Biden and Zelensky Try to Rally the World Behind Ukraine

At the annual gathering of world leaders at the U.N. today in New York City, President Biden tried to rally the world to stick with Ukraine and warned against appeasing Moscow in a way that would reward its aggression.

“Russia believes that the world will grow weary and allow it to brutalize Ukraine without consequence,” Biden told the General Assembly. “But I ask you this: If we abandon the core principles” of the United Nations Charter “to appease an aggressor, can any member state in this body feel confident that they are protected?”

President Volodymyr Zelensky gave his own speech soon afterward, presenting Russia’s aggression as an unrelenting worldwide threat that will not stop at the borders of Ukraine.

“The goal of the present war against Ukraine is to turn our land, our people, our lives, our resources into a weapon against you, against the international rules-based order,” Zelensky told the leaders. He added that Russia was weaponizing essentials like food and energy “not only against our country, but against all of yours as well.”

The remarks come at a perilous moment for Ukraine. War fatigue appears to be growing both in the U.S. and elsewhere, and House Republicans in Washington have held up further military aid. Ukraine’s progress on the ground has also been slow and bloody, and neutral nations continue to remain on the sidelines or to even facilitate the Russian invasion.

The U.S. and Saudi Arabia consider a defense treaty

American and Saudi officials are discussing a mutual defense treaty that would provide Saudi Arabia with U.S. military support if it was attacked. The discussions are central to the White House’s effort to get Saudi Arabia to normalize relations with Israel.

The structure of the treaty would be modeled after the military pacts that the U.S. has with Japan and South Korea, which are considered the strongest among non-NATO allies, U.S. officials said. Any agreement, however, is likely to face strong objections in Congress, where lawmakers in both parties see the Saudis as unreliable partners who care little about U.S. interests or human rights.

Tensions between Canada and India escalate over killing

Since Canada’s prime minister, Justin Trudeau, accused India yesterday of being involved in the killing of a Canadian citizen in June, both sides have been in an all-out diplomatic war. Trudeau firmly rejected the Indian government’s denial of any involvement in the assassination and pressed his allies to come together to challenge India. New Delhi moved to expel a top Canadian diplomat, and Indian officials lined up to air their grievances with Canada.

Years of diplomatic tension are behind the rapid plunge in relations. In New Delhi’s eyes, Western nations — most notably Canada — have stood by idly as extremist Sikh groups, including the one led by the murdered Canadian citizen, have supported a secessionist cause that threatens the Indian state.

An anti-affirmative action group sued West Point

The group Students for Fair Admissions sued the U.S. Military Academy today, arguing that the Supreme Court ruling that bars race-conscious admissions at civilian colleges should apply to military academies as well.

The complaint revives a longstanding debate over whether national security depends on the military academies being permitted to use racial preferences to develop a pipeline of officers who mirror the demographic composition of the enlisted troops and the general population.

More top news

Disney is doubling down on parks and cruises

Disney disclosed today that it was planning a roughly $60 billion investment in parks and cruises over the next decade. That is double what Disney has spent on parks and cruises over the past decade, during which it opened the Shanghai Disney Resort, sharply increased its cruise line capacity and added rides based on intellectual properties like “Star Wars,” “Guardians of the Galaxy” and “Avatar” to its domestic parks.

The company did not say how it planned to spend the money, but the chairman of the parks division gave hints, noting that Disney movies like “Coco,” “Zootopia,” “Encanto,” “Black Panther” and others had not yet been incorporated into the company’s parks in meaningful ways.

America’s 50 most exciting restaurants

For our third annual New York Times Restaurant List, my colleagues scoured the nation, dining at hundreds of different locations, in search of their favorites. Despite the upheavals in recent years, the many great options — from Rattlesnake Point in Florida to the Arts District in Los Angeles — made it hard to narrow the list down to just 50.

Check out the list.

A $4 thrift store find sold for nearly $200,000

Six years ago, a dusty old painting caught the eye of a woman shopping for home décor in a thrift store in Manchester, N.H. It depicted two women in an apparent standoff. The shopper was taken by it and bought it for $4.

It turns out that the painting was an authentic — yet somehow overlooked — oil panel by N.C. Wyeth, one of the premier American illustrators of the 20th century, who is known for bringing to life classic stories like “Treasure Island,” “Robin Hood” and “Robinson Crusoe.” Once she realized what she had, the woman decided to put it up for auction. Today, the painting sold for $191,000.

Have a fortunate evening.

Thanks for reading. Liz Sanders was our photo editor today. I’ll be back tomorrow. — Matthew

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