The New York Times: Ημέρα Προϋπολογισμού στο Ηνωμένο Βασίλειο – Έκρηξη ηφαιστείου στην Αιθιοπία – Η πιο δύσκολη δοκιμασία οδήγησης στον κόσμο – Ώρα κρίσης για την Ευρώπη στο θέμα της Ουκρανίας – Η κυβέρνηση Τραμπ πιέζει για την ταχεία κατασκευή οικιστικών συγκροτημάτων για Παλαιστίνιους σε περιοχές της Γάζας που ελέγχονται από το Ισραήλ – Ποδόσφαιρο: Για πρώτη φορά μετά από 17 χρόνια, ένας παίκτης απομακρύνθηκε μετά από σύγκρουση με τον ίδιο του τον συμπαίκτη κατά τη διάρκεια αγώνα της Premier League – Για να οδηγήσεις ένα μαύρο ταξί στο Λονδίνο, πρέπει να περάσεις μια δοκιμασία που ονομάζεται Γνώση – Πώς η κουζίνα έγινε ένα εκθετήριο… στις ΗΠΑ

Crunchtime for Europe on Ukraine

When France’s army chief, Gen. Fabien Mandon, told the nation last week that protecting itself and Europe in the face of Russian aggression meant accepting that young French people might die, it did not go well.

France needs a spirit that “accepts that we will have to suffer to protect what we are,” General Mandon said. Officials on the left and right accused him of “warmongering.”

All of this unfolded before the latest push by the U.S. to bring an end to Russia’s war in Ukraine. But as I watched European leaders hurry into the diplomatic fray, I thought about what my colleague Roger Cohen wrote about the fallout from General Mandon’s words.

“The psychological adjustment to something resembling a war footing in states that once formed the European Union to put an end to war will not be quick or easy,” Roger wrote.

Europe seems to be making headway with President Trump on Ukraine for now. But how far can you get with diplomacy when you are still developing the defense capabilities needed to back it up? And when the societies you represent might not even be interested in building those capabilities?

European defense

Europe’s biggest and richest democracies spent much of the last three decades enjoying the peace dividend that stemmed from the end of the Cold War. Military budgets shrank. Troop and tank numbers dwindled.

My colleague Patricia Cohen has written extensively about Europe’s efforts to rearm after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Military spending has increased. Procurement has been ramped up.

Even these efforts have been contentious. Economic growth in Europe has been slow for some time, so governments have had to face down political pressure to spend money on defense instead of pensions or other domestic priorities.

Budgets are one measure of a society’s will to defend itself. Another measure is more direct: How willing are citizens to serve in the armed forces? According to Patricia’s piece, the answer in many European countries seems to be: not very.

The question of how to recruit hundreds of thousands of soldiers is prompting variations on the soul-searching debate that followed General Mandon’s remarks in France.

On average, fewer than one-third of E.U. citizens say they are willing to fight for their country in a war. (The same poll found that 41 percent of Americans said they were willing, and 76 percent of Indians said they would fight.)

In my native Germany, Europe’s biggest economy, it’s 23 percent. Plans to reintroduce mandatory military service, which was abolished over a decade ago, were abandoned after bitter disagreements.

Proximity to Russia helps focus minds. In Poland, plans are underway for every man to go through military training. Finland still has conscription. So do Norway and Denmark, which recently extended it to women, too. Sweden reinstituted it in 2017. Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania all have variations of a draft.

Norway is one of the European countries that have conscription.  Davide Monteleone for The New York Times

But these nations are relatively small. They’re also not the countries that tend to speak most loudly for Europe at the international bargaining table.

European diplomacy

Despite the continent’s shortcomings on defense, a flurry of behind-the-scenes European diplomacy, led by Germany, France and Britain, appears to have been effective in dialing back the pro-Russian aspects of Trump’s peace plan over recent days, my colleague Michael Shear writes.

But it’s unclear whether this will have a lasting effect. Several diplomats told Michael they doubted that an agreement that satisfied Europeans would ever be accepted by Russia.

It made me think of something my colleague Andrew Kramer, our Kyiv bureau chief, told me this week: The most powerful diplomatic backup that President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine has is European support. He’s leaned on it after his Oval Office dressing-down, after the Trump-Putin meeting in Alaska and in the wake of the latest peace plan.

But Andrew also said Ukraine has expressed frustration that Europe’s diplomatic support had often come without enough military power backing it.

European rhetoric on the war has been high-minded throughout — and Zelensky has counted on that steadiness. We’ll see soon enough what that counts for at the bargaining table.

For more on the war in Ukraine:

The Zeitoun neighborhood of Gaza City. Saher Alghorra for The New York Times

Idrissa Gueye of Everton is held back as he argues with Michael Keane during a match against Manchester United. Martin Rickett/Press Association, via Associated Press

Football: For the first time in 17 years, a player was removed after clashing with his own teammate during a Premier League match.

Formula 1: The track remains an issue for the Las Vegas Grand Prix.

Cycling: An interview with the ultracyclist whose world record attempt ended in a Russian prison.

The world’s largest Afro

— After roughly two decades of growing out her hair, Jessica Martinez set a new mark with an Afro that measures 190 centimeters in circumference. When it comes to hair, she said, “I believe the bigger, the better.”

Sam Bush for The New York Times

To drive a black cab in London, you have to pass a test called the Knowledge. It’s a grueling examination that essentially requires memorizing thousands of city streets. For some, the testing regimen can take three years to complete.

One driver, Besart Bilalli, at first avoided the whole thing by working with Uber. But he grew frustrated by the app’s commissions. “It has come the time to move on,” he said. We followed Bilalli to see what it takes to pass the Knowledge.

The New York Times

How the kitchen became a showpiece … in the U.S.

During the first century or so of American life, kitchens were usually hidden down a hallway at the back of a house, crammed into a basement or banished to another building. Today, kitchens serve as both a headquarters for the home and a “beautiful showpiece,” an interior designer said.

In the 1920s, architects began applying the lens of domestic science to the kitchen, with many inspired by the work of the Viennese architect Margarete Schütte-Lihotzky. Her compact, sleek, function-driven “Frankfurt Kitchen” feels like a forerunner of IKEA. Go back in time to see how American kitchens have changed.

Read: The New York Times Book Review has released its list of the 100 notable books of 2025.

Watch: “Stranger Things” returns to Netflix this week for its fifth and final season. Here’s a recap of the series so far.

Game: Ghost of Yotei is a revenge story tempered by tender moments and beautiful terrain.

Johnny Miller for The New York Times

Hojicha, a toasted green tea from Japan with a smoky sweetness, is incorporated into a creamy custard to make this cheesecake pie. Use a metal pie plate so that the crust comes out golden brown.