| President Trump visiting the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi yesterday. Doug Mills/The New York Times |
Trump’s final day in the Middle East
President Trump will wrap up his time in the Gulf today, after being feted in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates, and awarded the country’s highest civilian honor.
He will return to Washington having made clear to leaders in the region that the U.S. was done with nation-building and intervening. While the president looks to peace and profit in the Gulf, his remarks left some Arab listeners worried about the potential end of U.S. pressure over human rights violations, and what that could mean for their countries.
Syria: Business owners who left the country during the war are drawing up plans to return after Trump promised to lift sanctions. Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with Syria’s foreign minister to discuss a road map.
Iran: Trump said that his administration was “getting close” to making a nuclear deal.
Tech: Trump inked deals to create a large campus that would transform the United Arab Emirates into an A.I. powerhouse.
| President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine in Ankara, Turkey, yesterday. Adem Altan/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images |
Plans for Ukraine-Russia talks descended into confusion
Ukrainian and Russian delegations arrived in Turkey yesterday for what would be the first peace talks in three years. Yet they spent much of the day in different cities, questioning whether they would even meet.
President Vladimir Putin was absent, but he sent a midlevel delegation to Istanbul. In Ankara, Ukraine’s leader, Volodymyr Zelensky, met with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey. He said he would send a pared-down delegation to Istanbul, led by the defense minister.
Overshadowing it all was President Trump, who told reporters traveling with him on Air Force One that “nothing’s going to happen until Putin and I get together.”
Context: Behind the chaotic diplomacy is wide divergence between Moscow and Kyiv over how to end the war. Zelensky wants an immediate and unconditional cease-fire, followed by peace negotiations. Putin, who appears confident of Russia’s upper hand on the battlefield, is refusing to stop fighting before he gets what he wants.
Israel is razing Rafah, to which Gazans once fled
Last year, a million Palestinians fled to Rafah, the southernmost city in the Gaza Strip, to escape the brunt of Israel’s bombardment in its war against Hamas. When Israel invaded Rafah, most of it was spared.
That is no longer the case: Israel’s military has destroyed extensive parts of the city since the cease-fire ended in March. Satellite images and videos analyzed by The Times showed buildings being razed with controlled demolitions and excavators. New military installations have gone up.
Related:
| Israeli strikes killed more than 75 people across the Gaza Strip yesterday, the Gaza health ministry said.An Israeli woman on the way to a hospital to give birth in the West Bank was shot and killed, in what Israeli officials described as an act of terrorism.A foundation created with backing from the Trump administration to bring aid into Gaza said that it planned to begin operations before the end of the month. |
| A founder of Ben & Jerry’s, Ben Cohen, was arrested after he interrupted a Senate hearing to protest U.S. funding for Israel’s military. |
| MORE TOP NEWS |
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| Scott Ball for The New York Times |
| Immigration: The Department of Homeland Security requested over 20,000 National Guard members to help with its immigration crackdown, two U.S. officials said. U.S.: The Supreme Court heard arguments on whether judges have exceeded their authority by temporarily blocking some of Trump’s policy moves. Sean Combs: The music mogul’s lawyers cross-examined his former partner Casandra Ventura, the singer known as Cassie. Britain: The police charged a man with arson in connection with three fires, including two at properties linked to Prime Minister Keir Starmer. The Vatican: Less than a week into his new role, Pope Leo has spoken out about the threat posed by A.I. Poland: Much is riding on the presidential election, which starts on Sunday. The centrist government hopes that it will help move the country farther away from populism. Canada: Two people were killed by a wildfire in Manitoba that forced the evacuation of an entire town. |
| Health: Drug overdoses plummeted last year, but the Trump administration has proposed cuts to programs believed to have contributed to the decline. Mexico: A masked man shot and killed a 23-year-old influencer in Jalisco while she was livestreaming on TikTok, prosecutors said. |
Business & Economics
| India: Trump suggested that New Delhi was ready to charge the U.S. “no tariff.” India’s foreign minister said that the two countries were still negotiating. |
| Economy: U.S. consumers have shown signs of strain. Britain: A U.S. tariff deal will allow for imports of American meat. But British consumers are wary of American food production. Media: YouTube is now the most popular platform for consuming podcasts, and its new rankings reveal some surprises. Serbia: The Trump family’s luxury hotel project in Belgrade has run into an embarrassing complication. A Serbian official admitted to forging a crucial document in the deal. |
| SPORTS NEWS |
| Soccer: We watched Cristiano Ronaldo’s 14-year-old son play in a Portugal youth team game. Can he emulate his famous father?F1: Here’s an inside look at the rush to enter the Cadillac F1 team as they get ready to become America’s bright new hope for 2026. Sailing: With close calls, congestion, a canceled race and rapid redesigns, SailGP is a new sport that is learning fast. |
| MORNING READ |
KJ, now 9 ½ months old, was born with a rare genetic disorder that usually claims the lives of half of all afflicted babies in the first week of life. If he survived, his parents were told, he would have severe mental and developmental delays.
Instead, KJ made medical history, as the first patient to have a gene-editing treatment designed just for him. Read more about the breakthrough.
| CONVERSATION STARTERS |
| An enduring sound: At 80, the Irish folk music legend Christy Moore finds himself at a new career peak with fans that span generations. Nearly a steal: Harvard paid $27.50 for a copy of Magna Carta after World War II. Turns out, it’s one of seven originals that date back to 1300. Get away together: For couples where one partner holds a foreign passport, planning a trip can be complicated and risky. Beyond the beach: Read our suggestions for last-minute summer trips on a realistic budget. |
| ARTS AND IDEAS |
Peace, love and Eurovision
The final of the Eurovision Song Contest takes place tomorrow in Basel, Switzerland, and organizers want to avoid any controversy, especially over the wars in Gaza and in Ukraine, that could spoil the fun.
We spoke to Alex Marshall, who covers culture from London, about what to expect.
Do you think we’ll see some of the same political tensions from last year?
Alex: I’m expecting it to be less tense, but a lot depends on what Israel does in Gaza. This year, there’s a new code of conduct that says over and over again, “don’t be political,” and everyone’s meant to have agreed to that.
Who’s the bookmakers’ favorite?
The bookmakers always think Sweden is going to win Eurovision. This year’s entry is KAJ, with a song about saunas. It’s fun and catchy, but the field’s quite open. You need a great song, but you can’t win without incredible staging. I’m hoping someone this year has something just so bonkers it makes the entirety of Europe, and much of the rest of the world, go, “Oh my god, what the hell was that?”
For more: Alex wrote about the seven easy steps to win the Eurovision contest. One tip: Set something on fire. Just not the piano.
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Cook: Transform carrots into a flavorful and satisfying salad.
