Kyiv bans Independence Day rallies

Monday, August 22, 2022

by Linda Noakes

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A New York election race will test abortion's sway with voters, Imran Khan's supporters vow to block his arrest by Pakistani police, and debt-laden Cineworld stares at possible bankruptcy

Plus, read our special report on the new breed of video sites thriving on misinformation and hate

Today's biggest stories

A local business owner inspects her sewing workshop damaged by a Russian missile strike in Mykolaiv, Ukraine, August 22, 2022. REUTERS/Umit Bektas

WORLD

Russia fired rockets at towns to the west of Europe's largest nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine while the capital Kyiv banned rallies this week to commemorate independence from Soviet rule for fear of Russian attacks. With the conflict reaching a grim milestone this week, we look back at six months that shook the world.

South Korea and the United States began their largest joint military drills in years with a resumption of field training, officials said, as the allies seek to tighten readiness over North Korea's potential weapons tests.

Supporters of former Pakistani prime minister Imran Khan gathered outside his home on Monday to stop police arresting him on anti-terrorism charges related to a threat police say he made against a police chief and a judge.

Kenya's veteran opposition leader Raila Odinga filed a challenge to the results of this month's presidential election in the Supreme Court, his legal team said, sharpening a political clash that has gripped East Africa's powerhouse.

China's scorched southwestern regions extended curbs on power consumption as they deal with dwindling hydropower output and surging household electricity demand during a long drought and heatwave.

FILE PHOTO: LBRY CEO Jeremy Kauffman, who co-founded the company that would later launch the Odysee video-sharing site. REUTERS/Brian Snyder

U.S.

Video-sharing sites BitChute and Odysee serve up conspiracies, racism and graphic violence to millions of viewers. Taking advantage of Big Tech disinformation crackdowns and the rise of Donald Trump, the sites reflect a new media universe – one where COVID is fake, Russia fights Nazis in Ukraine, and mass shootings are ‘false flag’ operations. Read our special report.

President Joe Biden launches a coast-to-coast tour this week to tout the new climate and tax bill and boost Democrats running in November's elections. But when he arrives, some of those candidates may be nowhere in sight, fearing Biden is too much of a liability.

A New York state special congressional election tomorrow could offer a crucial test of whether Democrats can weaponize the abortion issue in the midterm elections. Democrat Pat Ryan did not mince words in laying out his version of the stakes, telling supporters that Republican attacks on abortion are contributing to an "existential" threat to U.S. democracy.

An appeals court put on hold Senator Lindsey Graham's scheduled testimony for tomorrow before a grand jury in Georgia probing efforts by Trump to overturn the former president's 2020 election defeat, with the case returning to a lower court for another look.

Representative Liz Cheney vowed to oppose Republican candidates who back Trump's falsehoods about a stolen 2020 election and declared Senators Ted Cruz and Josh Hawley "unfit" for office after they voted to overturn the presidential results.

BUSINESS

Britain recorded its biggest fall in output in more than 300 years in 2020 when it faced the brunt of the COVID pandemic, as well as a larger decline than any other major economy, updated official figures showed. British consumer price inflation is set to peak at 18% - nine times the Bank of England's target - in early 2023, an economist at U.S. bank Citi said, raising his forecast once again in the light of the latest jump in energy prices.

China cut its benchmark lending rate and lowered the mortgage reference by a bigger margin, adding to last week's easing measures, as Beijing boosts efforts to revive an economy hobbled by a property crisis and a resurgence of COVID cases. The People's Bank of China is walking a tight rope in its efforts to revive growth.

The U.S. Federal Reserve will raise rates by 50 basis points in September amid expectations inflation has peaked and growing recession worries, according to economists in a Reuters poll, who said the risks were skewed towards a higher peak.

Cineworld, the world's second-largest cinema operator, is staring at a possible bankruptcy filing as it struggles to cut debts that soared during the pandemic. We look at the company's past and present woes - from chasing deals to turning off screens.

Toyota is rebooting its strategy for India, doubling down on a bet that emerging markets will learn to love its hybrids, as long as the price is right. Renowned for its pioneering Prius, the Japanese carmaker has struggled to sell large numbers of its hybrid Camry sedan since its Indian debut in 2013, partly due to a sticker price of more than eight times the annual income of a middle-class family.

Britain's Vodafone will sell its Hungarian business for $1.8 billion in cash to local IT company 4iG and the Hungarian state, consolidating the hold of Prime Minister Viktor Orban's government over the telecoms sector.

Quote of the day

"The big brands, the big manufacturers – they've forsaken us. Now, we need to communicate with the consumer directly. We only have ourselves to rely on."

Hiroko Kusaba

CEO of Seiko SCM

As Japanese manufacturing fades, a factory town fights to stay alive

Video of the day

Water rugby makes a splash

Rugby players diving to score tries can often make for spectacular viewing, but it's even better on a floating pitch.

And finally…

'It's wonderful,' say riverside booksellers as tourists return to Paris

For the 'bouquinistes' it's the end of fears that the pandemic might spell the death of a business that dates back to the 16th century.

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