hoped the Russians would reoccupy it soon.

In Belgorod, a city of 400,000, fears of Ukrainians crossing the border would have been unthinkable a decade ago. For years, Russians in Belgorod regularly traveled the 50 miles to Kharkiv – Ukraine’s second largest city with a pre-war population of 2 million – to party, eat and shop. Many families are spread across the border.

“Belgorod was in total shock,” said Oleg Ksenov, 41, a restaurant owner who has spent the past few months evacuating people from battlefields in Ukraine and taking them to Russia. “We love Kharkiv.”

Recognition…Valerie Hopkins/The New York Times

Viktoriya, 50, who owns a cafe and bakery in the city, said that Kharkiv is a “megapolis” in the minds of all Belgorod residents.

“We had a joke: if you want to meet people from Belgorod, go to the Stargorod restaurant in Kharkiv at the weekend,” she said.

The relationship worked both ways. In the years after Russia instigated a separatist war in Ukraine’s eastern Donbass region, Ukraine enacted stricter laws on speaking Ukrainian rather than Russian in public. That prompted Russian speakers from Kharkiv to travel to Belgorod to watch films in Russian, said 44-year-old businessman Denis.

Now the two cities are effectively separated by a front line.

“It’s a tragedy of tectonic proportions,” he said. “It touches every person from Belgorod. Every family is connected to Ukraine.”

His aunt Larisa had just arrived over the weekend from Liman, a town in the Donetsk region occupied by the Russian army at the end of May. Since then it has had no electricity, gas or running water, and she said more than 80 percent of the housing stock has been destroyed.

In early May, a rocket—she didn’t know from which army, although she blamed Ukraine—hit her apartment building. Then, at the end of the month, the Russians came.

“I was so lucky to wait for her,” said Larisa, 74, in Surzhik, a dialect that’s a mix of Ukrainian and Russian.

Now their home is the scene of fierce front-line fighting. She said she had trouble walking and struggled to get down to the basement every time the air raid siren sounded.

Recognition…Valerie Hopkins/The New York Times

As the fighting drew closer, she said, she knew she had to get out because she no longer wanted and was afraid of being ruled by Kyiv.

Mr. Ksenov, who was born in Kharkiv but made Belgorod his home more than a decade ago, has devoted his time to helping civilians flee Ukraine to Russia. He worries about what will happen to the people from the border regions of both countries in the long term.

“This slaughter will eventually end,” he said of the war in an interview at his restaurant, whose windows are covered with plywood in case of a bomb attack.

“But who will we be? How will we look into each other’s eyes?”

Anastasia Trofimova contributed to the coverage.

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Inflation is not nearly gas prices anymore, as value will increase broaden throughout the economic system

The market reaction to CPI numbers is justified, says Wells Fargo's Paul Christopher

A person shops at a supermarket as inflation impacted consumer prices in New York City, June 10, 2022.

Andrew Kelly | Reuters

For most of the year, the inflation narrative among many economists and policymakers was that it was essentially a food and fuel problem. Once supply chains eased and gas prices eased, the reasoning went, this would help lower food costs and in turn ease price pressures across the economy.

However, August’s CPI figures put that narrative to the test, with widening increases now suggesting that inflation may be more stubborn and firm than previously thought.

CPI excluding food and energy prices — known as core inflation — rose 0.6% for the month, double the Dow Jones estimate, leading to a 6.3% year-on-year increase in the cost of living. Including food and energy, the index rose 0.1% on a monthly basis and a robust 8.3% on a 12-month basis.

Just as importantly, the source of the gain wasn’t gasoline, which fell 10.6% for the month. While the fall in energy prices over the summer helped dampen inflation headlines, it failed to quell fears that inflation will remain a problem for some time to come.

The expansion of inflation

Instead of fuel, it was food, shelter and medical services that drove up costs in August, levying a costly tax on those who could least afford it and raising important questions about where inflation is headed from here.

“Core inflation numbers were hot across the board. The breadth of sharp price increases, from new vehicles to medical services to rent increases, everything was sharply up,” said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics. “That was the most disturbing aspect of the report.”

In fact, new car prices and medical supplies each rose 0.8% over the month. Housing costs, which include rent and various other housing-related expenses, make up almost a third of the CPI weight and rose 0.7% on the month.

Grocery costs were also a nuisance.

The Home Grocery Index, a good predictor of food prices, rose 13.5% last year, the largest such increase since March 1979. Prices of items like eggs and bread continued their meteoric rise, fueling household budgets further charged.

For medical benefits, the 0.8% monthly increase is the fastest monthly increase since October 2019. Vet costs increased 0.9% month-on-month and 10% year-on-year.

“Even things like clothing prices, which often go down, have gone up a bit [0.2%]. My view is that if they stay at these lower oil prices and assuming they don’t bounce back, it will lead to broad inflation moderation,” Zandi said. “I didn’t change my inflation forecast to go back to it [the Federal Reserve’s 2% target] to early 2024, but I’d say I stand by that forecast with less conviction.”

Why everyone is so obsessed with inflation

On a positive note, things like plane tickets, coffee, and fruit have all come down in price again. A survey released earlier this week by the New York Fed showed consumers are less concerned about inflation, although they still expect the rate to hover at 5.7% a year from now. There are also signs that supply chain pressures are easing, which should at least be disinflationary.

Higher oil possible

But about three-quarters of the CPI stayed above 4% year-on-year with inflation, reflecting a longer-term trend that belies the idea of ​​”temporary” inflation that the White House and Fed had been pushing.

And low energy prices are not a matter of course.

The US and other G-7 countries say they intend to introduce price controls on Russian oil exports from December 5, potentially inviting retaliatory action that could lead to price hikes later in the year.

