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Kuwait urges against nations being liable for climate changeHappy holidays from Bad Bunny , who announced Thursday he will release a new album Jan. 5. “Debí Tirar Más Fotos,” which translates to “I should have taken more photos,” is his sixth studio album and follows in his tradition of releasing new music on unexpected dates. His debut album, 2018’s “X 100PRE," arrived around Christmas and 2020's “El Último Tour del Mundo” near Thanksgiving. The January release date is just before “Día de Reyes,” or Three Kings Day, and is a Sunday — unlike the industry's standard Friday release date. The Puerto Rican musician announced the news on Instagram in a short video featuring filmmaker Jacobo Morales. He also released a new single, “PIToRRO DE COCO.” A day before, Bad Bunny teased a 17-track list on social media, with each song titled “BOMBA,” perhaps in reference to the Puerto Rican musical style and dance. “Debí Tirar Más Fotos” follows 2023's “Nadie Sabe Lo Que Va a Pasar Mañana” (“Nobody Knows What Will Happen Tomorrow”), which was met with mixed reviews. On that album, Bad Bunny's reggaeton offerings were limited, returning instead to the Latin trap of “X 100PRE” in songs like “MONACO” and “GRACIAS POR NADA.” The announcement caps a busy year for El Conejo Malo. Bad Bunny made headlines after he threw his support behind Vice President Kamala Harris shortly after a comedian at Donald Trump’s Madison Square Garden rally made crude jokes about Latinos and called Puerto Rico a “floating island of garbage.” He also canvassed North America on his “Most Wanted Tour,” which made The Associated Press' list of the best concerts of the year.
Alex Ovechkin is expected to miss 4 to 6 weeks with a broken left leg
An image showing a plane passenger's brightly lit phone screen during a night flight has sparked a heated discussion about airplane etiquette on Reddit . The image was featured in a viral post shared by user Mooseycanuck and has amassed 15,000 upvotes since it was posted on December 15. The poster shared a caption with the photo saying: "My neighbor on a night flight. She wouldn't reduce the brightness even after I requested her." The image shows a dimly lit plane cabin with a lone passenger's bright phone screen standing out. Was the poster making a reasonable request or does the neighbor have every right to use her phone at her desired brightness level? Nick Leighton, an etiquette expert and co-host of the podcast Were You Raised by Wolves? , told Newsweek: "It's not an entirely unreasonable request and it would have been nice had it been accommodated. But it's certainly possible the phone-owner had legitimate reasons for needing the brightness dialed up, so best to try to give them the benefit of the doubt." The viral post comes as more than half of Americans (57 percent) are reported to be preparing for winter travel , with the majority (96 percent) planning to travel as much or even more than last winter, according to the TripAdvisor study released in November. According to a December report by the International Air Transport Association (IATA), "solid growth in passenger demand" continued in October. The load factor—the percentage of available seats an airline sells on its flights—reached 83.9 percent for international travel and 84.5 percent for domestic travel in October, the IATA report found. 'Mutual Responsibility' Etiquette expert Lisa Mirza Grotts, author of A Traveler's Passport to Etiquette in a Post-Pandemic World , told Newsweek : "It's puzzling why some passengers, in any class of service, feel entitled to disrupt a night flight when the cabin is dark for a reason: to allow passengers to sleep." She added: "While the overhead light is available for use, shining a bright phone screen is disruptive. It's not all about you when sharing space with others; consideration and respect go a long way, especially on a transatlantic flight." Etiquette expert Nicole Rose, the founder and CEO of Poised & Proper, told Newsweek that etiquette is a "two-way street, especially in shared spaces like an airplane cabin...it's about awareness and adjusting our behavior to ensure comfort all around." Rose noted that there is a "mutual responsibility," explaining that "while it's considerate for one to dim their screen, it's also prudent for others to come prepared for such situations." Leighton agreed, saying: "It's always a good idea to have ear plugs and an eye mask whenever you travel, day or night. We can't always control those around us, but we can try to tune them out." 