Re: First Thing: French foreign minister calls for month-long truce in Ukraine (fwd)

[robert <http://dummy.us.eu.org/robert>]

I still don't want to see it.

 > From: Noelle <noelle>
 > Date: Mon, 3 Mar 2025 04:22:23 -0800 (PST)
 >
 > https://www.theguardian.com/film/2025/mar/03/anora-sean-baker-oscars-best-picture?utm_term=67c59d46d894e42aa9dc43d86b1fd966&utm_campaign=USMorningBriefing&utm_source=esp&utm_medium=Email&CMP=usbriefing_email
 > 
 >  > Date: Mon, 03 Mar 2025 12:17:49 +0000 (UTC)
 >  > From: The Guardian <http://www.editorial.theguardian.com/~info>
 >  > 
 >  > First Thing: French foreign minister calls for month-long truce in Ukraine | 
 >  > US news | The Guardian
 >  > 
 >  > First Thing: French foreign minister calls for month-long truce in Ukraine
 >  > 
 >  > Jean-Noël Barrot says pause could test whether Vladimir Putin is acting in 
 >  > good faith. Plus, Anora sweeps Oscars
 >  > 
 >  > https://ablink.editorial.theguardian.com/ss/c/u001.Yw_JkLMEmFuifc_XG18IRyTNtZQ7fIEMgszcCSneHEAM1BP1ik7VEE7cjwGqFxk036-QuReB9pyFkFKiLwJB0tWB1w4SG00n2MjcuvnGRvbQRM_TKev2ERRbbFGNqcS3NvypAV-0yrcrJkwdxIMzrMdumgfNfW-4C3OmY94_RvFXiSWpmEWbIYc1qLuMOcWF2umAzg2KsmwB6X5JKovLQUX4geZ_2igiriOPPs7AZ7wtlwDz5S7K3wOEnXpfAK3g3SuuhdkRQCLNn0D1wyDJWCQ3h_mIPJHNHafZMVB0cHHns2I-UAYy6Nl2LqvMzcvg/4eh/EGQg2rTkQgy8A6WvVQcP8w/t0/h001.tRHCgTdqXuzmOZYbwgmztRxc1-26Jo9SC3MKeuDppzw
 >  > Don’t already get First Thing in your inbox? Sign up here
 >  > 
 >  > The remarks followed the UK prime minister Keir Starmer’s warning that 
 >  > Europe was
 >  > 
 >  > ’at a crossroads in history’. Photograph: Javad Parsa/EPA
 >  > 
 >  > Clea Skopeliti
 >  > 
 >  > Good morning.
 >  > 
 >  > The French foreign minister, Jean-Noël Barrot
 >  > has suggested that a month-long truce in Ukraine
 >  > could test whether the Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin, was acting in 
 >  > good faith.
 >  > 
 >  > Speaking on RTL Radio, Barrot echoed a suggestion by the French president, 
 >  > Emmanuel Macron, that there could be a month’s pause covering air, sea and 
 >  > attacks on critical infrastructure. If it were successful, Barrot said, it 
 >  > may indicate whether Putin was willing to start productive negotiations for 
 >  > a longer-term peace.
 >  > 
 >  > The remarks
 >  > followed the UK prime minister Keir Starmer
 >  > ’s warning that Europe was “at a crossroads in history” and calling 
 >  > for it to back Ukraine to secure a lasting peace during a defence summit in 
 >  > London. Starmer’s remarks stood in sharp contrast to Donald Trump’s 
 >  > behavior at a press conference on Friday, in which he publicly berated 
 >  > Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, accusing him of not being 
 >  > grateful for US support.
 >  > 
 >  > What has Zelenskyy said since?
 >  > Zelenskyy has
 >  > tried to move on from Friday’s turbulent meeting
 >  > in the Oval Office, saying it was “best left to history”, as he 
 >  > signalled Ukraine’s inclination to sign a minerals deal with the US and 
 >  > hoped for “constructive” talks with Washington in future.
 >  > 
 >  > Israel accused of using ‘food as weapon of war’ in aid blockade on Gaza
 >  > 
 >  > The announcement of the blockade immediately sent the prices of basic 
 >  > necessities soaring in Gaza. Photograph: Mahmoud Issa/Reuters
 >  > 
 >  > The office of the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, announced on 
 >  > Sunday that Israel was
 >  > imposing a blockade on Gaza
 >  > because Hamas rejected a request to extend phase one of the ceasefire and 
 >  > continue to free hostages.
 >  > The announcement immediately sent
 >  > the prices of basic necessities soaring in Gaza, which agencies have warned 
 >  > was already receiving only a “fraction” of the aid needed.
 >  > 
 >  > The plan, which Israel claimed had been put forward by the US special envoy 
 >  > to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, would mean a delay in the start of phase 
 >  > two, which involves the complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza and 
 >  > effectively end the war.
 >  > 
 >  > Aid agencies condemned Israel’s blockade announcement, saying Gaza’s 
 >  > population remained highly vulnerable and that obstructing humanitarian 
 >  > supplies to a civilian population was unacceptable in any circumstances.
 >  > 
 >  > What else has happened in the region?
 >  > A 70-year-old man
 >  > was killed and others injured in a knife attack
 >  > in the northern Israeli city of Haifa on Monday morning.
 >  > 
 >  > Anora sweeps the Oscars as Mikey Madison named best actress and Adrien Brody 
 >  > wins for The Brutalist
 >  > 
 >  > Mark Eydelshteyn and Yura Borisov join the best-actress winner Mikey Madison 
 >  > and the director Sean Baker on stage after Anora won best picture. 
 >  > Photograph: Carlos Barría/Reuters
 >  > 
 >  > Anora, a comedy-drama about a sex worker from Brooklyn,
 >  > has come out on top at this year’s Academy awards
