https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/17/us/politics/blinken-russia-ukraine-predictions.html Mr. Biden and Mr. Blinken make no secret of their suspicion that their increasingly desperate-sounding, last-ditch efforts to deter calamity will likely fail. Their pessimism was reinforced Thursday by a series of escalations. Russian-backed forces in the Donbas region appeared responsible for shelling a school, and later claimed they had come under fire from Ukrainian forces, exactly the kind of incident Mr. Blinken warned might be used as a pretext to justify an invasion. Mr. Biden will hold a phone call Friday afternoon with trans-Atlantic leaders about Russia’s buildup of military troops on the border of Ukraine and continued efforts to pursue deterrence and diplomacy. Russia acknowledged on Thursday having expelled the No. 2 diplomat in the American embassy in Moscow, and sent Washington a contradictory-sounding note in which it mocked the claims that it was planning to invade. It said no such action was being planned, and then warned that it would use “measures of a “military-technical character” if the West did not meet its security demands with “legally binding guarantees.” (It is not entirely clear what “military-technical” means to Mr. Putin, but officials in Washington speculate it could encompass everything from cyberweapons to relocating nuclear weapons closer to Western Europe or the United States.) While Mr. Biden insisted that “every indication we have is they’re prepared to go into Ukraine,’’ a growing number of diplomats and leaders pouring into Munich for an annual security conference said they thought the best they could hope for was no invasion — but a long siege of Ukraine. Under that scenario, Mr. Putin might do everything short of sending his troops over the border — cyberattacks, assassinations, coup plots, cutting off trade — in hopes of toppling the government without triggering sanctions.

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LINK:https://edition.cnn.com/travel/article/shortest-commercial-international-flight-anguilla-sint-maarten/index.html From there, it's just a couple more minutes over the salt ponds of Sandy Ground, famous for its long strip of sand and beach bars such as Elvis' and Johnno's, and low over the road until the wheels touch down at Clayton J. Lloyd International Airport, just eight minutes after departing Sint Maarten. Beyond tourism, Thomas' aircraft play another key role that is vital in supporting this traditionally boating and fishing community. "We provide search and rescue services free of charge to the state," he says. Whenever a fishing boat goes missing, Thomas and his team take to the air. "We've always done it, ever since I started the company," he continues. "It's a joy when we're on a search and rescue mission and we find someone." The aircraft are also involved in medical transportation flights and evacuations, being the only entity on the island outside of the hospital with a ventilator. "During Covid, we offer it to the hospital in case it's needed," says Thomas. Taking to the skies Anguilla may be dotted with some of the Caribbean's top luxury hotels and exclusive private villas, but this is not a wealthy island. Coming from a poor family that lived in a valley at the foot of the runway, Thomas worked his way through flight training in the US Virgin Islands to cover his fees, never having flown before heading to school. "That was the first time I'd ever sat in an airplane. It was a Britten-Norman Islander, made on the Isle of Wight in the UK," says Thomas. "I was the passenger pushed all the way into the back, but it was OK -- I was on an airplane!" After graduating flight school in 1988, he returned home to Anguilla. "A lot of my friends went on to fly big jets, but I said, 'No, I'm coming home.' I just felt that I could help my country. From 1988 up to now, I'm still here and, man, I enjoy it," he says. While aviation in Anguilla may still be small, with a focus on interisland hops, charters and private jet traffic, more young Anguillians are moving into the industry, including Thomas' own children. "I have a boy and a girl, and they're both in flight school in Florida. I never encouraged them to fly, I never took them with me, because I wanted them to choose a career of their own, but both of them are going to be pilots," he says. "I hope they can continue the legacy." And flights to the island are also increasing. In November, Cape Air launched flights between the US Virgin Islands and Anguilla. And in December, American Airlines introduced flights from Miami, the only scheduled direct flights to the island from the US mainland. In the peak holiday season, the tarmac at Clayton J. Lloyd International becomes a parking lot of private jets. Whether Thomas' children choose to follow their father's footsteps and come back to the island or decide to spread their wings and fly further away remains to be seen. But the eight-minute flight between Anguilla and Sint Maarten will remain an important link between these two neighboring territories and a vital part of this small island's aviation heritage.