“Should Moscow halt all natural gas and oil exports to the European Union, the United States and the United Kingdom, then there is a strong possibility that oil prices will retest the highs reached in June and move the average price of ordinary gas significantly higher again currently $3.70 per gallon,” said Joseph Brusuelas, chief economist at RSM.

Brusuelas added that even if housing is in a slump and a possible recession, he thinks the price declines there are unlikely to carry through as housing has “about a good year to go before the data in this critical ecosystem”.

With so much inflation in the pipeline, the big economic question is how far the Fed will go with raising rates. Markets are banking on the central bank raising interest rates by at least 0.75 percentage point next week, which would take the fed funds rate to its highest level since early 2007.

“Two percent stands for price stability. That’s her goal. But how do they get there without breaking something,” said Quincy Krosby, chief equity strategist at LPL Financial. “The Fed is not done yet. The road to 2% will be difficult. Overall, we should see inflation continue to fall. But at what point do they stop?”

Concerns about acceleration in core inflation are growing

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Ukraine Claims Extra Floor in Northeast and South

Ukraine Claims More Ground in Northeast and South

More than 40 local elected officials across Russia signed a two-sentence petition Monday that ended with: “We demand Vladimir Putin’s resignation as President of the Russian Federation!”

The petition, pushed by opponents of the Ukraine invasion, had no practical effect and was flatly ignored in Russia’s state-controlled media. But it was remarkable in its very existence, showing that despite the Kremlin’s extraordinary crackdown on dissidents, the victories of Ukraine’s counteroffensive have given new heart to opponents of President Vladimir V Putin – and his supporters are looking for someone else to blame be able.

Pro-war advocates and politicians have referred to military leadership or high-ranking officials, saying they did not fight the war with sufficient determination and competence, or did not provide Mr Putin with all the facts. Longtime Kremlin critics have used this discord and Russia’s frontline backlash to risk speaking out against Mr Putin.

“There is now hope that Ukraine will end this war,” said Ksenia Torstrem, a member of the St. Petersburg City Council who helped organize the petition, calling Ukraine’s progress an “inspiring factor” for it. “We decided that we have to put pressure on from all sides.”

On Russian state television, where criticism of the Kremlin is rare, pro-war advocates are increasingly pointing fingers at what they describe as a disorganized and insufficiently concerted invasion; others bring up the idea of ​​asking for peace. Amid mounting anger over the embarrassing withdrawal of Russian troops from more than a thousand square miles of northeastern Ukraine, a senior lawmaker said in an interview that an “urgent adjustment” to the war effort was needed.

In a telephone interview Monday, that lawmaker, Konstantin F. Zatulin, a senior member of parliament in Putin’s United Russia party, detailed the deployment.

Mr Zatulin described the withdrawal of Russian troops as “very serious damage to the very idea of ​​this particular military operation”, using the term the Kremlin has chosen for the war. But he also warned that if criticism of the war effort spiraled out of control from across the political spectrum, there could be unforeseen consequences, citing the 1917 Russian Revolution and the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union.

“It must be stressed that this criticism should not be exaggerated,” he said. “Otherwise it could trigger an uncontrollable reaction.”

Recognition…Gavriil Grigorov/Sputnik, via Agence France-Presse – Getty Images

Mr Zatulin insisted that any optimism from people hoping Mr Putin would be ousted was “very premature”. Ukraine’s achievements, he said, could prompt the Kremlin to escalate its war effort to try and inflict a decisive defeat on Ukraine, although he added that he did not expect it to mean a “nuclear war”.

“What now appears to some as a success of the Ukrainian side could actually lead to the last drop that will lead to the start of a real war,” said Zatulin. “Given that Russia really has not used the full power of its capabilities, there is nothing left to do but demonstrate that power.”

There is no evidence that Putin’s position in power is weakening, and the Kremlin said Monday the invasion would “continue until initial objectives are met.”

Nevertheless, there were increasing signs that Russia’s elite was unsettled by the army’s withdrawal and unsure of how to proceed.

A member of the lower house of parliament, Mikhail Sheremet, told a Russian news agency that the military in Ukraine will not succeed “without full mobilization”. It was an implicit criticism of Putin’s refusal to go through with a nationwide draft, a move Russian advocates of escalating the war effort have long called for.

The leader of a pro-Putin party, Sergei Mironov, praised Sunday night’s strikes against Ukraine’s infrastructure targets, which left parts of the country without power, but lamented that they “should have been carried out two to three months ago”.

And grumbling continued on the Telegram social network, where Russian military bloggers pro-war have garnered a huge following. “Stop whining,” posted Yevgeny Poddubny, a war correspondent for Russian state television, referring to those worried about an escalating war.

But a senior Member of the House of Lords, Andrei Klimov, tried to buck the voices calling for all-out war, telling reporters he saw no “need” for mobilization or the imposition of martial law.

Recognition…Nanna Heitman for the New York Times

Opponents of Mr. Putin were heartened by the discord.

“Many hope that something will finally break,” said Ivan I. Kurilla, a historian at the European University in St. Petersburg and a critic of Putin, in a telephone interview. “We’re probably wrong, it’s probably not time yet, but since everyone has been waiting for something to crack for half a year, this hope is very strong.”

After February’s invasion, Mr Putin spearheaded the most crackdown on dissidents since he came to power two decades ago, signing a censorship law that criticized the war effort — or even called it a war rather than a “special military operation.” – a potential crime. Thousands of journalists, activists and others fled the country, while nearly all prominent independent news media still operating in Russia were forced to shut down. Leading opposition figures who refused to flee were arrested.

