Comment on Letter 51: Getting to Know (and Appreciate) Rural Australia

President Biden on Thursday accidentally used Russian President Vladimir Putin’s name when introducing Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the NATO Summit, a flub that comes at a vulnerable moment in his campaign. The mistake is likely to turn up the volume on calls for him to drop out of the race after his disastrous debate performance raised questions about his mental acuity. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] “Now I want to hand it over to the President of Ukraine who has as much courage as he has determination.

Anchorage, Alaska — A U. S. Coast Guard cutter on routine patrol in the Bering Sea came across several Chinese military ships in international waters but within the U. S. exclusive economic zone, officials said. The crew detected three vessels approximately 124 miles (200 kilometers) north of the Amchitka Pass in the Aleutian Islands, the Coast Guard said in a statement Wednesday.

PARIS — A fire broke out Thursday in the spire of the medieval cathedral in the northern French city of Rouen, authorities said. Witnesses speaking on BFM television described smoke emanating from the spire, and recalled a devastating fire in 2019 at Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris that toppled its spire and collapsed its roof. The cathedral in Rouen in Normandy is widely known from a series of paintings by impressionist Claude Monet. Mayor Nicolas Mayer-Rossignol posted on the social media platform X that “the beginning of a fire is underway on the spire of the cathedral of Rouen.

LONDON — A man suspected of killing the wife and daughters of a BBC radio sports commentator with a crossbow was being treated in a hospital Thursday after being found injured in a cemetery some 15 miles (22 kilometers) from the scene of the crimes. Police had spent almost a day hunting for Kyle Clifford after the attack on Carol Hunt, 61, and her daughters Hannah, 28 and Louise, 25 at their home in Bushey, northwest of London.

JAKARTA — Indonesia’s anti-graft court sentenced a former agriculture minister to 10 years in prison Thursday after finding him guilty of corruption-related extortion, abuse of power and bribery involving ministry contracts with private vendors. The case has tarnished President Joko Widodo’s credibility in fighting corruption. Five other members of Widodo’s Cabinet have been sentenced to prison terms in corruption cases, casting a shadow over his efforts to clean up government while his term will end in October. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] Read More: Indonesia’s President Joko Widodo Once Symbolized Democratic Hope—His Plan for a New Capital Represents a Darker Legacy The court in the capital, Jakarta, ruled that the former Cabinet minister, Syahrul Yasin Limpo, was guilty of abusing his power by enriching himself and other officials.

WASHINGTON — In their most serious rebuke against Beijing, NATO allies on Wednesday called China a “decisive enabler” of Russia’s war against Ukraine and expressed concerns over Beijing’s nuclear arsenal and its capabilities in space. The sternly worded final communiqué, approved by the 32 NATO members at their summit in Washington, makes clear that China is becoming a focus of the military alliance.