LINK: https://www.vogue.fr/lifestyle/article/5-iles-a-decouvrir-absolument-a-tahiti Teahupoo En quête de la vague ultime, les surfeurs ont le don de débusquer les spots rares en connexion totale avec l’océan. Hors des radars, Teahupoo brille en tête de liste des eldorados du genre, aussi prisé que difficile à expérimenter. Par sa position inédite, entre le lagon et le grand large, ses vagues sont connues pour être aussi incurvées que puissantes. Amateurs s'abstenir, seuls les meilleures surfeurs s'y retrouvent pour s'affronter lors de tournois internationaux ou s'entraîner à cet effet. A terre, l'ambiance est plutôt low key, avec un florilège de lodges et de restaurants les pieds dans l'eau. Tetiaroa Les newlyweds en raffolent, les voyageurs aguerris l'évoquent les yeux brillants, Tetiaroa fait partie de ces destinations paradisiaques qui font rêver tout le monde. Propriété de Marlon Brando, elle s'est muée en resort à vocation aussi luxueuse qu'écolo en juillet 2014. Bordé par les eaux turquoise du Pacifique, le lieu nommé naturellement The Brando s'articule en 35 villas d'une à trois chambres, d’un restaurant fin aux saveurs fusion et polynésiennes ou encore d’un spa installé dans l’îlot où l’ancienne famille royale s’adonnait à ses rites de beauté. Tahiti Impossible de s'envoler pour Tahiti s'en faire escale, ne serait-ce qu'un bref instant, à Papeete. Capitale de la Polynésie Française, l'île rassemble locaux et voyageurs de passage, à la découverte d'un centre ville historique, où flâner à travers les marchés (aux étales plus où moins typiques), siroter des bières tahitiennes avec vue sur la baie ou encore explorer le cœur de l'archipel. Très vert, on y retrouve un maillage impressionnant de jungle et de cascades vertigineuses, dont les paysages pourraient nous faire croire à un simili de Jurassic Park. Comment se rendre à Tahiti? Située à l'autre bout de la planète, il faut compter deux fois 12h de vol, depuis Paris, pour rejoindre la Polynésie Française. Grande spécialiste du périple, la compagnie Air Tahiti Nui est encore la valeur la plus sûre pour rejoindre ses îles. Surtout si l'on opte pour la classe Poerava Business, où l'on reçoit, dès notre arrivée à bord, une fleur de Tiare avant de prendre place sur des fauteuils cossus turquoise. Réputé par sa flexibilité hors pair et ses options premium dans un cadre intimiste et spacieux, on y profite d'une myriade de films, de dîners et déjeuners accompagnés de bons crus, mais aussi et surtout d'un service bienveillant. Intégralement upgradé, les heures défilent plus vite.

Happy Birthday!

https://edition.cnn.com/2022/02/17/politics/russia-ukraine-us-biden-putin/index.html Far from buying into claims the Ukraine showdown is easing, the United States is cranking up its relentless informational warfare campaign against Russia, keeping the world on high alert for a possible invasion of Ukraine. The Biden administration -- seeking to maintain pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin and to keep its allies united -- is categorically rejecting what it sees as Moscow's misinformation and is warning the threat is only becoming more urgent. A senior official said late Wednesday that Russia had massed another 7,000 troops on the Ukrainian border in recent days, despite the Kremlin's claims that some forces had returned to base in remarks seen as an opening for diplomacy. "Every indication we have now is they mean only to publicly offer to talk, and make claims about de-escalation, while privately mobilizing for war," the official said, reiterating that Russia could fake an incident as a pretext to attack using what President Joe Biden said Tuesday was around 150,000 troops. The new US claims represented the latest gambit in a highly unusual public relations campaign using declassified intelligence meant to remove the element of surprise from Putin and to deprive Moscow of the usual advantage it secures with its mastery of misinformation tactics. Inside Washington, there are few who doubt government claims Putin is ready to invade at any time. But the intensity of US warnings over a period of weeks may soon raise the question of how long Biden can maintain the state of alert, and whether the continued lack of an invasion despite ever-more alarming warnings could open gaps between NATO allies -- and between the US and Ukrainian governments. Such stresses would play directly into Putin's long-term strategic goals. Both the US and Russia, the world's two greatest nuclear powers, say they are ready to negotiate. But they remain far apart on Putin's demands to rip up existing security arrangements in Eastern Europe with the departure of NATO troops from former Warsaw Pact nations.