When a group of local councilors from Putin’s hometown of St. Petersburg released a statement last week calling for the president’s impeachment on charges of treason, it was a shocking move in an environment where fears of imprisonment have driven almost all criticism Mr. Putin underground.

Some of those councilors now face fines for “discrediting” the military and government, but in Moscow, members of another local council followed suit, calling for Mr Putin’s resignation. And over the weekend, Ms. Torstrem, the representative of St. Petersburg, wrote in a Telegram chat group to other opposition local MPs: “I also want to do something.”

She is convinced to speak out, she said, both from colleagues who have already published anti-Putin statements and from the military advances of Ukrainian troops. She also noted the dissatisfaction in the pro-Putin camp, saying that this put the Kremlin in a particularly delicate position.

Recognition…Juan Barreto/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

Ms Torstrem, who is 38, helped draft the petition issued on Monday calling on Mr Putin to resign. She was careful not to mention the war, to avoid any of the signatories becoming vulnerable under laws criminalizing criticism of it. The petition only said that Mr Putin’s actions “damage the future of Russia and its citizens”.

The petition had 19 signatories from Moscow and St. Petersburg when it was posted to Twitter on Monday morning. By the end of the day, the number had grown to over 40, including community leaders from the remote Siberian city of Yakutsk and from Samara on the Volga.

She acknowledged that it was unclear how the petition could in practice help bring about Mr Putin’s resignation. But one signatory, Vasily Khoroshilov, a Moscow city MP, said the idea was to send a message to powerful opponents of Mr Putin that they had support in the Russian public.

“The radical patriots have also begun to doubt the rightness of the path they have taken,” said Mr. Khoroshilov, 38, in a telephone interview. “Some forces at the highest levels of power might act decisively if they see popular support.”

Mr Putin’s core supporters appear to be focused on the notion that any troubles in the war are not his fault but that he was misled by senior officials or the military leadership.

That was the message from Ramzan Kadyrov, the strong ruler of southern Russia’s Chechnya region. He posted a rambling voice message to his Telegram account over the weekend, warning that he would be forced to “speak to the Department of Defense leadership and the leadership of the country to explain to them if the military fails to finalize its strategy” today or tomorrow” would change the real situation on the ground.”

Recognition…Genghis Kondarov/Reuters

Mr Zatulin, the senior lawmaker, said many in Russia believed “Putin was misinformed and doesn’t know everything, he was deceived”.

“The president himself retains his authority and is the basis of stability at this moment,” said Mr. Zatulin.

But, he warned, “it’s clear that every system has its limitations.”

Alina Lobzina and Ivan Nechepurenko contributed to the coverage.

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All the pieces we discovered at Disney’s parks panel on the 2022 D23 Expo

Everything we learned at Disney's parks panel at the 2022 D23 Expo

A masked family walks past Cinderella Castle in the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World in Lake Buena Vista, Florida.

Orlando Sentinel | Tribune News Service | Getty Images

Disney’s theme parks are recovering after the coronavirus pandemic closed their domestic and international locations in 2020.

Disney’s Parks, Experiences and Products division is growing in revenue and the company is seeing steady increases in visitor numbers, room nights occupied and cruise ship travel.

In terms of recent earnings, Disney noted that its new Genie+ and Lightning Lane products helped boost average ticket sales per capita for the quarter. These new digital features have been introduced to curate the guest experience and allow park-goers to skip-the-line at major attractions.

The company said it’s been able to bring back in-park experiences like character meet-and-greets, theatrical performances and nightly events at Disneyland, which has allowed it to increase capacity at its parks, CEO Bob said Chapek back then. Since reopening after the first round of pandemic closures in early 2020, Disney has limited visitor numbers and introduced a new online reservation system to help control crowds.

The company continues to add new features and attractions to its theme parks and cruise lines, which Josh D’Amaro, director of Disney’s parks, experiences and products division, outlined at its D23 Expo on Sunday.

Disneyland resort

D’Amaro welcomed The Mandalorian Executive Producer Jon Favreau on stage to announce that the Mandalorian will be appearing domestically with an animatronic grogu in Galaxy’s Edge as part of his costumed characters, used for meet-and-greets and interactions are available. He arrives in November.

Disney CEO Bob Chapek announced Friday that California-based Disneyland will be getting a third attraction on its Avengers campus. The ride is based on the multiverse and drivers will fight against villains from different universes including King Thanos.

Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige appeared in person, while Mark Ruffalo, who portrays the Hulk, appeared via video to reveal that Hulk will be at the park as part of a meet-and-greet opportunity. Developed as part of Project Exo, the version of Hulk will arrive at the park next week.

(LR): Jonathan Becker (Research and Development Imagineer), Josh D’Amaro (Chairman, Disney Parks, Experiences and Products), Richard-Alexandre Peloquin (Research Engineer Imagineer).

Christian Thomson

Pacific Wharf at Disney California Adventure is transformed into San Fransokyo from Big Hero Six and offers a chance to meet Baymax, the helpful health robot. Also, the Paradise Pier Hotel will become the Pixar Place Hotel.

Downtown Disney will add several new restaurants including Porto’s Bakery and Cafe and Din Tai Fung.

Disneyland’s Toon Town land is getting a version of Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway attraction from Hollywood Studios in Orlando, Florida, along with a number of cosmetic updates and a new children’s playground. These updates are expected in 2023.

Tiana’s bayou adventure, replacing Splash Mountain, is set directly after the events of Princes and the Frog and follows Princess Tiana on her quest to find a missing ingredient for a carnival party. The ride is scheduled to reopen in late 2024.

A model of Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, which will reinvent Disneyland’s Splash Mountain, is on display during the Walt Disney D23 Expo on September 9, 2022 in Anaheim, California.

