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Russian ruble keeps rising, hitting a seven-year high

Russian ruble keeps rising, hitting a seven-year high

The New York Times reports: The ruble cemented its unlikely status as the world’s best-performing currency, rising to new multiyear highs this week. Since collapsing in the weeks after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which triggered sweeping international sanctions aimed at crippling the Russian economy, the ruble has come roaring back. On Tuesday, it traded at its strongest level against the U.S. dollar since June 2015. It has gained about 35 percent so far this year, beating every major currency, and…

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Starving civilians is an ancient military tactic, but today it’s a war crime in Ukraine, Yemen, Tigray and elsewhere

Starving civilians is an ancient military tactic, but today it’s a war crime in Ukraine, Yemen, Tigray and elsewhere

Grain warehouse destroyed by Russian attacks in Kopyliv, Kyiv province, Ukraine, May 28, 2022. Dogukan Keskinkilic/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images By Tom Dannenbaum, Tufts University; Alex De Waal, Tufts University, and Daniel Maxwell, Tufts University A hideous contradiction is playing out in war-torn Ukraine. Thousands of Ukrainians are starving in cities besieged by Russian forces. Meanwhile, the country’s grain stores are bursting with food, and the government is begging for international assistance to export Ukrainian grain to world markets. Freeing…

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U.S. attorney general visits Ukraine, names a veteran prosecutor to help investigate Russian war crimes

U.S. attorney general visits Ukraine, names a veteran prosecutor to help investigate Russian war crimes

The New York Times reports: The United States attorney general, Merrick B. Garland, made a surprise trip to Ukraine on Tuesday and announced the appointment of a veteran prosecutor known for investigating former Nazis to lead American efforts in tracking Russian war criminals. Mr. Garland’s visit to Ukraine, a previously unannounced side trip from his scheduled visits to Warsaw and Paris this week, was intended to bolster U.S. and international efforts aimed at helping Ukraine identify, apprehend and prosecute Russians…

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Parliamentary elections shock France’s political order to its core

Parliamentary elections shock France’s political order to its core

By Mathias Bernard, Université Clermont Auvergne (UCA) The campaign for the second round of France’s legislative elections pitted two antagonistic forces against each other, Emmanuel Macron’s presidential coalition and the left-wing group, the New Popular Ecological and Social Union (NUPES). But the results also clearly confirmed the weight of a third, Marine Le Pen’s Rassemblement National (RN). The far-right party now boasts of a parliamentary group for the first time since 1986, with 89 out of 577 elected deputies. The…

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How the sugars in mucus tame the body’s unruly fungi

How the sugars in mucus tame the body’s unruly fungi

Wired reports: Katharina Ribbeck’s lab collects mucus—the often gooey substance present in places like the mouth, gut, reproductive tract, and intestines. While the slimy goop may not be pretty from the get-go, a purification process can brighten it up. “Once you remove particulates and microbes, it’s a beautiful, beautiful clear gel—like egg white,” says Ribbeck, a professor of bioengineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. “It’s really gorgeous.” Ribbeck cares about spit because she’s trying to deconstruct how glycans, tiny…

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War in Ukraine hits a critical juncture

War in Ukraine hits a critical juncture

James M. Dubik writes: For Ukraine’s president, fighting forces and citizenry, this war is existential, and every phase has been critical. Now, especially so. Russia’s Vladimir Putin sought a lightning end to the Zelensky government, but he’ll settle for a slow death if that’s all he can get. Unless the United States, NATO and other allies up their acknowledged generous support, a slow death is likely where the Ukraine war is heading. Ukraine forces, with allied aid, stopped Putin’s initial…

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What if Russia uses nuclear weapons in Ukraine?

What if Russia uses nuclear weapons in Ukraine?

