WORLD VIEW: Trench Warfare as Russia Digs In, Sudan Ceasefire to Allow Exodus, US Bolsters Ties with S. Korea, More

April 27, 2023

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Today’s Top News

A satellite image shows Novofedorivka with annotated trenching operations, in Zaporizhzhia region, April 11, 2023. Capella Space/Handout via REUTERS

When Ukraine’s military paused to regroup towards the end of 2022, extensive Russian fortifications designed to slow any Ukrainian advances started to spring up along, behind and sometimes far removed from the front lines. Satellite images show Russia has been digging in at key strategic points in readiness for an offensive by a Ukrainian military rearmed with state-of-the-art weapons.
Separately, Russian forces pounded the city of Bakhmut, the months-old focal point of their attempts to capture the eastern industrial region of Donbas. The general staff of Ukraine’s armed forces, in a report on Facebook, said fighting gripped Bakhmut and nearby areas. At least a dozen localities came under Russian fire. Follow the latest on the war.
On Wednesday, Chinese President Xi Jinping spoke to Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskiy for the first time since Russia’s invasion. Zelenskiy, describing the phone call as “long and meaningful”, signaled the importance of the chance to open closer relations with Russia’s most powerful friend, naming a former cabinet minister as Ukraine’s new ambassador to Beijing.

The United States and African nations were racing to secure an extension of a ceasefire in Sudan, with the Sudanese army saying it had given an initial nod to an African proposal calling for talks even as heavy fighting continued. Hundreds of people have been killed in nearly two weeks of conflict between the army and a rival paramilitary force.
The United States granted South Korea a larger role in planning for a potential nuclear war with North Korea, but that will probably not ease doubts over US defense commitments that have fueled calls for a South Korean nuclear arsenal, experts said. Some in South Korea’s government also worry that if there is a new administration in the US, Washington might provide less support.
Pope Francis will allow women to vote for the first time at a global meeting of bishops in October. In the past, women were allowed to attend the synods, a papal advisory body, as auditors but with no right to vote. The new rules allow for five religious sisters with voting rights.

The boss of Britain’s antitrust regulator defended its decision to block Microsoft’s acquisition of ‘Call of Duty’ maker Activision Blizzard after both companies said it sent the wrong message to the global tech industry. The Competition and Markets Authority blocked the deal saying it could hit competition in the nascent cloud gaming market.
Deutsche Bank will cut 800 jobs in a new cost-saving drive after reporting a bigger than expected rise in profit for the first quarter. Germany’s biggest bank produced solid earnings at a time when banks had to be rescued in the US and in Switzerland. The latest effort to trim its workforce reverses a staff buildup of recent quarters.
Argentina will start to pay for Chinese imports in yuan rather than dollars, the government announced, a measure that aims to relieve the country’s dwindling dollar reserves. Analysis: China’s yuan currency is slowly but surely being adopted for more international payments, which analysts say could lay foundations for a trade system running parallel to the dominant US dollar.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis brushed off a lawsuit against him by Disney, describing it as politically motivated. The company sued DeSantis on Wednesday, asking a court to overturn state efforts to control Disney World and intensifying a fight between a global entertainment giant and a likely White House contender. Today’s Reuters World News podcast brings the latest on their battle.

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