Patrick T Fallon | AFP | Getty Images

D’Amaro said music will be a big part of the ride and the film’s cast will return to lend their voices to the attraction. Anika Noni Rose, the voice of Tiana, took to the stage to sing “I’m Almost There” and “Dig a Little Deeper” from the 2009 animated film.

Walt Disney World

D’Amaro announced that Disney is in the process of creating a new nighttime extravaganza for Epcot to celebrate the company’s 100th anniversary. Additionally, Journey of Water, inspired by “Moana” announced back in 2019, will open in late 2023.

Also coming to Epcot is Figment, the fan-favorite purple dragon, who will return to the park for meet-and-greets in the future.

Also, the Hatbox Ghost will appear in the Haunted Mansion at Walt Disney World next year.

D’Amaro shared footage of his test ride of Tron Light Cycle Run, noting that the ride at Magic Kingdom is scheduled to open in Spring 2023.

Disney cruises

Disney’s sixth cruise ship is called Disney Treasure and celebrates Walt Disney’s spirit of adventure. The Great Hall is inspired by Aladdin and features a statue of Jasmine and Aladdin riding the magic carpet.

D’Amaro said the “Disney Wonder” will now travel to Australia and New Zealand starting in October 2023.

The company is also opening a new island resort in the Bahamas called Lighthouse Point. D’Amaro said that 90% of the electricity consumed at this site is provided by solar power.

International resorts

Duffy and Friends, adorable cuddly characters from Shanghai Disney Resort, are getting their own stop motion series on Disney+.

D’Amaro also showed off new images from Zootopia Land, which will feature a large animatronic of Officer Clawhauser. No date has been set for the country’s official opening.

Hong Kong Disneyland is getting a new Walt Disney statue inspired by how Walt watched his kids ride the carousel and inspired the launch of Disney’s theme parks. The park’s Frozen-themed land will open in the second half of 2023.

In Paris, a new promenade will be added to connect the new Frozen-inspired land to the rest of the park, and a Tangled-themed attraction will be added to the new garden area.

Tokyo Disney Resort is also in the process of adding a new land based on Frozen, Tangled, and Peter Pan to its park called Fantasy Springs.

Space Mountain at Tokyo Disneyland will be remodeled in 2024 with a new plaza to be completed in 2027.

Beyond the Great Thunder Mountain

At the end of the panel, D’Amaro discussed what he called “Blue Sky” projects that the Imagineering team is working on. There are projects that are still in the early stages of development and may not see the light of day in the end.

D’Amaro spoke about the opportunity to redesign Dino Land at Animal Kingdom in Orlando, Florida. Initial ideas for the space envisage the possibility of bringing “Zootopia” with its variety of districts and animal species or “Vaiana” into the park.

At Magic Kingdom, Disney asks, “What’s behind Big Thunder Mountain?” The company teased that an area based on “Coco” could be in that location or “Encanto.” Maybe both.

D’Amaro even teased the possibility of also bringing to life an area of ​​Magic Kingdom overrun by Disney villains. The crowd erupted in applause at the suggestion. Most often, villains appear during Disney’s Halloween special events.

“We will never stop pleasing you,” he said.

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King Charles’s Ascension After Loss of life of Queen Elizabeth: Updates

King Charles's Ascension After Death of Queen Elizabeth: Updates

LONDON — No sooner had the long-awaited news broke – Queen Elizabeth II was dead – than Britain activated Operation London Bridge, the carefully choreographed funeral schedule taking the country through the rituals of honor and mourning to begin with her funeral ten days later culminate.

But the plan, with its metronomic precision, masks something far worse: a rupture in the national psyche. The Queen’s death last week at the age of 96 is a truly traumatic event, leaving many in this stoic country fearful and unattached. As they come to terms with the loss of a figure who embodied Britain, they are unsure of their nation’s identity, their economic and social well-being, or even their role in the world.

For some, it almost seems like the London Bridge is down.

Such trauma was not entirely unexpected: Elizabeth reigned for 70 years, making her the only monarch most Britons have ever known. But the fear runs deeper, say scholars and commentators, a reflection not only of the queen’s long shadow but also of the unsettled land she leaves in her wake.

From Brexit and the coronavirus pandemic to the serial scandals that recently ousted Prime Minister Boris Johnson, the end of the second Elizabeth era was a time of endless turmoil for Britain.

Recognition…James Hill for the New York Times

In just two months since Mr Johnson announced his resignation, inflation has skyrocketed, a recession looms and household energy bills have nearly doubled. Nearly lost in the global flood that followed the Queen’s death, after three days in office, new Prime Minister Liz Truss rolled out an emergency plan to limit energy prices to an estimated $100 billion.

“It all feeds a sense of uncertainty and insecurity that has been there because of Brexit and then Covid and now with a new prime minister who is very inexperienced,” said Timothy Garton Ash, Professor of European Studies at Oxford University. The queen, he said, is the stone, “and then the stone is removed.”

Not just the rock, but the rhythm of everyday British life: her image is printed on pound notes and postage stamps, her royal monogram – ER for Elizabeth Regina – is emblazoned on flags and red post boxes across the country.

At the formal proclamation of her son Charles as King on Saturday, the void left by the Queen was palpable. Her empty throne, initialed ER, loomed before an assembly of the new monarch; his heir, Prince William; the Archbishop of Canterbury; and the Prime Minister and her six living predecessors.

For older Britons in particular, the loss is “deep and personal and almost familial,” Mr Johnson said, paying tribute to the Queen in Parliament on Friday, four days after she accepted his resignation in one of her final acts.

