Latest news with #Zel
Forbes
28-03-2025
- Forbes
Rafael Nadal's New Caribbean Hotel, Europe's Top Wine Destinations And More Travel News
. Meliá Hotels International In 2023, a year before he retired from tennis, Rafael Nadal prepared for life after the sport by launching the Zel hospitality brand with Meliá Hotels. This month, after opening properties in Mallorca and Spain's Costa Brava, the 22-time Grand Slam champion is serving up his third hotel—Zel Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic. The 190-suite property has eight restaurants, a spa, beach club and, yes, plenty of tennis courts. 'I have been traveling for 20-something years,' Nadal told Forbes Travel Guide at the hotel's opening. 'I have been lucky enough to visit, probably, the best hotels in the world, and I learned what I like and what I don't like. It's a completely different experience [now].' . air france This spring, Air France is upgrading its first class service, La Première, on selected flights between Paris and New York's JFK. The new suites measure 38 square feet, feature the longest bed in the air (at 6.5 feet) and span five windows to flood side suites with natural light. (The shades also have translucent and blackout options.) Two 32-inch 4K screens will offer 1,500 hours of entertainment viewable from the suite's seat or its chaise longue. As for the cuisine, Dominique Crenn, a three Michelin-starred chef and owner of Atelier Crenn and Bar Crenn in San Francisco provides several options on flights departing the U.S.; another three-star chef Emmanuel Renaut of Flocons de Sel restaurant in Megève creates dishes for flights leaving from Paris. . Paul Allen/Andfotography2 There are many reasons to visit Europe this summer, but great wine makes all of them better. Europe's Best Destinations has just released its list of Europe's best wine destinations for 2025, having surveyed more than 280,000 wine lovers from 92 countries. This year, Plovdiv, Bulgaria —with a 5,000-year tradition of making wine—was named Europe's top wine capital while Spain's La Rioja and Bordeaux, France rounded out the top three. . getty Those thinking about a second passport should consider how powerful it is—meaning how many countries does it allow a bearer to visit visa-free? According to a new report by Astons, the global investment immigration company, Spain has the world's most powerful passport for 2025, with visa-free access to 177 countries, followed closely by Greece, France, Italy, Germany and 10 other nations tied with entry to 176. . Courtesy of Apukka Resort / Visit Finland If they seem a little smug in Helsinki right now, perhaps it's because Finland was named the world's happiest country for the eighth year in a row. The 2025 World Happiness Report ranks more than 140 countries based on a number of factors, including life expectancy, freedom from corruption, and generosity. The other Nordic countries are also on top of the world this year, with Denmark, Iceland and Sweden filling out the top four and the Netherlands ranking fifth. The United States hit a new low in 2025, dropping to 24th, but cheer up, Americans, there's still a lot of real estate to go before we hit bottom—Afghanistan is ranked 147th.
