MOSCOW-Russian leaders have been quick to welcome the outcome of the referendums that pave the way for occupied regions of Ukraine to be incorporated in the Russian Federation, escalating the conflict with Kyiv and Western governments, which have dismissed the votes as a sham.
Vyacheslav Volodin, speaker of the State Duma, wrote on Telegram Wednesday that the outcome would "save millions of people from genocide, " after results released Tuesday evening claimed to show that Russian-controlled Luhansk and areas of Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia overwhelmingly supported becoming part of Russia.
UK Car Manufacturing Rose in August, But Still Below 2019 Levels
U.K. car manufacturing rose in August for the fourth consecutive month, but is still well below prepandemic levels, according to data released Thursday by an industry body.
The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders said that a total of 49,901 cars drove off the production lines in August compared with 37,246 in August 2021 and 92,158 in August 2019.
Iran Attacks Northern Iraq With Missiles and Drones, Killing at Least 13
Iran attacked northern Iraq on Wednesday with more than 40 ballistic missiles and armed drones, one of which was shot down by a U.S. warplane as it headed toward the city of Erbil where American troops are based, according to U.S. and Iraqi officials.
The strikes were by far the largest and most deadly in recent days by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, which has carried out repeated bombardments of Kurdish areas in northern Iraq since last week, after publicly blaming Iranian Kurdish separatist groups based there for fomenting unrest that has swept across Iran.
Iran Protesters Seek End of an Islamic Republic Pillar-the Morality Police
The protests that have erupted across Iran in the past two weeks are rooted in anger at the country's morality police, an unpopular vestige of the 1979 revolution that represents a weak point for the government, according to protesters and human-rights advocates.
The death of Mahsa Amini, 22, on Sept. 16, while in the custody of the morality police has touched a nerve among many Iranian families, who have had their own humiliating experiences with officers tasked with enforcing the country's strict Islamic codes for clothing and behavior. Among those protesting are conservative women and men, joining throngs of young secular people who say the enforcement of rules around hijab, or headscarves, for women is often capricious.
GLOBAL NEWS
Developing Countries Face Stiff Economic Headwinds, World Bank Chief Says
WASHINGTON-The head of the World Bank warned that developing nations face an extremely challenging near-term outlook, as the sharp slowdown in global growth raises the risks of a prolonged recession.
Speaking Wednesday at Stanford University, David Malpass said the challenges for the developing world are shaped by higher food, fertilizer and energy prices caused by the war in Ukraine, as well as rising interest rates, currency depreciation and capital outflows, which could result in a shortage of funds needed to support people's lives and economic activities.
Lithium Demand From EVs Is Strong. Shortages Will Keep Prices High.
Lithium prices have tripled in a year, and the chemical element, which is used in batteries for electric vehicles, faces a long-term supply shortage.
The increase "is largely due to increasing demand for electric vehicles and the inelastic nature of supplies," says Alec Lucas, research analyst at Global X. Bringing new production capacity online can take three to five years or more, "for studies, permitting, capital raising, and capital expenditure before any lithium is produced."
What the Bank of England's Emergency Move Means-And Doesn't-for the Fed
The Bank of England's emergency move to buy U.K. government bonds begs the question: Is the resumption of quantitative easing in the U.K. idiosyncratic, or does it foreshadow a U.S. Federal Reserve that is close to backing down from its inflation fight?
On Wednesday the BoE said it would purchase the country's long-dated government bonds "on whatever scale is necessary" to stabilize its bond market after the U.K. government announced large tax cuts last week despite double-digit inflation. Strategists say the central bank's move implies that at least one large entity, such as a pension fund or a financial institution, was on the verge of failure amid a disorderly Gilt market.
Biden Administration Grants Waiver Allowing Diesel Shipment Into Puerto Rico
The Biden administration on Wednesday approved a temporary waiver to Jones Act shipping restrictions to allow a tanker to deliver diesel fuel to Puerto Rico needed to run generators following the devastation caused by Hurricane Fiona.
The waiver was granted after criticism from Puerto Rico's governor and other officials while the BP ship sat off the island's coast, unable to unload 300,000 barrels of diesel fuel because of the law that limits domestic U.S. maritime shipments to U.S.-flagged vessels. The BP vessel, which picked up its fuel cargo in Texas, is flagged to the Marshall Islands.
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This article is a text version of a Wall Street Journal newsletter published earlier today.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
09-29-22 0549ET
