Russia blames its dead soldiers
Russia said yesterday that the unauthorized use of mobile phones by its soldiers in the Donetsk region was the “main reason” Ukraine was able to launch a deadly attack on New Year’s Day. The defense ministry said Ukraine used mobile phone data to log into their locations.
Some Russian legislators and military bloggers opposed the quick assignment of blame. They said the Defense Department statement was an attempt to blame the rank and file rather than their commanders.
They argued that leaders had not taken precautions to protect troops, such as dispersing the newly arrived soldiers to safer locations and housing them away from ammunition.
Context: The use of open cell phone lines by Russian soldiers has been a known vulnerability, often revealing the positions of troops. Ukraine killed at least one general and his staff after he spoke on an insecure phone, US officials say.
Capital punishment: Russia now says 89 soldiers died in the strike, including a deputy commander. The adjustment of the initial figure of 63 is a rare acknowledgment of victims.
Other Updates:
Kim Jong-un’s ‘beloved daughter’ appears
On New Year’s Day, North Korean state media released undated photos of a young girl and Kim Jong-un visiting a nuclear missile facility.
Her name and age were not disclosed, and she was simply referred to as Kim’s “most beloved daughter.” That was enough to suggest she could be groomed as his eventual successor to inherit the regime and its burgeoning nuclear arsenal. He also brought a daughter, identified by South Korean intelligence as Kim Ju-ae, to a major weapons test in November.
A change is hardly imminent: Kim Ju-ae is believed to be 9 or 10 and Kim Jong-un turns 39 on Monday. But slowly introducing her to the public may be Kim’s attempt to avoid his father’s mistakes with succession.
Kim, the youngest son, was his father’s choice for leader. But ordinary people had never seen him until he appeared in the state media in 2010, a year before his father died. It took years for him to establish his unchallenged authority through bloody purges.
Analysis: Most analysts agreed that by taking his child to events related to his arsenal, Kim reminded the people of North Korea, especially the youth, that his family’s dynastic rule and the development of nuclear weapons would continue into the next generation.
Details: South Korean intelligence officials have said Kim has three children, the eldest of which is likely a son. Ju-ae is his second child, they said.
For supporters, he is the pope who first encountered victims. He forced the church to fire hundreds of abusive priests. He raised the age of consent and extended laws protecting minors to include vulnerable adults. He also allowed statutes of limitations on sexual assault to be lifted.
But a report last year commissioned by the Catholic Church in Munich accused Benedict of mishandling cases of sexual abuse by priests when he was the city’s archbishop. And as a cardinal, his office has not intervened in egregious matters either. In the 1990s, it stopped a secret trial of an American priest who had molested as many as 200 deaf boys. The priest was never fired.
Context: After the commissioned report came out last year, Benedict apologized for any “serious mistakes” but denied any wrongdoing.
THE LAST NEWS
Asia Pacific
Pakistan ordered its malls to close early in a bid to conserve energy and ease the country’s economic crisis, The Associated Press reports.
From advice: BTS is ruined Euny Hongthe life of years. (Maybe she accidentally started a rumor that they are funded by the Korean state.)
Around the world
US pharmacies will soon be allowed to sell prescription abortion pills.
The EU fined Meta €390 million (about $414 million) yesterday after finding it had illegally forced users to accept personalized ads.
Denmark reported zero bank robberies last year — a first — as the country goes cashless, Bloomberg reports.
Science times
Several Indian delivery apps are pushing the boundaries of logistics and endurance to lower prices and waiting times. Fueled by billions of dollars in investment, they rely on rushed drivers willing to work relentless hours for just a few dollars a day.
Read your way around Tokyo
Hiromi Kawakami, one of Japan’s most popular contemporary novelists, travels with books that help her immerse herself in her destiny. Now Kawakami has suggestions for visitors to Tokyo, her hometown.
She suggests a 17th-century travelogue, “the record of a journey of five months and 1,500 miles on foot.” Historical detective fiction takes readers through the city’s 19th-century isolationist past. Works of psychological complexity explore the oppression women have faced, or the tensions between traditional Confucianism and European spirituality. And there’s even some short fiction in case of persistent jet lag.
“I start reading as soon as I know my departure date,” she writes, “and keep reading during my stay, and stay immersed in those novels even after I return home.”
Here is her book list for a visitor to Tokyo.