NBC News
28-02-2025
- Politics
- NBC News
The Oval Office showdown heard round the world: From the Politics Desk
Welcome to the online version of From the Politics Desk, an evening newsletter that brings you the NBC News Politics team's latest reporting and analysis from the White House, Capitol Hill and the campaign trail. Happy Friday! Somehow it is already the last day of February. In today's edition, we break down the fallout at home and abroad from today's White House meeting between Donald Trump, JD Vance and Volodymyr Zelenskyy that devolved into a shouting match. — Adam Wollner The Oval Office showdown heard round the world A White House meeting that was intended to kick off negotiations on a deal over Ukraine's rare earth minerals devolved this afternoon into a remarkable confrontation, with President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance chastising Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and telling him he wasn't grateful enough to the United States, Rebecca Shabad and Nnamdi Egwuonwu report. The Oval Office shouting match has for now shattered hopes for the minerals deal, which Trump and his allies had presented as an important step forward for Ukraine on the road to peace with Russia more than three years after the war began. A White House official told NBC News that Trump and other U.S. officials felt disrespected and asked Zelenskyy to leave the White House, saying that he was not welcome back on Friday. Zelenskyy abruptly departed and a planned joint news conference between the two leaders was called off. The exchange underscored the tension that has emerged between the United States and Ukraine — along with many of its European allies — over the tougher line that Trump has taken toward the country since coming into office. (More on what this all means for Zelenskyy below.) Vance's role: As Henry J. Gomez notes, it was a comment from Vance that sparked the unexpected, full-blown, high-volume argument for the world to watch. It was a sign of how Vance, who as a senator was known for his opposition to U.S. aid for Ukraine, is asserting himself on matters of foreign policy immediately as vice president. Earlier this month, Vance made waves at the Munich Security Conference with a speech that took sharp aim at other world leaders. And on Thursday, the day before tangling with Zelenskyy, Vance mixed it up in an Oval Office meeting with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer — albeit in a much lighter tone. A source familiar with the planning for the Trump meeting said there was no predetermined strategy for Vance to confront Zelenskyy the way he did. Vance, the source added, felt compelled to respond after finding Zelenskyy needlessly provocative in his demeanor. 'No one expected Zelenskyy to come in there and act entitled,' said this person, who added that the expectation was the Oval Office meeting would go off like a typical bilateral meeting. How Republicans are responding: GOP lawmakers largely rallied around Trump and Vance. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., who has been a staunch supporter of aiding Ukraine, said he doesn't know if Trump and Zelenskyy can 'repair the damage' and resume peace talks. 'He either needs to resign and send somebody over that we can do business with, or he needs to change,' Graham said of Zelenskyy. A few more moderate House Republicans, though, struck a different tone. Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., told NBC News that the heated exchange was 'a bad day for America's foreign policy.' Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., called the meeting a ' missed opportunity ' for both countries and said 'the only winner of today is Vladimir Putin.' And Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa., called the day's events ' heartbreaking ' and said both sides should return to the negotiating table. How Democrats are responding: Democrats universally slammed Trump and Vance, accusing them of kowtowing to Putin. Rep. Seth Moulton, D-Mass., said during an interview on MSNBC that 'this is the beginning of the end. Putin starts not only walking all over Ukraine, but walking all over Europe.' An earlier meeting Friday between Zelenskyy and senators was 'very bipartisan and very supportive,' Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., said. Asked about the more rancorous tone in the Oval Office, Whitehouse said: 'That's what you get for letting Vance in the room.' By Kristen Welker The heated clash between President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the Oval Office has raised new questions about the prospects for peace in Ukraine. And it underscored the dilemma facing Zelenskyy as he tries to end his country's three-year war with Russia. Zelenskyy has tried to stress the need for American support, while also warning that Ukraine must be involved in any peace negotiations and that Russian President Vladimir Putin cannot be trusted. When I sat down with Zelenskyy earlier this month, he made it clear that the stakes are high. 'It will be very, very, very difficult,' Zelenskyy said when asked if Ukraine could survive without U.S. military support. 'And, of course, in all the difficult situations, you have a chance. But we will have low chance, low chance to survive without support of the United States.' And the Ukrainian president seemed to choose his words carefully during our interview when asked if Trump was negotiating in good faith, saying, 'I hope so. Yes, I count on it. I count on it very much.' But today, Zelenskyy was defiant, with tensions between him and Trump reaching a boiling point at the White House. The confrontation left more questions than answers about the path forward for peace in Ukraine. Will the U.S. still be involved in any potential ceasefire negotiations? Can those talks succeed if the U.S. is not involved? And could Ukraine lose the U.S. as an ally? 'I don't want to think that we will not be strategic partners,' Zelenskyy told me earlier this month. 'I don't want to think about it because it will make a pressure on morale — morality of Ukrainians and it will be worst thing from the very beginning of the war.' Today's Oval Office clash also raises questions about the future of U.S. alliances with its traditional European partners, many of whom rallied around Ukraine. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk expressed solidarity with Ukraine in social media posts after the meeting. French President Emmanuel Macron said, 'I think we were all right to help Ukraine and sanction Russia three years ago, and to continue to do so. And when I say 'we,' I mean the United States of America, the Europeans, the Canadians, the Japanese and many others.' We will explore all of this and more on 'Meet the Press' this Sunday with House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La.; Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt.; and Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla.
