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President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine agreed yesterday to Russia\u2019s offer of a mutual pause in attacks<\/a> on energy targets for 30 days as a step toward a broader cease-fire.<\/p>\n He accepted the pause in a phone call with President Trump, who described the conversation as \u201cvery good.\u201d Zelensky called the talk \u201cpositive, very substantive and frank,\u201d making clear that he had thanked Trump for America\u2019s support.<\/p>\n The two leaders spoke a day after Trump\u2019s conversation with Vladimir Putin, Russia\u2019s leader. It was the first time Trump and Zelensky had talked since their disastrous Oval Office meeting last month.<\/p>\n Trump also floated the idea that the U.S. could take control of Ukrainian power plants \u2014 an idea that Ukrainian energy experts said was probably unworkable. The White House said teams would meet in Saudi Arabia \u201cin the coming days\u201d to discuss broadening the pause to cover activity in the Black Sea, \u201con the way to a full cease-fire.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n What\u2019s next: <\/strong>Zelensky said that the agreement would require U.S. monitoring, and that Kyiv would prepare a list of sites that needed protection. \u201cJust the assertion and the word of Putin that he will not strike energy sites is too little,\u201d he said. \u201cWar has made us practical people.\u201d<\/p>\n Analysis:<\/strong> Most of what Putin agreed to on the Tuesday call with Trump was spun as a concession, but the Russian leader didn\u2019t really give ground<\/a>.<\/p>\n As Canada is threatened by President Trump, talks aimed at letting it join a project to expand the E.U.\u2019s military industry<\/a> are underway. An agreement would allow Canada to help build European fighter jets and other equipment at its own industrial facilities.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n The goal is to strengthen Europe\u2019s defense industry and offer Canada a credible alternative to the U.S. market, officials said. Canada\u2019s new prime minister, Mark Carney, this week visited Paris and London in his first overseas trip since taking office, calling Canada \u201cthe most European of non-European countries.\u201d<\/p>\n Background: <\/strong>Canada has been a regular U.S. contractor, and its factories produce munitions, tanks, aircraft, technological defense systems and naval ships. A review in 2022 found that the top destination of its military equipment, by far, was the U.S.<\/p>\n What\u2019s next: <\/strong>The partnership, and the E.U. initiative, will take years to bear fruit. European defense has been falling behind because of underinvestment and U.S. dominance, a situation that became more apparent as the drive to arm Ukraine depleted E.U. members\u2019 arsenals.<\/p>\n Israeli forces pushed deeper into the Gaza Strip yesterday, seizing parts of a major corridor that divides it<\/a>, in the most significant ground operation since the collapse of a fragile truce with Hamas.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Soldiers began \u201ctargeted ground activities\u201d along the road, known as the Netzarim Corridor, to create a \u201cpartial buffer zone\u201d in the territory between the north and south, the military said.<\/p>\n The operation followed wide-scale aerial bombardment in Gaza that began on Tuesday. Hamas has not responded militarily. In Jerusalem, thousands of Israeli protesters called for a renewed cease-fire<\/a>.<\/p>\n Photos from Gaza: <\/strong>For two months, a cease-fire spared Palestinians the grim task of identifying bodies. Now they are back at it<\/a>.<\/p>\n Yemen:<\/strong> President Trump said the Houthi militants would be \u201ccompletely annihilated\u201d by U.S. military strikes<\/a> and warned Iran to \u201cimmediately\u201d stop giving them military equipment and general support.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n In Paraswara, a village in a rural corner of India, a dozen men were sworn in this month to form a local government. Half hadn\u2019t been elected \u2014 their wives had.<\/p>\n The sidelining of women in rural Indian politics is nothing new, but some are starting to push back against \u201cboss husbands.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n Lives lived:<\/strong> Anthony Dolan, who as Ronald Reagan\u2019s chief speechwriter deployed the phrase \u201cevil empire\u201d in 1983 to describe the Soviet Union, died at 76<\/a>.<\/p>\n In times of struggle, U.S. pilots face a high-wire calculation: stay silent, or receive the help they need and risk being formally diagnosed with a mental-health condition. Those who do may never fly again.<\/p>\n Troy Merritt, above, was struggling with thoughts of suicide when he eventually sought the care he needed. But taking antidepressants required a full 18 months away from his work as a pilot \u2014 and spending more than $10,000 on medical evaluations.<\/p>\n \u201cBecause a pilot\u2019s work is safety-sensitive, they are held to a higher standard,\u201d said Susan Northrup, the U.S. official flight surgeon since 2021. But the authorities may have inadvertently created a process so burdensome that it deters pilots from being honest<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nMore on the Trump administration<\/h2>\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\nCanada moves closer to Europe<\/h2>\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\nIsrael seized territory in Gaza<\/h2>\n
CONVERSATION STARTERS <\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n
ARTS AND IDEAS<\/strong> <\/span><\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Why airline pilots don\u2019t always seek help<\/h2>\n