{"id":55696,"date":"2024-05-21T21:59:04","date_gmt":"2024-05-21T21:59:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2024\/05\/21\/wednesday-briefing-zelensky-speaks-to-the-times\/"},"modified":"2024-05-21T21:59:05","modified_gmt":"2024-05-21T21:59:05","slug":"wednesday-briefing-zelensky-speaks-to-the-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2024\/05\/21\/wednesday-briefing-zelensky-speaks-to-the-times\/","title":{"rendered":"Wednesday Briefing: Zelensky Speaks to The Times"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"text-align:center\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1050\" height=\"550\" src=\"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2024\/05\/21\/multimedia\/22ambriefing-asia-zelensky\/22ambriefing-asia-zelensky-facebookJumbo-v2.jpg?resize=1050,550&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"attachment-post-thumbnail size-post-thumbnail wp-post-image\" alt=\"Wednesday Briefing: Zelensky Speaks to The Times\" title=\"Wednesday Briefing: Zelensky Speaks to The Times\" \/><\/div><p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<h2 class=\"css-9ycfei eoo0vm40\" id=\"link-c088eaa\">Zelensky urged NATO to do more in a Times interview<\/h2>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">President Volodymyr Zelensky urged the U.S. and Europe to do more to defend Ukraine, in <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/05\/21\/world\/europe\/ukraine-zelensky-interview.html\" title=\"\">a wide-ranging interview with The Times<\/a>. He proposed that NATO planes shoot down Russian missiles in Ukrainian airspace.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cWhat\u2019s the problem?\u201d Zelensky said during the interview on Monday in Kyiv. \u201cWhy can\u2019t we shoot them down? Is it defense? Yes. Is it an attack on Russia? No. Are you shooting down Russian planes and killing Russian pilots? No. So what\u2019s the issue with involving NATO countries in the war? There is no such issue.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">That kind of direct NATO involvement, which analysts say could provoke Russia to retaliate, has been resisted in Western capitals. Zelensky drew a comparison to how the U.S. and Britain helped Israel shoot down a barrage of drones and missiles from Iran last month.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Zelensky said he had also appealed to senior U.S. officials to allow Ukraine to fire U.S. missiles and other weaponry at military targets inside Russia, a tactic the U.S. continues to oppose. The inability to do so, he said, gave Russia a \u201chuge advantage\u201d in cross-border warfare that it is exploiting with assaults in Ukraine\u2019s northeast.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Zelensky spoke with a mixture of frustration and bewilderment at the West\u2019s reluctance to take bolder steps to ensure that Ukraine wins the war.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">His pleas came at a critical time for Ukraine\u2019s war effort. Its army is in retreat and a new package of U.S. arms has yet to arrive in sufficient quantities. Not since the early days of the war has Ukraine faced as grave a military challenge, analysts say.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cShoot down what\u2019s in the sky over Ukraine,\u201d Zelensky said. \u201cAnd give us the weapons to use against Russian forces on the borders.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\"><a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/05\/21\/world\/europe\/zelensky-interview-times-transcript.html?action=click&amp;module=RelatedLinks&amp;pgtype=Article\" title=\"\">Read a transcript of the interview<\/a>.<\/p>\n<hr class=\"css-7ad88g e1mu4ftr0\"\/><\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<h2 class=\"css-9ycfei eoo0vm40\" id=\"link-7f07c845\">Funeral events began for Iran\u2019s president<\/h2>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Videos posted by Iranian news agencies showed crowds lining the street in Tabriz, a city in northwestern Iran, yesterday for <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/05\/21\/world\/middleeast\/iran-president-raisi-funeral.html\" title=\"\">a procession carrying the flag-draped coffins<\/a> of President Ebrahim Raisi, his foreign minister and six others killed in a helicopter crash on Sunday.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The procession in Tabriz was the first in a series of official events to bid farewell to Raisi, a hard-line cleric who had widely been viewed as a potential successor to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the supreme leader.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The country is grappling with the shock of losing two of its top leaders at such a volatile moment. Now, Khamenei is weighing options for how to move forward with elections and rebuild the country\u2019s leadership structure.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">He must choose between opening the race and facing moderate rivals, or limiting candidates and risking the embarrassment of low voter turnout, <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/05\/21\/world\/middleeast\/iran-election-president-death-ayatollah.html\" title=\"\">my colleague Erika Solomon reports<\/a>.<\/p>\n<hr class=\"css-7ad88g e1mu4ftr0\"\/><\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<h2 class=\"css-9ycfei eoo0vm40\" id=\"link-2125ec0d\">The U.S. halted a Guant\u00e1namo transfer<\/h2>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The Biden administration was poised to send about a dozen <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/05\/21\/us\/politics\/guantanamo-hamas-israel-oman.html\" title=\"\">detainees at Guant\u00e1namo Bay to Oman for resettlement<\/a> last year. Then, Hamas attacked Israel, and the U.S. abruptly halted the secret operation.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">None of the Yemeni prisoners had ever been charged with crimes, and all of them had been cleared for transfer by national security review panels. A military plane was already on the runway, ready to airlift them.