LINK:https://edition.cnn.com/2022/02/17/sport/mikaela-shiffrin-ski-beijing-olympics-combined-crash-spt-intl/index.html Mikaela Shiffrin's Beijing nightmare continued on Thursday with the US skiing star left reeling from a third did-not-finish (DNF) at the Games. Shiffrin arrived at the Winter Olympics looking to win a third consecutive gold at a Games, but after crashing out of the alpine combined event, the 26-year-old has incredibly suffered 60% of her career DNF's at the National Alpine Skiing Centre this month. She had already failed to finish in her favorite disciplines -- the slalom and giant slalom -- earlier in the Games, events that had reaped gold at Sochi 2014 and PyeongChang 2018 respectively. Yet when asked whether her rocky start in Beijing had played on her mind heading into the combined event, an exasperated Shiffrin asserted that she had no intention of skiing safe just to finish. "It was not actually that much to ask for from myself, and I was starting to do it, and then I was out anyway," Shiffrin said. "I don't really understand it, and I'm not sure when I'm going to have much of an explanation. I can't explain to you how frustrated I am to not know what I can learn from today." Shiffrin had made a positive start to the combined event. Despite her disappointing start to the Games, Shiffrin had started well in the combined event, placing fifth in the downhill course to put her within range of a podium finish heading into the deciding slalom run. "I finally felt I could really trust my instincts in the track," Shiffrin said after her downhill run, and maintained that -- despite the permanent presence of pressure -- she had carried a "calm, solid mentality" into the slalom. "The most disappointing thing, beyond walking away from the Games with no individual medals ... is that I had multiple opportunities to ski slalom on this track, and I failed in all of them," Shiffrin said. "That's disappointing for me, it's disappointing for my whole team, for the coaches, for everybody who's been working so hard, and it's disappointing for anybody back home who woke up and thought, especially today, 'Hey, she did a pretty good downhill run, set up pretty well for the slalom.' "Right now, I just feel like a joke."

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LINK: https://edition.cnn.com/2022/02/13/business/lockheed-martin-aerojet-rocketdyne/index.html An RAF Lockheed Martin F-35B fighter jet taxis along a runway after landing at the Royal International Air Tattoo at Fairford, Britain July 8, 2016. U.S. arms maker Lockheed Martin Corp said on Sunday it terminated its plan to acquire rocket engine maker Aerojet Rocketdyne Holdings Inc for $4.4 billion. The move comes after the U.S. Federal Trade Commission voted unanimously last month to sue to block the deal over antitrust concerns. The merger, which was announced in late 2020, drew criticism as it would give Lockheed a dominant position over solid fuel rocket motors -- a vital piece of the U.S. missile industry. "Our planned acquisition of Aerojet Rocketdyne would have benefitted the entire industry through greater efficiency, speed, and significant cost reductions for the U.S. government," said Lockheed Martin CEO James Taiclet in a news release. "However, we determined that in light of the FTC's actions, terminating the transaction is in the best interest of our stakeholders." Taiclet added, "We stand by our long heritage as a merchant supplier and trusted partner and will continue to support Aerojet Rocketdyne and other essential suppliers in the Defense Industrial Base still overcoming the challenges of the pandemic." After Lockheed ended the deal, Aerojet Rocketdyne issued a statement indicating it is "poised to deliver substantial value to our shareholders driven by our continued leadership in key space exploration and defense growth markets, including by advancing hypersonics and strategic, tactical and missile defense systems." "We are confident in our future performance with an impressive backlog that is more than three times the size of our annual sales and a strong macroeconomic environment underpinning our portfolio," it added.