“Perhaps part of it is that it has always been there, an unchanging human reference point in British life,” he said. “The person who appears most often in our dreams according to all the polls. So unchanging in her North Star charisma that we may have lulled ourselves into thinking that in a way she might be eternal.”

Recognition…Andrew Testa for the New York Times

Beyond the Queen’s permanence, said Mr Johnson and others, was her immense global prestige. It was a living connection to World War II, after which Winston Churchill helped draw the map of the post-war world while sitting around a conference table in Yalta with Franklin D. Roosevelt and Joseph Stalin.

Mr. Johnson and Ms. Truss have reverted to that role with their staunch support for Ukraine. But Britain these days is less of a major power at the center of global decision-making and more of a mid-size cheering from the sidelines. It is fitting that Churchill, in 1965, was the last Briton to receive a state funeral – before that of the Queen, which was scheduled for September 19 at Westminster Abbey.

“My personal reflection is that there will probably never be an occasion where another British personality is so mourned around the world,” said Professor Garton Ash of Oxford. “It’s a final moment of British greatness in a way.”

For all her displays of power, the queen did not project her influence through political or military power, but through an abiding duty to the country. Her military service and dignified administration contrasted with Britain’s often unruly policies, not to mention the foreign strongmen she sometimes had to entertain.

Some said she was a pioneer in practicing what later became known as “soft power.”

“I cannot lead you into battle,” said the Queen in 1957. “I do not give you laws or administer justice, but I can do something else. I can give you my heart and devotion to these ancient islands and to all the peoples of our Brotherhood of Nations.”

Recognition…Andrew Testa for the New York Times

In the parks and squares around Buckingham Palace, where crowds gathered on Saturday, their loss was spoken of on a political and personal level. “She meant reliability and stability,” said Kate Nattrass, 59, a healthcare recruiter from Christchurch, New Zealand, a member of the British Commonwealth.

But the Queen did so at the cost of great personal sacrifice. “In many ways, she was a woman stripped of her ability to be herself,” Ms Nattrass said. “That’s probably why she missed a lot of her own family.”

Callum Taylor, 27, an actor from the north west English city of Preston, traveled to London to leave yellow roses on the palace gates. He said he heard yellow was one of Elizabeth’s favorite colors. Mr Taylor admitted he wasn’t sure of his information but added: “I think we all felt like we knew her.”

While the Queen has long been revered – the swelling crowds at her platinum anniversary celebrations in June were a testament to her enduring popularity – her post-Brexit role has arguably become even more important.

With Britain no longer part of the European Union, the country’s pro-Brexit government resorted to symbols of its imperial past, ordering that the Union Jack be regularly hoisted from public buildings and pushing projects like a new royal yacht (neither King Charles III Ms. Truss seems particularly interested).

Recognition…Pool photo by WPA

Respect for the Queen has masked the cracks that have widened in the UK since Brexit. Scotland and Northern Ireland each now have significant sections of the population favoring separation from the kingdom, and it’s not clear if King Charles will give them a more compelling reason to stay.

In Scotland, where the Queen died at her beloved Balmoral Castle, a 2014 independence referendum was defeated by 55 to 44 percent of the vote. The Scottish National Party, which controls the country’s parliament, is determined to hold another vote.

Many in Ireland still remember the Queen’s landmark visit in 2011, when she charmed the public and spoke candidly about Britain’s strained relationship with its neighbour. “From a historical perspective,” she said, “we can all see things that we wish had been done differently or not at all.”

In Northern Ireland, on the other hand, the Irish nationalist party Sinn Fein became the largest party after the May elections. Sinn Fein is also within striking distance of becoming the largest party in the Irish Republic, a milestone that could accelerate their quest for Irish unity.

Dealing with the recalcitrant stay-at-home northern union parties is a headache for the British government. Ms Truss is following Mr Johnson’s lead in threatening to overturn post-Brexit trade deals in Northern Ireland, which are part of his exit deal with the European Union.

Recognition…James Hill for the New York Times

Centrifugal forces are even greater in outlying British dominions such as Jamaica, the Bahamas and St. Lucia, where the predominantly black population is demanding a reckoning with the racist legacy of British colonialism. Barbados will sack the Queen as head of state in 2021, and Jamaica could soon follow.

On a trouble-prone trip through the Caribbean last March, Prince William and his wife Catherine faced demands for slavery reparations and demanded that they confess that Britain’s economy “was built on the backs of our ancestors”.

Vernon Bogdanor, an authority on constitutional monarchy at King’s College London, said Charles was a departure from other royals as he sought to appeal to those on the fringes of society. He cited Charles’ visits to Tottenham, north London, following riots following a police shooting in 2011.

Partly for this reason, Professor Bogdanor said that the new king could surprise those who are skeptical of his ability to replace his mother. Still, he acknowledged a surprisingly deep sense of loss at the Queen’s death.

“I feel more affected than I thought,” he said. “It’s not unexpected when someone dies at 96. The only explanation I can think of is that people instinctively felt how much she cared about the country.”

Recognition…Andrew Testa for the New York Times

Saskia Solomon contributed to the coverage.

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World News

Bitcoin (BTC) tops $20,000 in ‘bearish rally’ as U.S. greenback falls

Institutional investors are becoming increasingly excited about The Merge, says President of Anchorage Digital

Bitcoin prices came under pressure in 2022 following the collapse of algorithmic stablecoin terraUSD and subsequent bankruptcy filings by lender Celsius and hedge fund Three Arrows Capital.

Nicolas Economous | Nurphoto | Getty Images

Bitcoin skyrocketed on Friday, breaking through $20,000 again as the US dollar weakened and stocks soared.

The world’s largest cryptocurrency was last trading 8.7% higher at $20,974.00 after falling to its lowest level since mid-June earlier in the week. Bitcoin briefly jumped above $21,000 earlier in the day.

