Your Tuesday Briefing: NATO begins large-scale drills

Good morning. We’re covering one of NATO’s largest-ever drills and the U.S.’s return to UNESCO.

NATO begins large-scale drills in Germany

Twenty-four NATO nations — including Finland, the alliance’s newest member — are participating in giant air force drills, in what the host nation Germany called the largest deployment of aircraft in the alliance’s history. The training comes as fighting escalates in Ukraine, where Kyiv’s forces are mounting an offensive to reclaim territory captured by Russia.

More than 250 aircraft and 10,000 personnel will participate in the two-week military exercise, which is part of a “signaling” campaign for Vladimir Putin.

NATO wants to “show Russia that it’s ready,” said our colleague Lara Jakes, who reported yesterday from an air base in Wunstorf, Germany. “This was a war game that was supposed to look exactly like the response should a NATO state be attacked.”

The exercise is a reflection of NATO’s broader shift from deterrence by retaliation to deterrence by denial. Instead of waiting for Russian attacks, the alliance — horrified by recent Russian atrocities and under pressure from eastern member states — will base more troops permanently along the Russian border.

Asia: Japan joined the drills as an observer. Officials in Japan said last month that NATO was considering opening a liaison office in the country amid growing concerns among Western nations over China’s support of Russia. Such an office would be NATO’s first in Asia.

The U.S. to rejoin UNESCO

The U.S. will rejoin UNESCO, the U.N.’s cultural organization, next month, the agency said, after a decade of turbulent relations. The U.S. is trying to keep China from filling the vacuum it left behind when it withdrew from UNESCO in 2017.

The move will give UNESCO, or the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, a much-needed boost: The U.S. stopped funding UNESCO after it voted to include Palestine as a full member. That cut UNESCO’s budget by nearly a fifth and forced it to slash programs.

Why now? In March, John Bass, the under secretary of state for management, said the U.S. absence from UNESCO had strengthened China and undercut “our ability to be as effective in promoting our vision of a free world.” He also said UNESCO played a crucial role in shaping technology and science: “So if we’re really serious about the digital-age competition with China, we can’t afford to be absent any longer.”

Details: UNESCO designates World Heritage sites, like Angkor in Cambodia, and keeps a list of “intangible cultural heritage,” like the French baguette. It also promotes sex education, literacy, clean water and equality for women.

Militarizing China’s coast guard

Seeking to dominate the strategic waterways of Asia, China has deployed an armada of coast guard ships that are equipped with cannons and anti-ship missiles, and are bigger than U.S. Navy destroyers.

In just a decade, China has amassed the world’s largest coast guard fleet, and it is like no other. It is more militarized and aggressive in international disputes, and less concerned with smugglers or search and rescue.

Response: Other countries that fear Chinese encroachment are rushing to deploy bigger, more heavily armed patrol boats of their own. Officials and analysts are increasingly worried that an accident or violent skirmish could spark a broader conflict, or even a war between major powers.

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ARTS AND IDEAS

What noise does to your body

A siren shrills. A dog barks. A jet blazes overhead.

The everyday world has plenty of noise we can’t tune out, and it affects us more than you might think: A growing body of research suggests that chronic noise is an unrecognized health threat.

Unpleasant noises are relayed to the stress detection center in your brain, and they can set off a cascade of reactions that, over time, can lead to inflammation, hypertension and plaque buildup in arteries — increasing the risk of heart disease, heart attacks and strokes.

But how loud is too loud? Regular exposure to even a few decibels of noise above moderate levels — for example, from loud traffic, a noisy train or an aircraft passing overhead — can prompt reactions that are harmful to health.

Check your surroundings: Here’s how to find out if you’re exposed to too much noise.

Weigh in: If noise affects your life, The Times wants to hear from you.

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That’s it for today’s briefing. See you tomorrow. — Amelia and Justin

P.S. How well did you follow the news last week? Take our quiz.

“The Daily” is on the evidence against Donald Trump.

You can reach us at briefing@nytimes.com.

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