The New York Times

Thursday, June 18, 2026

After a Day of Harmony, a Mercurial Trump Upends Leaders’ Summit

Gathering in a sun-drenched spa town on the sparkling waters of Lake Geneva, the leaders of the Group of 7 put aside months of rancor to praise President Trump for his preliminary deal with Iran. They declared it a “breakthrough” that would unclog the Strait of Hormuz and could put the Middle East on a path to peace. And they got the United States to sign a remarkably unified joint statement on Ukraine, pledging “unwavering support” for Kyiv in its war against Moscow.

Then, on Wednesday, hours before the leaders were scheduled to disperse, Mr. Trump threw a few rocks in the water. The president warned that if he was dissatisfied with the final Iran deal, he could rip it up and restart the bombardment of the country. If the Iranians did not behave properly, he said, “we’ll go right back to dropping bombs right smack in the middle of their head.”

Mr. Trump’s inflammatory statements left the rest of the leaders scrambling to catch up. His outburst over Iran sowed fresh doubts about the deal’s durability, even as Mr. Trump continued to insist it was very strong. And it punctured any illusions — such as those that still exist about Mr. Trump — that European leaders could corral the president with a mixture of pomp, charm and gifts.

The last-day twist from Mr. Trump was a reminder of what can happen when his unfiltered, improvisational style collides with the diplomatic cadence and meticulous choreography of an international summit meeting.

Nothing captured the head-spinning twists more starkly than when the president, who spent much of his time in Évian selling his deal, suddenly suggested that maybe there wouldn’t be anything to sign this week after all.

“My whole life is about deals,” Mr. Trump said at a news conference at the end of the meeting. “Crazy things happen with deals.” He added that if everything went wrong, he might blame it on Vice President JD Vance.

President Emmanuel Macron of France, the host of the meeting, sought to put a good face on the outcome — mainly because the Trump administration, after more than a year of lukewarm support for Ukraine, had signed on to the joint statement pledging full backing to Kyiv. Speaking at a press briefing, he said the summit marked a pivot in Mr. Trump’s approach to Ukraine.

“President Trump has said that we must take a much harder line,” Mr. Macron said. “I really want to welcome the United States’ commitment.”

The French president was more cautious about the Iran deal, noting that key issues still had to be worked out in a subsequent negotiation and that questions remained about its details. He said a European maritime mission to secure marine traffic in the strait was ready to go, but he said it would hinge on nailing down agreements with Iran and Oman, which lie on either side of the waterway.

“Does it solve every problem? No,” Mr. Macron said of Mr. Trump’s framework deal. “Are there risks? Yes.”

Other European leaders echoed Mr. Macron’s positive mood. Chancellor Friedrich Merz of Germany told reporters that the statement on Ukraine was the first of its kind after a Group of 7 meeting since Mr. Trump took office. He said it sent a clear message to President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia.

“All G7 partners will increase pressure on Moscow, including through new sanctions,” Mr. Merz said. The statement, he added, “set a new tone” in trans-Atlantic relations, which have been badly frayed by disagreements over the Iran war, Mr. Trump’s threats to take over Greenland from Denmark, and his frequent attacks on centrist leaders in Europe.

By one yardstick, this summit was a success: Mr. Trump stayed until the end, which he had not done at previous Group of 7 meetings, including two hosted by Canada. That was a tribute to the resourcefulness of Mr. Macron, whose invitation to Mr. Trump to dine with him at the Palace of Versailles on Wednesday evening, in honor of the 250th anniversary of the United States, was enough to persuade him to stick around.

“President Trump has said that we must take a much harder line,” Mr. Macron said. “I really want to welcome the United States’ commitment.”

Wednesday, September 4, 2024

What’s at stake within the U.S. Midterms

Election Day for the U.S. Is Nov. 8, and the results could have a profound effect on the u. S . A.

