Wednesday Briefing: U.S. and Russia Discuss Cooperation

U.S. and Russia discussed Ukraine, and renewing ties Senior U.S. and Russian officials agreed yesterday not only to work together on ending the war in Ukraine, but also to cooperate on financial investment and re-establishing normal relations. The negotiations were the most extensive in years between the two global powers. The meeting, which took place … Read more

Zelensky Lashes Out at Trump for Excluding Ukrainians From Peace Talks

Shortly after the United States’ groundbreaking meeting with Russian officials on Tuesday, President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine lashed out at the Trump administration’s negotiating tactics in his harshest terms yet for excluding Ukrainians from talks on their own country’s fate. Speaking after American and Russian officials, meeting in Saudi Arabia, agreed to establish teams to … Read more

USAID Climate Programs Fighting Extremism and Unrest Are Closing Down

Numerous programs aimed at averting violence, instability and extremism worsened by global warming are ensnared in the effort to dismantle the main American aid agency, U.S.A.I.D. One such project helped communities manage water stations in Niger, a hotbed of Islamist extremist groups where conflicts over scarce water are common. Another helped repair water-treatment plants in … Read more

C.I.A. Expands Secret Drone Flights Over Mexico

The United States has stepped up secret drone flights over Mexico to hunt for fentanyl labs, part of the Trump administration’s more aggressive campaign against drug cartels, according to U.S. officials. The covert drone program, which has not been previously disclosed, began under the Biden administration, according to U.S. officials and others familiar with the … Read more