'Rude' and 'Inconsiderate' The Reddit community largely sided with the original poster, criticizing the passenger with the bright phone screen. User JamonHamon said: "The phone does NOT need to be that bright," while leechpeach92 agreed, saying: "people really are so inconsiderate." TwpMun added: "It baffles me how rude a person has to be to flat out say 'no,' when asked to do a simple thing like this." Quatropiscas offered a practical piece of advice, saying: "When you have issues with another passenger, don't talk to them directly. Always do your request to a flight attendant. They are better trained to deal with it and, if you're dealing with an obnoxious moron, there's a chance that he/she will escalate things no matter how calm and polite you were." However, some users were more understanding of the passenger with the phone. CacklingMossHag mentioned the possibility of a vision issue, saying: "she might have vision problems? I have awful eyesight and am often told my screens are too bright, but if it's any lower I get eye strain headaches and blurry vision." User djluminol noted: "If you know you're taking a night flight and light bothers you why would you not bring a blind for your eyes? Why is your comfort another person's responsibility?" Lostraylien added: "Who cares they aren't hurting anyone, if you want darkness close your eyes." Newsweek has contacted the original poster for comment via the Reddit messaging system. Do you have a travel-related story to share? Let us know via life@newsweek.com and your story could be featured on Newsweek.Uruguay's once-dull election has become a dead heat in the presidential runoff
There were two big themes when it came to fast food in 2024: bankruptcies and pricing backlash. Big-name chains like BurgerFi filed for bankruptcy this year, joining fast-casual chains like Red Lobster, Tijuana Flats, Buca di Beppo, and TGI Fridays . At the same time, diners grew increasingly frustrated by the high prices at value chains like McDonald’s, Taco Bell, and Wendy’s. To appease those frustrated customers, fast food chains began offering low-cost value meals over the summer in an effort to tempt these inflation-wary customers back to their stores. In May, McDonald’s announced it would launch a $5 value meal the following month, which included a four-piece nugget, a McChicken or McDouble, small fries, and a small drink. The $5 value meal was a resounding success, so much so that McDonald’s decided to keep the $5 meal going even after the summer. The extension of the $5 value meal is even credited with saving McDonald’s’ third quarter , a quarter in which the company was dealing with the fallout of an E. Coli outbreak in some of its stores. | But many wondered what would become of the $5 value meal after the end of the year. Now we know. The 2025 McValue meal In news that is sure to delight cost-conscious McDonald’s fans, the company has decided to keep offering a $5 value meal for at least the first half of 2025, reports CNBC. At least, that’s the plan—it still needs to be approved by franchise owners, who need to vote on the proposal. Yet sources said the measure is likely to pass. So, if it does, what could the 2025 $5 value meal contain? It’s likely to be the same as the 2024 $5 meal deal: a four-piece nugget, a McChicken or McDouble, small fries, and a small drink. However, there seems to be one major change in the cards, too. According to sources, McDonald’s will offer a $1 add-on to the value meal. Customers can add an extra McDouble, McChicken, 6-piece McNuggets, or small fry onto the meal for the extra buck. This is McDonald’s luring people in with the $5 base price and hoping they will be tempted to spend 20% more at the register to increase the size of the meal (and McDonald’s’ margins). McDonald’s didn’t confirm the $1 add-on to its $5 value meal, but in a statement to CNBC, a company spokesperson said, “From the popular $5 Meal Deal to numerous local and in-App offers on the food they love—we went big on value this summer and fall, bringing fans even more ways to save when they visit McDonald’s. And as we look to 2025, we’re cooking up something even bigger.” McDonald’s stock is down for the year. From inflation-wary customers to the E. Coli outbreak, it’s been a rough year for McDonald’s—and the company’s stock (NYSE: MCD). The share price of MCD has fallen nearly 2.5% since the beginning of 2024—a reflection of the challenges the company has faced (for its latest quarter, McDonald’s says same-store sales fell 1.5% globally). However, since this summer, when McDonald’s first launched the $5 value meal, shares have been mainly on an upswing, excluding an E. Coli-induced dip . In the past six months, MCD shares have climbed 8.76%, according to Yahoo Finance data. McDonald’s is clearly hoping the expansion of the $5 value meal can help that climb continue in 2025. The application deadline for Fast Company’s World Changing Ideas Awards is Friday, December 6, at 11:59 p.m. PT. Apply today.French president criticises Haitian officials for prime minister’s dismissal