The midterm elections are held inside the center of a sitting president’s 4-12 months time period. In these
12 months, all 435 seats in the House of Representatives are up for grabs, as are those of 35 of the 100 Senators and 36 of the 50 national governors — similarly to positions in innumerable kingdoms and nearby places of work.

President Biden’s Democratic Party barely controls Congress. If Republicans win a majority in both chambers, they can successfully block legislation, appointments, and a few key priorities of Biden’s schedule.

The celebration in strength nearly usually loses in the midterms. The losses are worse if the sitting president is unpopular (like Biden) and when the economic system is horrific (as it feels for most people, with inflation soaring).

But 2022 is a totally unusual year: Issues including the loss of constitutional proper to abortion, which many Democrats have emphasized in their campaigns, could help them. Donald Trump won't be on the ballot, however, he's nonetheless in headlines and has performed the position of a Republican kingmaker, even though his preferred candidates have on occasion struggled in campaigns.

Many Republicans have tried to awareness of crime, immigration, and the financial system, whilst others have wholeheartedly embraced Trumpian speaking factors, which include lies approximately a stolen 2020 election.

A nail-biter: A New York Times/Siena College ballot this week showed that Republicans had a narrow however widespread gain among probable voters, in addition to a 10-percent factor lead amongst crucial independent citizens.

Ukraine’s foreign minister tenders resignation ahead of expected cabinet reshuffle as Russian missiles kill at least 7

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Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba became the latest top official to tender his resignation on Wednesday, ahead of an expected major government reshuffle as yet another wave of Russian attacks overnight killed at least seven people, including a child.

As Ukraine’s top diplomat, Kuleba has been a prominent fixture in Zelensky’s administration and one of the most public-facing, especially dealing with overseas officials. He was seen as a capable politician and a safe pair of hands, one of the strongest members of Zelensky’s cabinet. His offer to resign comes ahead of an expected visit by the president to the United States this month.

Kuleba’s was the latest in a flurry of resignations. Two of Ukraine’s vice premiers, three ministers, the head of the State Property Fund and a top official in Zelensky’s Presidential Office have all quit within the last day or so.

The parliament needs to approve the resignations for them to take effect. They are yet to vote on Kuleba’s exit, but have approved the resignations of the three other ministers and one of the vice premiers on Wednesday. They did not accept the resignation of the property fund head and the deputy prime minister Iryna Vereshchuk, who will remain in their posts.

The parliament is expected to vote on Kuleba’s resignation on Thursday. It will also vote on the two resignations it did not accept on Wednesday and consider the appointment of new ministers

Zelensky has not yet given any explanation for the reshuffle, but said in his nightly address on Tuesday that the coming fall will be “extremely important for Ukraine” and as such “our state institutions must be set up so that Ukraine achieves all the results we need.”

Kuleba and others who tendered their resignations are widely expected to be appointed into other roles in the Zelensky administration. The reshuffle comes at a precarious time for Ukraine. Its troops are under increasing pressure on the eastern frontlines, especially around the strategic city of Pokrovsk that is on the brink of falling to Russia.

It seems likely that Zelensky wants to have his new team in place for his trip to the US later this month, where he is expected to attend the United Nation General Assembly and meet the US President Joe Biden. Zelensky said last week that he intends to present Biden with a new four-part “victory plan” – without providing details.

The last major change Zelensky made to the top echelon of Ukraine’s leadership came in February, when he replaced the former Commander in Chief Valerii Zaluzhnyi with Oleksander Syrskyi.

Ukrainian political scientist Mykola Davydiuk said there were no major disagreements within the government. Instead, Zelensky is likely trying to send a signal that he is injecting new energy into his government.

“(The president’s office) wanted to do this last fall, then in December, then in May. They spoke about it so they need to do something, otherwise people will not believe them,” he said, adding that Zelensky likely sensed a window of opportunity for the reshuffle. “The West can’t criticize him now because they have a lot of domestic issues to deal with – the US election, election trouble in Germany and France,” he added.