Eric Schlosser writes: The 12th Main Directorate of the Russian Ministry of Defense operates a dozen central storage facilities for nuclear weapons. Known as “Object S” sites and scattered across the Russian Federation, they contain thousands of nuclear warheads and hydrogen bombs with a wide variety of explosive yields. For the past three months, President Vladimir Putin and other Russian officials have been ominously threatening to use nuclear weapons in the war against Ukraine. According to Pavel Podvig, the director…

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China’s May oil imports from Russia soar to a record, surpass top supplier Saudi

China’s May oil imports from Russia soar to a record, surpass top supplier Saudi

Reuters reports: China’s crude oil imports from Russia soared 55% from a year earlier to a record level in May, displacing Saudi Arabia as the top supplier, as refiners cashed in on discounted supplies amid sanctions on Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine. Imports of Russian oil, including supplies pumped via the East Siberia Pacific Ocean pipeline and seaborne shipments from Russia’s European and Far Eastern ports, totalled nearly 8.42 million tonnes, according to data from the Chinese General Administration…

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Russian emails appear to show ‘network’ holding $4.5bn assets linked to Putin

Russian emails appear to show ‘network’ holding $4.5bn assets linked to Putin

The Guardian reports: Palaces, yachts and vineyards reportedly provided to Vladimir Putin by friends and oligarchs can now be linked to what appears to be an informal network holding assets worth more than $4.5bn (£3.7bn). A digital paper trail appears to suggest that an array of holiday homes and other assets reportedly used by the Russian president, which according to available records belong to or have been owned by separate individuals, companies and charities, are linked through a common email…

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Prosecute Trump? Put yourself in Merrick Garland’s shoes

Prosecute Trump? Put yourself in Merrick Garland’s shoes

Jack Goldsmith writes: The evidence gathered by the Jan. 6 committee and in some of the federal cases against those involved in the Capitol attack pose for Attorney General Merrick Garland one of the most consequential questions that any attorney general has ever faced: Should the United States indict former President Donald Trump? The basic allegations against Mr. Trump are well known. In disregard of advice by many of his closest aides, including Attorney General William Barr, he falsely claimed…

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Texas Republicans approve far-right platform declaring Biden’s election illegitimate

Texas Republicans approve far-right platform declaring Biden’s election illegitimate

The New York Times reports: The Republican Party in Texas made a series of far-right declarations as part of its official party platform over the weekend, claiming that President Biden was not legitimately elected, issuing a “rebuke” to Senator John Cornyn for his work on bipartisan gun legislation and referring to homosexuality as “an abnormal lifestyle choice.” The platform was voted on in Houston at the state party’s convention, which concluded on Saturday. The resolutions about Mr. Biden and Mr….

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India is becoming a Hindu-fascist enterprise

India is becoming a Hindu-fascist enterprise

Arundhati Roy writes: Over the last few months, authorities in Indian states governed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have started bulldozing the homes, shops, and places of business that belong to Muslims merely suspected of participating in anti-government protests. The Chief Ministers of these states have proudly flaunted this policy in their election campaigns. To my mind, this marks the moment when a deeply flawed, fragile democracy has transitioned – openly and brazenly – into a…

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Hundreds of photos of weapons reveal the brutal nature of Russia’s war strategy

Hundreds of photos of weapons reveal the brutal nature of Russia’s war strategy

The New York Times reports: Reflecting a shockingly barbaric and old-fashioned wartime strategy, Russian forces have pummeled Ukrainian cities and towns with a barrage of rockets and other munitions, most of which can be considered relatively crude relics of the Cold War, and many of which have been banned widely under international treaties, according to a New York Times analysis. The attacks have made repeated and widespread use of weapons that kill, maim and destroy indiscriminately — a potential violation…

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Russia has a plan for Ukraine. It looks like Chechnya

Russia has a plan for Ukraine. It looks like Chechnya

Neil Hauer writes: The constant boom of artillery in the near distance is the defining feature of life in the Donbas today. As Russia presses its offensive to take the eastern part of Ukraine, the signs of conflict are everywhere: buildings smashed to ruins by cruise missiles, Ukrainian tanks and howitzers on the highway headed east. The Donbas region, encompassed by a front stretching hundreds of miles and currently the scene of the most extensive fighting in Europe since World…

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