The Guardian
11-02-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Zelenskyy: Europe cannot guarantee Ukraine's security without America
If Donald Trump withdraws US support for Ukraine, Europe alone will be unable to fill the gap, Volodymyr Zelenskyy has warned, on the eve of what could be his most consequential diplomatic trip since Russia's full-scale invasion three years ago. 'There are voices which say that Europe could offer security guarantees without the Americans, and I always say no,' said the Ukrainian president during an hour-long interview with the Guardian at the presidential administration in Kyiv. 'Security guarantees without America are not real security guarantees,' he added. Trump has said he wants to end the war in Ukraine, but sceptics fear that a US-brokered deal could involve forcing Ukraine to capitulate to Vladimir Putin's maximalist demands. Zelenskyy said he was ready to negotiate, but wanted Ukraine to do so from a 'position of strength', and said he would offer American companies lucrative reconstruction contracts and investment concessions to try to get Trump onside. 'Those who are helping us to save Ukraine will [have the chance to] renovate it, with their businesses together with Ukrainian businesses. All these things we are ready to speak about in detail,' he said. Zelenskyy will travel to the Munich Security Conference later this week, where he expects to meet the US vice-president, JD Vance, one of the most hostile towards Ukraine among Trump's inner circle. At last year's conference, Vance, then a senator, refused to meet Zelenskyy, and he has previously said he does not 'really care what happens to Ukraine, one way or the other'. Zelenskyy also plans to meet other members of Trump's team as well as influential senators in Munich, but there is 'not yet a date' to meet Trump himself, he said, although his team is working to fix one. Trump said over the weekend that he would 'probably' meet Zelenskyy this week, and it is possible that the Ukrainian president could fly to Washington from Munich. 'We are hoping that our teams will fix a date and a plan of meetings in the US; as soon as it is agreed, we are ready, I am ready,' he said. Zelenskyy switched between Ukrainian and English to make his points during the interview, conducted on Monday afternoon in a lavishly decorated room inside the heavily fortified administration building in central Kyiv. During the first phase of the full-scale invasion, his communication skills and passionate pleas were credited with forcing reluctant western leaders to back Ukraine with weapons and financial support. Now, in Trump, Zelenskyy faces a new challenge, with a major sceptic on continuing support for Kyiv becoming the leader of the country's biggest ally. In a Fox News interview aired late on Monday, Trump said the US had spent hundreds of billions of dollars on Ukraine in recent years. 'They may make a deal, they may not make a deal, they may be Russian some day, they may not be Russian some day, but we're gonna have all this money in there and I said I want it back,' said Trump. It means that along with Zelenskyy's oft-heard messages about the geopolitical and moral risks of allowing Russia to prevail in Ukraine, he has added some new ones, tailor-made for the US president. Most notable is the idea that the US will get priority access to Ukraine's 'rare earths', a prospect that has piqued Trump's interest enough for him to mention it several times in recent media appearances. Zelenskyy said he pitched this idea to Trump back in September, when the pair met in New York, and he intends to return with 'a more detailed plan' about opportunities for US companies both in the reconstruction of postwar Ukraine and in the extraction of Ukrainian natural resources. Ukraine has the biggest uranium and titanium reserves in Europe, said Zelenskyy, and it was 'not in the interests of the United States' for these reserves to be in Russian hands and potentially shared with North Korea, China or Iran. But there was a financial incentive, too, he said: 'We are talking not only about security, but also about money … Valuable natural resources where we can offer our partners possibilities that didn't exist before to invest in them … For us it will create jobs, for American companies it will create profits.' Zelenskyy said it was crucial for Ukraine's security that US military support continued, giving the example of US-made Patriot air defence systems. 