Your Tuesday Briefing: Brazil Quiets
Protesters vandalized the facade of Brazil’s presidential office.Credit…Victor Moriyama for The New York Times
Brazil reels from Sunday’s riots
At least 1,200 people have been detained after rioters stormed government offices on Sunday in Brazil’s capital, officials said yesterday.
The detentions came after one of the worst attacks on Brazil’s democracy in the 38 years since its military dictatorship ended. On Sunday, thousands of people broke into government offices, falsely claiming the October election was stolen from Jair Bolsonaro, the former president. Here are videos of the Sunday riots.
Yesterday, authorities also began dismantling the tent city where Bolsonaro supporters had been camping out since he lost the election. The dispersal was peaceful, despite fears that it could have fueled further tensions.
Brazil’s justice minister said that authorities had identified about 40 buses that brought rioters to Brasília and that the financial backers of the trips would be tracked down and held responsible. Voices on social media had offered free transportation and food to protesters.
Details: President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva signed an emergency decree that put federal authorities in charge of security in Brazil’s capital. And a Supreme Court judge suspended the district’s governor while investigations take place into security failures.
Bolsonaro: The former president has long attacked Brazil’s election process. After the vote, independent experts and Brazil’s military found no credible evidence of fraud. On Sunday, he criticized the protests.
Heavy fighting near Bakhmut
Fierce fighting raged yesterday around Bakhmut, a city in eastern Ukraine that Russia has tried to capture since the summer. The fighting appeared to be focused on Soledar, a nearby town.
Russia claimed to have taken a village near Soledar. Ukraine said that it had repelled Russian attempts to storm Soledar, where the deputy defense minister said that “fierce battles” were raging. Ukraine usually avoids battles with the risk of high casualties. But in Bakhmut, without hesitation, it’s going toe-to-toe with Russia.
The State of the War
- Battling for Bakhmut: Ukraine and Russia are going toe to toe in the key eastern city. That stands in contrast to Ukraine’s strategy elsewhere along the front line, where it succeeded by avoiding direct confrontations.
- New Equipment: The Western allies’ provision to Ukraine of infantry fighting vehicles signals their support for new offensives in coming months.
- Sexual Crimes: After months of bureaucratic and political delays, Ukrainian officials are gathering pace in documenting sexual crimes committed by Russian forces during the war.
- Adapting to Survive: The war has taken a severe toll on Ukraine’s economy. But it has also pushed Ukrainians to restructure parts of the economy at lightning speed.
If Russian forces capture Soledar, it would mark their most significant advance in Ukraine in months. But fighting in the east is slow and relentless, and there is little sign that dug-in Ukrainian forces will relinquish the city anytime soon.
Bakhmut: The city has become a symbol of Ukraine’s defiance. Some worry that could cloud military judgment, but analysts say Ukraine’s aggressive strategy has paid off, weakening Russia.
The Wagner Group: The group’s Kremlin-aligned founder said that Soledar “is being taken solely by Wagner units,” which Western security officials and analysts say operate largely outside the Russian military’s chain of command.
The ozone layer is on the mend
A U.N.-backed report found that the ozone layer could be restored within a few decades, now that China has begun successfully cracking down on rogue emissions of a banned chemical.
That’s big news: In 2018, scientists revealed that global emissions of CFC-11, a chemical most likely used to make foam insulation, had increased since 2012. Investigations by The Times and others strongly suggested that small factories in Eastern China disregarding the global ban were the source.
In 2018, the head of the U.N. Environment Program said the rogue emissions, if they continued, could delay ozone recovery by a decade. But now, scientists said that ozone levels between the polar regions should reach pre-1980 levels by 2040. Ozone holes should also recover.
Ozone: The protective layer in the upper atmosphere blocks ultraviolet radiation from the sun, which can cause skin cancer.
Context: The Montreal Protocol, the treaty negotiated in the 1980s to phase out the use of such chemicals, is generally considered to be the most effective global environmental pact ever enacted.
THE LATEST NEWS
Asia Pacific
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The Kimberley region, in Australia’s western outback, is suffering a “one-in-100-year flood,” Sky News reports.
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Thailand dropped a rule that would have required visitors to present proof of a Covid vaccine, Reuters reports. Officials had announced the rule on Saturday, as the country prepared for Chinese visitors.
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Australia is doing well economically, but a recession is still possible.
Around the World
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President Biden visited the U.S.-Mexico border for the first time since taking office. He’s in Mexico City now.
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In a landmark lawsuit, environmental groups in France are suing Danone, the dairy giant, for failing to sufficiently reduce its plastic footprint.
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Prince Harry’s memoir comes out today. In it, he claims that he killed 25 Taliban fighters in Afghanistan.
Other Big Stories
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The Republican approach to running the U.S. House suggests there will be more gridlock and legislative instability, not less.
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About one in 12 working-age adults in Britain has a long-term health condition and is not working or looking for work. That’s a problem for the economy.
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Rome opened a skatepark right next to the Colosseum. It’s a triumph.
A Morning Read
South Africa’s townships, born of racist apartheid-era social engineering, once kept nonwhite citizens segregated from economic opportunities and basic infrastructure.
Now, they’re home to a vibrant nightlife scene. Instead of Cape Town — with its traffic, expensive drinks and whiter population — Black professionals party in Khayelitsha, a nearby township that they say better suits their culture and tastes.
ARTS AND IDEAS
Noma is closing
My colleagues have a major scoop in the world of fine dining: Noma will close for regular service at the end of 2024. The Copenhagen restaurant, which repeatedly tops lists of the world’s best restaurants, will become a full-time food laboratory focused on its e-commerce operation. It will open to diners only for periodic pop-ups.
Noma has fundamentally changed gastronomy: Foodies often book flights to Denmark’s capital only after they clinch a reservation. And its creator, René Redzepi, has been hailed as his era’s most brilliant and influential chef.
But Redzepi said that the current model, which changed fine dining forever, was “unsustainable.” Staff at Noma work grueling hours. The workplace culture is intense, and the restaurant long relied on an army of unpaid interns. One alumnus compared the industry to ballet, another elite pursuit that has abuse built into its very model.
“We have to completely rethink the industry,” Redzepi told The Times. “This is simply too hard, and we have to work in a different way.”
PLAY, WATCH, EAT
What to Cook
This poppy seed tea cake is simple and earthy.
What to Read
In “The Bandit Queens,” wives in rural India get the ultimate revenge on their no-good husbands.
What to Listen to
Here are seven songs we nearly missed in 2022.
Now Time to Play
Play the Mini Crossword, and a clue: Dummy (five letters).
Here are the Wordle and the Spelling Bee.
You can find all our puzzles here.
That’s it for today’s briefing. See you next time. — Amelia
P.S. Mara Hvistendahl is joining The Times from The Intercept as a new investigative correspondent focused on China and Asia.
“The Daily” is on Kevin McCarthy, the new House speaker.
You can always reach me at [email protected].
