Trump’s Whirlwind Now Blows Through Europe

Trump’s Whirlwind Now Blows Through Europe

The great collision has begun. As President Trump’s national security team arrived in Europe this week, very little about their hard-line message came as a surprise. But to the political and diplomatic leaders arriving in Munich on Friday for an annual security conference where fault lines in the Western alliance …

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Warming Trend in U.S.-Russia Relations Leaves Ukraine in a Tough Spot

Warming Trend in U.S.-Russia Relations Leaves Ukraine in a Tough Spot

President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine was already facing a daunting week as foreign officials gathered in Europe for talks about his country’s future. The Trump administration was demanding $500 billion in Ukrainian mineral rights, it canceled Ukraine’s exemption from U.S. tariffs on steel, and a leading American skeptic of military …

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Right-Wing Crusade Against USAID Has Been Fueled by Falsehoods

Right-Wing Crusade Against USAID Has Been Fueled by Falsehoods

The video falsely claiming that the United States Agency for International Development paid Ben Stiller, Angelina Jolie and other actors millions of dollars to travel to Ukraine appeared to be a clip from E!News, though it never appeared on the entertainment channel. In fact, the video first surfaced on X …

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Chastened by Past Wars, Kremlin Tries to Elevate Its Veterans

Chastened by Past Wars, Kremlin Tries to Elevate Its Veterans

When Ilya Rusinov returned to the Russian work force after rehabilitating a vertebra damaged in the Ukraine war, his first job was teaching in a school. But he had also launched a side project, a patriotic club he called Zveno, or “Squad,” that provides military training for different age groups, …

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A Storm, a Spill and a Disaster for the Black Sea’s Beaches

A Storm, a Spill and a Disaster for the Black Sea’s Beaches

When a 28-year-old volunteer named Nikolai stepped onto a sandy beach on Russia’s Black Sea coast in a hazmat suit just before New Year’s Eve, he was so overwhelmed by the amount of thick oil film that he almost broke down. He and other volunteers were tasked with shoveling away …

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Trump Is Leading a Global Surge to the Right

Trump Is Leading a Global Surge to the Right

At the start of his second term President Trump has positioned himself at the crest of a global wave of hard-line conservative populism, offering fuel and inspiration to surging nationalist parties in the European Union and beyond. Those parties are generally united by tough stances against immigrants, support for what …

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