Good morning. In today’s newsletter, Russia attacked Ukraine with drones made in Iran and China delayed the release of economic data. |
| Rescue workers combing through the rubble of a residential building in Kyiv that was hit by a drone sent by Russia on Monday.Brendan Hoffman for The New York Times |
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Kyiv is attacked by Iranian-made drones |
The strikes highlighted Russia’s growing use of the Iranian-made self-destructing drones, which make a buzzing sound like a moped or a lawn mower and explode on contact. The Shahed-136 drones have a range of about 1,500 miles and carry warheads of about 80 pounds, but are slow and easy to target. Western analysts say their use is a sign Russia’s stocks of precision missiles are running low. |
Iran has officially denied supplying Russia with drones for use in Ukraine, but U.S. officials have said that the first batch of such weapons was delivered in August. Ukraine’s air force said that Russia had fired 43 of the drones yesterday, but that 37 were shot down by air defense systems. |
Context: The targets in yesterday’s strike included the headquarters of Ukraine’s national energy utility and a municipal heating station, and they signaled Russia’s aim of crippling power and other key services as winter looms. |
| Delegates arriving at Tiananmen Square for the opening ceremony of the Communist Party congress on Sunday.Andy Wong/Associated Press |
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China delays release of economic data |
As China’s ruling elite gathered for the twice-a-decade Communist Party congress, the country’s National Bureau of Statistics opted to delay indefinitely the release of economic data that had been scheduled for Tuesday morning, without an explanation. |
The data was expected to include closely watched numbers for economic growth from July to September, which had been expected to show continued lackluster performance. The General Administration of Customs has also delayed indefinitely the release of export and import statistics for September. |
Large countries seldom postpone the release of even a single economic statistic for fear of hurting financial confidence. After the close of trading on Chinese stock exchanges on Monday afternoon, the National Bureau of Statistics canceled its quarterly news conference, which had been scheduled for Tuesday morning. |
Context: Under the leadership of President Xi Jinping, China is returning to its roots: a state-controlled economy that demands businesses conform to the aims of the Chinese Communist Party. |
| Britain’s Chancellor Jeremy Hunt leaving 10 Downing Street in London on Friday.Leon Neal/Getty Images |
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Finance minister drops most of U.K. tax-cuts plan |
In an effort to pump the brakes on the free-market economic agenda proposed by Prime Minister Liz Truss, Britain’s new chancellor of the Exchequer, Jeremy Hunt, announced today that he would reverse virtually all the government’s planned tax cuts. |
He also put a time limit on energy subsidies. The moves came in a desperate bid to steady the financial markets and stabilize the government. But as Hunt moved to take control of the economic levers of government, Conservative Party lawmakers were meeting to plot ways to force Truss out of power. |
Truss’s Conservative government had planned to announce the tax and spending details of its fiscal plan on Oct. 31, but with the markets still gyrating, Hunt rushed forward the schedule. |
| The sign of Family Federation for World Peace and Unification at its Tokyo headquarters.Kim Kyung-Hoon/Reuters |
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| A British police officer intervened in a scuffle between a protester, center and consulate staff in Manchester on Sunday.Matthew Leung/The Chaser News, via Agence France-Presse — Getty Images |
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| James Hill for The New York Times |
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Victor Wembanyama, a 7-foot-3 18-year-old from France with an eight-foot wingspan, is expected to be the first pick in the next N.B.A. draft. He’s the most hyped teenager since LeBron James, who called him an “alien,” and those who knew Wembanyama growing up joked that he was sometimes on his own planet. |
BTS to Enlist in South Korea’s Military |
| BTS performing in Busan, South Korea, on Saturday, the band’s first concert in months.Bright Music, via EPA, via Shutterstock |
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South Korea requires all able-bodied men to enlist by the time they turn 30 and to serve for about two years. Exceptions can be granted, for example to Olympic athletes and some high-level classical musicians, but pop music artists do not qualify. |
The seven members will reconvene “as a group again around 2025” after completing their service, the label, Big Hit Music, said in a statement posted on Twitter. After the announcement, the stock price of Big Hit’s parent company, HYBE, fell 2.5 percent on Monday. |
| Johnny Miller for The New York Times |
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With so many shows to keep up with, Mallory Rubin, head of editorial for The Ringer, uses podcasts to guide fans through popular fictional universes. |
Play the Mini Crossword, and a clue: Shop-till-you-drop outing (5 letters). |
That’s it for today’s briefing. See you next time. — Lauren and Jonathan |
The latest episode of “The Daily” is on Herschel Walker, the former football star who is running for the Senate. |
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