LINK: https://edition.cnn.com/2022/02/15/business/elon-musk-charity-donation/index.html London (CNN Business)Tesla CEO Elon Musk has donated roughly $5.7 billion worth of the electric carmaker's shares to charity. The donation of 5,044,000 shares was revealed Monday in a filing to the US Securities and Exchange Commission. The shares were gifted last year between November 19 and November 29, according to the filing, which did not name the recipient or recipients of the shares. Tesla's stock was trading above $1,000 per share at the time of the donations. The donated shares were worth $5.7 billion based on the average of the highest and lowest quoted price on the date of the transaction. The charitable giving would make Musk the second biggest US donor in 2021. Tesla's CEO trails only Bill Gates and Melinda French Gates, who gave $15 billion last year, in an annual ranking by the Chronicle of Philanthropy. Previous securities filings show that Musk sold Tesla shares worth over $16 billion in the final two months of 2021, with most of the proceeds going to pay an estimated $11 billion US federal tax bill. Donated shares are not subject to capital gains tax and their value could be used as a deduction to help offset the tax bill. Tesla did not immediately respond when asked for more details on the donated shares. Musk has established a foundation that makes grants in support of causes including pediatric research and science education, but there are few details available on its bare-bones website. Musk, the world's richest man, was challenged last year by the director of the UN World Food Programme (WFP) to make a donation that would help solve world hunger. "If WFP can describe on this Twitter thread exactly how $6 billion will solve world hunger, I will sell Tesla stock right now and do it," Musk wrote on Twitter in October. The World Food Programme did respond with a plan. It did not immediately reply Tuesday when asked whether Musk has made a donation to the organization.

LINK: https://www.vogue.fr/lifestyle/article/les-residences-dartistes-a-connaitre-en-france The artist residences where to put your suitcases from Barbizon to Biarritz The concept is not new, France has been for centuries the cradle of choice for future artists. Maintained by a host of literary and cinematographic fantasies, but also by the striking force of its institutions, the image of a broke Hemingway forgetting his hunger while writing novels on the terraces of Parisian cafes, of a Picasso painting barefoot in Provence or a Niki Saint Phalle sculpting in the shade of Milly-La-Forêt have proven themselves. A new boon also for hoteliers, whose profession has only evolved over the last few decades, driven by an ever more competitive race for service, and who seize the opportunity to showcase their addresses. As at the Folie Barbizon , a nugget of the genre inaugurated in 2020 where its founder Lionel Bensemoun explains: "our artists' residence existed a year before the official opening of the hotel, including painters ( Théodore Fivel ), sculptors ( Bence Magyarlaki in the lead), ceramists ( Zuzana Hlivavora ) or even musicians (the Papoozwrote some songs there). Their projects produced on site give it an original identity and good musical vibes. The bed and the cover for fine base, the hotels are from now on thought like places of life where one can as well follow detox cures as to make training courses of oenology or thus to mount an exhibition. Easier to access than the slightly elitist national residences, these private spaces set their own rules along the way.

