News

Tymofii Brik, a sociologist at the Kyiv School of Economics, said polls “suggest that the willingness to defend the nation among Ukrainians has remained constant” throughout the war, with about a third of people indicating a willingness to serve. However, Ukraine's mobilization has opened up painful divisions in society. Vitaliy Bondarenko, a 29-year-old conscript officer from Lviv, said the men ran away every time his vehicle stopped. “They see us and run away,” he said. Many Ukrainian soldiers resent those who try to avoid the draft, arguing that their actions weaken their country's war effort. “Given the intensity of the current fighting, the army cannot fight without a regular replenishment of personnel,” said another recently enlisted Mykyta, 25, who gave only his first name accord...

The State Department announced Friday that it will impose sanctions on a right-wing Israeli group that tried to prevent aid from reaching people in the Gaza Strip by blocking trucks traveling from Jordan to the coastal enclave.The department's statement said the sanctioned organization, Tzav 9, was "a violent Israeli extremist group that blocked, harassed and damaged convoys carrying life-saving humanitarian assistance to Palestinian civilians in Gaza."Members of the group have tried for months to prevent humanitarian aid from reaching Gaza, the department said. They blocked roads on which aid trucks travel between Jordan and Gaza, including the West Bank, and in some cases broke into trucks, damaging them and dumping aid packages on the road, the agency said. Some Israeli activists have...

When President Vladimir V. Putin travels abroad — as he did this week to North Korea and Vietnam to strengthen alliances and cultivate security ties amid Russia's war in Ukraine — he usually flies on Ilyushin Il-series jets 96 of Soviet design. With his latest trip coming shortly after plane crashes that killed two other world leaders, President Ebrahim Raisi of Iran and Vice President Saulos Chilima of Malawi, a Kremlin spokesperson found it necessary recently to reassure the Russian public that Putin's planes were “very reliable. “ Although Russian airlines have abandoned Ilyushin models in favor of new Western models – neither of the country's two major airlines, Aeroflot and Rossiya, currently list any Ilyushin planes in their commercial passenger fleet – Putin appears steadfast in ...

However, the house concluded an agreement to broadcast new productions, performed in an empty hall. The number of spectators was high, around 500,000 for the first performance. So the State Opera continued, eventually reaching millions. A big change will come in December, when the State Opera opens a new theater nearby, the Französischer Saal, or French Hall, in the Künstlerhaus. Roscic said the 250-seat space will be for "people who need a pathway into the world of opera," including children. Its first season will feature five world premieres. (By comparison, only one newly commissioned work, “Animal Farm,” has been performed on the main stage since Roscic began.) Roscic's time has not been without friction. Although his tenure was extended until 2030, that of his musical director ...

A United Nations commission investigating the October 7 attacks on Israel and the resulting conflict in Gaza accused both Palestinian armed groups and Israel of committing war crimes, and the commission said Israel's conduct of the war included crimes against humanity.In a report released on Wednesday, the three-person commission – led by Navi Pillay, a former UN human rights chief – provided the UN's most detailed examination yet of the events since 7 October. The report itself does not entail any sanctions. , but presents a legal analysis of actions in the Gaza conflict that is likely to be evaluated by the International Court of Justice and other international criminal proceedings. Israel did not cooperate with the investigation and protested the commission's assessment of its behavi...

Hotel taxes and other taxes have increased Hotel taxes, also known as lodging or tourist taxes, are widespread in the United States and Europe, where they had been rising for a decade before the pandemic. As tourism has recovered to pre-pandemic levels, several destinations have increased or adjusted taxes to increase revenue. Like Hawaii, Greece – which suffered severe wildfires last summer – is trying to prepare for climate disasters, and the government wants tourists to help foot the bill. Greece calls this tax a “climate crisis resilience tax” and will be collected from housing providers. The tax will be highest from March to October, when it will reach 10 euros per night in five-star hotels. The rate drops from November to February and for hotels with fewer stars. The rate repla...

Mr. Biden was accompanied by the first lady, Jill Biden, who flew separately to France to join him after attending the trial of her son Hunter Biden in Wilmington, Del., on federal firearms charges. Wearing his aviator sunglasses, the president held Dr. Biden's hand as they marched across a blue carpet to the ceremony with the Macrons as military planes zoomed overhead. Addressing the crowd first, Macron hailed what he called “a bond of blood shed for freedom” between the United States and France. He directly addressed some of the veterans on stage, individually and by name, thanking them for coming to France's rescue 80 years earlier. “You came here to liberate the continent,” he said, “and you came here with the strength that allows you to withstand 171 days of fighting against the en...

Rystad Energy, a private company that watches energy trends, pointed out that the roughly $125 billion the European Union has invested in clean energy technology will soon fall behind the United States. Politicians are coloring the Green Deal. The main European People's Party considers the Green Deal its most important achievement, even as it rolls back unpopular provisions, such as those on agriculture, with an eye to the ballot box. He defines it as a way to sever Europe's dependence on Russia. “We have turned Putin's challenge into a great new opportunity,” European Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen said in January. Further to the right, European conservatives and reformists have interpreted some of the Green Deal's policies – such as setting aside land for restorat...

Mrs Mosley added: “We take comfort in the fact that he almost made it. He made an incredible climb, took the wrong path and collapsed where he could not easily be seen by the vast search team." Over the years, many British viewers have relied on Dr Mosley, a long-time science and health researcher, for his debunked advice on diet, exercise and sleep. Trained as a doctor before venturing into television, Dr Mosley hosted the popular BBC health podcast 'Just One Thing' and appeared on the show 'Trust Me, I'm A Doctor'. He produced a number of health and science programs for the broadcaster and often volunteered for experimentation in the documentaries he presented. He ate parasites and experimented with magic mushrooms, but he was best known for popularizing the 5:2 diet, a form of inter...

Still battling Israel's external enemies on multiple fronts, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu awoke Monday to a new political battlefield at home.The departure this weekend of Benny Gantz and his centrist National Unity party from Israel's wartime emergency government is unlikely to immediately break Netanyahu's power. The prime minister's ruling coalition still holds a narrow majority of 64 seats in the 120-seat parliament. But Gantz's move means Netanyahu is now totally dependent on his far-right and ultra-Orthodox coalition partners as he pursues the war in Gaza despite growing international disapproval, leaving him increasingly isolated and exposed at home and abroad. . Gantz and Gadi Eisenkot, another powerful National Unity member, also left Netanyahu's small war cabinet. They ar...