Category: NYTimes

Passengers on an express train to Vienna on Sunday night were shocked and outraged when a scratchy recording of Adolf Hitler and Nazi refrains of “Heil Hitler” and “Sieg Heil” played over the train’s public address system for about 20 minutes. With the help of a specialized key, a passenger had accessed the system and held a phone playing the recording up to the microphone. National rail investigators used video feeds to identify two men they believe are responsible. The police planned to interview the suspects “as fast as possible”.

The strange episode has led to embarrassment and head-scratching in Austria, where Hitler was born. The men thought to be responsible had performed a less sinister version of the takeover on two other trains last week, playing children songs and an audio blooper reel of Chris Lohner, who has been the official voice of Austrian train announcements for decades.

Rabbi Schlomo Hofmeister, Vienna’s community rabbi, who happened to be on the train when the recording blasted from the speaker, called it “disturbing”. Colette Schmidt, a journalist with the broadsheet Der Standard, asked on Twitter: “What does a guest from abroad think when Hitler speeches are played over loudspeakers in our trains?”

The episode has raised questions about the security of the national rail service’s P.A. system and the need to ensure that such an incident never happens again.

The conflict between Russia and Ukraine has been ongoing for 15 months, with no end in sight. Despite multiple retreats and stalled progress along the 600-mile front line, Russian President Vladimir Putin has shown no signs of backing down. Ukraine has recently reported shooting down six hypersonic Kinzhal missiles that had been aimed at Kyiv, the country’s capital. This is further evidence of Ukraine’s ability to defend itself against Russia’s most sophisticated weapons.

Meanwhile, Cambodia’s main opposition party has been disqualified from the upcoming general elections, leaving Prime Minister Hun Sen’s ruling party as the only credible challenger. This follows the government’s move to shut down Voice of Democracy, one of the few remaining outlets to provide critical coverage in Cambodia.

In other news, China is so far ahead in making batteries for electric cars that the rest of the world may take decades to catch up. China controls each step of lithium-ion battery production, from getting the raw materials to making the cars. It has invested in a cheaper alternative to the cathode, which is the positive terminal of the battery, and now accounts for half the market.

Finally, South Korea has designated hundreds of restaurants, museums and other public facilities as “no-kids zones” due to the country’s low birthrate. While the policy has popular support, one lawmaker is calling on the government to outlaw it, saying that “we have to recreate a society in which we can coexist with our children.”

President Biden vetoed legislation on Tuesday that would have reinstated tariffs on solar panels from Chinese companies in Southeast Asia. The Senate narrowly passed the resolution this month, with several key Democrats supporting the measure, in a sharp rebuke to Mr. Biden. The president had announced a two-year pause on the tariffs last year after importers complained that the penalties would threaten broader adoption of solar energy in the United States.

The showdown has pitted Mr. Biden’s climate goals against efforts to make the United States less reliant on China’s supply of materials that are crucial for the American economy. Critics said the suspension on tariffs failed to defend American workers and solar manufacturers, who have pushed the administration to block the importing of cheap products.

The administration, however, has argued that buying solar panels from China in the short term is necessary to make good on the president’s efforts to mitigate climate change. Solar importers and installers have defended the pause on tariffs and said it should be extended even longer. The White House has also argued that the materials are needed as companies commit to building solar panels after Mr. Biden passed the Inflation Reduction Act.

Mr. Biden’s veto of the legislation is a reaffirmation of the administration’s commitment to business certainty in the clean energy sector, and a signal to companies to continue creating jobs, building domestic manufacturing capacity and investing in American communities.

Turkey’s opposition is struggling to chart a path to victory in the upcoming presidential runoff on May 28th. Incumbent President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is likely to benefit from the votes of an ultranationalist candidate eliminated in the first round, leading to an uphill battle for the opposition. The six-party coalition backing the opposition candidate, Kemal Kilicdaroglu, is trying to increase turnout among supportive voters and adopt a more nationalist tone to attract crossover votes. Mr. Erdogan has linked himself to Turkey’s increasing military might and independence, and demonized the opposition by associating them with terrorism. The opposition needs to remain upbeat and confident, and make their plans clearer to voters in order to have a chance of unseating the president.

European leaders are gathering in Reykjavik, Iceland, for the Council of Europe summit on Tuesday. The summit will focus on the conflict in Ukraine and how the rest of Europe can best support the country. President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine addressed the summit virtually, and Prime Minister Rishi Sunak of Britain is scheduled to attend. The summit will also discuss climate change, artificial intelligence, and the rights of women and children. The meeting comes ahead of the Group of 7 summit in Hiroshima, Japan, which starts on Friday. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said she will strongly support the creation of a dedicated tribunal to bring Russia’s crime of aggression to trial. The Council of Europe was established in 1949 to uphold democracy, human rights, and the rule of law on the continent.

