Good morning. It’s almost the weekend. We’re covering U.S. plans to train more Ukrainian troops. Plus, the week in culture. |
 | | The U.S. said it would more than double the training provided to Ukraine’s military next year.Brendan Hoffman for The New York Times |
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The U.S. will train more Ukrainian troops |
The Pentagon plans to train 600 to 800 Ukrainian troops — one battalion — each month in advanced battlefield tactics at a base in Germany, starting next year. That’s a major increase: Right now, the U.S. trains about 300 people each month. |
President Biden approved the broader training effort this week, according to two U.S. officials. The Pentagon has already trained 610 Ukrainians to operate an advanced rocket launcher. The troops have used the system to devastating effect, hitting targets far behind Russian lines. |
Next year, the U.S. will train bigger groups of Ukrainians on various strategies, such as coordinating ground infantry troops with artillery support. The decision to step up training comes as the administration is poised to send a Patriot antimissile battery, America’s most advanced ground-based air defense system, in response to urgent demands from Kyiv. |
- The U.S. announced new sanctions on prominent Russians.
- A Ukrainian Army surveillance team is using infrared technology to try to locate and strike Russian positions.
- Moscow’s propagandists are broadcasting clips from American cable news and Chinese media to spin a narrative that Russia is winning.
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 | | Limiting the flow of technology to global rivals has become a key part of U.S. foreign policy.Oliver Contreras for The New York Times |
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Chinese companies hit by U.S. trade restrictions |
In October, the U.S. announced sweeping limits on semiconductor exports to China, both from American companies and those in other countries that use U.S. technology. |
U.S. officials say that China has increasingly blurred the lines between its military and civilian industries. In response, Chinese diplomats said that the U.S. “has been stretching the concept of national security” and “abusing export control measures.” |
Related: Years of Covid restrictions have left behind a collective trauma, Li Yuan writes. Some now want the government to apologize for its hard-line approach, a quixotic hope. |
 | | Britain’s free health care has long been a national point of pride.Henry Nicholls/Reuters |
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U.K. nurses strike for the first time |
The walkout is one of a series of labor actions taking place across Britain this month as sky-high inflation, rising interest rates and a recession put pressure on workers. Rail employees, airport baggage handlers and ambulance workers are also scheduled to stage walkouts over the next several weeks. The nurses are planning a second 12-hour strike next Tuesday. |
The labor actions come at a time when the health service is in crisis: There have been record delays for ambulance responses and a major backlog for medical procedures, among many other problems. |
Demands: The nurses are calling for a 19 percent pay increase and better working conditions, which they say will make the profession more attractive and help address staffing shortages. The government has said the pay demands are “unaffordable.” |
Quotable: “We were out supposedly clapping for our nurses and all of our N.H.S. workers during the pandemic, and here we are treating them like trash,” one supporter said. |
 | | Fiji’s incumbent surged ahead after the app went down. The opposition leader had a lead beforehand.Saeed Khan/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images |
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- Four political leaders in Fiji said the country should stop vote counting after the results app experienced a glitch, The Associated Press reports.
- India has successfully tested a long-range ballistic missile that could carry nuclear weapons, Al Jazeera reports.
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- The House passed a bill that would allow Puerto Ricans to vote on whether the island should be an independent country or a U.S. state.
- Elon Musk said he had sold another $3.6 billion of Tesla’s stock, perhaps in an effort to prop up Twitter. He’s now sold $23 billion this year.
- New York City will ban sales of dogs, cats and rabbits starting in 2024 in an effort to crack down on commercial breeders.
- Claudine Gay will be the first Black person to lead Harvard.
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 | | Harry spoke about his strained relationship with Prince William, the heir to the throne.Ben Birchhall/Associated Press |
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 | | “It’s a better hobby than playing video games,” said Talil al-Humaidi’s father.Erin Schaff/The New York Times |
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Falconry — one of Qatar’s oldest traditions — now involves modern training methods. Drones drag pigeons high into the sky, to teach the falcons to hunt. |
 | | In the only other World Cup final of his career, Lionel Messi lost to Germany in 2014. Richard Heathcote/Getty Images |
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France will play Argentina at 6 p.m. local time on Sunday in Qatar. (That’s 8:30 p.m. in Delhi, midnight in Seoul and 2 a.m. on Monday in Sydney.) |
France, though, has his heir apparent: Kylian Mbappé, 23, who is the tournament’s leading scorer. France won the last World Cup, in 2018, and is now the first country in over 20 years to qualify for consecutive finals. |
What else: Croatia and Morocco will play on Saturday for third place. |
 | | Andrew Scrivani for The New York Times |
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Make pancakes for breakfast this weekend. |
“Eccentric Lives,” a collection of cheeky obituaries from Britain’s Daily Telegraph, includes one about a viscount who shot at a hot-air balloon. |
In just a weekend in Seoul, you can hike fortress walls, bike along the Han River and taste mung bean pancakes at a covered market. |
That’s it for today’s briefing. Have a lovely weekend! I’ll be back on Monday. — Amelia |
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