Tuesday briefing: Putin’s victory spectacle
Putin turned to Ukraine after the elections
A day after being declared the winner of Russia’s presidential election, Vladimir Putin used a celebration yesterday to signal that the war against Ukraine would continue to dominate his rule – and that his struggle to add territory to Russia was not over.
During the celebration on Red Square, Putin emphasized Russia’s control over Crimea. Standing in front of a banner marking the 10th anniversary of the peninsula’s annexation, he spoke of returning the people of eastern Ukraine to their home families.
Putin reiterated a warning he made last summer, saying Russia could try to create a “security zone” on Ukrainian territory that Russia does not currently control.
The Russians are now preparing for what might happen next. For many, the big concern is a new military draft. And analysts believe that creating such a buffer zone would require capturing parts of Ukraine’s Kharkov region – which could require new mobilization.
Election results: Authorities said Putin had won more than 87 percent of the vote. Here are takeaways.
Opinion polls: The Kremlin may have felt more comfortable orchestrating such a large margin of victory because Putin’s popularity has risen in independent polls during the war. But a poll from late January also showed that more than half of respondents supported restoring relations with Western countries and a ceasefire with Ukraine.
Other updates:
The Gambia has taken steps to overturn the ban on cutting female genitalia
Gambian lawmakers yesterday voted to repeal the ban on cutting female genitalia. If the bill goes through the final stages, which analysts say is likely, the country would be the first to roll back protections for girls introduced in 2015.
An influential imam in Gambia, a Muslim-majority country in West Africa, led calls to repeal the ban, claiming that cutting is a religious obligation and culturally important. The practice is internationally recognized as a gross violation of human rights and is one of the leading causes of death in countries where it is practiced.
Israeli forces invaded Gaza’s largest hospital
Israeli forces yesterday used tanks and bulldozers in an attack on Al-Shifa hospital in northern Gaza. The facility, the largest hospital in Gaza, has been the focal point of the war: Israel and US spy agencies believe Hamas has used the hospital as a command center, which Hamas denies.
Israel said it targeted top Hamas officials who had regrouped at Al-Shifa, and that its soldiers returned Hamas fire. Gaza health authorities said Israel had launched rockets at the complex and shot at operating rooms. Details of the fighting could be verified. Both sides said fighters had been killed.
Background: Evidence examined by The Times suggested Hamas used the hospital as cover and maintained a tunnel beneath it, but Israel has struggled to prove it is a command center.
MORE TOP NEWS
The cryptocurrency market crashed two years ago. But it’s fueling a booming industry in internet cafes in the Philippines, where people can earn about twice the country’s minimum wage playing crypto-earning games.
Conversation starters
Shakira’s breakup album
Shakira has had a few difficult years.
After decades of hit singles and groundbreaking Latin-pop crossovers, she broke up with her partner of 11 years, the father of her two sons. She helped her father through hospitalizations and brain surgery and settled a Spanish tax evasion case, paying a fine of about $8.2 million.
The breakup and dissolution of her family form the backbone of her first album in seven years, ‘Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran’, which translates to ‘Women No Longer Cry’. Our critic spoke to Shakira about her new album, which is released on Friday.
“When life gives you lemons, you make lemonade,” she said. “That’s what I did with this album: use my own creativity to process my frustration, my anger and my sadness. I have transmuted or transformed pain into productivity.”