The prices of the coup in Niger
The army takeover in Niger has upended years of Western counterterrorism efforts in West Africa. The coup additionally poses challenges for the Biden administration’s struggle in opposition to Islamist militants on the continent, particularly within the Sahel, the semiarid area south of the Sahara the place teams linked to Al Qaeda and Islamic State are rapidly gaining floor.
Niger, an impoverished nation of 25 million folks that’s almost twice the dimensions of Texas, has not too long ago been the exception to that pattern. Terrorist assaults in opposition to civilians there decreased by 49 % this 12 months, largely due to French and U.S. troops’ training and helping of Nigerien forces there, in addition to efforts from the deposed president, analysts say.
Those positive factors might be in jeopardy if a regional battle breaks out or if the junta orders the Western forces, together with 1,100 American troops, to go away and three U.S. drone bases to be shuttered. It might additionally open the door to Russian affect in Niger within the type of the Kremlin-backed Wagner personal army firm.
Consequences: A safety vacuum in Niger might embolden the militants to ramp up propaganda, improve recruitment, set up ministates in distant areas and plot assaults in opposition to Western international locations. Removing the comparatively small U.S. presence would make it more durable to handle threats as they emerge, officers stated.
Ukraine claims one other small achieve
Ukraine’s forces have pushed additional into the Mokri Yaly River Valley within the south of the nation, retaking the tiny village of Urozhaine, with a inhabitants of below 1,000. The recapture of the village, the primary by Kyiv’s forces since late July, follows the retreat by Russian forces after greater than per week of preventing.
Ukraine now holds positions on each banks of the Mokri Yaly River. But the truth that progress in Kyiv’s counteroffensive is measured by the recapture of small villages reinforces how troublesome the preventing has turn into.
In different information: As Russia threatens ships within the Black Sea, the 40-mile Sulina Channel has stored grain flowing, turning into a significant and protected lifeline for Ukraine.
England triumphs in opposition to Australia
Spain and England will face off within the last of the Women’s World Cup on Sunday, after England beat Australia, 3-1, yesterday, in a sport that broke hearts throughout the host nation.
For three weeks, the Matildas have held Australia within the palms of their arms, throughout exhilarating highs and moments of beautiful pressure. Sam Kerr, the group’s captain and famous person, has needed to miss a lot of the match due to a calf harm. Against England on Wednesday, she scored one extraordinary aim — however she couldn’t observe it with others.
Effects: Alex Chidiac, a midfielder for the Matildas, stated that the nation’s run on this match will depart a “lasting legacy.” Read extra concerning the lengthy rise of women’s sports activities in Australia.
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France’s huge however getting older system of public swimming pools is feeling the strains of rising vitality prices, rising water shortage and mounting budgetary pressure.
As warmth waves turn into extra frequent, conflicts over spending priorities might turn into extra frequent. A brand new stadium stands reverse a closed pool in Montlhéry, south of Paris. “They found money for soccer, but not for swimming,” one native swimmer stated.
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How England received: Read analysis of the victory in opposition to the Matildas.
Carli Lloyd responds: The response to her headline-grabbing comments.
A brand new debate about magnificence requirements
Four ’90s supermodels, all of their 50s — Linda Evangelista, Cindy Crawford, Christy Turlington and Naomi Campbell — grace the entrance of the September subject of Vogue.
The cowl has generated enthusiasm amongst some and consternation amongst others, who query the promotion of those women as paragons of mature magnificence when the years have seemingly been smoothed from their faces. The fashions look “so retouched that they seem more like A.I.-generated bots than actual people,” Vanessa Friedman, The Times’s chief vogue critic, writes.
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