Putin to increase Russia’s army
Vladimir Putin ordered a pointy enhance within the measurement of Russia’s armed forces yesterday, signaling a prolonged dedication to the conflict in Ukraine.
The Russian president raised the goal variety of active-duty service members by about 137,000, to 1.15 million, as of January of subsequent yr. He additionally ordered the federal government to put aside cash to pay for the expansion.
Some analysts described the transfer as a transparent sign that, after a full six months of preventing, Putin had no plans to relent.
Evaluation: Putin’s decree represents a shocking reversal of years of efforts by the Kremlin to slim down a bloated army. However a nationwide draft would destroy the veneer of normalcy that Russia has sought to keep up, regardless of financial sanctions and the continued preventing.
With lower than two weeks left in a race in opposition to Rishi Sunak, the previous chancellor of the Exchequer, Truss has projected an aura of inevitability, caught to the Conservative Social gathering orthodoxy and wrapped herself within the mantle of Margaret Thatcher, a conservative icon.
However Truss, 47, has provided only a few clues about how she would confront an financial disaster that many consultants view because the gravest in a technology. As a substitute, she has vowed to chop taxes, shrink the dimensions of the federal government and discard the remaining E.U. rules.
Historical past: If she triumphs, Truss will grow to be Britain’s third feminine chief, after Theresa Could and Thatcher, an anti-Communist warrior and free-market evangelist who took energy throughout a time of comparable financial hardship in 1979.
How China may blockade Taiwan
China in all probability nonetheless lacks the flexibility to shortly invade and seize Taiwan, however it’s honing its capability to blockade the self-governed island.
In an effort to pressure concessions, or as a precursor to wider army motion, Beijing may ring the island in ships and submarines to stop vessels from coming into or leaving Taiwan’s ports. A blockade would search to repel U.S. forces, and China would most certainly additionally use warplanes and missiles to dominate the skies.
Taiwan may very well be susceptible: Most of its 23 million persons are focused on its western flank — closest to China — together with its trade and ports. Even a restricted blockade would threaten one of many world’s busiest commerce routes.
Expertise: China sees data as a key battleground. It could attempt to disable undersea cables that carry about 90 p.c of the information connecting Taiwan to the world.
THE LATEST NEWS
Europe
Mack Rutherford, 17, grew to become the youngest pilot to finish a solo flight all over the world in a small airplane when he landed in Sofia, Bulgaria, on Wednesday.
The Belgian-British pilot flew almost 30,000 miles (greater than 48,000 kilometers) and made stops in 30 international locations. “Very pleased to be right here after 5 lengthy months,” he stated whereas disembarking.
SPORTS NEWS FROM THE ATHLETIC
This week, we’re introducing a brand new part to this article — a sports activities part, written by the workers of The Athletic.
Breaking down the Champions League draw: The largest membership competitors in European soccer is again with a bang, and the group stage draw has thrown up some immediate classics. Chelsea should face the Italian champion, AC Milan; Tottenham will do battle with the likes of Marseille and Sporting Lisbon; and Bayern Munich, Barcelona and Inter Milan have been drawn collectively within the conventional “Group of Loss of life.”
The unhappy downfall of Dele Alli: The younger England midfielder was as soon as one of many brightest stars within the sport. Now, at simply 26 years outdated, and only some years after what may need been his peak, he’s leaving the Premier League underneath a cloud, his future unsure.
Is the best way we analyze scoring in soccer all incorrect? The way in which we analyze attacking information has been the identical for years, which may very well be resulting in unfair comparisons between gamers. That is the way it may very well be mounted.
ARTS AND IDEAS
Worry and L.G.B.T.Q. rights in Ghana
When the members of the homosexual rights group referred to as the Drama Queens need to meet, they first should determine a safe location and think about hiring safety personnel. However they’re not alone. Members of dozens of advocacy teams in Ghana reside in worry.
Ghana, in West Africa, is usually thought-about certainly one of Africa’s most progressive international locations. However for the previous yr, it has been contemplating a harsh anti-L.G.B.T.Q. invoice.
When the measure was first offered, it was dismissed by many as an effort by opposition politicians to lift their profile. However the laws, formally generally known as the Promotion of Correct Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Household Values Invoice, remains to be alive, and activists say it has fueled a pointy enhance in homophobia. There have been studies of police raids and harassment. In June, vandals destroyed L.G.B.T.Q. delight posters in Accra, the capital.
The invoice says that any actions selling homosexual rights offend conventional values and threaten the idea of household. The nation nonetheless has a colonial-era legislation on the books that punishes same-sex relationships, however this proposed laws would go a lot additional. It will criminalize just about each facet of queer tradition, from the best way individuals costume to their social gatherings. Allies of L.G.B.T.Q. individuals may additionally face prison fees.
The Drama Queens, shaped 5 years in the past, maintain workshops on consent and sexual and reproductive rights and have expanded to offer a secure, inventive house for ladies and queer Ghanaians. The organizers put collectively artwork exhibitions, movie festivals and get-togethers the place younger individuals can share their experiences. If Parliament passes the measure, every little thing they do may grow to be a criminal offense.
Dennis Okay.F. Agyemang, a co-director of the Drama Queens, denounced the invoice, calling it “an imminent risk to organizations and queer security.” — Lynsey Chutel, Briefings author primarily based in Johannesburg.
PLAY, WATCH, EAT, PARENT
What to Prepare dinner
That’s it for immediately’s briefing. Thanks for becoming a member of me. — Amelia
P.S. The newest “The New York Instances Presents,” out there on Hulu, is about an influential physician who spreads Covid misinformation.
The newest episode of “The Each day” is on the dying of Daria Dugina.
Lynsey Chutel wrote immediately’s Arts and Concepts. You may attain Amelia and the group at briefing@nytimes.com.
