European leaders pledged to assist Ukraine
The British prime minister, Keir Starmer, declared yesterday that “we’re at a crossroads in historical past,” and introduced that European international locations would assemble a “coalition of the keen” to defend Ukraine in opposition to Russia. Read more here.
The announcement adopted a gathering in London of 18 European leaders that Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelensky, attended. Starmer mentioned that “a quantity” of different nations had indicated that they might be a part of with Britain and France and deploy troops to Ukraine within the occasion of a cease-fire between Kyiv and Moscow. He additionally introduced plans to permit Ukraine to make use of 1.6 billion kilos in British export financing to purchase greater than 5,000 air protection missiles.
Context: The gathering took on higher urgency after Zelensky’s heated meeting with President Trump and Vice President JD Vance within the Oval Workplace on Friday, which raised fears that the U.S. would attempt to drive Ukraine into making a peace deal.
Ukraine: Most individuals within the nation this weekend seemed to be watching and ready after the assembly between Trump and Zelensky. They questioned: Would the U.S. abandon them?
Israel halted Gaza assist and proposed a brand new deal
Israel mentioned yesterday that it was instantly halting the entry of all goods and humanitarian aid into Gaza. The transfer was meant to drive Hamas into accepting a short lived extension of the cease-fire after the primary section ended on Saturday. The halt makes the destiny of the remaining hostages unsure, and is prone to worsen circumstances for Gaza’s roughly two million inhabitants. Israel mentioned the restrictions would not apply to water.
Hours earlier than the help halt, Israel had proposed extending the cease-fire seven weeks, throughout which Hamas would launch half the remaining residing hostages and the stays of half the deceased ones. Hamas rejected Israel’s gambit, referring to the help halt as “low cost blackmail,” however mentioned it was nonetheless keen to barter the second stage of the deal.
What’s subsequent: Hamas is unlikely to simply accept a brand new supply with out additional negotiations, mentioned Aaron David Miller, an analyst. Israel’s proposal, he mentioned, would enable “Israelis to get hostages again with out making reciprocal commitments.”
Congo’s huge military is battling a small militia
The militia group M23 has swept through the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo in latest weeks. The Congolese army ought to have been capable of simply cease the menace: It has someplace between 100,000 and 200,000 troops, dwarfing M23. As a substitute, Congolese forces preserve shedding.
A part of the issue is that M23, an skilled militia, is backed by Rwanda, the U.N. says. However that’s not the entire story. Congo’s army is suffering from unmotivated troopers, infighting, extortion and abuse. The federal government, left weakened by many years of colonialism, has struggled with unstable or predatory management since.
Distant snacking has moved a bit nearer to digital actuality. A workforce of scientists has constructed a tool that transmits tastes from a distance, serving to volunteers expertise flavors meant to characterize totally different meals. It’s a bit cumbersome proper now, however sometime you may be capable to style a recipe from the comfort of your home earlier than shopping for groceries.
Lives lived: Antonine Maillet, a Canadian author who grew to become the primary non-European to win France’s most prestigious literary prize, died at 95.
CONVERSATION STARTERS
Turning scripture into scripts
The brand new Amazon sequence “Home of David” seems as if it may very well be an alternate universe of “Recreation of Thrones.” The present is a part of a wave of faith-based programming on streaming providers. Final yr, Netflix signed a deal for related leisure and launched “Mary,” a movie in regards to the mom of Jesus that forged the Oscar winner Anthony Hopkins as King Herod.
An enduring non secular revival in Hollywood is unlikely, students predict. However such initiatives might make up an excellent monetary mannequin for platforms looking to reach spiritual audiences.
“The sheer dimension of the viewers is big,” mentioned Jon Erwin, who pitched “Home of David” to Amazon. “It’s the largest underserved area of interest viewers on the earth.”
