The Evening: Kherson Conditions, China Covid Policy, Because the Night, and More

Conditions Unacceptable in Kherson

Russian forces are stepping up their efforts to make life unbearable for civilians across the occupied southern Kherson region, where power was cut on Sunday night and Ukrainian officials warned that Russian troops were mining critical infrastructure even as they dig in to fight for their last bridgehead west of the Dnipro River, as the NYT reports.

China Weighs Gradual Zero-Covid Exit

Chinese leaders are considering steps toward reopening after nearly three years of tough pandemic restrictions but are proceeding slowly and have set no timeline, as the WSJ reports.

U.S. says companies are pivotal to climate talks’ success

As the U.N. Climate Change Conference gets underway in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, the Washington Postreports that the U.S. is pressuring the private sector to a play leading role in climate action.

Executive Education

U.S. and Eurasian Security: The Challenges Ahead is a new program that will give participants a competitive advantage through in-depth analysis and insights into the major challenges to U.S. security across Eurasia. 

Video Shorts

Check out CSIS’s new series of video shorts: “Data Unpacked,” “Testify,” “What's Happening,” “Preview,” and “High Resolution.” And don’t forget to subscribe to the CSIS YouTube Channel!

In That Number

5,496

China continues to hold firm on its “zero covid” strategy and is facing its greatest surge in coronavirus cases in six months, with officials reporting 5,496 new locally transmitted infections for Sunday.

Source: The Washington Post

Critical Quote

“We are on a highway to climate hell with our foot on the accelerator.”

— António Guterres, UN secretary general 

iDeas Lab

North Korea has shown an unprecedented level of provocations over the past week. As tensions rise, eyes are also on Punggye-ri, the expected site of North Korea's seventh nuclear test. A new CSIS Beyond Parallel report provides an updated view of the facility.

The Andreas C. Dracopoulos iDeas Lab at CSIS enhances our research with the latest in cutting-edge web technologies, design, and multimedia.

Optics

(Photo by Ludovic Marin/Getty Images.) US Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, French President Emmanuel Macron, President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz meet on the sidelines of the COP27 climate summit in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt on November 7, 2022.

Recommended Reading

"North Korea Sends Ammunitions to Russia" by CSIS's Victor Cha.

This Town Tomorrow

At 8:00 a.m., the Wilson Center hosts a discussion on confidence-building in Inter-Korean Engagement on Nuclear Safety and Energy Development.

Then, at 10:00 a.m., the Middle East Institute holds a panel to help understand the current migration dynamics in Tunisia and their broader implications.

And, at 2:00 p.m., AEI hosts a discussion on what effective Internet of Things (IoT) security standards would look like and what government and industry leaders are doing to bring them about.

Video

On October 25th, the CSIS China Power Project, Freeman Chair in China Studies, and Trustee Chair in Chinese Business and Economics, hosted a discussion on key takeaways from the 20th Party Congress. Watch the full video here.

Podcasts

CSIS’ Greg Allen joins the podcast to discuss the new regulations and what they mean for U.S. national security and technology policy.

Listen on Spotify & Apple Podcasts.

Smiles

“Because the night belongs to us.”

Every time I think that Bruce Springsteen has delivered his most powerful performance to date, I’m reminded that there is always something more from the Boss.

Take this gig a few days ago on Jimmy Fallon. Springsteen took the state with Little Steven, Roy Brittan and The Roots for maybe the most powerful rendition of “Because the Night” that I’ve ever seen. There’s no one like the Boss for when you need to smile and know that everything is gonna’ be ok.

I invite you to email me at [email protected] and follow me on Twitter @handrewschwartz