Taiwan's Lai Warns of New Totalitarian Threat in Victory in Europe Day Speech
In a speech to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the Allied victory in the Second World War, Lai highlighted how both Taiwan and Europe are facing election interference, disruptions of their communications infrastructure and grey-zone tactics aimed at challenging established international norms and free markets. He did not name any countries as the source of those threats.
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CNN
21 minutes ago
- CNN
Ukraine wants a ‘ceasefire,' Putin and Trump want a ‘peace deal.' Here's the big difference
Russia Donald Trump War in Ukraine ImmigrationFacebookTweetLink Follow US President Donald Trump has ditched his call for a ceasefire in Ukraine, backing instead Russian President Vladimir Putin's push for a permanent peace agreement. That has not stopped some European leaders from pushing for a temporary truce first, even though the US president has seemingly decided one is not necessary. It's not that Kyiv and its allies don't want peace. But they understand that the kind of deal sought by Russia can't happen unless the most basic principle underpinning the global order – that a country cannot get what it wants by force – is thrown under the bus. And Kyiv's European allies are not willing to risk that, not least because they could well become the next target of Russia's aggression. Speaking to the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and several European leaders in the Oval Office on Monday, Trump adopted some of Moscow's talking points, questioning whether a ceasefire was 'necessary' if a broader peace deal could be achieved. But international law experts and analysts say that any deal that would force Ukraine to give up its land to stop the killing of its people by Russia would be completely illegal under the UN Charter, a key international agreement which most countries signed up to after the horrors of the Second World War. While often thought of as essentially the same thing, there is a big difference between a peace deal and a ceasefire in the eyes of international law. During a ceasefire, warring parties agree to stop fighting with each side keeping hold of the territory under its military control. But the understanding is that the pause is temporary – usually to provide a window to negotiate, deliver humanitarian help or evacuate civilians. Kyiv and its European allies suggested that a ceasefire might be a precursor for a meeting between Zelensky and Putin, followed by a trilateral meeting between Trump, Zelensky, and Putin. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who attended the summit on Monday, said that he 'can't imagine that the next meeting will take place without a ceasefire.' A ceasefire can be short – like the 1914 Christmas Truce that lasted a few days – or it could stretch to decades. The ceasefires between Cyprus and Turkey, and between India and Pakistan have been in place for decades with no permanent peace settlement in sight. What Putin wants – and now, apparently, Trump as well – is a permanent peace agreement. Under international law, a peace agreement is meant to be a formal, long-term treaty that dictates the future relationship between two countries. And that's where things get complicated. 'There is a uniquely core principle to international law that is inscribed front and center in the UN Charter: Use of force is emphatically prohibited. So what that also (means) is that any treaty that you procure by use of force is effectively illegal and is inherently void,' said Jeremy Pizzi, an international lawyer and a legal adviser of Global Rights Compliance, a human rights foundation. Little detail has been shared about the kind of peace deal Putin discussed with Trump last week, but it is clear that the Russian leader has not abandoned some of his maximalist demands, including that Ukraine give up the entire eastern Donetsk and Luhansk regions, known as the Donbas, and is banned from joining NATO in the future. This would make the deal doubly illegal under international law: illegal because of the way it would be reached – by force – and illegal because of its content. But even if he wanted to – which he does not – Zelensky cannot agree to give up territory. Under the Ukrainian constitution, any change to the country's borders must be approved by a referendum – a rule that is in place partly because of Russia's tendency to install puppet governments in foreign countries. A survey conducted by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology (KIIS), a leading public opinion pollster, in May and June found that the vast majority of Ukrainians reject the idea of recognizing Ukrainian territories as part of Russia. An even bigger majority is against giving up control over territories that are currently controlled by Ukraine. Speaking to CNN from Kyiv, Pizzi said that even if the Ukrainians somehow changed their minds and voted in favor of giving up their land – which they are unlikely to do, according to KIIS – the agreement would still be illegal under international law. 