Ukraine’s parliament will consider the foreign minister’s resignation at one of its plenary meetings soon, Speaker Ruslan Stefanchuk said on Telegram.

Davyd Arakhamia, the majority leader of Ukraine’s parliament, said Tuesday that there would be major changes expected in the cabinet this week.

“As promised, a major government reset can be expected this week. More than 50% of the Cabinet of Ministers’ staff will be changed,” Arakhamia said on Telegram, adding that new members would be appointed imminently.

Among those who have resigned was the Minister for Strategic Industries Oleksandr Kamyshin, who was in charge of weapons production. He is expected to assume another defense role, Reuters reported.

The resignations also include the justice, environment and reintegration ministers.

“To do this, we need to strengthen some areas of the government… I am also counting on a slightly different weight for certain areas of our foreign and domestic policy,” he said.

Thursday, October 20, 2022

Attacks cause blackouts in Ukraine

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President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine stated the day past that Russian assaults over the past 8 days had destroyed 30 percent of Ukraine’s strength stations and prompted “huge blackouts throughout the USA.”

The ultra-modern strikes have increased the likelihood of a miserable winter, with citizens having to do without primary offerings which include heat and water.

The World Health Organization warned of the ability for a spiraling humanitarian crisis that “could emerge as a be counted of life or loss of life if humans are not able to warm their houses.

The moves in Ukraine in current weeks have focused on both electric infrastructure and thermal power vegetation. In the capital, some billboards are now not lit up at night, and streetlights are being in part became off in an effort to conserve power. Other cities and towns throughout Ukraine are managing rolling blackouts or going without strength totally.

Energy crisis: The E.U. Unveiled proposals for brand spanking new measures to tackle the power disaster that has rocked the continent, along with joint purchasing of gas and strengthening gas sharing between nations in case Russia turns off the natural gasoline faucets completely.

Not all ties severed: The E.U. Has reduce a few financial ties with Russia to assist Ukraine. But even now, a few goods, like diamonds and uranium, remain conspicuously exempted.

BTS to Enlist in South Korea’s Military

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The participants of the K-pop group BTS will enlist in South Korea’s army as required by using regulation, the band’s label stated on Monday, finishing months of public debate about whether the organization qualified for an exemption to obligatory conscription.

South Korea requires all able-bodied men to enlist by the point they flip 30 and to serve for about two years. Exceptions can be granted, as an example to Olympic athletes and a few excessive-degree classical musicians, however, pop music artists do now not qualify.

The seven members will reconvene “as a collection once more around 2025” after completing their provider, the label, Big Hit Music, stated in an announcement published on Twitter. After the declaration, the stock charge of Big Hit’s parent enterprise, HYBE, fell by 2.Five percent on Monday.

Millions of dejected fanatics, who name themselves the Army, took to social media to express their guide, grief, and disbelief. The circulation is likewise probable to have wider ramifications, depriving South Korea of the billions of greenbacks the band’s fans pump into its economic system.

Finance minister drops most of U.K. Tax-cuts plan

In an attempt to pump the brakes at the free-market economic schedule proposed by means of Prime Minister Liz Truss, Britain’s new chancellor of the Exchequer, Jeremy Hunt, announced today that he could oppose virtually all the government’s planned tax cuts.

He additionally placed a time limit on energy subsidies. The actions came in a determined bid to regular the monetary markets and stabilize the authorities. But as Hunt moved to take manage of the monetary levers of government, Conservative Party lawmakers had been meeting to plan approaches to pressure Truss out of energy.

Truss’s Conservative government had deliberate announced the tax and spending info of its fiscal plan on Oct. 31, however with the markets nonetheless gyrating, Hunt rushed forward the schedule.

Data: As an end result of the declaration as well as numerous better-than-anticipated income reviews, markets inside the U.K. And U.S. Shot upward on Monday.

China delays launch of monetary statistics

As China’s ruling elite accrued for the two-times-a-decade Communist Party congress, the united states of America's National Bureau of Statistics opted to delay indefinitely the discharge of economic information that had been scheduled for Tuesday morning, without an explanation.

