👋 Tere!*
Welcome to Friday, where the U.S. restricts travel for its diplomats in Israel amid heightened fears of an Iranian retaliatory attack, Russian airstrikes destroy Kyiv’s largest power plant and Indonesia celebrates the end of Ramadan with a traditional balloon festival. Meanwhile, independent Russian media Vazhnyye Istorii meets with one of the founders of “Mavka,” a women's partisan movement carrying out undercover operations in the occupied territories of Ukraine.
[*Estonian]
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🗞️ FRONT PAGE
“How strong are the contenders?,” asks Noida-based weekly India Today on its front page dedicated to the 2024 general election in India, set to start next week. It is expected to be the world's largest democratic election ever. Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeks a third term, while opposition parties warn of potential loss of freedoms under his leadership. Key contenders include Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party and the coalition led by the Indian National Congress, forming the “India” alliance. Campaign issues range from Modi's economic achievements and welfare programs to concerns about unemployment and minority rights.
🌎 7 THINGS TO KNOW RIGHT NOW
• U.S. issues travel restrictions for diplomats in Israel amid fears of attack from Iran. The order is a sign of the heightened risk that the conflict in the Middle East could escalate after Iran vowed to retaliate for a strike on its consulate in Syria 11 days ago that it blames on Israel. Personal travel for American diplomats outside the Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and Beersheeva areas is barred “until further notice.” Meanwhile, a UN Security Council committee has failed to reach a consensus on a renewed bid by the State of Palestine for full United Nations membership.
• Russian airstrikes destroy Kyiv’s largest power plant. The Trypillya power plant provided electricity for three regions, including the Ukrainian capital city. Russia fired 82 missiles and drones in total, targeting sites across Ukraine. In the U.S., a top House Republican said House Speaker Mike Johnson was negotiating with the White House on advancing wartime funding for Ukraine. Follow our coverage of the Russia-Ukraine war.
• Thailand’s foreign minister visits Myanmar border amid clashes, evacuations. Fighting between Myanmar’s military and ethnic minority armed groups has rocked the critical border town Myawaddy this week, which the anti-junta resistance has claimed control of, sending people rushing into Thailand. Parnpree Bahiddha-Nukara said his country had sent messages to Myanmar's junta to reduce violence and that preparations were underway to take care of the hundreds of displaced residents.
• Portuguese man becomes first European citizen jailed under Hong Kong’s security law. Joseph John, who holds a Hong Kong residency and is also known as Wong Kin-chung, was sentenced to five years in jail for “incitement to secession” after posting pro-independence and anti-China content on social media. Since its enactment in 2020, the controversial China-imposed National Security Law in Hong Kong has seen 174 people charged with national security crimes.
• Argentina court blames Iran and Hezbollah for 1994 bombing of Jewish center. The ruling said that Iran and its Lebanese proxy, Hezbollah, were responsible for the attack on Buenos Aires’ Argentine Israelite Mutual Association, which killed 85 people and called it a “crime against humanity.” The court also ruled that Iran had ordered the bomb attack in 1992 on Israel's embassy in the Argentine capital city that had left 29 dead.
• German parliament to vote on gender “self-determination” law. The government plan aims at making it easier for transgender, intersex and nonbinary people to change their name and gender in official documents. The current “transsexual law” requires individuals to be assessed by two psychiatrists and to obtain a court decision.
• “HELP” sign allows rescue of three men from an island in Micronesia. The experienced mariners spelled out the word using palm tree leaves on a beach, which was then spotted by the U.S. Coast Guard. The men had been reported missing after failing to return from a fishing trip to Pikelot Atoll nine days before.
#️⃣ BY THE NUMBERS
$16 million
Shohei Ohtani's long-time interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara, has been charged by U.S. officials with stealing more than $16 million from the Japanese-born Major League baseball star. Mizuhara allegedly posed as Ohtani to banks and placed illegal wagers, using Ohtani's money. Prosecutors claim Mizuhara manipulated Ohtani's lack of English proficiency to authorize unauthorized transfers. Mizuhara faces a potential 30-year sentence for bank fraud and is reportedly negotiating a plea deal.
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📰 STORY OF THE DAY
In occupied Ukraine, feminist resistance of an underground women's brigade
For independent Russian media Vazhnyye Istorii, Katya Alexander reports on how the women's partisan movement rose up from the southeastern city of Melitopol to carry out undercover operations in the occupied territories of Ukraine that undermine every step of the Russian troops.
✊ One of the most well-known resistance movements in Ukraine is the women’s movement “Zla Mavka." In Ukrainian folklore, Mavkas are maidens who live in forests, caves, mountains or bodies of water. They lure men in with their beauty and then drag them into a pool. Born in the Ukrainian city of Melitopol, which was captured by the Russians on Feb. 25, 2022, the resistance organizes campaigns in all major occupied cities. Vazhnyye Istorii spoke with one of the founders of “Mavka.”
👤 The core of girls with whom our movement began is in Melitopol, and we don’t know the rest. It’s safer for both us and them. We are active on social networks to scale our campaigns to other occupied cities. Anyone who wants to do something against the occupiers writes to us in an anonymous form or bot. They can't verify who we are, just like we can't verify who they are.
💵 We started making counterfeit rubles to use as a ruse. Our artist made a fifty-ruble bill that looks very natural from afar. The Russians see this paper, pick it up, and unfold it, but a Ukrainian Mavka with a trident is drawn on it with the words: “This is not your Russia, you are in Ukraine.” We don’t want the occupiers to forget for a minute where they are and that they are not welcome here.
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📹 THIS HAPPENED VIDEO — TODAY IN HISTORY, IN ONE ICONIC PHOTO
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📣 VERBATIM
“The hope for true accountability has ended.”
— News of the death at 76 of O.J. Simpson provoked a wide range of reactions in the United States, including a statement from Kim and Fred Goldman, the parents of Ron Goldman. A 25-year-old Los Angeles waiter, Goldman was stabbed to death alongside Nicole Brown Simpson in a crime that the former football star was acquitted of in a landmark criminal trial, though later found liable for in a civil ruling. The O.J. Simpson case became a touchstone in the 1990s in the U.S. for media influence, celebrity culture and race relations. For the parents: “News of Ron’s killer passing away is a mixed bag of complicated emotions and reminds us that the journey through grief is not linear.”
👉 MORE FROM WORLDCRUNCH
• Russia's Invasion Of Ukraine Is Also A "Semantic War" — Here's How To Fight Back — LIVY BEREG
• Echos Of Nuremberg: The Need For Justice In Our Dark New Age Of Violence — CLARÍN
• Pole-Dancers in Puerto Rico Take on Sexism, Seek Independence — GLOBAL PRESS JOURNAL
✍️ Newsletter by Anne-Sophie Goninet and Cory Agathe
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