Ukraine, Catalonia, Champions League: Your Friday Briefing – New York Times
They are back at the usual squabbles as the clock ticks toward a Catalan independence referendum on Oct. 1. Our correspondent notes that these divisions also have practical security implications that the attack plotters perhaps managed to exploit.
A march in Barcelona planned for tomorrow could show how much these divisions are reflected in the broader public.
(Above, King Felipe VI stood between the prime minister, Mariano Rajoy, and the Catalan president, Carles Puigdemont, at a vigil last week.)
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In Washington, our reporters look at the efforts by the new White House chief of staff, John Kelly, to impose an order on the information flow to Mr. Trump.
The changes Mr. Kelly, a retired general, have put in place have resulted in a more functional government, administration officials said.
Separately, heres a profile of Mr. Trumps top soldier in Afghanistan: Gen. John Nicholson, above, is a combat veteran described by peers as a thinker warrior. He has not yet met Mr. Trump.
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Roger Federer, the Swiss tennis star, discussed his late-career resurgence, a rarity for any sport, with our magazine writer. Im long past the thing that you have to end your career in a fairy tale, he said of his expectations.
Mr. Federer could win his third major of the year at the U.S. Open, and fans are hoping for a face-off with his archrival, Rafael Nadal. Meanwhile, with Serena Williamss absence, womens tennis for once lacks its traditional rivalries.
In soccer news, the draw for the group stage of this seasons UEFA Champions League put Real Madrid, Tottenham and Dortmund in the same group. Barcelona gets a chance for an early revenge against Juventus. (Heres the full list.)
And the four-time British Olympic champion Mo Farahs track career ended with a thrilling win in Zurich.
President Trump must soon decide whether to renominate Janet Yellen, above, as the chairwoman of the Federal Reserve. She is speaking today at the Jackson Hole gathering of central bankers, as is the European Central Bank president, Mario Draghi.
In Croatia, Uber is taking to the sea, offering an (expensive) new boat service. It could soon be available in Greece and Spain.
There are new questions about the corporate structure of HNA, the Chinese conglomerate that is Deutsche Banks largest shareholder. We uncovered undisclosed deals and relationships that could heighten regulatory scrutiny in the U.S. and Europe.
Networking is overrated, a business school professor writes in this much-read Op-Ed. Its better to focus on achieving great things.
Heres a snapshot of global markets.
At least eight people remain missing after a landslide swept through a small village in the Swiss Alps on Wednesday. [The New York Times]
Prosecutors in Denmark seek murder charges against Peter Madsen, the Danish inventor arrested in the death of a Swedish journalist onboard his submarine. [The New York Times]
The police in Rome clashed with hundreds of migrants, scattering them from a square they had camped on for days after they had been evicted from a building they had occupied for years. [Los Angeles Times]
When the French interior minister tied terrorism to mental illness, he started a debate about whether such a link existed. [France 24]
The Dutch police said there was no longer an imminent terrorist threat after they arrested a 22-year-old man in Rotterdam in an investigation into plans for an attack on a concert site. A Spanish man, detained earlier, has been released. [The New York Times]
The Czech authorities extradited a Vietnamese man to Germany over the abduction of an asylum-seeking Vietnamese executive in Berlin last month. [The New York Times]
In Thailand, the lawyer of Yingluck Shinawatra, the former prime minister ousted in a coup, said he was unaware whether she was still in the country. A court said it would issue an arrest warrant after she failed to appear before it. [The NewYork Times]
Tips, both new and old, for a more fulfilling life.
Recipe of the day: Make your own blueberry jam.
Protect your digital accounts by text or app.
In what should you invest? Ask yourself these tough questions.
We have plenty of European travel advice today: Theres our latest 36 Hours guide that finds daring cuisine and avant-garde art and design in Brussels. And heres an ode to family holidays in Romania.
In Marrakesh, Yves Saint Laurent discovered light and color, draping and caftans. A new museum in Morocco will soon celebrate his work.
In Britain, an 800-year-old coffin was damaged after a family put a child in it for a photo and knocked off a small piece. It happens.
Finally, a geobiologist in Norway reflects on how Scandinavian summers taught her as a young woman to savor time.
It all began with a question about L. Frank Baums off-the-cuff story about a faraway magical land. What, a child asked, was the name of this extraordinary place? Baum looked at a filing cabinet label, rejected A-G and went with O-Z.
Thats one origin story of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, the childrens book that became a celebrated movie, which opened in wide release in the U.S. on this day in 1939.
It took more than a few screenwriters (11 by one count) to adapt Baums vision into a girls dream of a land over the rainbow from Depression-era Kansas.
Theories about the story abound. Is the yellow brick road a metaphor for the gold standard in the late 1800s? Does the movie sync up with Pink Floyds album The Dark Side of the Moon?
