The Debate

• Too late to win over Trump? Europe frets as US freezes some weapons for Ukraine

  Remember last week and that collective sigh of relief among allies that Donald Trump had a) showed up at the NATO summit and b) agreed to a sidebar meeting with his Ukrainian counterpart, after which the US president gushed that Volodymyr Zelensky "couldn't have been nicer". It was quite the contrast with that February White House ambush on live television that so spooked Europeans. But that was a week ago. Now comes a double whammy: a pause in US arms shipments to Ukraine – officially to replenish stockpiles – but the freeze includes weapons and ammunition already in neighbouring Poland. Add to that news the fact that Washington's lifting of sanctions on Syria also includes Russian oligarchs and entities implicated in the invasion of Ukraine. We ask about the ways Russia keeps exporting oil and cashing checks from abroad. Read moreArms deliveries, sanctions loopholes: How Trump's recent moves benefit Russia As Ukraine figures out how to resist without Washington's help, we ask about Europe's efforts. On that score, what to make of Tuesday's first phone call between French President Emmanuel Macron and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022? Produced by François Picard, Aurore Laborie, Ilayda Habip and Alessandro Xenos. 

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• How hard will Trump push? US president touts Gaza truce plan ahead of Netanyahu visit

  We've seen this movie before. US President Donald Trump is talking up a ceasefire initiative, only for the killing to continue in Gaza; killing that is relentless and off-the-scales ever since the rollout of a US-Israeli aid delivery scheme that bypasses traditional international agencies.  We ask about Trump's claim that Israel has agreed to his 60-day truce and the reaction of a Hamas that's down but not completely out. We also ask what's changed since Benjamin Netanyahu walked away in March from a phased agreement that was to lead to a permanent ceasefire and the release of the remaining hostages. For starters: Israel's 12-day war with Iran, where it was the US president who told Netanyahu to declare victory and go home. Will Trump twist the Israeli leader's arm again when Netanyahu travels to Washington next week? All bets are off: will it be the Trump who gushes about a Gaza Riviera construction scheme that kicks out Palestinians, or the one who forces Netanyahu's hand by announcing Iran negotiations or recognising Syria's government? More broadly, when is enough enough? Produced by François Picard, Rebecca Gnignati, Aurore Laborie, Ilayda Habip and Yann Pusztai.

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• Europe's growing heatwaves: Air conditioning for all?

  It's the first day of July and already France and parts of Europe are enduring their second major heatwave with no respite. From the shores of the Mediterranean, warmed by waters at an alarming 26°C, to the rooftop of Europe – Mont Blanc – where the mercury's got no business venturing above freezing this early in the summer, how to adapt to the new normal? With poorly adapted schools forced to shut, the French far-right's Marine Le Pen is advocating air conditioning for all. But A/C begets higher energy consumption. And with the same far-right party against wind farms and the switch away from gasoline-powered cars, is air conditioning a basic necessity or do alternatives exist on the planet's fastest-heating continent? Read moreAir conditioning: Welcome relief from climate change, but part of the problem We ask about France's claim that nuclear power is the carbon-free answer: just look at the Golfech plant located between Toulouse and Bordeaux. It has been forced to suspend activity because at 28°C, the Garonne River's waters are too hot to cool its reactors. Produced by François Picard, Rebecca Gnignati, Juliette Laffont, Ilayda Habip and Yann Pusztai.

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• To whom does Venice belong? Bezos wedding draws attention to bucket list destination

  Where else but the city of merchants, one whose fortune was founded on global trade, to host the celebrity wedding of the digital age's king of ecommerce? In Venice, Jeff Bezos, the billionaire owner of online trading platform Amazon, is tying the knot with journalist-turned-TV personality Lauren Sanchez in a spectacle that's drawn both paparazzi and protesters. What does this spectacle out of a Fellini movie say about the age we live in?  Organisers are tempering the extravagance with pledges of giving to good causes. For the world's third-richest man, who now owns The Washington Post newspaper, what does money buy? We ask about the pushback, and the look for a city that hardly needs more publicity, what with its 150,000 visitors per day. Is the issue Bezos' obscene wealth or the advertisement it brings to Venice, a bucket list destination that's already heaving under the weight of record amounts of tourists?  Produced by Rebecca Gnignati, Elisa Amiri and Ilayda Habip.

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• Alliance with 'daddy' issues? NATO leaders flatter Trump to keep US on board

  Allies can breathe a sigh of relief. The same Donald Trump who left the G7 summit early showed up on time for the NATO summit in the Netherlands – an abridged summit to curry favour and keep his undivided attention. The US president played with members' nerves, entertaining suspense over the United States' commitment to NATO's Article 5 but in the end reaffirming support for the Alliance's "all for one and one for all" clause in case of attack. After a victory lap over Iran, Trump was all smiles over Alliance members' commitment to boost defence spending to 5 percent of GDP.  It also emerged that Britain is buying 12 F-35A fighter jets made in the USA. That's music to Trump's ears, but how will the announcement go down with the likes of France, which has been arguing for Europe to reduce its dependency on Washington? And then there's Ukraine. Trump, in the end, took the meeting with Volodymyr Zelensky. But there, too, there were mixed messages: both when it comes to Russia's relentless campaign of aggression and the benefit of the doubt so often granted by Trump to Vladimir Putin. Produced by Rebecca Gnignati, Elisa Amiri, Ilayda Habip.

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