Shopping on Temu can feel like playing an arcade game. Instead of using a joystick-controlled claw to grab a toy, visitors to the online marketplace maneuver their computer mouses or cellphone screens to browse colorful gadgets, accessories and trinkets with prices that look too good to refuse. A pop-up spinning wheel offers the chance to win a coupon. Rotating captions warn that a less than $2 camouflage print balaclava and a $1.23 skeleton hand back scratcher are “Almost sold out.” A flame symbol indicates a $9.69 plush cat print hoodie is selling fast. A timed-down selection of discounted items adds to the sense of urgency. Pages from the Shein website, left, and from the Temu site, right. Richard Drew, Associated Press Welcome to the new online world of impulse buying, a place of guilty pleasures where the selection is vast, every day is Cyber Monday, and an instant dopamine hit is always just a click away. By all accounts, we’re living in an accelerating age for consumerism, one that Temu, which is owned by the Chinese e-commerce company PDD Holdings, and Shein, its fierce rival , supercharged with social media savvy and an interminable assortment of cheap goods, most shipped directly from merchants in China based on real-time demand. The business models of the two platforms, coupled with avalanches of digital or influencer advertising, have enabled them to give Western retailers a run for their money this holiday shopping season. A Christmas tree ornament purchased on Temu. Haleluya Hadero, Associated Press Software company Salesforce said it expects roughly one in five online purchases in the U.S., the United Kingdom, Australia and Canada to be made through four online marketplaces based or founded in Asia: Shein, Temu, TikTok Shop — the e-commerce arm of video-sharing platform TikTok — and AliExpress. Analysts with Salesforce said they are expected to pull in roughly $160 billion in global sales outside of China. Most of the sales will go to Temu and Shein, a privately held company which is thought to lead the worldwide fast fashion market in revenue. Lisa Xiaoli Neville, a nonprofit manager who lives in Los Angeles, is sold on Shein. The bedroom of her home is stocked with jeans, shoes, press-on nails and other items from the ultra-fast fashion retailer, all of which she amassed after getting on the platform to buy a $2 pair of earrings she saw in a Facebook ad. Neville, 46, estimates she spends at least $75 a month on products from Shein. A $2 eggshell opener, a portable apple peeler and an apple corer, both costing less than $5, are among the quirky, single-use kitchen tools taking up drawer space. She acknowledges she doesn’t need them because she “doesn’t even cook like that.” Plus, she’s allergic to apples. “I won’t eat apples. It will kill me,” Neville said, laughing. “But I still want the coring thing.” Listen now and subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Spotify | Stitcher | RSS Feed | SoundStack | All Of Our Podcasts Shein, now based in Singapore, uses some of the same web design features as Temu’s, such as pop-up coupons and ads, to persuade shoppers to keep clicking, but it appears a bit more restrained in its approach. Shein primarily targets young women through partnerships with social media influencers. Searching the company's name on video platforms turns up creators promoting Shein's Black Friday sales event and displaying the dozens of of trendy clothes and accessories they got for comparatively little money. But the Shein-focused content also includes videos of TikTokers saying they're embarrassed to admit they shopped there and critics lashing out at fans for not taking into account the environmental harms or potential labor abuses associated with products that are churned out and shipped worldwide at a speedy pace. Neville has already picked out holiday gifts for family and friends from the site. Most of the products in her online cart cost under $10, including graphic T-shirts she intends to buy for her son and jeans and loafers for her daughter. All told, she plans to spend about $200 on gifts, significantly less than $500 she used to shell out at other stores in prior years. “The visuals just make you want to spend more money,” she said, referring to the clothes on Shein's site. “They're very cheap and everything is just so cute.” Unlike Shein, Temu's appeal cuts across age groups and gender. The platform is the world’s second most-visited online shopping site, software company Similarweb reported in September. Customers go there looking for practical items like doormats and silly products like a whiskey flask shaped like a vintage cellphone from the 1990s. Temu advertised Black Friday bargains for some items at upwards of 70% off the recommended retail price. Making a purchase can quickly result in