When will Sweden join NATO?
In less than a week, NATO leaders will meet in Vilnius, Lithuania. But Sweden’s Prime Minister will not be among them, given Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s continued opposition to Sweden’s membership.
Erdogan has blocked the bid, saying Sweden has been hosting Kurdish exiles and refugees affiliated with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, which is considered a terrorist group by Turkey. Every other country has voted to include Sweden — except Hungary, whose foreign minister said his country would sign once Turkey had done so.
The issue is critical for NATO, which is reluctant to show signs of internal division at its annual alliance summit, especially as the war in Ukraine continues. Sweden broke with decades of neutrality after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last year by joining the alliance.
Relations between the US and Sweden: Speaking at a meeting at the White House, President Biden told Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson of Sweden that he “looks anxiously forward” to the country’s acceptance. The US leader said he supported the sale of long-awaited fighter jets to Turkey — but it’s unclear what else might convince Erdogan to concede.
Israel’s invasion of the West Bank ends
The Israeli army’s 48-hour operation in the West Bank town of Jenin ended early yesterday morning, officials said. The operation was one of the largest in many years against armed militant groups, but few on either side harbored any illusions, saying that the groups that had lost arms and people to the raid would rebuild and the troops would be back.
Three decades after the Oslo peace process, the prospects of peaceful coexistence or a Palestinian state seem increasingly distant. Underlying sources of Palestinian anger remain, including the occupation of the West Bank dating back to the 1967 Middle East war, the continued encroachment of Jewish settlements, and a lack of economic opportunity.
Ultranationalist members of the Israeli government reject any discussion or political progress with Palestinian leaders, who are weak and divided and unwilling or unable to oversee emerging hotbeds of militancy.
The last: Israeli analysts said the military had achieved tactical success in Jenin. But the episode lacked deeper strategy and could lead to even more violence and revenge attacks, others said.
Related: Young Palestinians fighting Israel record farewell messages to their loved ones on their phones.
Tensions are rising around the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant
Russia and Ukraine have accused each other of plotting to sabotage the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine, which has become one of the main focal points of the war. The chief of the UN’s nuclear watchdog called for more access for inspections, even as analysts said the immediate risk of serious damage to the facility appeared low.
Referring to the country’s intelligence agency, President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine said Russian troops who seized the plant last year had placed items resembling explosives on the roof of several power plants. A Kremlin spokesman said Ukraine planned to sabotage the factory and Russia had taken steps to counter the threat.
Separately, the Ukrainian army launched a night attack on the Russian-held city of Makiivka, demonstrating its ability to strike targets deep behind Russian lines, even as Ukrainian troops fight in grueling trench warfare to reclaim land .
To the ground: Ukrainian authorities last week held drills to test their emergency response, though some residents of the town of Nikopol, just a few miles from the power station, said they had no plans to leave, in part because they had nowhere else to go.
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ART AND IDEAS
The best movies of 2023 (so far)
Our critics chose six movies to watch this summer. Read the full list here.
“Asteroid City”: Wes Anderson’s latest film follows the performance of a play about the goings-on of a small desert town in the 1950s. “The film is about desire and death, little mysteries and cosmic unknowns and the stories we make of everything called life,” writes Manohla Dargis.
“sanctuary”: A wealthy heir and an old employee battle for control of their unusual relationship in this twisty duet directed by Zachary Wigon. Jeannette Catsoulis’ opinion: “Sexual but not sexy, ‘Sanctuary’ is fantastically dynamic and emphatically theatrical.”
“Full time”: In Eric Gravel’s film, a single mother who is the lead chambermaid of a five-star hotel in Paris must navigate the overwhelming demands of her routine. It “moves with the breathless tension of a Safdie Brothers joint,” writes Beatrice Loayza.