Zelensky fires defence minister; Sudan’s army unleashes airstrikes, and more

This is the world in brief from the economist. Our top stories. For Lord Amir Zelensky, Ukraine's president, said he would dismiss his defense minister, Alexei Reznikov, asking Parliament to confirm, Rostem Umerov, head of the State Property Fund, as his replacement. Rumors have long swirled around Mr. Reznikov's position. His deputy was fired in January and made allegations of corruption at the ministry, which Mr. Reznikov has rejected. Ukraine's scum proved a newspaper reported on Thursday that his departure might be imminent. Ukrainian troops breached Russia's first defensive line, near Zapparizia, according to General Alexander Tarnavsky, who is leading Ukraine's southern counteroffensive. The army's efforts seem to be picking up speed as it takes advantage of the liberation on August 28th of Robotany, a village south of Zapparizia. Ukraine also said its air defenses had shot down 22 of 25 drones, aimed by Russia at the Odessa region. Russia got through hit port infrastructure on the river Danubey. An air strike by Sudan's army on a neighborhood in Kotum, the capital, killed at least 20 people, according to a local volunteer group. The Sudanese armed forces carries out strikes to target members of the rapid defence forces. A parliamentary group it has been fighting since April. More than 5,000 civilians have been killed in the conflict, and more than 2 million displaced. India's space agency said that its rover on the moon had been set to, quote, sleep mode, unless awakened it will remain dormant as, quote, India's lunar ambassador. On August 23rd the unmanned craft from which it was deployed landed 600 kilometres from the moon's south pole. On Saturday India launched a rocket on a mission to study the sun and the solar winds that cause auroras. Typhoon Haiku hits southeastern Taiwan with wind speeds of 155 kilometres per hour. Nearly 3,000 people were evacuated from high-risk areas and hundreds of flights were cancelled. Haiku is now travelling east towards southern China. It follows Seola, a stronger storm with wind speeds above 200 kilometres per hour, which caused extensive damage in Hong Kong, Macau and southern China on Saturday. People attending Burning Man and annual festival in the Nevada desert were told to, quote, shelter in place after heavy rain on Saturday turned the camp to mud. The festival ends on Monday, but 60,000 odd participants cannot leave. Supplies cannot be brought in and toilets cannot be emptied. The burning of artworks, including a giant wooden man, has been postponed. Max Verstappen, a Dutch racing driver, clocked up his tenth victory in a row, a record for Formula One by winning the Italian Grand Prix. With eight of the 23 races to go, Mr Verstappen, the champion in 2021 and 2022, looks uncatchable once again. His stellar career is a credit to both his risky driving and superiority of his team's cars. And figure of the day, 45%, the proportion of Americans who listen to country music at least once a month.