LINK:https://www.politico.com/news/2022/02/14/democrat-gary-peters-50-50-senate-00008320 Just days after Gary Peters eked out a reelection win from a $200 million throw-down, he got a heartburn-inducing offer: Would he help run Democrats’ Senate races in a merciless midterm election? “He basically said in a very nice way: ‘Go to hell,’” Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) recalled the mild-mannered Michigander telling him. “His state’s getting harder and harder. Why would he want to dive back in?” But Peters eventually did, after further cajoling from Brown and the rest of the Democratic Caucus. And as he mulled taking the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee chair role, a difficult job grew even more challenging: Democrats picked up the majority by the narrowest margin possible, leaving Peters to defend a majority cobbled together with senators from historically red and purple states — not exactly safe reelection bets. In an interview at his sparsely decorated office in the DSCC headquarters, adorned with a poster of the Detroit skyline, Peters recalled his uncharacteristic initial response to Brown: “I said: ‘Sherrod, get away from me. I do not want to talk to you.’ ... It took some soul-searching.” Now, even as Biden’s approval ratings crater and incumbent Democrats publicly sweat over inflation, Peters is setting a high bar for success this fall. He doesn’t want to just hold the Senate majority — a task that probably means protecting every single incumbent in states like Arizona and Georgia — he wants to make Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s job a hell of a lot easier: “It’s a sense of mission for me to get to 52 or more” Senate seats, Peters said. Picking up two seats might not sound like a herculean task, but it would make him a near-legend in Democratic Party lore. It’s vanishingly rare for the party in power to pick up seats in the first midterm election after a new president takes over, and Biden’s current approval slump isn’t helping. Senate Republicans managed to do it with a favorable battleground map in 2018 even as they lost the House — a formula Democrats may have to replicate this year. Peters’ own resume of racking up wins in Michigan is giving Democrats hope for a fighting chance. The former Michigan lottery commissioner’s probably gotten a little luck along the way, but his personal political story is one of survival by any means necessary. He swept into office in 2008 by knocking off a House GOP incumbent, survived the tea party wave of 2010, beat fellow Democratic incumbent Hansen Clarke in a redistricting-stoked primary in 2012 and was the only new Democratic senator to take office after the 2014 shellacking. In 2020, Republicans mocked Peters, a bespectacled and laid-back former Navy officer, as “Jerry Peters” — so anonymous voters didn’t even know his name. He won in 2020 by less than two points against John James, one of the best GOP recruits in years. “I’ve got a lot of respect for the senator. And he worked really hard, I’ve got to credit that. So that paid dividends come Election Day,” said Sen. Todd Young (R-Ind.) who ran the GOP’s 2020 campaign arm. Still, Young said Peters’ historically Democratic state helped him personally, and he advised that translating personal electoral success across the Senate map is tricky: “They’re very different jobs.”

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LINK: https://www.vogue.fr/lifestyle/article/les-gateaux-et-chocolats-a-offrir-a-la-saint-valentin-2022 Chilli chocolate candies from Plaq This year 2022, this temple of ethical chocolate, with the motto "Bean to bar" , offers for Valentine's Day sweets skillfully seasoned with pepper and chilli. The price: 28 euros In love with the coco by Yann Couvreur For Valentine's Day, pastry chef Yann Couvreur offers a coconut and caramel entremet. The price: 19 euros In love with the coco by Yann Couvreur Cédric Grolet's chocolate flower A crimson pastry, in the shape of a rose, which combines a crispy chocolate shortcrust pastry, a cocoa nib praline, a flourless chocolate biscuit, a creamy chocolate nib and a chocolate ganache from Peru. The price: 36 euros

LINK: https://edition.cnn.com/europe/live-news/ukraine-russia-news-02-14-22-intl/index.html erman Chancellor Olaf Scholz will make a fresh attempt at deterring Russian President Vladimir Putin from invading Ukraine after diplomatic efforts to avert war over the weekend failed to achieve a breakthrough. Scholz, who will be in Kyiv Monday and Moscow on Tuesday, intends to "proceed with talks about the still very serious situation at the Ukrainian border. In Kyiv, it is important to me to express our continuous solidarity and support to Ukraine," Scholz wrote on Twitter. “We urgently expect signs of de-escalation from Moscow. Further military aggression would have very serious consequences for Russia. I absolutely agree with our allies on this. We are experiencing a very, very serious threat to peace in Europe.” This comes after a weekend of diplomacy which saw US President Joe Biden tell his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky that the US would respond "swiftly and decisively" to further Russian aggression against Ukraine, according to a statement from the White House. Biden spoke to Putin for around an hour on Saturday, but it did little to change Moscow's position. A senior administration official told reporters following the call that the discussion was substantive but the US fears Russia may still launch a military attack anyway. The call between Biden and Putin came hours after the US moved some of its forces out of Ukraine and ordered the evacuation of most of its embassy staff on Saturday over invasion fears.

