日: 2022年3月8日

1. US President Joe Biden and the leaders of Britain, Germany and France have agreed to strengthen their pressure on Russia and continue assistance to Ukraine.
2. The two leading candidates in South Korea’s presidential race have made their final appeals before voters cast their ballots on Wednesday. The election will decide a successor to President Moon Jae-in. Lee Jae-myung of the ruling Democratic Party and Yoo Suk-yeol of the main opposition People Power Party are neck and neck in the opinion polls.
3. A senior US Defense Department official says Russia has deployed almost all of its forces that had amassed around the border with Ukraine before last month’s invasion. It comes as efforts to evacuate Ukrainian civilians are underway. The official says Moscow’s advance into Ukraine has stalled north of the capital Kyiv because of heavy resistance. The airspace over the country is still contested so Russian forces are increasingly relying on missile and artillery strikes.

1. So-called humanitarian corridors of the type that Moscow has declared it will set up in Ukraine were also a feature of Russia’s intervention in the civil war in Syria. Evacuation routes for civilians were often announced before the government, backed by Russia, launched attacks on enemy strongholds.
2.Ukrainian athletes have been outstanding at the Beijing Paralympics. The country has added another gold with a win in cross country-skiing. Oksana Shyshkova finished well ahead of her rivals in the women’s long distance vision-impaired race. The 30-year old is from Kharkiv, which has been under heavy attack. She said, “It is very difficult to focus on the race but we should prove that Ukraine is a strong country.”
3.Share prices in Tokyo tumbled on Monday over fears that crude shipments from Russia could stall, pushing up oil prices further. The benchmark Nikkei Average dropped 2.9 percent to its lowest close of the year.