Your Friday Briefing: Russia Makes Slow Advances

We’re covering Russia’s military movements and the results from India’s election.

Russian forces push ahead as talks stall

Russian forces were making slow advances in Ukraine on Thursday as high-level talks failed to yield progress on ending the war or even brokering a temporary cease-fire. Here are the latest updates.

Russian troops were laying siege to Chernihiv, near the Belarus border, as the mayor reported that the city was running out of burial space amid the rising death toll from the fighting. Russian forces gained control of the town of Bucha and moved southwest in an attempt to encircle the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv. They were also approaching Kyiv from the east.

Russian forces were also continuing their siege of Mariupol, a day after bombing a maternity hospital. These maps show the devastation.

Negotiations: Ukrainian and Russian diplomats in Turkey failed to reach an agreement about a cease-fire or “humanitarian corridors” to allow safe passage for civilians, and they were still far apart by day’s end. Russia’s foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov, indicated a cease-fire was not even on the table.

U.K.: The British government on Thursday imposed sanctions on seven Russian oligarchs, including Roman Abramovich, the owner of the Chelsea soccer club. Britain also announced a streamlined visa process for Ukrainian refugees hoping to join family.

In other developments:

• E.U. leaders arrived in Versailles, France, on Thursday to discuss Ukraine’s appeal to join the bloc.

• More companies pulled out of Russia, including the hotel chains Hyatt and Hilton. The Times is tracking the companies that have pledged to withdraw from Russia. Goldman Sachs became the first big American bank to exit.

• Russia, China and the U.S. traded accusations of spreading disinformation about the war in Ukraine.

B.J.P. wins big in Indian elections

The governing Bharatiya Janata Party maintained its electoral success after a major local government election period in India, according to results released on Thursday, as voters reckoned with the coronavirus pandemic recovery and nationalist views rose in the country.

The elections in five states were the biggest test of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s B.J.P. since its handling of the pandemic came under intense scrutiny, particularly when the second wave of Covid wreaked havoc in India in the spring of 2021.

The B.J.P. stayed in power in India’s most populous state, Uttar Pradesh, whose hard-line chief minister, Yogi Adityanath, is seen as a potential successor to Modi. He has railed against interfaith marriages, banned the slaughter of cows and vowed to maintain law and order.

The Indian National Congress Party seemed to continue its rapid decline: In Punjab, one of the few states it still runs, it lost to the regional Aam Aadmi Party, and it was trailing the B.J.P. in close races in the smaller states of Goa and Uttarakhand. The B.J.P. led in Manipur.

Tactics: In recent elections, campaigns have increasingly incorporated professional strategists, public relations firms and voter data and have also relied heavily on social media.

Tourists return amid an Omicron surge in Asia

The Omicron wave that retreated in some areas of the world is still flaring up in parts of East and Southeast Asia, where caseloads are rising and some countries are enduring their worst waves of the pandemic, the W.H.O. noted this week.

Places including China and Hong Kong have kept caseloads low through strict rules, but the latest surge has worsened in Japan, South Korea and Vietnam.

The W.H.O. has also voiced worry about a subvariant of Omicron reported in several Asian countries, including Bangladesh, China, India, Pakistan and the Philippines.

The rise in Covid cases came as Southeast Asia reopened to international travel. After touch-and-go attempts to welcome tourism, Vietnam opened its borders to international tourists on Tuesday, with just a one-day isolation rule. Thailand introduced hotel isolation and testing, Bali dropped its quarantine requirement and the Philippines required social distancing in some areas but no quarantine.

Our reporter writes that travelers to the region can expect more paperwork, higher airfares, cheaper hotels and thinner crowds.

Here are the latest updates and maps of the pandemic.

In other developments:

• BTS performed live in Seoul for the first time in over two years. Fans were not allowed to cheer.

• The tennis star Novak Djokovic will not participate in U.S. tennis tournaments, as he is unable to enter the country because of his vaccination status.

• The U.S. will extend its mask mandate for airplanes and other public transportation through mid-April.

THE LATEST NEWS

Asia Pacific

• The White House said Thursday that North Korea had begun testing a new intercontinental ballistic missile in recent days, and that U.S. forces were putting their missile defense units in Asia in a state of “enhanced readiness” for an expected launch.

• In Australia, the governing conservative coalition has been trying to deflect from its domestic vulnerabilities by accusing opponents of being too pro-China. For many, the rhetoric has crossed a line.

• Mount Merapi, a volcano in Indonesia, erupted multiple times, forcing 250 residents to flee. No deaths were reported.

• New Zealand’s government is merging its public TV and radio broadcasters to reach young audiences, The A.P. reported.

Around the World

• Women in Guatemala who obtain abortions could face up to 10 years in jail under a new bill that also bans same-sex marriage and prevents schools from teaching about L.G.B.T.Q. issues.

• Iraq’s oil minister said that high oil prices, if they persist, could speed the shift to electric vehicles.

• Billionaires in France are buying media outlets to shore up support for their preferred presidential candidates.

• Inflation in the U.S. climbed to 7.9 percent, a new four-decade high.

A Morning Read

Thirty-five years after the assassination of Thomas Sankara, the president of Burkina Faso, his supporters hope for justice. But the full truth about the murder, including any foreign role, is elusive.

ARTS AND IDEAS

How ‘Encanto’ became a pop hit

This week, the soundtrack to the Disney film “Encanto,” featuring “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” and other songs by Lin-Manuel Miranda, spent its eighth week at No. 1 on Billboard’s album chart. But the soundtrack wasn’t always a smash, as Ben Sisario writes, and its newfound success highlights how fans drive hits through social media.

The TikTok-to-streaming pipeline. After the film came to Disney+ in December, fans on TikTok started recreating scenes, performing dances and singing along. Soon after, “Bruno” and other songs from the soundtrack climbed in popularity on streaming platforms.

Radio is often behind the curve. “Bruno” was almost entirely absent from the radio for most of that ascent. Disney did not begin promoting it to stations until late January, and it still gets a fraction of the radio plays of songs by stars like Adele.

Videos enhance the experience. If you get bored of the original songs, YouTube offers variations, including versions of “Bruno” translated into 21 languages or mashed up with other pop songs. Clips on social media help contextualize the songs in a way that radio play never could, Ben writes, and let fans relive the film.

PLAY, WATCH, EAT

What to Cook

Larb gai, a dish of ground chicken and herbs dressed with lime juice, is a popular dish in Laos. Learn more about the rise of Laotian cuisine in the U.S.

Home Improvements

For a theaterlike experience, consider a soundbar.

What to Read

A crisp essay collection by Elena Ferrante is one of the new books published this week.

Now Time to Play

Play the Mini Crossword, and a clue: Busy airport (three letters).

Here’s today’s Wordle.

And here is the Spelling Bee.

You can find all our puzzles here.

That’s it for today’s briefing. And a programming note: This is my last Asia Briefing for the next few months, as I head to the Business desk to be an editor. You’ll be in great hands with my colleagues, and thanks for reading!

See you soon. — Melina

P.S. Tressie McMillan Cottom, a sociologist and cultural critic, is joining the Times staff as an Opinion columnist.

The latest episode of “The Daily” is about Ukraine’s embattled cities.

You can reach Melina and the team at [email protected].