'Only Patriot can defend us against all kinds of missiles, only Patriots. There are other [European] systems … but they cannot provide full protection … So even from this small example you can see that without America, security guarantees cannot be complete,' he said. The first weeks of Trump's presidency have given Ukrainians plenty to worry about. There was the global freeze on USAid projects, which in Ukraine torpedoed hundreds of organisations working on everything from army veterans to schools and bomb shelters. Then, there was Trump's admission in an interview with the New York Post over the weekend that he had already spoken to Putin by telephone in an attempt to begin negotiations. When asked how many times, he said only: 'I'd better not say.' Zelenskyy said it was 'very important' that the US president met a Ukrainian delegation before meeting Putin, but stopped short of criticising Trump for his opaque statements. 'Clearly he doesn't really want everyone to know the details, and that's his personal decision,' he said. Zelenskyy is used to treading carefully when it comes to Trump; soon after he was elected in 2019 he was reluctantly sucked into a US impeachment drama over a phone call between the two presidents. Now, he again finds himself walking a diplomatic tightrope, with Ukraine's survival potentially dependent on the US president's decision to continue support. On the USAid freeze, Zelenskyy said: 'We aren't going to complain that some programmes have been frozen, because the most important thing for us is the military aid and that has been preserved, for which I'm grateful … If the American side has the possibility and desire to continue its humanitarian mission, we are fully for it, and if it doesn't, then we will find our own way out of this situation.' Trump's public pronouncements on Ukraine so far have been fragmented and often contradictory, but one theme that has prevailed is that while he wants to make a deal to end the war, Europe should be responsible for maintaining the peace afterwards. In response, the French president, Emmanuel Macron, has floated the idea of a European peacekeeping force that could be deployed to Ukraine at some point after a ceasefire deal. Zelenskyy said such a mission would only work if it was deployed at scale. 'When it comes to Emmanuel's idea, if it's part [of a security guarantee] then yes, if there will be 100-150,000 European troops, then yes. But even then we wouldn't be at the same level of troops as the Russian army that is opposing us,' he said. Europe is still a long way from agreeing to deploy combat-ready troops to Ukraine, a move that Putin would be unlikely to agree to in negotiations, and Zelenskyy said a softer peacekeeping mission would be unlikely to work unless it came with guarantees that it would stand against Russia if Moscow resumed hostilities. 'I will be open with you, I don't think that UN troops or anything similar has ever really helped anyone in history. Today we can't really support this idea. We are for a [peacekeeping] contingent if it is part of a security guarantee, and I would underline again that without America this is impossible,' he added. If Trump does manage to get Ukraine and Russia to the negotiating table, Zelenskyy said he planned to offer Russia a straight territory exchange, giving up land Kyiv has held in Russia's Kursk region since the launch of a surprise offensive there six months ago. 'We will swap one territory for another,' he said, but added that he did not know which part of Russian-occupied land Ukraine would ask for in return. 'I don't know, we will see. But all our territories are important, there is no priority,' he said. As Zelenskyy turns his attention to Trump-whispering, he said it was still too early to pass judgment on the previous administration. Relations between Kyiv and Washington were said to be increasingly frosty as Zelenskyy's team grew frustrated with Joe Biden's focus on managing the risks of escalation. Asked whether he thought Biden would go down in history as the man who helped save Ukraine, or the man who responded too slowly to meet the challenge from Putin, Zelenskyy laughed and said it was 'very difficult' to say at this stage. He criticised Biden's initial unwillingness to provide Ukraine with weapons – 'this lack of confidence gave confidence to Russia' – but said Ukraine was grateful for all the help that followed. The full evaluation, he said, would only emerge with time: 'History shows that there are many things that you just don't know, what happened behind the scenes, what negotiations there were … it's hard to characterise it all today because we don't know everything. Later we will know, we will know everything.'