'Regardless of the Ukrainian constitution, Zelensky, or no one, can hand over territory linked to aggressive military conquest. The prohibition of using armed force to conquer territory is absolute under international law,' Pizzi said. There are also practical and strategic reasons why Ukraine cannot agree to Moscow's demands. The Russian military currently controls almost all of Luhansk and more than 70% of Donetsk, which means that Putin is asking Kyiv to give up even more than it has lost so far. But the parts of the Donbas region that are still under Kyiv's control include infrastructure that is crucial for Ukraine's defense. A string of industrial cities including Sloviansk, Kramatorsk and Kostiantynivka that are connected by main roads and railways form the backbone of Ukraine's defenses. If they were to be taken by Russia, the road to the western parts of the country would be wide open. There is also little incentive for Kyiv to trust Moscow, Pizzi said. 'Russia has engaged in armed attacks against Ukraine for over 10 years now, consistently, repeatedly during that time. Russia has feigned negotiations, feigned good faith, while continuing to use violence and keeping up the same illegal maximalist goals in the background and Ukrainian authorities are painfully aware of this,' he said. 'There is no logical, sensible reason to trust Russia in the absence of a precursor, a good faith decision or engagement that they make on their part to hold off from killing more Ukrainians,' he added. Kyiv, backed by the Europeans, has indicated that it is willing to recognize the current reality on the ground in order to stop the killing. This would likely mean freezing the conflict along the current front lines and essentially giving up on trying to regain its land while the ceasefire is in place. Analysts at the Eurasia Group wrote in a note on Monday that the European leaders would no doubt make it very clear to Trump that there can be no question of acceptance of a permanent annexation of Ukrainian territory by force. 'While there is openness to recognition of the de facto military position on the ground, neither Ukraine nor the Europeans will accept that Russia should be 'given' more land than it has captured,' they said, quoting a Western intelligence assessment that it would take Russia more than four years to occupy the rest of the Donbas. And, crucially, even if Kyiv were to recognize that the reality on the ground gives Russia the de-facto control of some of its land, it would certainly not agree to make this a permanent recognition. Kyiv's goal remains to regain all of its territory in the future. The Eurasia analysts said there was some doubt in the European minds that 'Trump understands, or cares about, the importance of the distinction' between the two. A ceasefire might be the only way out of the current violence. A permanent peace deal would be against international law. 'The reality is that (international law) makes it almost politically impossible to conclude a peace treaty when the victim is not winning. And my response to that is: That's the point,' Pizzi said.
New York Times
22 minutes ago
- New York Times
Wednesday Briefing: An Uncertain Path to Peace in Ukraine
Leaders tried to chart a course for peace in Ukraine President Trump said yesterday that he would not deploy American troops in Ukraine and a White House spokeswoman said President Vladimir Putin of Russia had agreed to meet with President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine. But Russia has not confirmed such a meeting. European leaders held talks a day after a White House meeting produced few public signs of tangible progress toward ending the war in Ukraine. Here are the latest updates and a look at where diplomatic efforts are headed. Military aid: Zelensky said Ukraine would receive $90 billion in American weaponry, including sorely needed air defense systems and war planes. How Ukraine would pay for them remained unclear. It is likely that European countries and allies of NATO will foot much of the bill. Security guarantees: The White House meetings ended without a formal agreement on Ukrainian security, and European leaders yesterday scrambled to figure out exactly what it would look like. Trump said that no American ground troops would be sent to Ukraine, but that the U.S. could help in other ways, such as providing air support. Prime Minister Keir Starmer of Britain called for an international force stationed in Ukraine, which could range from hundreds to tens of thousands of troops. Trump has suggested that Russia would accept European troop deployments, even though Russia has rejected the idea. Successes: Zelensky and other European leaders have learned how to work with Trump. Instead of being reprimanded and asked to leave, as Zelensky was during a White House visit earlier this year, he received a warm welcome, promises of U.S. weapons sales and more efforts to broker a face-to-face meeting with Putin. My colleague Michael Schwirtz explains how Zelensky won over Trump, and other small victories, in the video below. Overnight, Russia bombarded Ukraine with hundreds of drones and missiles. This map shows the front lines now. Netanyahu under pressure over a proposed Gaza cease-fire Some far-right members of Israel's governing coalition ruled out a proposed hostage deal