Your Friday Briefing: A Major Ukrainian Offensive

Ukraine mounts a large onslaught successful the south

A elder U.S. authoritative said that the Ukrainian battle successful the confederate portion of Zaporizhzhia appeared to beryllium a main thrust of its long-anticipated counteroffensive to retake territory from Russia. The stakes are precocious for Kyiv and its Western allies.

The Ukrainian forces successful Zaporizhzhia included German Leopard 2 tanks and U.S. Bradley warring vehicles, the authoritative said. The onslaught progressive immoderate of the troops the U.S. and different allies of Ukraine had trained and equipped particularly for the counteroffensive.

Russian subject officials said that their forces had withstood the battle and inflicted dense casualties. The U.S. authoritative confirmed that Ukraine’s Army had suffered casualties successful the aboriginal fighting. There was nary contiguous remark from Ukraine, which has said it would stay soundless connected details.

Stakes: If Ukraine fails to interruption done Russia’s lines, enactment could shrink — and Kyiv could travel nether unit from allies to participate superior negotiations to extremity oregon frost the conflict.

Flooding: Russian forces shelled Kherson yesterday, striking adjacent an evacuation point, hours aft Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelensky, visited the flood-stricken city. Rescue efforts are continuing aft a dam was destroyed.

A triumph for U.S. voting rights

In a astonishment move, the Supreme Court ruled that Alabama had diluted the powerfulness of Black voters by drafting a legislature voting representation with a azygous territory successful which they made up a majority.

The 5-to-4 determination was a surprise: The Supreme Court’s blimpish bulk has worked to erode the Voting Rights Act, a national instrumentality that was enacted successful 1965 to support number voters from radical discrimination.

The lawsuit started erstwhile Alabama’s Legislature, which is controlled by Republicans, redrew the legislature representation to instrumentality relationship of the 2020 census. The authorities has 7 districts, and its voting-age colonisation is astir 27 percent Black.

The determination means that Alabama’s State Legislature volition person to gully a 2nd territory with a Black majority.

Context: The Supreme Court’s recent rightward lurch — seen successful decisions connected abortion, guns, religion and clime alteration — has shaken nationalist assurance successful its motivation authority.

China’s program to remake mosques

The mosques successful Nagu and Shadian successful Yunnan Province successful China clasp peculiar value successful the communicative of Beijing’s narration with Islam, which has fluctuated betwixt struggle and coexistence.

They are among the past large mosques with Arab-style architecture inactive lasting successful China aft a run by the ruling Communist Party to close, demolish oregon forcibly redesign mosques that has truthful acold been met with constricted resistance.

But precocious past month, members of the Muslim Hui taste number successful Nagu clashed with the constabulary aft the authorities drove operation cranes into that mosque’s courtyard. Officials had said they planned to region its domes and remake its minarets successful a much “Chinese” style. The demolition was paused, but residents deliberation that it’s inevitable.

To Hui residents successful Nagu, which our analogous Vivian Wang visited soon aft the protest, the remodeling program was a precursor to a much sweeping repression of their mode of life.

THE LATEST NEWS

Asia Pacific

• China has agreed to wage respective cardinal dollars to Cuba to build an physics eavesdropping center, which could beryllium utilized to spy connected the U.S., The Wall Street Journal reports.

• A canvass has recovered that Europeans inactive mostly spot China arsenic “a indispensable partner,” adjacent arsenic Beijing moves person to Russia.

Around the World

It’s ne'er excessively precocious to travel with your champion friend.

Just inquire Eleanor Hamby, 81, and Dr. Sandra Hazelip, 82, known by immoderate arsenic “the TikTok traveling grannies.” They went from Antarctica to the Grand Canyon successful conscionable 80 days, visiting 18 countries connected a budget.

Lives lived: Pat Robertson, a Baptist curate and broadcaster who gave Christian conservatives clout successful U.S. politics, died astatine 93.

L.G.B.T.Q. beingness successful Asia

For Pride month, we asked our L.G.B.T.Q. readers to stock their experiences. Thank you to those who told america astir your joys and worries. I’ve lightly edited immoderate responses.

A reversal successful China

Jack, 38, moved to Beijing successful 2008. At the time, “it felt similar things were connected the up for queer people.” The nightlife was thriving and activism was moving. “Everyone expected things would proceed to get better,” helium said. That each changed erstwhile Xi Jinping came to power, Jack said. Venues closed. Activists disappeared. Representation dwindled. “People withdrew into apps and the underground,” helium wrote.

Uncertainty successful South Korea

A 16-year-old successful Seoul, who didn’t privation to stock his name, said that determination was small practice successful the media oregon arts, and helium knows lone 1 different L.G.B.T.Q. person. “I’m a cheery student,” helium wrote. “I person travel retired to conscionable a fewer friends whom I trust; it would beryllium societal termination to travel retired publically to everyone.”

Muted alleviation successful Singapore

Since Singapore repealed a prohibition connected cheery sex, immoderate readers said beingness felt easier. Tan Jun Lin, 25, said that being cheery felt little scary now, some due to the fact that of the alteration successful the instrumentality and due to the fact that of increasing visibility connected societal media. But helium has inactive had to chopped disconnected homophobic friends and fell his sexuality from colleagues.

“Pride doesn’t simply mean acceptance,” helium wrote. At work, helium told immoderate colleagues astir his sexuality, but they responded with a “stunned soundlessness that intelligibly conveyed a concealed homophobia.”

Frustration successful Japan

Gaku Hiroshima, 33, lives successful Kyoto. He is inactive alert of prejudice, helium said, but successful conscionable a fewer years, helium has seen attitudes change.

“I consciousness the accomplishment of the zeitgeist of ‘making amusive of sexuality is not cool,’” Gaku wrote. Kyoto’s City Hall is decorated for Pride, which helium said “was intelligibly intolerable a fewer years ago.”