receiving dozens of emails offering free giveaways. The caveat: customers have to buy more products. Despite their rise, Temu and Shein have proven particularly ripe for pushback. Last year, a coalition of unnamed brands and organizations launched a campaign to oppose Shein in Washington. U.S. lawmakers also have raised the possibility that Temu is allowing goods made with forced labor to enter the country. More recently, the Biden administration put forward rules that would crack down on a trade rule known as the de minimis exception, which has allowed a lot of cheap products to come into the U.S. duty-free. President-elect Donald Trump is expected to slap high tariffs on goods from China, a move that would likely raise prices across the retail world. Both Shein and Temu have set up warehouses in the U.S. to speed up delivery times and help them better compete with Amazon, which is trying to erode their price advantage through a new storefront that also ships products directly from China.Smart Money Is Betting Big In RGTI Options
Shopping on Temu can feel like playing an arcade game. Instead of using a joystick-controlled claw to grab a toy, visitors to the online marketplace maneuver their computer mouses or cellphone screens to browse colorful gadgets, accessories and trinkets with prices that look too good to refuse. A pop-up spinning wheel offers the chance to win a coupon. Rotating captions warn that a less than $2 camouflage print balaclava and a $1.23 skeleton hand back scratcher are “Almost sold out.” A flame symbol indicates a $9.69 plush cat print hoodie is selling fast. A timed-down selection of discounted items adds to the sense of urgency. Pages from the Shein website, left, and from the Temu site, right. Welcome to the new online world of impulse buying, a place of guilty pleasures where the selection is vast, every day is Cyber Monday, and an instant dopamine hit is always just a click away. By all accounts, we’re living in an accelerating age for consumerism, one that Temu, which is owned by the Chinese e-commerce company PDD Holdings, and Shein, its fierce rival , supercharged with social media savvy and an interminable assortment of cheap goods, most shipped directly from merchants in China based on real-time demand. The business models of the two platforms, coupled with avalanches of digital or influencer advertising, have enabled them to give Western retailers a run for their money this holiday shopping season. A Christmas tree ornament purchased on Temu. Software company Salesforce said it expects roughly one in five online purchases in the U.S., the United Kingdom, Australia and Canada to be made through four online marketplaces based or founded in Asia: Shein, Temu, TikTok Shop — the e-commerce arm of video-sharing platform TikTok — and AliExpress. Analysts with Salesforce said they are expected to pull in roughly $160 billion in global sales outside of China. Most of the sales will go to Temu and Shein, a privately held company which is thought to lead the worldwide fast fashion market in revenue. Lisa Xiaoli Neville, a nonprofit manager who lives in Los Angeles, is sold on Shein. The bedroom of her home is stocked with jeans, shoes, press-on nails and other items from the ultra-fast fashion retailer, all of which she amassed after getting on the platform to buy a $2 pair of earrings she saw in a Facebook ad. Neville, 46, estimates she spends at least $75 a month on products from Shein. A $2 eggshell opener, a portable apple peeler and an apple corer, both costing less than $5, are among the quirky, single-use kitchen tools taking up drawer space. She acknowledges she doesn’t need them because she “doesn’t even cook like that.” Plus, she’s allergic to apples. “I won’t eat apples. It will kill me,” Neville said, laughing. “But I still want the coring thing.” Shein, now based in Singapore, uses some of the same web design features as Temu’s, such as pop-up coupons and ads, to persuade shoppers to keep clicking, but it appears a bit more restrained in its approach. Shein primarily targets young women through partnerships with social media influencers. Searching the company's name on video platforms turns up creators promoting Shein's Black Friday sales event and displaying the dozens of of trendy clothes and accessories they got for comparatively little money. But the Shein-focused content also includes videos of TikTokers saying they're embarrassed to admit they shopped there and critics lashing out at fans for not taking into account the environmental harms or potential labor abuses associated with products that are churned out and shipped worldwide at a speedy pace. Neville has already picked out holiday gifts for family and friends from the site. Most of the products in her online cart cost under $10, including graphic T-shirts she