with Hamas, but Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had yet to state his position. The deal would see the release of some of the remaining hostages held in Gaza in exchange for Palestinian prisoners. A cease-fire would effectively halt Netanyahu's plan to invade Gaza City. Related: Israel has held talks with South Sudan about accepting Palestinians from Gaza en masse. Indonesia's rainforests are being cleared to build U.S. motor homes Recreational vehicles, rolling homes that have grown increasingly popular in the U.S., rely on a crucial import: a plywood made mainly from Indonesian wood called lauan. R.V. manufacturers consider lauan, which is lightweight, moisture-resistant and flexible, as irreplaceable for features like cabinets and interior walls. But conservation groups said that the industry's demand for lauan has accelerated deforestation in Borneo, where rainforests have been razed in the past five years. Here's what to know. Pakistan: At least 660 people have died in rain-related incidents since monsoon season began in late June. Canada: A tentative contract agreement ended an Air Canada flight attendant strike that had stranded thousands of travelers. U.K.: A judge ruled that asylum seekers must be moved out of a hotel in England, in a case that has highlighted an increasingly contentious issue. Russia: A report by a research institute said that Moscow's goal was to destabilize Europe by resorting to attacks on critical infrastructure. Health: Chikungunya, a mosquito-borne virus, is spreading rapidly to new regions including in China, which reported its first cases. Europe: Alcohol from the E.U. will likely not be exempt from U.S. tariffs under a new trade deal, a U.S. official said. Crime: The woman who prosecutors say sold the ketamine that killed Matthew Perry agreed to plead guilty. Vietnam: A new crowdfunding campaign for Cuba, which sent doctors and food during the war, has raised more than $13 million. Soccer: Here's a look inside Real Madrid's summer rebuild, as the club tries to dominate Barcelona once more. Formula 1: How do rival drivers from the same team stack up against one another so far this season? Tennis: Carlos Alcaraz won the Cincinnati Open after an illness forced Jannik Sinner to quit the tournament. Paris is particularly ill-adapted to heat waves. In 2023, the medical journal The Lancet deemed it the European capital whose residents were most exposed to heat-related deaths. But city planners say they are taking steps to prepare for temperatures as high as 50 degrees Celsius that could force cellphone services to cut out, hospitals to shut down and asphalt streets to melt. They're planting trees, insulating apartments and converting schools to cooling centers. 'It's a race against time,' a city councilor and environmental engineer said. Read more. Lives lived: Joe Caroff, a quiet giant in graphic design who created the 007 James Bond logo, died at 103. Moving day: A beloved church in Sweden is being slowly wheeled to a new site over two days to save it from unstable ground. City lovers: Two coyotes, named Romeo and Juliet, have quietly made New York's Central Park their home. A museum hit: An exhibition in Paris that confronts stereotypes about life in the suburbs has attracted droves of young people. High-tech travel: A.I.-powered tools can help you plan trips. But are they any good? Play like a what? A classical musical score seems straightforward: play the notes as the composer intended, following tempo indications like 'allegro' or 'andante.' But musicians struggle to interpret oblique, ambiguous or outright surreal paratext, the words and images sometimes jotted alongside the score by the composer. The most famous example is Erik Satie, who once asked musicians to play 'like a nightingale with a toothache.' George Crumb went beyond written suggestions, producing otherworldly scores in spirals, mandalas or cruciform shapes to coax performers into approaching his music as ritual. 'The words don't tell you what to do,' a violist said. 'They tell you how to be.' Read more. Freeze: This sweet and salty snack draws on South Asian and Mexican culinary traditions. Watch: Amanda Knox is an executive producer on a new mini-series about her crime saga. Read: 'Fetishized' is a candid and intimate memoir of the exoticized Asian body. Beautify: Learn how to perfect the smoky eye from experts. Wash: Are you cleaning your bedsheets often enough? Play: Spelling Bee, the Mini Crossword, Wordle and Sudoku. Find all our games here. That's it for today. See you tomorrow. — Dan Parin Behrooz contributed to this newsletter. We welcome your feedback. Send us your suggestions at briefing@
Wall Street Journal
22 minutes ago
- Wall Street Journal
U.S. Prepared to Use Air Power to Support Planned European Force in Ukraine
President Trump signaled on Tuesday that the U.S. is prepared to use air power to support a European security force in Ukraine but ruled out deploying American ground troops. Planning of the multination force to be sent to Ukraine if a peace settlement is reached accelerated Tuesday, a day after Trump discussed the idea at the White House with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and other European leaders.
