Good morning. We're covering the confusing aftermath of Russia-Ukraine peace talks, increased security in Israel and young soldiers in Myanmar. |
 | | Ukrainian fighters in Irpin on Tuesday.Daniel Berehulak for The New York Times |
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Russia sends mixed signals |
Pessimism is replacing optimism over Ukraine, as Russia sends mixed military and diplomatic signals. After seeming progress in Tuesday's peace talks in Istanbul, Wednesday brought new attacks on the outskirts of Kyiv and the northern city of Chernihiv, areas where Russia claimed it would reduce combat operations. |
The confusion stems not just from a mismatch between words and actions. On Wednesday, the Kremlin's top spokesperson said there had been little progress. Hours later, its chief negotiator said Ukraine was on track for "building normal and, I hope, good neighborly relations with Russia." |
U.S. intelligence suggested that President Vladimir Putin of Russia was being misinformed about the invasion from aides fearful about his reaction, stoking tensions with his Ministry of Defense. |
On the ground, the humanitarian situation is worsening. "It's like living in a horror movie," said a resident of Huliaipole, a town on the edge of the Donbas region. Four million people have fled Ukraine, two million of them children, the U.N. reported. |
 | | An attack in Bnei Brak was the fifth in Israel in less than two weeks.Jack Guez/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images |
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Israel increases security after attacks |
The attack in Bnei Brak, the fifth shooting in less than two weeks, brought the total death toll in recent days to 11. It made March one of the deadliest months in Israel, outside of a full-scale war, in several years. Most of the victims were Israeli Jews. |
Analysts fear more intense violence over the next month, during the rare convergence of Ramadan, Passover and Easter. In Jerusalem, higher numbers of Jews and Muslims are expected to try to enter the Temple Mount or the Aqsa Mosque compound during the overlapping festivals. |
Details: The attack came two days after another gun attack in northern Israel, alarming security officials because the use of firearms implied a level of planning usually absent from recent terrorist attacks in Israel, which have mostly been carried out with knives. |
 | | Rebel militia fighters in the jungles of Myanmar.Adam Dean for The New York Times |
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More than a year after Myanmar's military junta brutally seized control, the army is still fighting to hold power. |
Their unlikely opponents: A rag-tag, determined army of former city-dwellers: hotel workers, dentists, marketing managers, seminarians and others. |
Two Times journalists visited a rainforest camp in eastern Myanmar, where some 3,000 Gen Z warriors live in bamboo or tarpaulin shelters and engage in almost daily combat. Outmatched and outgunned, the rebels have thrown off balance a military notorious for war crimes. |
Quotable: "Peaceful protests don't work if the enemy wants to kill us," a social worker turned militia sergeant said. |
Background: Aside from financial sanctions, the global community has done little to punish Myanmar's junta and hasn't recognized its civilian shadow government. The war in Ukraine could further distract world attention. |
 | | Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan in 2021.Saiyna Bashir/Reuters |
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 | | Forces loyal to Yemen's Huthi rebels take part in a recent military parade.Mohammed Huwais/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images |
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- In Yemen, the Saudi-led coalition and the Houthi rebels announced cease-fires yesterday, possible progress toward an end to the country's seven-year-long war.
- Gunmen killed at least eight people on a Nigerian commuter train on Monday, leaving the country with a growing feeling of insecurity.
- Arab leaders urged Antony Blinken, the U.S. Secretary of State, to fulfill past promises and open American consulates in Jerusalem and the disputed territory of Western Sahara.
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 | | A Ramadan celebrant in Alaska prepares her table.Ash Adams for The New York Times |
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Anchorage is home to the northernmost mosque in the U.S. During Ramadan, the city's diverse Muslim community will gather for nightly potlucks with foods from around the globe. |
 | | This mural, an early 19th-century depiction of The Battle of Pollilur in India. sold to an anonymous buyer from Sotheby's in London, yesterday.Tristan Fewings/Getty Images For Sotheby's |
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Sold: A storied Indian mural |
A magnificent mural created in the 1800s depicting an 18th-century Indian battlefield was auctioned at Sotheby's in London on Wednesday. It sold for 630,000 pounds, or about $830,000. The buyer remains anonymous. |
The mural shows the Muslim military commander Tipu Sultan at the Battle of Pollilur in 1780, triumphant over British forces. It was the first defeat of a European army in India. |
"It's arguably the greatest Indian picture of the defeat of colonialism that survives," one scholar said. "It's a unique and fantastic artwork." |
In his day, Sultan was called the "Tiger of Mysore," after his home state, and was hated in Britain for his attacks on trading settlements. During the 20th-century Indian independence movement, he was lionized as an early nationalist freedom fighter. But in modern India, where the ruling party has increasingly embraced Hindu nationalist rhetoric, officials have long downplayed Sultan's achievements, saying he was responsible for many Hindu deaths. |
 | | David Malosh for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Hadas Smirnoff. |
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Try one of these three documentaries, including a look at a Japanese World War II veteran and a dive into footage from Vladimir Putin's first year as president of Russia. |
Emily St. John Mandel's new novel, "Sea of Tranquility," her first since "Station Eleven," is a "dazzling" work of speculative fiction, our critic says. |
That's it for today's briefing. See you next time. — Nancy and Amelia |
P.S. The Awards for Excellence in Health Care Journalism recognized Times reporting on the neglect of people with sickle cell disease and gaps in Medicare's rating system for nursing homes. |
The latest episode of "The Daily" is about Clarence and Ginni Thomas. |
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