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Europeans leaders are set to convene an emergency meeting<\/a> in Paris today to discuss the war in Ukraine and European security, French officials said yesterday. The aim is to coordinate a response to the Trump administration\u2019s opening of talks with Russia about ending the war with Ukraine, without an apparent role for Europe \u2014 or Kyiv \u2014 in the process.<\/p>\n President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine reiterated in interviews over the weekend that his country would \u201cnever\u201d accept a peace deal struck by the U.S. and Russia if Kyiv did not have a seat<\/a> at the negotiations.<\/p>\n What\u2019s next:<\/strong> Three of President Trump\u2019s top foreign policy aides are set to meet with Russian officials<\/a> in Saudi Arabia later this week to discuss a path to ending the war.<\/p>\n Security: <\/strong>Recent remarks by Vice President JD Vance and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth have fueled concerns that the U.S. will move away<\/a> from Europe and align with Moscow. Such a shift, analysts say, would give Putin a previously unthinkable victory far greater than any objectives in Ukraine.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n No deal:<\/strong> Trump suggested that Ukraine sign over half its mineral resources in exchange for past and future U.S. support. Zelensky rejected such a deal<\/a>, citing a lack of security guarantees.<\/p>\n Secretary of State Marco Rubio met yesterday with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu<\/a> of Israel in Jerusalem, where they discussed Trump\u2019s call to seize Gaza and force out its Palestinian residents. <\/p>\n Rubio is expected to head to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates in the coming days, where Arab leaders are almost certain to press him for more clarity about Trump\u2019s Gaza plan.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n What\u2019s next: <\/strong>Steve Witkoff, Trump\u2019s special envoy to the Middle East, said on Fox News yesterday that talks on phase two of the Gaza cease-fire deal would take place this week. Netanyahu\u2019s office said that the Israeli leader would convene the security cabinet today to discuss the second phase of the agreement.<\/p>\n Hostages:<\/strong> Hamas freed three more Israeli hostages<\/a> on Saturday, as Israel released 369 Palestinian prisoners.<\/p>\n East Timor is Asia\u2019s youngest country, and its poorest, having gained independence in 2002 after a brutal Indonesian occupation. The country\u2019s economy relies heavily on oil and gas revenue, which is quickly evaporating, and more than 40 percent of the country\u2019s 1.4 million people are estimated to live in poverty.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n But by other measures, East Timor is a success. It has built a resilient young democracy and has held competitive elections with multiple transfers of power. East Timor ranks among the highest in Asia for press freedom. Life expectancy has risen, and the entire population now has access to electricity. Experts say that the country is a positive case study<\/a> for young, post-conflict nations.<\/p>\n An unofficial network of searchers are looking for thousands of missing Yazidi women and girls, members of a religious minority who were abducted, sexually enslaved and systematically murdered by the Islamic State. Many are likely dead, and official entities have largely forgotten them, but this ragtag army of activists and armchair detectives has not<\/a>.<\/p>\n Lives lived:<\/strong> Edith Mathis, a Swiss soprano who was a favorite of several of the conducting giants who dominated mid-20th-century concert halls, died at 86<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Tilted Axis, a tiny British press, is known for bucking trends to seek out subversive, groundbreaking literature in translation. In the process, the publisher has landed awards and critical acclaim for writers unknown to the Anglophone world. Now, Tilted Axis is heading to the U.S.<\/p>\n With only eight part-time employees, Tilted Axis has published 42 books translated from 18 languages, including Indonesian, Telugu, Tamil, Eastern Armenian, Kazakh, Kannada, Bengali and Uzbek. The press has left its mark, not only on the world of literature but on the field of translation. Read more here<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nMore on Trump<\/h2>\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\nRubio traveled to Israel to discuss Gaza\u2019s future<\/h2>\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\nThe growing pains of Asia\u2019s youngest nation<\/h2>\n
\nMORE TOP NEWS<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Translating risk into reward<\/h2>\n