intends to buy for her son and jeans and loafers for her daughter. All told, she plans to spend about $200 on gifts, significantly less than $500 she used to shell out at other stores in prior years. “The visuals just make you want to spend more money,” she said, referring to the clothes on Shein's site. “They're very cheap and everything is just so cute.” Unlike Shein, Temu's appeal cuts across age groups and gender. The platform is the world’s second most-visited online shopping site, software company Similarweb reported in September. Customers go there looking for practical items like doormats and silly products like a whiskey flask shaped like a vintage cellphone from the 1990s. Temu advertised Black Friday bargains for some items at upwards of 70% off the recommended retail price. Making a purchase can quickly result in receiving dozens of emails offering free giveaways. The caveat: customers have to buy more products. Despite their rise, Temu and Shein have proven particularly ripe for pushback. Last year, a coalition of unnamed brands and organizations launched a campaign to oppose Shein in Washington. U.S. lawmakers also have raised the possibility that Temu is allowing goods made with forced labor to enter the country. More recently, the Biden administration put forward rules that would crack down on a trade rule known as the de minimis exception, which has allowed a lot of cheap products to come into the U.S. duty-free. President-elect Donald Trump is expected to slap high tariffs on goods from China, a move that would likely raise prices across the retail world. Both Shein and Temu have set up warehouses in the U.S. to speed up delivery times and help them better compete with Amazon, which is trying to erode their price advantage through a new storefront that also ships products directly from China. 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Arizona (7-8) at Los Angeles Rams (9-6) Saturday, 8:15 p.m. EST, NFL Network BetMGM NFL odds : Rams by 6 1/2. Against the spread: Cardinals 9-6; Rams 8-7. Series record: Rams lead 50-41-2. Last meeting: Cardinals beat Rams 41-10 in Glendale, Ariz. on Sept. 15. Last week: Cardinals lost to Carolina 36-30, OT; Rams beat New York Jets 19-9. Cardinals offense: overall (11), rush (5), pass (20), scoring (14). Cardinals defense: overall (20), rush (22), pass (13), scoring (T-13). Rams offense: overall (15), rush (20), pass (13), scoring (17). Rams defense: overall (24), rush (25), pass (19), scoring (21). Turnover differential: Cardinals minus-4; Rams plus-5. WR Marvin Harrison Jr. has had a relatively productive rookie season with 51 catches for 726 yards and seven touchdowns. But it’s also true that he hasn’t always looked like the true franchise changing force the Cardinals expected when they took him with the No. 4 overall pick. Arizona might be out of the playoff race, but Harrison’s development continues to be a major focus for the team down the stretch. RB Kyren Williams is coming off his best game of the season after rushing for 122 yards and a touchdown on 23 carries to help Los Angeles grind out a win at the Meadowlands. He hardly factored into the first meeting against Arizona, a game the Rams trailed 14-0 halfway into the first quarter and 24-3 at halftime, getting 12 carries and running for 25 yards and a touchdown behind a battered offensive line. Cardinals QB Kyler Murray vs. Rams defensive line. Los Angeles had no answers for Murray in September as he threw for 266 yards and three touchdowns without an interception and added 59 yards rushing. But their defensive front is much more cohesive than it was in the second week of the season, with rookies Jared Verse and Braden Fiske proving to be menaces in the backfield. If Murray feels that pressure and can’t keep his eyes downfield, the Rams will be in much better shape to limit Arizona’s passing game. The Cardinals have been beat up over the past two games. Both of the starting tackles — Paris Johnson Jr. (knee) and Jonah Williams (knee) — are out for the season after they were put on injured reserve this week. Others such as RB James Conner (knee), LB Baron Browning (neck), LB Mack Wilson Sr. (concussion) and DL Darius Robinson (calf) have been limited during practice. ... The Rams are in good shape, a far cry from where they were to start the season. RT Rob Havenstein was the only name on their injury report through Wednesday, when he was limited because of a shoulder injury. Arizona has not swept the season series since 2014 when the Rams were playing in St. Louis. ... The Rams and Cardinals have split the past four meetings. Arizona had dropped 11 of the previous 12 in the series. ... Los Angeles is 3-2 against Arizona since moving into SoFi Stadium in 2020, kickstarting its run to the Super Bowl after the 2021 season with a 34-11 win in