European Leaders Back Zelensky After U.S. Plan Leaves Them Out

© Ozan Kose/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

© Ozan Kose/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

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© Photo Illustration by The New York Times

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American diplomats said Donald Trump was trying to achieve peace ‘with an incredible sense of momentum’
German Bild tabloid is also reporting that Merz is expected to hold a phone call not only with Zelenskyy, but also with the US president, Donald Trump.
Mind you: there’s been no official confirmation yet.
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© Photograph: Thomas Peter/Reuters

© Photograph: Thomas Peter/Reuters

© Photograph: Thomas Peter/Reuters
















A new brand flogging face masks for four-year-olds is disturbing, but it’s worth asking why children are asking for these products in the first place
As a newish mother, I am only too aware of the myriad ways we have failed our children. And then I came across a new skincare company aimed at four-year-olds. It’s early days for Rini, whose sole product is now a Korean-made hydrating facial mask. A healing ointment and daily barrier cream are allegedly in the works, too. If you were under any illusions as to the mask’s purpose, it is infused with vitamin B12 – which, according to various skincare sites, improves elasticity and skin texture – with a clear peel-on application process modelled online, Patrick Bateman-style, by a preschooler.
On the one hand, I appreciate that children put all sorts on their faces – face paint, stickers, poo, toothpaste, kitchen cleaner, a sibling’s blood, and that’s just in this last week alone – and that their faces will occasionally need to be cleaned. And while it’s entirely plausible that some parents will be moved watching their child dip their delicate toes into the world of Korean beauty, I’m marginally more concerned by the strains of strep and croup doing the rounds at my two-year-old’s childcare (I am also worried about my six-year-old’s health, but if this company is anything to go by, he’s probably beyond help).
Morwenna Ferrier is the Guardian’s fashion and lifestyle editor
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© Photograph: Undefined Undefined/Getty Images

© Photograph: Undefined Undefined/Getty Images
With no Cummins and Hazlewood, Boland off the boil and Doggett on debut, the veteran quick notched a career-best seven for 58 to dominate the opening stanza in Perth
When an Ashes series finally begins and the interminable prognosticating reaches its end, it is customary to discover anew that all of the talk is just talk. So it was for all of us who have offered opinions on the absence of Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood, and how losing two champion fast bowlers would drastically weaken the Australian side. Instead, it only gave space to their remaining colleague to dominate the first stanza of the Perth Test on his own. In barely a session, Mitchell Starc turned the Big Three into the Big One.
Scott Boland was off the boil – it didn’t matter. Brendan Doggett was on debut, chipping in around the edges – it didn’t matter either. Starc has now notched a career best in consecutive innings: six for nine in Kingston back in July, followed by seven for 58 here.
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© Photograph: Darrian Traynor/Getty Images

© Photograph: Darrian Traynor/Getty Images

© Photograph: Darrian Traynor/Getty Images