Plus: Iran's balancing act, and the notorious Brooklyn jail holding high-profile detainees ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏
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| Hello. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has stoked anger among US Republicans as he presents his "victory plan" to the White House. My colleagues report on the controversy. As Israel claims the killing of another Hezbollah commander in Lebanon, Jiyar Gol explains Iran's unusually restrained response to the escalating conflict. Also, Kayla Epstein looks into the troubled history of a Brooklyn prison that counts high-profile inmates among its detainees. And finally, we learn more about a temporary addition to Earth's orbit. | |
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| Republicans are fuming over Zelensky | | President Zelensky's visit to an ammunition plant with top Democrats has enraged Republicans. Credit: Reuters | A few weeks ahead of the US presidential election, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's trip to the country has become a lightning rod in a heated electoral campaign. Controversy over a visit to an arms factory risked overshadowing Zelensky's pitch of his "victory plan" against Russia. |
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| | Jessica Parker in Kyiv, Holly Honderich and Paul Kirby, BBC news |
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| | Republicans in Congress reacted angrily to the Ukrainian president's decision to visit an arms factory in Biden's hometown of Scranton with several top Democrats, and it now appears Zelensky will not meet Trump as had been expected. The dispute clouded a week in which Zelensky has twice addressed the United Nations, ramping up efforts to persuade the US and other allies to boost support more than two and a half years into Russia's full-scale invasion.
Russia's missile and drone attacks on Ukraine have continued while Zelensky is in the US. In the capital Kyiv, air raid sirens and explosions from Ukraine's air defences continued for hours. "I woke up to the sound of the Shahed drone. I got up and saw the reflection in the windows, how a big ball of fire was falling down," said Maryna, a 31-year-old mother of two children. |
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QUESTIONS ANSWERED | What to make of Iran's response to attacks |
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| | Missiles are currently on public display in Tehran for Iran's Defence Week. Credit: EPA | When Israel struck the Iranian consulate in Damascus in April, Iran swiftly responded by launching hundreds of drones and missiles at Israel. In contrast, the Islamic Republic's reaction to the targeting of Hezbollah in Lebanon appears to show unusual restraint. |
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| | Jiyar Gol, world affairs correspondent, BBC World Service |
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| What is Iran's relation to Hezbollah? | Iran has armed, funded and trained Hezbollah. Tehran's leaders rely on the group to be a major deterrent preventing direct attacks on their country by Israel. Iranian support has been critical to Hezbollah’s transformation into Lebanon’s most powerful armed force and political actor. | What's been Iran's response to the escalating conflict between Israel and Hezbollah? | President Masoud Pezeshkian, who was elected in July, has adopted a more conciliatory tone than his hard-line predecessors, avoiding rhetoric about annihilating Israel. Senior Iranian officials and commanders of the Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC) have also appeared to be unusually restrained when expressing their intentions to take revenge on Israel. | How much support is there for this position? | In Iran, power lies in the hands of Ayatollah Khamenei and the IRGC. It is notable that Ayatollah Khamenei also did not mention any plans for retaliation or issue threats toward Israel, which is quite unusual for him, when he addressed veterans on Wednesday. A former IRGC commander told the BBC that repeatedly threatening Israel without following through was damaging the force’s credibility among its supporters in Iran and abroad. | | | |
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THE BIG PICTURE | Notorious jail holding Sean 'Diddy' Combs |
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| | | High-profile defendants like Mr Combs sometimes receive special protection when jailed. Credit: Getty Images | The Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn is the only federal jail in New York City. Rapper Sean "Diddy" Combs, who has pleaded not guilty to charges including sex trafficking and racketeering, is the latest in a list of notable names to be detained in the facility, which has a less than stellar reputation. |
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FOR YOUR DOWNTIME | Embodying Emmanuelle | The erotic French film that made soft porn mainstream gets a 21st Century reboot. | |
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World of Business | Gain the leading edge with global insights for the boardroom and beyond, every Wednesday from New York. | |
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