Some scholars are skeptical that Baum set out to write a populist allegory. (Youre on your own testing the Pink Floyd claim.)
But the charms of Baums tale endure. As a Times film critic wrote after the films debut, It is all so well-intentioned, so genial, and so gay that any reviewer who would look down his nose at the fun-making should be spanked and sent off, supperless, to bed.
Tim Williams contributed reporting.
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Ukraine, Catalonia, Champions League: Your Friday Briefing - New York Times
- Ukraine unleashes one of its heaviest drone bombardments of Russia - AP News - June 26th, 2026 [June 26th, 2026]
- Ukraine is spilling its enemies' military secrets. Soldiers, arms makers, and foreign governments all want access. - Business Insider - June 26th, 2026 [June 26th, 2026]
- Ukraine-Russia war latest: Zelensky orders 40-day offensive to press Putin to end war - The Independent - June 26th, 2026 [June 26th, 2026]
- Ukraine war briefing: Zelenskyy declares 40-day Russia blitz to influence the aggressor state - The Guardian - June 26th, 2026 [June 26th, 2026]
- Ukraine launches huge drone attack on Russia and occupied Crimea as it seeks to force Putin "to end the war" - CBS News - June 26th, 2026 [June 26th, 2026]
- Ukraine targets Russia with at least 660 drones overnight, Moscow says - ABC News - Breaking News, Latest News and Videos - June 26th, 2026 [June 26th, 2026]
- Commission proposes to extend temporary protection of people fleeing Ukraine for an additional year - Migration and Home Affairs - June 26th, 2026 [June 26th, 2026]
- Putin, Lukashenko to hold talks on Friday at tense point in Ukraine war - Reuters - June 26th, 2026 [June 26th, 2026]
- EBRD support for wartime Ukraine surpasses 10.5 billion as Bank commits significant new funding at Recovery Conference - EBRD - June 26th, 2026 [June 26th, 2026]
- Lukashenko Heads to Russia for Putin Meeting Amid Rising Tensions With Ukraine - The Moscow Times - June 26th, 2026 [June 26th, 2026]
- Russia used social engineering to breach prominent messaging accounts, Ukraine says - The Record from Recorded Future News - June 26th, 2026 [June 26th, 2026]
- Poland's Tusk calls for 'mutual respect' during row with Ukraine - BBC - June 26th, 2026 [June 26th, 2026]
- Is Ukraine Gearing Up for an Attack on Crimea? - The National Interest - June 26th, 2026 [June 26th, 2026]
- Why is Putin asking for Ukraine-Russia peace talks now? - The Independent - June 26th, 2026 [June 26th, 2026]
- European Commission proposes to extend temporary protection of people fleeing Ukraine for an additional year - EU NEIGHBOURS east - June 26th, 2026 [June 26th, 2026]
- No Other Option Budanov Says Ukraine Will Need Foreign Specialists - Kyiv Post - June 26th, 2026 [June 26th, 2026]
- Mapping Russia's call to Xbox warriors to wage its Ukraine drone offensive - The National - June 26th, 2026 [June 26th, 2026]
- Cracks in European unity emerge over Ukraine and security - The Conversation - June 26th, 2026 [June 26th, 2026]
- Russia Pressures Belarus in Bid to Open New Front in Ukraine War - WSJ - June 24th, 2026 [June 24th, 2026]
- Caught between Kyivs ultimatums and Moscows financial blackmail, Lukashenko faces mounting pressure over the war in Ukraine - Meduza - June 24th, 2026 [June 24th, 2026]
- The Ukraine War Amputees Embracing Wake Boarding and Jujitsu - The New York Times - June 24th, 2026 [June 24th, 2026]
- Russia is still inching forward in eastern Ukraine, but experts say claims of progress are exaggerated - CNN - June 24th, 2026 [June 24th, 2026]
- Russia wants to know if Trump has shifted his stance on Ukraine war after G7, Lavrov says - Reuters - June 24th, 2026 [June 24th, 2026]
- Putin vowed to demilitarize Ukraine. Instead, he created a major military power. - Atlantic Council - June 24th, 2026 [June 24th, 2026]
- Ukraine war: EU increases pressure on Russia with latest sanctions - International Bar Association | IBA - June 24th, 2026 [June 24th, 2026]
- What U.S. Special Operations Veterans Are Learning From Ukraine's War - Forbes - June 24th, 2026 [June 24th, 2026]
- Kremlin says Russia is only interested in upholding understandings on Ukraine reached with the US - The Jerusalem Post - June 24th, 2026 [June 24th, 2026]
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- Ukraine intensifies attacks on Russia, creating new pressure points for Putin - CNBC - June 24th, 2026 [June 24th, 2026]