Other digital coins were higher, including ether, which gained about 4%. The total market value of the cryptocurrency jumped back to over $1 trillion.

The recent uptrend for bitcoin was prompted by a slight weakening of the US dollar, which has staged a stunning rally this year. The US dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of other currencies, was down about 1% on Friday morning.

US stock indexes closed higher on Thursday and futures were higher on Friday. Bitcoin is closely correlated with US markets, which often rise when stock indices do. Bitcoin also tends to rise when the dollar weakens.

Bitcoin has been trading in a range of around $18,000 to $24,000 since June and has failed to break this pattern.

Vijay Ayyar, vice president of corporate development and international at crypto exchange Luno, said Friday’s rally could be a “bearish retest” of the price of $22,500-$23,000.

“As such, unless it convincingly breaks through and closes above this level, I would still think this is a bearish rally that could see more reach and downside,” Ayyar said.

Bitcoin has taken a hit this year, and is more than 60% down from its record high in November, when the Federal Reserve aggressively hiked interest rates to dull risky assets like cryptocurrencies.

The crypto market has also been hit by failed projects and high-profile bankruptcies that have spread across the industry.

Ethereum “merge”, focus on inflation

Crypto markets have been anticipating a major network upgrade for Ethereum called Merge, which proponents say will make the blockchain more efficient.

The merger is expected to be completed by mid-September.

Ahead of the event, the price of Ether, Ethereum’s native token, has far outperformed Bitcoin.

Financial markets are also looking for signs of a slowdown in inflation when the US CPI is released next week. And investors are also watching signals on the Fed’s rate hike path.

On Thursday, Fed Chair Jerome Powell said he was “strongly committed” to fighting inflation and hinted that more rate hikes could be on the way.

As inflation cools and Ethereum merger awaits, Yuya Hasegawa, a crypto market analyst at Japanese crypto exchange Bitbank, said Bitcoin could test $22,000 but also issued a warning.

“Given what some Fed members, including Chairman Powell, have said this week, too much optimism could be dangerous,” Hasegawa said in a note on Friday.

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World News

Russia-Ukraine Warfare: U.S. Will Give $2 Billion Extra Assist, Blinken Says

Russia-Ukraine War: U.S. Will Give $2 Billion More Aid, Blinken Says

Recognition…Doug Mills/The New York Times

Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken, during a visit to Kyiv, the Ukrainian capital, on Thursday said he would inform Congress that the United States intends to send an additional $2 billion in long-term military assistance to Ukraine and 18 other countries. who are at risk of a Russian invasion.

Separately, President Biden has approved an additional $675 million in military assistance to Ukraine, Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III said.

The combined aid totals $13.5 billion in Biden administration aid to Ukraine since the Russian invasion in February.

Mr. Blinken’s visit to Ukraine’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs was his second since the start of the Russian invasion. The State Department has not publicly announced his trip in advance for security reasons.

His visit comes as Mr. Austin meets with allied defense ministers at a monthly meeting of the Ukraine Contact Group, which aims to coordinate the flow of military aid to Ukraine. The arrival of Western equipment, particularly longer-range HIMARS missile systems, has enabled Ukrainian forces to attack Russian military infrastructure behind front lines and aided a counteroffensive in the south — although some military experts argue aid to date is insufficient to avert this War decided in favor of Ukraine.

“Ukrainian forces have begun their counter-offensive in the south of their country and they are integrating the capabilities that we have all deployed to help themselves fight and retake their sovereign territory,” Mr Austin said at the start of the meeting at Ramstein Air Force Base in Germany.

“This contact group must position itself to provide long-term support to the brave defenders of Ukraine,” he said. “That now means the continuous and determined flow of skills.”

Russian forces are struggling to seize new territory but show no signs of retreating from the invasion, which US estimates have left tens of thousands of casualties on both sides and left vast areas of eastern and southern Ukraine in ruins. On Wednesday, President Vladimir V Putin delivered a defiant address, whitewashing the enormous toll of the war and the faltering performance of his army, and proclaimed at an economic conference in Russia’s Far East: “We have lost nothing and will lose nothing.”

In Germany, Mr Austin said the new weapons package included air-launched HARM missiles designed to seek out and destroy Russian air defense radar; guided multiple launch rocket systems, known as GMLRS; howitzers and other artillery; armored ambulances; and small arms.

The State Department said the $2 billion package, which will be drawn from pools of funds already approved by Congress but whose specific allocation requires Congress approval, would be split roughly half between Ukraine and 18 other nations. These are Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Georgia, Greece, Kosovo, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia.

The money will be used to “build the current and future capabilities” of the armed forces of Ukraine and other countries, including by strengthening their cyber and hybrid warfare capabilities, particularly to counter Russian aggression, the State Department said.

The money will also help integrate non-NATO members into the alliances’ armed forces.

On Thursday afternoon, Mr Blinken met with Ukraine’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dmytro Kuleba. He previously visited the US embassy and a children’s hospital that treats children injured in Russian attacks.

Mr Blinken was also introduced to Patron at the hospital, a Jack Russell terrier who Ukrainian forces have credited with helping excavate hundreds of Russian landmines. Mr. Blinken declared the dog “world famous”.

— Michael Croley and Matthew Mpoke Bigg

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World News

Bitcoin (BTC) value falls under $19,000 as crypto market drops under $1 trillion

This “crypto winter” is different than the last. Here's why

Bitcoin continues to trade in a tight range of $18,000 to $24,000, keeping investors in the loop as to where the price is headed next. The crypto market has been plagued by a range of issues, from collapsed projects to bankruptcies.

