Ukraine Targets Moscow and Crimea with Drones
Ukraine's counter-offensive appears to be in full swing this morning, as it's been reported that their drones have targeted both Crimea and just outside of Moscow. For their part, Russia has claimed that they shot down 13 of the drones using air defense equipment. They additionally said that some of the drones crashed into the Black Sea without reaching their target. Right now, no casualties have been reported. Ukraine's use of drones has ticked up in recent weeks and months with Moscow frequently blaming them for attacks deep inside Russian territory. These attacks today have come on the same day that Poland has sent thousands of additional troops to the Belarus border. The Polish defense minister announced that 10,000 troops will be moved to the border in order to scare the aggressor so that it does not dare to attack us. Belarus has been a long standing ally of Russia and there have been reports that the Wagner mercenary group has been stationed there. Belarusian President Lukashenko has frequently stated that he's holding these Wagner mercenaries back from attacking Poland. This week Western powers have imposed further sanctions on Belarus. The US for example has made it a crime for people to make business deals with belavia the Belarusian airline. The additionally blacklisted Belarusian tobacco company which is owned by a mogul that's close to Lukashenko. Explaining their decision to impose sanctions, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the United States continues to stand with the brave people of Belarus as they seek a country grounded in the rule of law, respect for human rights and an accountable democratically elected government.
Ecuador Assassination
Ecuador has been rocked by the assassination of presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio with just over a week to go until the election. He was shot dead while leaving a campaign rally in the capital Quito, on Wednesday. And the suspect in the killing later died of his injuries following a shootout with security forces. Six people have, meanwhile, been detained by police in connection with the incident. Villavicencio, who had mostly been polling in third or fourth place, was a member of the National Assembly and was known for speaking out against organised crime, corruption and violence. His assassination comes just weeks after another act of political violence, which saw the mayor of Manta shot dead. Following Wednesday's assassination President Guillermo Lasso, who is not running for re-election, declared a state of emergency but said the election would go ahead as planned, while also pointing the finger at organised crime groups who he said will feel the full weight of the law. Villavicencio, during his time as a journalist, had been an outspoken and vocal critic of former President Rafael Correa, who in response to the killing tweeted Ecuador has become a failed state. Those who intend to sow even more hatred with this new tragedy, I hope they understand that it only continues to destroy us. Meanwhile, Luisa Gonzalez, the presidential frontrunner who also comes from Correa's party, expressed her horror at the assassination and vowed this vile act will not go unpunished.
Hawaii Wildfires
Apocalyptic wildfires have left at least 36 people dead on Hawaii's Maui Island as strong winds fanned flames that tore through the city of Lahaina. A state of emergency has been declared and thousands have been forced to evacuate while a huge search and rescue operation is underway at the time of writing. More than 11,000 travellers have been evacuated from the island via Maui airport as airlines have dropped fares and offered waivers to help people leave. Though evacuation efforts had earlier been hampered by power outages and the forced closure of roads due to the fire. Much of Lahaina, which is a popular tourist destination, has been destroyed, according to Hawaii Governor Josh Green. 14 people had to be rescued after jumping from the harbour into the sea to avoid the fires. Climate researchers have described the speed at which the flames spread as unnerving. Much of the island of Maui is currently under moderate drought meaning conditions are hot and dry. Additionally, the fire was made worse by Hurricane Dora, which while being hundreds of miles away sent strong winds towards Maui which fanned the flames. The state's business and tourism director said local people have lost everything. They've lost their house, they've lost their animals, it's devastating.
Disney's Huge Loss
There's more sign of trouble over at Disney this week with them posting a loss of $460 million in the last quarter, down from $1.4 billion profit in the same quarter last year. So what's causing this slump? Well, they're having major issues across the board. Their latest slate of movies all underperformed expectations, including the new Indiana Jones, the live action Little Mermaid and Pixar's Elemental. Their TV divisions are also underperforming, with failing advertising rates across the industry hurting Disney's TV offering, Movies and TV have been a soft spot for Disney for a while but even their theme parks, long a bright spot for the company are beginning to struggle. The Park Division did post a 13% increase in revenue but that was largely thanks to reopenings in China, with their domestic parks seeing sales slumps. It seems then that Disney is hurting on essentially all fronts. So what are they doing about it? Well, they've announced that they're going to be increasing the price of Disney Plus, as well as rolling out ad supported plans. In the UK, Europe and Canada. The ESPN division has also announced that they've agreed a $2 billion deal with gambling company Penn Entertainment to open an ESPN sportsbook, something that the family friendly brand once said they'd never do. But with the foundations of the House of Mouse crumbling, it seems they're running out of choices.
Sources:
- https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2023/8/10/russia-ukraine-war-live-news-drones-targeting-crimea-and-moscow-shot-down
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