The records turned expected to encompass intently watched numbers for the monetary boom from July to September, which has been expected to expose persistent lackluster overall performance. The General Administration of Customs has additionally been behind schedule indefinitely in the release of export and import facts for September.

Large countries seldom delay the release of even a single monetary statistic for worry of wounding economic self-belief. After the close of buying and selling on Chinese inventory exchanges on Monday afternoon, the National Bureau of Statistics canceled its quarterly news conference, which was scheduled for Tuesday morning.

Context: Under the management of President Xi Jinping, China is returning to its roots: a nation-managed economy that needs agencies to conform to the aims of the Chinese Communist Party.

What’s subsequent: Xi is poised to say a groundbreaking third time period as chief at the end of the congress, and his speech at its commencing made it clearer than ever that China is shifting far from liberalization.

Kyiv is attacked through Iranian-made drones

Russia attacked Ukraine’s capital yesterday with Iranian-made drones, persevering with its marketing campaign of strikes toward Ukrainian electricity infrastructure and civilian goals. The assaults came throughout the morning rush hour, killing a minimum of four humans.

The moves highlighted Russia’s developing use of Iranian-made self-destructing drones, which make a buzzing sound like a moped or a lawn mower and explode on contact. The Shahid-136 drones have a variety of about 1,500 miles and carry warheads of about 80 kilos, however, are slow and smooth to goal. Western analysts say their use is an indication Russia’s shares of precision missiles are running low.

Iran has formally denied imparting Russia with drones to be used in Ukraine, but U.S. Officials have said that the primary batch of such weapons become brought in August. Ukraine’s air force stated that Russia had fired forty-three of the drones the day before today, however, 37 had been shot down via air defense systems.

Response: Ukraine referred to as the European Union to punish Iran with sanctions for supplying Russia with drones.

Context: The targets in the day prior to this’s strike blanketed the headquarters of Ukraine’s national power application and a municipal heating station, and they signaled Russia’s goal of crippling strength and other key services as winter looms

Other trends:

The mayor of Moscow stated that the town had reached its draft quota simply days after President Vladimir Putin predicted that the draft might cease within the next two weeks.

Generators have been switched returned on at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant after a strike knocked out outside power once more.

Asia Pacific

In the southern Australian kingdom of Victoria, floodwaters have risen once more.

A tropical hurricane made landfall the previous day in the northern Philippines and intensified right into a storm, Reuters reports.

President Joe Biden called Pakistan “one of the most dangerous countries in the world.” Pakistani politicians stated the claim changed into baseless, The Associated Press reports.

Fire at a infamous Iranian jail

A considerable fireplace broke out on Saturday at Evin prison, a facility in Iran’s capital wherein loads of dissidents and political prisoners are held, as antiregime protests roiled the u. S . For a 5th week. Explosions and gunfire might be heard in the community near the prison, in keeping with witnesses and videos published on social media.

IRNA, the national news organization, said that 8 people have been injured inside the fire and said that it started in the course of clashes in a wing of the jail that housed those convicted of financial crimes.

The fire's motive and the harm's volume have been uncertain. Contradictory reports on social media cited an explosive tool, an attempted breakout, and an infiltration of the jail from the outdoors.

Background: Many prisoners at Evin consist of distinguished competition politicians, activists, legal professionals, reporters, environmentalists, and students. The jail is infamous for accusations of torture and is a strong image of the regime’s authoritarian method of justice.

Explosions echo in Belgorod

Several moves hit the Russian area of Belgorod just across the border from Ukraine the day prior to this, wounding at least 3 people. It become now not straight away clear what brought about the blasts, and Ukrainian officials did not remark.

The explosions seemed to be part of an uptick in attacks on Belgorod — an important staging ground for Russia’s invasion — which has undermined Putin’s efforts to distance Russian human beings from the struggle. Local officials have evacuated towns and villages that have come under shelling. Sunday turned into the fourth successive day that moves were mentioned inside the area.