Nurphoto | Getty Images

Bitcoin traded below $19,000 on Wednesday morning, hitting its lowest levels since June following a decline in global stock markets and continued US dollar strength.

The value of the overall cryptocurrency market also fell below $1 trillion as digital coins saw a sell-off across the board.

Bitcoin was trading at $18,812.36 as of 03:50 ET, according to CoinDesk, down more than 5%. Ether, which has far outpaced Bitcoin’s gains over the past few months, fell more than 8% to $1,518.59.

Central banks around the world are fighting rampant inflation by tightening monetary policy. The US Federal Reserve made a series of rate hikes totaling 2.25 percentage points. The markets expect further rate hikes.

The Fed’s tightening of monetary policy has strengthened the US dollar, which has weighed on risky assets. The US 10-year Treasury yield has also risen.

Bitcoin has traded in correlation to stocks, so when they fall, so does cryptocurrency generally.

“The macro environment also continues to prove challenging as the dollar continues to make highs. As we can see, this is affecting all risky assets,” Vijay Ayyar, vice president of corporate development and international at crypto exchange Luno, told CNBC.

“If we see the dollar turning back down, we should be able to push risky assets like bitcoin back up.”

The crypto market has been hit this year with nearly $2 trillion lost since its peak in November. Bitcoin is down about 60% from its record high of $68,990.90 set in November.

The sell-off was caused by a difficult environment for risky assets, as well as crypto-specific issues including collapsed projects and bankruptcies that have spread across the industry.

Ethereum merge in focus

Bitcoin has been trading in a tight range between $18,000 and $24,000 since June. Luno’s Ayyar said that “when a bottom is formed, bitcoin usually likes to pull back and test previous lows to see if they hold as support.”

He said that if Bitcoin does not drop below $17,500, the market is likely to consolidate within the $18,000-$24,000 range.

In the meantime, ether and so-called altcoins, i.e. alternative coins, have managed to rise further than Bitcoin. Ether has overtaken Bitcoin since both cryptocurrencies hit bottoms in June.

Ether is the native cryptocurrency on the Ethereum network. Ethereum is planning a huge upgrade this month — known as a merge — that proponents say will make the network more efficient.

“Ethereum hit yearly highs against Bitcoin pair in anticipation of merger,” Ayyar said. “As such, there has been much more interest and activity in the altcoin space as Bitcoin consolidates.”

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World News

Shelling Cuts Off Outdoors Energy to Ukrainian Nuclear Plant

Shelling Cuts Off Outside Power to Ukrainian Nuclear Plant

Recognition…Jim Huylebroek for the New York Times

Kyiv, Ukraine — Europe’s largest nuclear power plant was disconnected from the country’s power grid Monday after renewed shelling nearby, Ukrainian energy officials said, putting critical cooling systems once again at risk of relying solely on backup power.

Herman Galushchenko, Ukraine’s energy minister, said a fire resulting from the shelling severed the Zaporizhia power plant’s last connection to a back-up line, which was its only source of external power.

Reactor No. 6, the plant’s only functioning reactor, was still producing electricity for the plant itself, and as of Monday evening, engineers had not turned on any diesel generators, according to an official from Energoatom, the Ukrainian company responsible for running the facility.

Mr Galushchenko said it was another precarious moment made even more ominous by the fact that fire crews were unable to reach the scene of the fire.

“Repairs on the lines are now impossible,” he said. “There’s fighting all around the station.”

An International Atomic Energy Agency inspection team that had been at the facility left behind two monitors hoping they would witness unfolding events and the tensions at the facility, which was being held by Russian forces but still operated by Ukrainian engineers will, could alleviate . The greater hope had been that the shelling would stop.

The agency said that according to Ukrainian officials, the reserve line was “deliberately disconnected to put out a fire.”

“The line itself is not damaged and will be reconnected once the fire is out,” said the organization, which is part of the United Nations.

Edwin Lyman, a nuclear energy expert at the Union of Concerned Scientists, a private group in Cambridge, Mass., said the current situation – with the plant relying on one of its own reactors to power cooling systems – is ” not unique, but it is not common practice.”

He pointed out that the International Atomic Energy Agency, which sets reactor safety standards for nuclear power plants, released a technical document in 2018 detailing the backup procedure.

“Some existing nuclear power plant technologies have this capability,” says the IAEA document, “while others do not.” Even plants that do have the capability could face “a time limit of generally a few hours” for back-up power be.

Najmedin Meshkati, a professor of civil and environmental engineering at the University of Southern California, said the external power outage — which has happened at least twice at the Zaporizhia plant in recent weeks — is “one of the most horrific events that could happen at a nuclear power plant.” .”

dr Meshkati, a member of the committee appointed by the United States National Academy of Sciences to learn lessons from the disaster at Japan’s Fukushima nuclear power plant, said there was no point in running the reactor.

An engineer in contact with people at the facility and in the satellite city of Enerhodar said Monday her colleagues had reported heavy shelling in the area over the past three days.

“Dwelling houses were damaged and many more people were injured and killed than was reported in the Ukrainian media,” said the engineer, who spoke on condition of anonymity because she feared reprisals against her friends and family. “People continue to leave the city, including workers at the plant.”

Ukrainian officials tried to keep up pressure on the International Atomic Energy Agency to propose a robust assessment of both the conditions at the plant and the challenges faced by Ukrainian engineers charged with its safe operation.

Repeated shelling over the past month has damaged all of the facility’s connections to four external high-voltage power lines, forcing it to use a lower-voltage backup line to power the cooling equipment needed to avoid core meltdowns. It was this reserve line that was cut Monday.

When the main power lines and backup line were damaged by gunfire and fires on August 25, a power outage at the facility forced reliance on diesel generators to prevent a disaster.