 >  > , winning five Oscars including best picture and best actress, while Adrien 
 >  > Brody got best actor for The Brutalist.
 >  > 
 >  > Mikey Madison, who plays the titular character in Anora, won best actress, 
 >  > while its creator Sean Baker also won for director, editing and original 
 >  > screenplay. Both paid tribute to the sex worker community in their speeches, 
 >  > while Baker also called for directors to keep making movies for the big 
 >  > screen to preserve “a communal experience” audiences did not get at 
 >  > home. The Guardian’s film editor, Catherine Shoard,
 >  > says Anora shouldn’t have won
 >  > .
 >  > 
 >  > The awards ceremony featured a recreation of a controversial moment 22 years 
 >  > ago, when Brody kissed
 >  > Halle Berry on stage
 >  > . Doing the same on the red carpet on Sunday, Berry said: “I had to pay 
 >  > him back.” The ceremony was also notable for
 >  > its lack of mention of Donald Trump and the political climate
 >  > , in contrast to previous years.
 >  > 
 >  > … and what about the controversial Emilia Pérez?
 >  > Zoe Saldaña, who won best supporting actress in the movie
 >  > , apologized to Mexicans who were offended by the film.
 >  > 
 >  > In other news …
 >  > 
 >  > Chinese state media reported that US agriculture would probably be targeted 
 >  > if Donald Trump imposed tariffs on goods from China. Photograph: Aimee 
 >  > Dilger/SOPA Images/REX/Shutterstock
 >  > 
 >  > China is likely to target
 >  > scheduled to come into force on Tuesday
 >  > , the Chinese state-backed Global Times reported.
 >  > 
 >  > Greece’s prime minister promised to improve its railway infrastructure
 >  > after massive protests
 >  > on the two-year anniversary
 >  > of a train crash that killed 57.
 >  > 
 >  > Freed Israeli hostage
 >  > Eli Sharabi
 >  > Israel’s media reported
 >  > , citing Sharabi’s brother.
 >  > 
 >  > UK unions called for action to shield creative workers from the 
 >  > transformative impact AI is having
 >  > on their industries.
 >  > 
 >  > Stat of the day: European defense stocks surge by up to 17%
 >  > 
 >  > The then UK defense secretary, Grant Shapps, is shown the first prototypes 
 >  > of the Challenger 3 tank at a factory in Telford, Shropshire, last April. 
 >  > Photograph: Peter Byrne/PA
 >  > 
 >  > The share prices of European weapons
 >  > companies soared on Monday as investors took note of increases in defense 
 >  > spending
 >  > after announcements by the UK and France on securing a peace deal in 
 >  > Ukraine. Britain’s BAE Systems surged 17% on Monday morning, while Germany�>  > ��s Rheinmetall rose by 14%, France’s Thales increased 16% and Italy’s 
 >  > Leonardo was up 10% in early trading.
 >  > 
 >  > Don’t miss this: The landmark gathering of women that unnerved the Chinese 
 >  > government
 >  > 
 >  > The NGO Forum on Women in Huairou in 1995 led to a 12-point plan of action 
 >  > that remains a historic blueprint for gender equality. Photograph: Mike 
 >  > Fiala/AP
 >  > 
 >  > In 1995, 30,000 women from around the world met near Beijing for what was to 
 >  > be formative moment in the women’s rights movement. They gathered in 
 >  > Huairou, a half-built town 40 miles north of the Chinese capital after China�>  > ��s government refused to allow them to meet in the city. The authorities 
 >  > appeared panicked over the summit, providing hotels with extra blankets in 
 >  > fear of the women staging an improvised naked protest and even blaming the 
 >  > unseasonal rain on a concentration of women menstruating.
 >  > Here’s how those who were there remember it – and what’s changed 
 >  > since.
 >  > 
 >  > Climate check: Earth’s strongest current could slow down
 >  > 20% by 2050 in a high-emissions future
 >  > 
 >  > Antarctic circumpolar current (in yellow). Climate models show the Antarctic 
 >  > circumpolar current could slow down 20% by 2050. Illustration: Dr Taimoor 
 >  > Sohail
 >  > 
 >  > A high emissions future
 >  > could see the world’s strongest ocean current slow down
 >  > by 20% by 2050 – a development that would supercharge the melting of the 
 >  > Antarctic ice sheet and rising seas levels, according to research. The study 
 >  > co-author Bishakhdatta Gayen, an associate professor at the University of 
 >  > Melbourne, described the result as “quite alarming”, and warned: “If 
 >  > this current ‘engine’ breaks down, there could be severe consequences.”
 >  > 
 >  > Last Thing: How can you tell if a man is really into cast-iron kitchenware? 
 >  > He’ll pansplain it to you
 >  > 
 >  > The endless upkeep of a cast-iron frying pan … Photograph: Robert 
 >  > McLean/Alamy
 >  > 
 >  > Cast-iron pans require maintenance: seasoning, protection from humidity and 
 >  > even being rubbed with oils, the Guardian columnist
 >  > Emma Beddington has unhappily found
 >  > after her husband became a “pansplainer”. But at least they’re not 
 >  > full of PFAS …