The U.S. government has unveiled its first cases involving technology espionage and sanctions evasion linked to Russia, China and Iran. The cases were brought by a new division set up by the government to pursue these threats. Two Russian nationals were arrested last week for sending aircraft parts to Russia in violation of sanctions, while a former Apple engineer is accused of stealing the company’s autonomous vehicle technology to provide it to a Chinese competitor. The cases show the U.S. government’s ability to “accelerate investigations and surge our collective resources to defend against these threats.” The Commerce Department has also issued a temporary denial order against the two Russian nationals, prohibiting them from transactions involving any U.S. products for 180 days.

African leaders have announced a “peace mission” to Russia and Ukraine in an attempt to end the war in the region. President Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa, as well as leaders from Egypt, Zambia, Senegal, Uganda and the Republic of Congo, will visit Moscow and Kyiv in an effort to broker a peace deal. The initiative has been welcomed by both President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia and President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine.

The war in Ukraine has had a significant impact on Africa, leading to food insecurity and rising prices of fertilizers and fuel. South Africa has been under increasing pressure to take sides in the conflict, but has maintained its non-aligned position. The country has also faced questions over whether it will honor an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court to apprehend Mr. Putin if he attends a meeting of BRICS nations in South Africa in August.

The African leaders’ mission is a positive step towards finding a peaceful resolution to the conflict. It remains to be seen whether the initiative will be successful in bringing an end to the war.

The conflict between Russia and Ukraine has been ongoing for over 15 months, and the West is now facing a new rift over whether to send F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine. The Biden administration is reluctant to send the jets due to their high cost, but Britain and the Netherlands are leading a European push to provide them. The Netherlands, Denmark, Belgium, and Norway have all signaled they are ready to send F-16s to Kyiv, and the UK has announced plans to begin training Ukrainian pilots this summer. The US is concerned that the jets would not reach the battlefield in time, and is instead focused on speeding other American weapons to Ukraine. However, the US has previously reversed itself and allowed the transfer of powerful weapons, and the Biden administration has not ruled out the possibility of issuing re-export licenses to European militaries. 14 Democrats and Republicans in Congress have urged President Biden to unlock the F-16s without delay, as they believe it is essential to effectively end the war on just terms.

Edmond Réveil, a 98-year-old former French Resistance fighter, recently revealed a dark secret from World War II. He witnessed the mass execution of 47 German soldiers by his resistance group shortly after D-Day. The story was hidden for decades, but Réveil’s public statements have sent shock waves through the Limousin area of France, which has long prided itself on its history of resistance during the war.

Réveil said he had witnessed but did not participate in the killings. He first revealed the grim details in 2019 at a veterans’ meeting. The French and German authorities were informed and planned to exhume the bodies, but the news was mostly kept secret.

Réveil said his group took the prisoners to woods near a hamlet called Le Vert and that his commander asked for volunteers to carry out the killings. He and a few others refused. Among the prisoners was a Frenchwoman who had allegedly collaborated with the Gestapo.

In 1967, 11 German bodies were exhumed in Le Vert, but the exhumations were halted for unclear reasons. It took another half-century and Réveil’s revelations for the case to be reopened. A team from the German War Graves Commission will use ground-penetrating radar to find the site of the graves.

Réveil said he wanted to “make official” the history of the executions. It is unclear whether he will face any consequences for his revelations. The mayor of Meymac, where Réveil now lives, said he knew of no investigation into a possible war crime and that he saw it as “an unfortunate, tragic act of war” given the circumstances.

The Group of 7 (G7) summit is set to begin today in Hiroshima, Japan. Leaders of the seven major industrial democracies will discuss how to keep the global economy stable and how to deal with China. Meanwhile, the U.S. is two weeks away from running out of money to pay its bills, and a default would jolt its economy and those of the other G7 countries.

Global temperatures are also likely to reach record highs over the next five years, according to a new analysis. This could exacerbate the dangers from heat waves, wildfires, drought and other calamities. El Niño will very likely cause further turmoil by shifting precipitation patterns.

In Indonesia, President Joko Widodo is trying to build a new capital city, called Nusantara, from the ground up. It’s supposed to be a green and walkable beacon for other megacities in developing nations trying to confront climate change. However, the project faces political opposition and may be behind schedule.

These are just some of the issues that will be discussed at the G7 summit. It will be interesting to see how the leaders of the seven major industrial democracies will address these pressing global issues.