The Economist Continental Europe Edition November 26, 2022

Russian bombs and missiles have damaged half of Ukraine’s power systems, said the Ukrainian government. Widespread blackouts are likely in the coming months, it warned. Evacuations of civilians have begun from the recently liberated parts of the Kherson and Mykolaiv regions, where Russian attacks have been especially brutal. The WHO said millions of Ukrainians face a “life-threatening” winter. Russia’s state-owned gas company, Gazprom, threatened to curtail supplies in the last operational pipeline connecting Russia with western Europe, which runs through Ukraine. The Russians claim that Ukraine is hoarding gas destined for Moldova; Ukraine denies this. Courting a disaster The International Atomic Energy Agency, the UN nuclear watchdog, reported that recent intense shelling had caused widespread damage across the site of the Zaporizhia nuclear plant, but that key equipment had not been affected. The…

In a shock move, Disney ousted Bob Chapek as chief executive after just 33 months in the job, and brought back Bob Iger, the previous CEO, to replace him. Senior executives lost confidence in Mr Chapek’s leadership, which came to a head when the latest quarterly earnings revealed rising losses at Disney+, the company’s premium streaming service. Mr Chapek also earned the ire of the creators of Disney’s content when he restructured the business around a policy of streaming first, taking creative control out of their hands. Mr Iger led Disney for 15 years during a period of growth, when it took over Pixar, Lucasfilm and Marvel studios. Fried bankers is about right FTX owes more than $3bn to its largest creditors, according to a list compiled for a court hearing on…

IF YOU ASK Europe’s friends around the world what they think of the old continent’s prospects they often respond with two emotions. One is admiration. In the struggle to help Ukraine and resist Russian aggression, Europe has displayed unity, grit and a principled willingness to bear enormous costs. But the second is alarm. A brutal economic squeeze will pose a test of Europe’s resilience in 2023 and beyond. There is a growing fear that the recasting of the global energy system, American economic populism and geopolitical rifts threaten the long-run competitiveness of the European Union and non-members, including Britain. It is not just the continent’s prosperity that is at risk, the health of the transatlantic alliance is, too. Don’t be fooled by the rush of good news from Europe in the…

FILM CRITICS often complain that the box office is overrun with sequels. Now so are studios’ head offices. On November 20th Disney announced that Bob Iger, who ran the company for 15 highly successful years until he stepped down in 2020, would go back into the spotlight for a second act as chief executive (see Schumpeter). Bob Chapek, who lasted less than three years in the role and had presided over a 40% drop in Disney’s share price this year, was sent sloping back to his trailer. As any producer knows, a good leading man can make all the difference. Mr Chapek turned out to be a Blister; Mr Iger, who transformed Disney’s fortunes, is a megastar. But the creatives in Hollywood and the investors on Wall Street expecting a rapid…

WHEN MEMBERS of Congress return to Washington next week, Thanksgiving will be over and the annual festival of asking for stuff will begin. The Economist has its own wish-list for members of the House and Senate in the lame-duck session, when legislators can be more open to doing business. Since the biggest obstacle to these wishes being granted is the Senate filibuster, which means finding ten Republican votes, this list is particularly aimed at the five Republican senators who are retiring, plus those who voted for the CHIPS Act and infrastructure law, both of which passed with Republican support. In journalism, branches of government and adorations of the Magi, three is the magic number. But we are greedy, so here are five. First, as this week’s Lexington points out, hundreds of…

MOST WARS are accompanied by propaganda, aimed at breaking the enemy’s will to fight. Much of Vladimir Putin’s propaganda is targeted at his own people. As well as mobilising supporters, its purpose is to demoralise opponents of the war and break their will. Mr Putin’s assault on Ukraine would have been impossible without years of sustained assault on the minds of the Russian public, many of whom have swallowed his story that he is defending Russia from Western aggression, rather than invading a neighbour without provocation. Mr Putin’s falsehoods, like his tanks, do not stop at Russia’s borders. Ever since he decided that liberal democracy was his enemy, liberal democracies have been under attack. Russian trolls and foreign-language state media have pumped out a flood of outrageous and contradictory lies to…