News

http://archive.today/2025.02.13-124628/https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/13/world/europe/ukraine-russia-us-diplomacy.html

Mr. Zelensky has played weak hands well before. In the opening days of Russia’s invasion, he popped out of a bunker to film selfie videos that rallied his country, and much of the world, to Ukraine’s cause.

Now he is again facing a pivotal moment for his country in a diminished position, sinking in domestic polls and getting a cold shoulder from his most important ally.

There have been some bright spots for Ukraine. Soon after his inauguration, Mr. Trump criticized Mr. Putin harshly, saying he was “destroying” Russia with the war.

And while Mr. Trump’s claim on Ukraine’s minerals comes at a big cost for Kyiv, it has also been viewed by Ukrainian officials as a hopeful sign. The talks on mineral rights, which began on Wednesday with a visit to Kyiv by the American Treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, open a path for Mr. Trump to continue military aid while claiming to have secured a benefit for the United States.

Ukrainian officials say they view the Russian demand for democratic elections as part of a ploy to destabilize the government and compel Ukraine to let its guard down for a vote. They have urged the Trump administration not to endorse the idea.

“It is the Russians who are raising the topic of elections because they need their man in Ukraine,” Mr. Zelensky said in an interview with the British broadcaster ITV News that aired last weekend. “If we suspend martial law, we may lose the army. And the Russians will be happy because the qualities of spirit and combat capability will be lost.”

http://archive.today/2025.02.12-171604/https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/12/us/politics/tulsi-gabbard-senate-confirmation-vote.html

Democrats remained united against her. Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, the minority leader, said Ms. Gabbard was not qualified. He said that in a secret vote, she would have received little Republican support. He said he was troubled by her “long record of weakness” against Russia.

“We simply cannot in good conscience trust our most classified secrets to someone who echoes Russian propaganda and falls for conspiracy theories,” Mr. Schumer said.

http://archive.today/2025.02.10-121624/https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/09/us/politics/federal-workers-trump.html

http://archive.today/2025.02.08-210523/https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/06/opinion/usaid-trump-samantha-power.html

"Ms. Power was the administrator of the United States Agency for International Development in the Biden administration.

"We are witnessing one of the worst and most costly foreign policy blunders in U.S. history. Less than three weeks into Donald Trump’s second term, he, Elon Musk and Secretary of State Marco Rubio have halted the U.S. Agency for International Development’s aid programs around the world."

http://archive.today/2025.02.09-171358/https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/09/science/dog-breed-health-behavior-westminster.html

"China and Russia have not been shy about exporting propaganda across the world and seeking to co-opt journalists on the ground into bolstering it. We shouldn’t want a US equivalent, of course—but truly independent journalism can shine a light through this sort of behavior, and through the workings of autocrats more broadly, in ways that are good for the truth and for U.S. strategic goals," journalist Jon Allsop wrote for CJR.

As referenced by CJR, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said the USAID aid freezes may have put a hold on $268 million earmarked for the funding of "independent media and the free flow of information" in 2025.

USAID has previously reported that their funding supports more than 6,000 journalists, approximately 700 newsrooms and almost 3,000 civic society groups across 30 odd countries.

RSF said the full impact of the freeze is hard to quantify as recipients of the funding fear risking future aid or political retribution if they speak out.

The non-profit also claims that troubles at USAID may have severe consequences for Ukrainian journalists—where 90 percent of news organizations rely on USAID funding for operations.

http://archive.today/2025.02.09-005201/https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/08/world/middleeast/israel-hamas-hostages-prisoners.html

Gideon Saar, Israel’s foreign minister, invoked the defining Jewish trauma of the last century, writing on social media, “The Israeli hostages look like Holocaust survivors.”

The spectacle on Saturday was sure to reinforce pressure from some Israelis for the government to find a way to recover all of the remaining hostages in Gaza. For others, it will bolster the view that Israel should resume the war after the first six-week phase of the cease-fire expires on March 2, rather than negotiate a long-term peace.

What happens next is far from certain.

http://archive.today/2025.02.07-032739/https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/06/us/politics/trump-gaza-two-state.html

"The prospects for a Palestinian state had already dwindled in recent years, especially after the Hamas terrorist attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, that killed 1,200 people and led to the Israeli retaliatory war in Gaza that has killed 47,000 combatants and civilians, according to Gaza health authorities."

http://archive.today/2025.02.07-090830/https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/06/us/politics/usaid-job-cuts.html