Thursday Briefing: U.S. anti-personnel mines for Ukraine

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November 21, 2024

	By Gaya Gupta

Good morning. We’re covering the U.S. decision to send anti-personnel mines to Ukraine and the latest on the Middle East.

Plus, Daniel Craig’s performance in “Queer.”

A Ukrainian soldier outside Toretsk, in October. Tyler Hicks/The New York Times

Biden agreed to give Ukraine anti-personnel mines

The Biden administration agreed to supply Ukraine with American anti-personnel mines to bolster its defenses against Russian attacks.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said yesterday that the decision was prompted by Russia’s increasing reliance on foot soldiers to lead its assaults, rather than armored vehicles.

The approval for these weapons comes as the war enters its fourth winter and Russia is making gains. Kyiv’s forces are exhausted and facing shortages of personnel and artillery. Marc Santora and Tyler Hicks reported from the eastern front, where the Ukrainians are “simply worn out.”

Controversy: Rights groups have widely condemned the use of mines for their toll on civilians. The devices can outlast an armed conflict for decades and Ukraine is already the most heavily mined country in the world, according to the U.N. U.S. officials addressed that concern, saying that they were only providing mines that self-destruct after a set amount of time. Here’s how these mines work, explained by two Times reporters and veterans who were trained in their use.

In Kyiv: The U.S. embassy issued a rare warning of a “significant air attack” and shut down temporarily.

Angela Weiss/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

The U.S. blocked a Gaza cease-fire resolution

The U.S. yesterday vetoed a U.N. Security Council resolution calling for an immediate and unconditional cease-fire between Israel and Hamas.

The U.S. said it vetoed the resolution, the fifth the Council has taken up, because it did not make the cease-fire contingent on the release of the hostages held in Gaza. The resolution does call for the release of all hostages, but the wording suggests that their release would come only after a cease-fire were implemented.

The impasse at the U.N. seemed to contrast with cease-fire talks in Lebanon, where a U.S. envoy, Amos Hochstein, said that there had been “additional progress” in efforts to halt the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah. Hochstein said he would travel to Israel “to try to bring this to a close if we can.”

Rocket attacks continue: Israel has devastated Hezbollah, but it hasn’t been able to eliminate its short-range rockets. That failure has put pressure on Israel’s government to embrace a cease-fire.

Erin Schaff/The New York Times

Is Trump more flexible on China than his cabinet picks suggest?

President-elect Donald Trump’s choices for his cabinet stress the need to confront China across the spectrum: in military posture, trade, technology and Taiwan. Yet there are signs that he might consider a more moderate approach on trade.

Trump said he planned to appoint Howard Lutnick, a Wall Street executive, as commerce secretary to “lead our tariff and trade agenda.” Lutnick has said he supports more targeted tariffs rather than the universal ones promoted by Trump’s campaign. Close advisers of the president-elect, notably Elon Musk, have important business interests in China.

Betsy Joles for The New York Times

Sports

Ben Wiseman

Google stores the world’s information, but for the past 15 years it has been concealing its own. The company told employees to destroy messages, avoid using words like “monopoly” and copy the lawyers on documents as often as possible — all to avoid antitrust suits. The plan backfired. This is everything we know about the tech giant’s culture of distrust.

Lives lived: Bill Moyes, the Australian “Birdman” who popularized hand gliding and set a world record for the longest unassisted flight, died at age 92.

Hiroko Masuike/The New York Times

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Thea Traff for The New York Times

Daniel Craig reintroduces himself

After 15 years, the former face of James Bond may surprise his fans.

The film “Queer,” adapted from a William Burroughs novel and coming to theaters soon, features a very different Daniel Craig. He plays Lee, an American expat in midcentury Mexico City who finds himself undone by his obsession with a coolly distant younger man. As Bond, Craig was the very image of masculine cool, but “Queer” represents a return to the sexually daring films Craig made much earlier in his career. Read Kyle Buchanan’s profile here.

Christopher Simpson for The New York Times

Cook: Comfort is the order of the day with these cacio e pepe cheese puffs.

Watch: Here is the best true crime to stream right now.

Read: In “V13,” Emmanuel Carrère recounts the grueling testimony at the trial of the 20 men accused of being involved in the 2015 attacks in Paris.

Travel: Here’s where and how to experience London’s vibrant Black communities.

Cope: Has menopause made your body ache? A few lifestyle changes can help with muscle and joint pains.

Play: Spelling Bee, the Mini Crossword, Wordle and Sudoku. Find all our games here.

That’s it for today. See you tomorrow. — Gaya

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