an NFC wild-card game. The Cardinals have lost four of their past five games and were eliminated from the playoff race after last week’s 36-30 loss to the Carolina Panthers. The Cardinals have made the playoffs just once over the past nine seasons. That was in 2021 ... Harrison had four catches for 130 yards and two TDs vs. the Rams in Week 2. All of that production came in the span of seven plays in the first quarter. ... The Cardinals are No. 5 in the NFL with 145.8 yards rushing per game. They also rank No. 2 with 5.28 yards per carry. ... Chad Ryland has made 25 field goals since his debut in Week 5, which ranks fourth in the NFL over that span. ... Safety Budda Baker has a career-high 148 tackles this season, which broke his previous high of 147 set in 2019. ... James Conner has 1,500 yards from scrimmage this season, including 1,090 rushing and 410 receiving. ... Trey McBride has caught 91 passes this season, which is a franchise record at tight end for the Cardinals. ... The Rams can clinch a playoff spot with a win and either a Seahawks loss or tie or a series of results elsewhere to secure the strength of victory tiebreaker. ... Rams QB Matthew Stafford threw for 110 yards against the Jets. Los Angeles has won all four games this season where Stafford has finished with fewer than 200 yards through the air. ... WR Puka Nacua had a record-setting rookie season, but Arizona was the one team that kept him in check. Nacua made four catches in each of the two meetings in 2023, finishing with 26 and 27 yards. ... The Rams didn’t have LT Alaric Jackson (suspension), LG Steve Avila (knee) or Nacua (knee) in the Week 2 game against the Cardinals. ... Los Angeles has run for at least 132 yards in four straight games, with Williams accounting for at least 87 yards in each outing that span. Cooper Kupp likely sank many a fantasy title push with his limited production over the past month, and the Rams WR should remain on benches this week for any owners still in the mix. Kupp has topped 44 yards receiving once in his past five games against Arizona. AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL
Alabama left out of playoff as committee rewards SMU's wins over Crimson Tide's strong scheduleWashington, Dec 9 (AP) Donald Trump on Sunday pushed Russian leader Vladimir Putin to act to reach an immediate ceasefire with Ukraine, describing it as part of his active efforts as president-elect to end the war despite being weeks from taking office. “Zelenskyy and Ukraine would like to make a deal and stop the madness," Trump wrote on social media, referring to Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy. In a television interview that aired Sunday, Trump also said he would be open to reducing military aid to Ukraine and pulling the United States out of NATO. Those are two threats that have alarmed Ukraine, NATO allies and many in the US national security community. Asked on NBC's “Meet the Press” if he were actively working to end the nearly 3-year-old Ukraine war, Trump said, “I am.” He refused to say if he had spoken to Putin since winning election in November. “I don't want to say anything about that, because I don't want to do anything that could impede the negotiation,” Trump said. Trump's call for an immediate ceasefire went beyond the public policy stands taken by the Biden administration and Ukraine and drew a cautious response from Zelenskyy. It also marks Trump wading unusually deeply into efforts before his January 20 inauguration to resolve one of the major global crises facing the lame-duck Biden administration. Trump made his proposal after a weekend meeting in Paris with French and Ukrainian leaders in Paris, where many world leaders gathered to celebrate the restoration of Notre Dame cathedral after a devastating fire. None of the advisers traveling with him appeared to have expertise on Ukraine. Kyiv would like to close a deal, Trump wrote on his social media platform Truth Social. “There should be an immediate ceasefire and negotiations should begin.” “I know Vladimir well. This is his time to act. China can help. The World is waiting!” Trump added. He was referring to mediation efforts by China that many in the West have seen as favouring Russia. Zelenskyy described his discussions on Saturday with Trump, brought together by French President Emmanuel Macron, as “constructive" but has given no further details. Zelenskyy cautioned that Ukraine needs a “just and robust peace, that Russians will not destroy within a few years”. “When we talk about an effective peace with Russia, we must talk first of all about effective peace guarantees. Ukrainians want peace more than anyone else. Russia brought war to our land,” he said on Sunday in a post on the Telegram messaging app. