Russia orders troops out of Kherson in major reversal
Russia ordered its troops to withdraw from the city of Kherson in southern Ukraine on Wednesday in a further major blow to its campaign amid a Ukrainian counter-offensive.
“Begin to pull out troops,” Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said at a televised meeting with Russia’s commander in Ukraine, Sergei Surovikin.
The commander had proposed the “difficult decision” of pulling back from Kherson and setting up defences on the eastern bank of the Dnipro River.
Potentially divided US government tees up tough economic debates for 2023
Potential Republican control of at least one chamber of the US Congress sets the stage for economically risky battles in 2023 over federal spending limits and the government’s response should a recession develop.
Results of Tuesday’s election remain uncertain, with President Joe Biden’s Democratic party performing better than expected and potentially in position to retain control of the Senate.
The Republican party had a better chance winning a majority in the House of Representatives, and if that happens it would likely complicate and temper Biden’s economic plans for his second two years in office - a time during which the economy will likely still be undergoing an inflation shock and adjusting to the rising interest rates imposed by the Federal Reserve to control it.
Women stopped from entering amusement parks in Afghan capital
Afghan women were stopped from entering amusement parks in Kabul on Wednesday after the Taliban’s morality ministry said there would be restrictions on women being able to access public parks.
A spokesperson for the Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice (MPVPV) confirmed that women would be restricted from accessing parks when asked for comment by Reuters, but did not respond to requests to provide further details.
It was not clear how widely the restrictions applied or how they affected a previous rule from the MPVPV saying parks, including open-air spaces, must be segregated by gender and certain days would be aside for women.
Musk ‘kills’ new Twitter label, hours after launch
Twitter on Wednesday unveiled – and then almost immediately scrapped – a new gray “official” label for some high-profile accounts as Elon Musk struggles to revamp the highly influential platform following his US$44 billion (S$61.67 billion) buyout.
“I just killed it,” Musk tweeted just hours after the new tag was added to government accounts as well as those of big companies and major media outlets.
“Please note that Twitter will do lots of dumb things in coming months. We will keep what works & change what doesn’t,” the world’s richest man added to explain the U-turn.
Formula One: Schumacher Ferrari fetches record US$13m at auction
The Ferrari in which Formula One legend Michael Schumacher won the 2003 World Championship title sold for more than $13 million at auction in Geneva on Wednesday.
“This remarkable car has achieved a world record price for a modern-era Formula One,” the Sotheby’s auctioneer said after the F2003-GA, Chassis 229 sold for 13 million Swiss francs (S$18.53 million).
The previous record was held by another Schumacher-driven Ferrari, an F2001 model sold by Sotheby’s in New York in 2017 for US$7.5 million.