On Saturday, two guys opened fireplaces on Russian soldiers at a training camp within the region, killing 11 and wounding 15, earlier than being killed, according to news stores. It became no longer right now clean if the attackers were volunteer infantrymen themselves concerned with the training.

Context: Several assaults in recent days have targeted Russian-held areas far from the front lines, consisting of within the occupied city of Donetsk in eastern Ukraine, wherein explosions hit an administrative constructing on Sunday.

Mobilization: The Russian media has said at least seven deaths amongst individuals who were drafted these days. President Vladimir Putin stated that in a few instances training could take simply 10 days.

Lives lived: New reporting illuminates the fortitude of 3 ladies who have been victims of Russian brutality in Bucha, Ukraine.

China’s leader warns of “stormy seas”

In his nearly-hour deal with the Communist Party congress the day went by, Xi Jinping defended his difficult-line reign and supplied himself as the leader who saved the state from the pandemic and who can guide the USA through threat and uncertainty.

Xi, who's poised to say a 3rd time period as chief, used his beginning report to argue that his decade in energy had brought historical gains: a campaign against corrupt officers, a cleanup of the surroundings, and a crackdown on antigovernment protesters in Hong Kong.

Though he did no longer mention the U.S. By call, his mistrust of the sector’s other extraordinary strength was an unmistakable backdrop as Xi warned of potential barriers in advance. “Get the residence in an excellent repair earlier than rain comes, and prepare to undergo the foremost assessments of high winds and waves, and even perilous, stormy seas,” he said. Here are updates from congress.

Analysis: Xi’s speech represented a motion inside the celebration’s cognizance away from economic development and squarely closer to his obsession with protection — quashing all ideological and geopolitical demanding situations to the celebration’s rule.

More takeaways:

On the financial system: His proposals have been carefully and vaguely worded, suggesting a few choices to avoid alarming traders, although he hailed Marx more than markets.

On Covid: Xi mentioned the country’s “zero Covid” policy as an achievement — a signal that the measures are not going away soon.

On Taiwan: Delegates applauded heartily after Xi said that he wanted to gain nonviolent unification with Taiwan. But he clarified that “we are able to never promise to desert the usage of armed force, and reserve the choice of adopting any vital measures.”

On tech: Innovation in technological know-how and era would be a key part of the USA's growth, Xi said, emphasizing medical research and making robust indications that the country could manual vital tasks.

On international affairs: He described Chinese foreign policy as a series of successes in warding off Western “bullying” and protectionism. He additionally called for China to exert further have impact on on international affairs without delay and via establishments like the United Nations.

Thursday, October 13, 2022

The U.S. Push to preclude China’s technological development

The Biden administration wants to restrict the Chinese military’s speedy technological improvement with the aid of choking off China’s get admission to superior chips.

China has been the use of supercomputing and artificial intelligence to develop stealth and hypersonic gun structures and to attempt to crack the U.S. Government’s maximum encrypted messaging, consistent with intelligence reviews. Last week, the administration unveiled what looks like the maximum stringent U.S. Government controls on generation exports to China in a decade, era specialists said.

In dozens of interviews with officials and enterprise executives, my colleagues Ana Swanson and Edward Wong distinguish how this policy came collectively. The management spent months seeking to convince allies like the Dutch, Japanese, South Korean, Israeli and British governments to announce restrictions along the U.S. But some of the governments feared retaliation from China, one of the international’s biggest technology markets. Eventually, the Biden management determined to act on my own.

Details: U.S. Officials described the selection to push ahead with export controls as a show of management. They said some allies wanted to impose similar measures but were wary of antagonizing China; the rules from Washington that focus on overseas corporations did the difficult paintings for them.

What’s next: The controls can be the start of a wide assault via the U.S. Authorities. “This marks a critical evolution within the management’s questioning,” stated Matthew Pottinger, a deputy national protection adviser inside the Trump administration.