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov responded to Trump's post by repeating Moscow's long-standing message that it is open to talks with Ukraine. Peskov referenced a decree by Zelenskyy from October 2022 that declared the prospect of any talks “impossible” as long as Putin was Russia's leader. That decree came after Putin proclaimed four occupied regions of Ukraine to be part of Russia, in what Kyiv and the West said was a clear violation of Ukrainian sovereignty. Trump's former national security adviser, retired Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster, warned there was no such thing as a quick fix to ending Russia's war with Ukraine. “What I'm worried about is this kind of flawed idea that Putin can be placated, right, that Putin will come to some kind of a deal,” McMaster told “Fox News Sunday." “I think it's really important for President Trump to adhere to his instinct in this connection ... peace through strength,” McMaster said, adding, “How about give them what they need to defend themselves, and then saying to Putin, You're going to lose this war?” While Trump has said before that he would like to see a quick ceasefire in Ukraine, his proposal on Sunday was framed as a direct appeal to Russia. The quick responses from Ukraine and Russia demonstrated the seriousness with which they regarded the idea from the incoming American president. Both Trump and President Joe Biden pointed this weekend to Russia's disengagement in Syria, where the Russian military largely moved out of the way while Syrian rebels overthrew the country's Russian-allied president, as evidence of the extent to which the Ukraine war has sapped Russia's resources. Biden said at the White House on Sunday that resistance from Ukraine had "left Russia unable to protect its main ally in the Middle East”. The Biden administration and other supporters of Ukraine have made a point of not being seen to press Ukraine for an immediate truce. Ukraine's allies fear a quick deal would be largely on the terms of its more powerful neighbour, potentially forcing damaging concessions on Ukraine and allowing Russia to resume the war again once it has built back up its military strength. Trump portrays himself as up to making fast deals to resolve conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East that have frustrated many of the Biden administration's own mediation efforts. There is no prohibition on incoming officials or nominees meeting with foreign officials, and it is common and fine for them to do so — unless those meetings are designed to subvert or otherwise affect current US policy. The Logan Act bars private citizens from trying to intervene in “disputes or controversies” between the United States and foreign powers without government approval. But the 1799 statute has produced just two criminal cases, none since the 1850s and neither resulting in a criminal conviction. In the NBC interview taped on Friday, Trump renewed his warning to NATO allies that he did not see continued US participation in the Western military alliance as a given during his second term. Trump has long complained that European and the Canadian governments in the mutual-defence bloc are freeloading on military spending by the US, by far the most powerful partner in NATO. NATO and its member governments say a majority of countries in the bloc are now hitting voluntary targets for military spending, due in part to pressure from Trump in his first term. Asked whether he would consider the possibility of pulling out of NATO, Trump indicated that was an open question. “If they're paying their bills, and if I think they're treating us fairly, the answer is absolutely I'd stay with NATO,” he said. But if not, he was asked if he would consider pulling the US out of the alliance. Trump responded, “Absolutely. Yeah, absolutely.” Trump expressed the same openness when asked if Ukraine should brace for possible cuts in US aid. “Possibly,” he said. US arms and other military support are vital to Ukraine's efforts to fend off invading Russian forces, and Biden has been surging assistance to Ukraine before leaving office. Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin on Saturday announced nearly USD 1 billion more in longer-term weapons support to Ukraine. Austin spoke to his Ukrainian counterpart Sunday about the status of the war and US military backing, the Pentagon said. Russian forces kept up their grinding advance in eastern Ukraine, taking the village of Blahodatne, according to a statement Sunday by Russia's defence ministry. If confirmed, that gain would bring Russian forces a step closer toward capturing the town of Velyka Novosilka and disrupting a key logistics route for the Ukrainian army, military analysts said. (AP) PY PY (This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)
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