Rafael Mariano Grossi, the director of the International Atomic Energy Agency, told a news conference on Friday that his main concern for the facility’s physical security is related to a reliable connection to external power supply.

William J. Broad contributed reporting from Brunswick, Maine.

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World News

Singapore, Thailand are weak to U.S. recession, economists say

Southeast Asia is looking

Singapore is the most vulnerable and will be the first to be hit in Southeast Asia if the US goes into recession, says Maybank’s Chua Hak Bin.

Roslan Rahman | AFP | Getty Images

SINGAPORE — Asia won’t get off scot-free if the US falls into recession, but some countries in Southeast Asia will be hit harder than others, economists warn.

The tug-of-war between inflation and recession in the United States continues as the Federal Reserve maintains its hawkish stance on rate hikes.

The US has already reported back-to-back quarters of negative growth in the first two quarters of 2022 – in what some see as a “technical” recession. Still, there is little consensus on when a full-blown recession might strike.

Economists told CNBC that Singapore and Thailand will most likely be hit first if the US slips into recession.

Singapore

Singapore is “more vulnerable” to a US recession than its regional peers because it is “very, very dependent,” said Chua Hak Bin, a senior economist at Maybank.

“I guess [it] Singapore will be first,” he said when asked which economies in Southeast Asia will be hit first if the US falls into recession. The island nation is likely to be first because of its export dependency and its small and open economy, Chua said.

Selina Ling, chief economist at OCBC Bank, agreed with this analysis.

“At first glance, I would rather assume the more open and trade-dependent Asian economies [Singapore]Taiwan and South Korea and maybe Thailand would be the usual suspects,” she said.

1. Connected

The country’s GDP growth has “historically been more closely correlated with US business cycles” due to its export-oriented economy, Maybank said in a late August report.

Singapore does not have a large domestic market and relies heavily on trade services for economic growth, Chua said. These include shipping activities and cargo operations.

The country’s trade-to-GDP ratio for 2021 was 338%, according to the World Bank. The trade to GDP ratio is an indicator of how open an economy is to international trade.

Singapore’s “correlation and dependence on foreign demand is very high,” Chua said. If the US slips into recession, this “dependency and causality” will hit the more export-oriented economies, he added.

Singapore is strongly connected to the rest of the world and a “shockwave” in any one country will definitely have a ripple effect across the city, Irvin Seah, senior economist at DBS Group Research, told CNBC.

Still, he doesn’t expect Singapore to fall into recession this year or next.

The Maybank report states that if the US slides into recession, the downturn will be “shallow rather than deep.”

However, Chua said the US could potentially face a “prolonged” recession and whether or not Singapore is also headed for a protracted recession will depend on China’s Covid reopening as China is the city-state’s biggest trading partner.

2. Export-oriented economy

Singapore is a big exporter of electrical machinery and equipment, but output in its electronics cluster fell 6.4% yoy in July, data from the Economic Development Board showed.

Production in the semiconductor sector fell 4.1%, while other electronic module and component segments shrank 19.7% on “lower export orders from China and China.” [South] Korea,” said the EDB, a government agency of Singapore’s Ministry of Trade and Industry.

“China is the biggest export market for many ASEAN countries… But exports to China have been terrible,” Chua said, referring to the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations. “Because Singapore is so dependent on exports, [it] will feel it.”

3. Tourism

Seah, the economist at DBS, said he “doesn’t rule out the possibility” that Singapore will see at least a quarter of negative quarter-on-quarter growth. However, economic conditions for the country are normalizing, he added.

“We are definitely much stronger today than we were during the global financial crisis,” he said.

Thailand

Thailand will also be among the first to be hit if the US slips into recession, economists predicted, speaking to CNBC.

1. Tourism

The country relies heavily on tourism for its economic growth. Spending on tourists accounted for about 11% of Thailand’s GDP in 2019 before the pandemic. The country welcomed nearly 40 million visitors that year and generated more than $60 billion in revenue, according to the World Bank.

Only about 428,000 foreign tourists arrived in 2021 and the economy grew by just 1.5% – one of the slowest in Southeast Asia, according to Reuters.

Thailand could be next to fall into recession after Singapore, Chua said. However, a “wild card” will be the timing of China’s reopening – which could determine whether Thailand’s economy is “back to full swing,” he added.

Thailand's lifting of Covid curbs will boost travel and service industries: hospitality businesses

Chinese tourists have not returned to the Southeast Asian country, and that has left Thailand’s economy in “an even more precarious state,” said Seah of DBS Bank.

“As long as Chinese tourists don’t return, Thailand will keep fighting. Growth was weak, inflation high, [and] The Thai baht is under pressure.”

The Thai baht is currently hovering around 36 baht per US dollar, down 20% from three years ago before the pandemic.

2. Inflationary pressures

Thailand’s inflation rate hit a 14-year high of 7.66% in June, according to Refinitiv data.

The Bank of Thailand has only hiked interest rates once since 2018.

“Headline inflation is very high in Thailand, but core inflation is not that high, correlation is not that high. Of course, growth has been much weaker, so they see no urgency to tighten that aggressively,” Maybank’s Chua said.

He pointed out that Indonesia and the Philippines would likely be less affected by a possible US recession due to their “domestically focused economies”.

“Indonesia and the Philippines were better insulated from the slowdown in foreign demand and the US recession, with both economies continuing to expand even in 2008-09 during the global financial crisis,” the Maybank report said.

According to World Bank data, GDP growth in Indonesia and the Philippines was higher than in Singapore and Thailand during the 2008-2009 global financial crisis.

– CNBC’s Abigail Ng and Weizhen Tan contributed to this report.