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">But Democrats raised concerns about the potential for instability in the Middle East after the Oct. 7 attack, U.S. officials said. The arrangements are still under review, my colleague Carol Rosenberg reports.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"css-1uuxri4 e1gnsphs0\" id=\"link-55bd377a\"><span><strong class=\"css-8qgvsz ebyp5n10\">MORE TOP NEWS<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cKairos,\u201d a novel by Jenny Erpenbeck about a torrid love affair in the final years of East Germany, <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/05\/21\/books\/international-booker-prize-winner-jenny-erpenbeck-kairos.html\" title=\"\">won the International Booker Prize yesterday<\/a>. The chair of the judges said that the relationship in the book and the couple\u2019s \u201cdescent into a destructive vortex\u201d tracked the history of East Germany before the collapse of the Berlin Wall.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Erpenbeck shares the award with Michael Hofmann, who translated the book into English. It\u2019s the first novel originally written in German to win the award.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\"><a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2023\/05\/29\/books\/review\/kairos-jenny-erpenbeck.html\" title=\"\">Read our review<\/a> and <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/04\/26\/world\/europe\/jenny-erpenbeck-east-germany-kairos.html\" title=\"\">a profile<\/a> of Erpenbeck.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"css-1uuxri4 e1gnsphs0\" id=\"link-286d948a\"><span><strong class=\"css-8qgvsz ebyp5n10\">CONVERSATION STARTERS<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n<ul class=\"css-1le37cb ez3869y0\">\n<li class=\"css-1i3ul0c eoqvrfo0\">\n<p class=\"css-1il0jfh evys1bk0\"><strong class=\"css-8qgvsz ebyp5n10\">Graceland\u2019s future:<\/strong> Elvis Presley\u2019s granddaughter <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/05\/21\/arts\/music\/graceland-sale-foreclosure-riley-keough.html\" title=\"\">sued<\/a> to block the family\u2019s former home from being sold at auction, saying it was a fraudulent scheme.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"css-1i3ul0c eoqvrfo0\">\n<p class=\"css-1il0jfh evys1bk0\"><strong class=\"css-8qgvsz ebyp5n10\">Climate questions: <\/strong>Biodegradable plastic exists, but <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/05\/20\/climate\/ask-nyt-climate-biodegradable-plastic.html\" title=\"\">it\u2019s not a perfect fix<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"css-1i3ul0c eoqvrfo0\">\n<p class=\"css-1il0jfh evys1bk0\"><strong class=\"css-8qgvsz ebyp5n10\">Mahjong rises:<\/strong> Young Asian Americans in Brooklyn are <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/05\/20\/style\/mahjong-green-tile-social-club.html\" title=\"\">gathering to play the game<\/a>, long associated with older people.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3 class=\"css-1uuxri4 e1gnsphs0\" id=\"link-61b76e56\"><span><strong class=\"css-8qgvsz ebyp5n10\">ARTS AND IDEAS<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<h2 class=\"css-9ycfei eoo0vm40\" id=\"link-7762e01b\">Scarlett Johansson takes on OpenAI<\/h2>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">OpenAI asked Scarlett Johansson, who played the virtual assistant in the movie \u201cHer,\u201d to become a voice of a chatbot. Johansson said no twice.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">But last week, the company released a virtual assistant that had a voice that Johansson said sounded \u201c<a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/05\/20\/technology\/scarlett-johannson-openai-voice.html\" title=\"\">eerily similar to mine<\/a>.\u201d She hired a lawyer and asked OpenAI to stop using the voice, called Sky.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The company suspended its release of Sky over the weekend. OpenAI\u2019s chief executive, Sam Altman, said that \u201cthe voice of Sky is not Scarlett Johansson\u2019s, and it was never intended to resemble hers.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Johansson is the latest high-profile person to accuse OpenAI of using creative work without permission. The company has been sued for copyright violations by authors, actors and newspapers, including The Times, which sued OpenAI and its partner, Microsoft.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"css-1uuxri4 e1gnsphs0\" id=\"link-705d9918\"><span><strong class=\"css-8qgvsz ebyp5n10\">RECOMMENDATIONS<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/05\/21\/world\/asia\/zelensky-times-iran-booker-asia.html\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Zelensky urged NATO to do more in a Times interview President Volodymyr Zelensky urged the U.S. and Europe to do more to defend Ukraine, in a wide-ranging interview with The Times. He proposed that NATO planes shoot down Russian missiles in Ukrainian airspace. \u201cWhat\u2019s the problem?\u201d Zelensky said during the interview on Monday in Kyiv. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":55697,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2024\/05\/21\/multimedia\/22ambriefing-asia-zelensky\/22ambriefing-asia-zelensky-facebookJumbo-v2.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[235,632,272,7780,8774],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55696"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=55696"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55696\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":55698,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55696\/revisions\/55698"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/55697"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=55696"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=55696"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=55696"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}