LINK: https://www.vogue.fr/lifestyle/article/meilleurs-restaurants-chinois-pour-celebrer-le-nouvel-an With the arrival of the Chinese New Year , the perfect excuse to taste specialties from all over China. Overview of the best Parisian restaurants where to celebrate it as it should be. Shanghai Palace The only starred Chinese restaurant in France, the Shang Palace seduces with its authentic cuisine, with Cantonese influences, prepared by chef Samuel Lee . In a decor worthy of the Tang dynasty , visitors will discover, from Thursday January 27 to February 1, a 7-course menu which includes salmon in sashimi, the traditional lacquered duck or even a blue lobster sautéed with ginger and spring onions. Little Bao and Big Bao On February 1 , the Petit Bao and Gros Bao restaurants will offer a special menu to celebrate the water tiger. Accompanied by a house beer, brewed by Deck & Donohue , Tsing Bao, visitors can enjoy steamed dumplings with beef and daikon radish, pork balls with shiitake, lobster bites with free-range pork and ginger or even coconut sesame balls. Steam Bar Led by chef Monsieur Wong (former dim sum master at Shang Palace , the star-studded Chinese restaurant at Shangri-La ), Steam Bar is offering, this year 2022, a 6-course New Year's menu. Expert in dim sum, he brings together ravioli and other gyozas with scallops and prawns, spicy aubergines or duck breast. Not to mention kumquat cocktails and a volcano-inspired sweet bao.

LINK: https://edition.cnn.com/2022/02/12/politics/hillary-clinton-emails-trump-records/index.html Hillary Clinton jokingly jabbed at former President Donald Trump in a tweet amid reports that he periodically flushed papers down the toilet in the White House residence. "Just in time for Galentine's Day, and the news that Trump was flushing documents down White House toilets...," Clinton, the 2016 Democratic presidential candidate and former secretary of state, tweeted promoting a new hat that reads "but her emails." Her nonprofit organization Onward Together is selling the hat as part of its fundraising efforts. Her mention of "Galentine's Day" in the tweet is a nod to the NBC television series "Parks and Recreation," which po[CENSORED]rized the term. Clinton's tweet comes after reports this week that then-President Trump would often tear up documents, drafts and memos after reading them. The revelation of Trump's toilet-flushing habit was first revealed Thursday by Maggie Haberman, a New York Times journalist and author of the forthcoming book "Confidence Man" about Trump. Trump has denied the toilet-flushing allegations as categorically untrue. The hat Clinton promoted in the tweet references her use of a personal email account on a private server during her tenure as secretary of state under the Obama administration. The FBI investigated the matter, and then-FBI Director James Comey said in 2016 that Clinton was "extremely careless" but ultimately determined she should not be charged. The email controversy prompted also prompted an internal State Department investigation that found Clinton didn't deliberately mishandle classified information. Clinton established her nonprofit organization after losing the 2016 presidential election with a mission to support progressive leaders and organizations. As a part of the fundraising efforts, the organization sells merchandise using Clinton's likeness and name. The National Archives has asked the Department of Justice to investigate Trump's handling of White House records and is seeking a review of whether Trump violated the Presidential Records Act, which requires that all records created by presidents be turned over to the National Archives at the end of their administrations, and other possible violations, including the handling of classified information. The request came after recent revelations that the National Archives last month had to retrieve 15 boxes of records that had ended up with Trump in Mar-a-Lago and that other documents given to the Archives were torn up and had to be pieced back together.