- Ukraine's Kostyuk finds clarity in speaking out on war and values - Reuters - June 24th, 2026 [June 24th, 2026]
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- Ukraine launches drone offensive in Crimea and inside Russia, where fuel shortages are taking a toll - CBC - June 24th, 2026 [June 24th, 2026]
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- Calls for Ukraine flag exception to Reform's ban in Northamptonshire - BBC - June 24th, 2026 [June 24th, 2026]
- Belarus halts equipment used to guide Russian strikes, Zelensky says, after Ukraine's ultimatum - The Kyiv Independent - June 24th, 2026 [June 24th, 2026]
- Oil from seized Russian tanker to be sold to benefit Ukraine - The Telegraph - June 24th, 2026 [June 24th, 2026]
- Why some Russians are breaking with Putin as Ukraine war drags on - Compass Points - PBS - June 24th, 2026 [June 24th, 2026]
- Merkel, Ukraine, and the Long Tail of Finlandization - Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA) - June 24th, 2026 [June 24th, 2026]
- DW News. . Is Ukraine teaching Europe how to fight? Scrambling expensive jets or Patriot missiles against cheap drones makes little sense. Ukraine has... - June 24th, 2026 [June 24th, 2026]
- How Silicon Valley helped give Ukraine the tech edge in war with Russia - The Times - June 24th, 2026 [June 24th, 2026]
- US State Department Says Ukraine Is Currently Winning the War - Kyiv Post - June 24th, 2026 [June 24th, 2026]
- Bitter Historical Feud Threatens Ukraine-Poland Alliance - The New York Times - June 24th, 2026 [June 24th, 2026]
- Ukraine war briefing: Dispute over second world war army unit threatens to divide Poland and Ukraine - The Guardian - June 24th, 2026 [June 24th, 2026]
- Poland and Ukraine urged to look forward as presidents clash over complex past - TVP World - June 24th, 2026 [June 24th, 2026]
- Amid UK political turmoil, Andy Burnham's rise offers reassurance to Ukraine - The Kyiv Independent - June 24th, 2026 [June 24th, 2026]
- The G7 has nudged open a window for diplomacy in Ukraine - The Economist - June 24th, 2026 [June 24th, 2026]
- The Latest: G7 to focus on Ukraine and Iran on first full day of meetings - WAVY.com - June 16th, 2026 [June 16th, 2026]
- Starmer vows new sanctions on Russia and nuclear energy support for Ukraine - The Guardian - June 16th, 2026 [June 16th, 2026]
- G7 summit 2026 live: Trump to discuss Iran and Ukraine with world leaders - Reuters - June 16th, 2026 [June 16th, 2026]
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- This Is Not Just Ukraine: The Global Danger of Normalising Russias Occupation Crimes - Global Issues.org - June 16th, 2026 [June 16th, 2026]
- The World According to Putin: No Deal on Ukraine in Sight - Carnegie Endowment for International Peace - June 16th, 2026 [June 16th, 2026]
- Russia is losing the war in Ukraine, and Putin is desperate. But thats when hes at his most dangerous | Simon Tisdall - The Guardian - June 16th, 2026 [June 16th, 2026]
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- Ukraine starts EU membership talks and faces years of reforms while fighting Russia - AP News - June 16th, 2026 [June 16th, 2026]
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- G7 Leaders Open Summit Talks on Ukraine and the Middle East as Zelenskyy Joins in France - Asharq Al-Awsat English - June 16th, 2026 [June 16th, 2026]
- Russian central bank chief who threatened to quit over Ukraine war not seen in public for three weeks - The Independent - June 16th, 2026 [June 16th, 2026]
- The War in Ukraine Has Now Gone On Longer Than World War I - The New York Times - June 12th, 2026 [June 12th, 2026]
- Ukraine has taught the world how to kill again - The Telegraph - June 12th, 2026 [June 12th, 2026]
- NATO is learning from Ukraine that a lot of good-enough weapons today beat a few perfect ones that come too late - Business Insider - June 12th, 2026 [June 12th, 2026]
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- Ukraine, Iran, and the strains on Russian and American power - Brookings - June 12th, 2026 [June 12th, 2026]
- World chess body suspends Russia over activities in occupied-Ukraine - Al Jazeera - June 12th, 2026 [June 12th, 2026]
- Ukraine Is Not Losing. Russia Is Not Winning. - The Atlantic - June 12th, 2026 [June 12th, 2026]
- Everyone can know what is happening in Ukraine, but to feel it? - Vogue - June 12th, 2026 [June 12th, 2026]
- Iran and Ukraine loom over G7 as France accommodates Trump - Reuters - June 12th, 2026 [June 12th, 2026]