Good morning. We're covering a minerals deal between the U.S. and Ukraine, and a British plan to spend more on the military. Plus: The International Booker Prize nominees.
The U.S. and Ukraine reached a minerals dealUkraine has agreed to turn over the revenue from some of its mineral resources to the U.S., an American and a Ukrainian official said yesterday, in a deal that followed an intense pressure campaign from President Trump. It was not immediately clear what, if anything, Ukraine would receive from the U.S. President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine previously rejected at least one other draft agreement because it lacked specific U.S. security guarantees and because Trump was requesting mineral rights worth $500 billion. Some of the more onerous conditions have since been removed. Here's what's at stake. A U.S. official said a final translated draft of the agreement was sent to Ukraine yesterday; this would first be signed by the U.S. Treasury secretary and his Ukrainian counterpart, before being signed by Trump and Zelensky in Washington. Details: The draft agreement said Ukraine would contribute half of its revenues from the future monetization of natural resources to a fund. The U.S. would own the maximum financial interest in the fund allowed under American law. The fund would also be designed to reinvest some revenues into Ukraine. Here's what we know. Changing alliances: When it comes to the war in Ukraine, Trump has courted outlier states like Belarus, North Korea and Russia, while standing against traditional U.S. allies.
Syria's new leader called for national unityAhmed al-Shara, Syria's interim president, called for unity yesterday at a two-day conference aimed at charting the country's future after decades of dictatorship. The gathering, in Damascus, brought together hundreds of people from Syria's many religious sects and ethnic groups, as well as journalists, community leaders and activists. But one major player was absent: The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, the U.S.-backed militia that controls much of Syria's northeast. The current government told the group that it would have to disarm and join a unified national military if it wanted to attend the dialogue. An unlikely path: The contrast between al-Shara's jihadist past and his current pragmatic nationalism has left Syrians wondering what he actually believes and how he will govern. Tensions: Israel said it had struck sites in southern Syria, hours after al-Shara's government demanded that it withdraw from territory it had seized.
Britain plans to increase military spendingKeir Starmer, the British prime minister, said yesterday that Britain would significantly raise its military spending by 2027. The announcement was meant to send a signal about burden-sharing to President Trump before the leaders' meeting at the White House tomorrow. The change would amount to an increase of 13.4 billion pounds ($17 billion) in military spending per year. It would be paid for by scaling back on overseas development aid. Starmer said he regretted the cuts, but he presented them as a temporary measure in a challenging new security environment. Context: Recent statements from Trump about Ukraine have reinforced fears that the U.S. is retreating from its decades-long commitment to Europe's defense. And NATO's secretary general recently called on members to spend "considerably more" than 3 percent of economic output on defense.
Arts & Culture
Most of the books nominated for this year's International Booker Prize are under 200 pages long. This isn't because of some "much-prophesied loss of attention span," according to the chair of the judging panel — instead, the 13 nominees simply "don't have a wasted word." Check out the full list. Lives lived: Marian Turski, a Polish Holocaust survivor who dedicated his life to warning the world about the dangers of indifference to racial and ethnic injustice, died last week at 98.
100 years later, this thing is still onA century ago this week, the musician Art Gillham entered a studio in New York to test a soon-to-be-transformative tool: the microphone. In that moment, the record industry left the acoustic era and went electric. The effects were felt across genres and styles. Instruments could be reproduced more faithfully. Stand-up basses were no longer outperformed by blaring horns. But the biggest beneficiaries were pop singers — microphones gave them personality, like Hollywood stars. Read more about the device that changed music. We hope you've enjoyed this newsletter, which is made possible through subscriber support. Subscribe to The New York Times.
Cook: This shortcut chicken korma uses cashew butter to save prep time. Read: "The Secret Public" traces how music popularized queer culture. Hunt: Peruse homes in Nice, France, that cost less than 700,000 euros. Focus: Writing down poetry each morning helps our writer avoid the trap of her phone. Play the Spelling Bee. And here are today's Mini Crossword and Wordle. You can find all our puzzles here. That's it for today's briefing. See you tomorrow. — Natasha Reach Natasha and the team at briefing@nytimes.com.
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miércoles, 26 de febrero de 2025
Wednesday Briefing: A deal between the U.S. and Ukraine
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