Comment on The World Is Still Hooked on Russian Energy—at Its Own Peril

JAKARTA, Indonesia — Prabowo Subianto was inaugurated Sunday as the eighth president of the world’s most populous Muslim-majority nation, completing his journey from an ex-general accused of rights abuses during the dark days of Indonesia’s military dictatorship to the presidential palace. The former defense minister, who turned 73 on Thursday, was cheered through the streets by thousands of waving supporters after taking his oath on the Quran in front of lawmakers and foreign dignitaries.

Two and a half years into Russia’s war in Ukraine, the Western effort to wean Europe off of Russian oil and gas and isolate the Kremlin has stalled. The E. U.’s much lauded energy transition has kept apace, but it has also provided cover for continuing and in some cases increasing purchase of Russian energy that is funding its ongoing assault on Ukraine.

MIAMI — Hurricane Oscar formed Saturday off the coast of the Bahamas, the National Hurricane Center in Miami said. It characterized the storm as “tiny.” The government of the Bahamas has issued a hurricane warning for the Turks and Caicos Islands and the southeastern Bahamas. The government of Cuba has issued a hurricane watch for the provinces of Guantanamo, Holguin, and Las Tunas. The storm’s maximum sustained winds were clocked at 80 mph (130 kph) with higher gusts.

JERUSALEM — The Israeli government said a drone was launched toward the prime minister’s house Saturday, with no casualties, as Iran’s supreme leader vowed that Hamas would continue its fight against Israel following the killing of the mastermind of last year’s deadly Oct. 7 attack. Sirens wailed Saturday morning in Israel, warning of incoming fire from Lebanon, including a drone launched toward Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s house in Caesarea, the Israeli government said.

The corpse of Yahya Sinwar was found in the landscape he envisioned—the dusty rubble of an apocalyptic war ignited by the sneak attack he had planned in secret for years, and launched on Oct. 7, 2023. The catch was that the fighting extended only 25 miles east and at most four miles south from the shattered villa in southern Gaza where the Hamas leader died one year and nine days later.

BERLIN— Germany honored U. S. President Joe Biden for his contribution to trans-Atlantic relations on Friday, ahead of his meetings with European allies on Russia’s war in Ukraine and the conflict in the Middle East. But the presidential election cast a long shadow over Biden’s trip, the first bilateral visit to Germany by a U.