Europe – Page 81 – Prologue Journal

Explosion at Fuel Depot Near Florence Kills at Least Two

New York Times Officials said it would take time to determine the cause of the explosion. At least nine people were injured in the blast. https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/09/world/europe/florence-fuel-depot-explosion.html

Ukraine Weighs Telegram Security Risks Amid War With Russia

New York Times The messaging app’s popularity has soared during the war with Russia, leading Ukrainian officials to increasingly weigh Telegram’s upsides against its security risks. https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/09/technology/ukraine-russia-telegram-security.html

Monday Briefing

New York Times A historic transition of power in Syria. https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/09/briefing/syria-al-assad-trump-hamas.html

Britain’s Flawed Jobs Reports Leave Economists ‘Second-Guessing’

New York Times Officials are grappling with an incomplete picture of Britain’s labor market as the national statistics agency strains to improve data quality. https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/09/business/britain-jobs-data.html

Notre-Dame Holds First Public Mass in Years: ‘Fire Has Not Conquered Stone’

New York Times Sunday was the first opportunity for worshipers to return to the cathedral, beloved by the faithful and secular alike, since the 2019 fire that devastated it. “Despair has not conquered life,” its rector said. https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/08/world/europe/notre-dame-reopened-mass.html

Bogged Down in Ukraine, Russia Pays a Price in Syria

New York Times With the fall of President Bashar al-Assad of Syria, Vladimir V. Putin has suffered one of the biggest geopolitical setbacks of his quarter-century in power. https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/08/world/europe/russia-syria-assad-putin.html

43,000 Ukrainian Soldiers Killed Since Russia Invaded, Zelensky Says

New York Times The tally differs sharply from estimates by U.S. officials and military analysts, who have said the number is closer to 70,000. https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/08/world/europe/ukrainian-war-dead.html

A Sneak Peak Inside Notre-Dame Before Its Reopening

New York Times Michael Kimmelman, the architecture critic for The New York Times, visited the Paris landmark last summer amid the restoration. https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/08/insider/notre-dame-behind-scenes.html

The U.S. Couple Donating to Notre-Dame Restoration Efforts

New York Times A couple from North Carolina are part of the second-largest group of donors to the huge fund-raising effort to restore the famous cathedral: Americans. https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/08/world/europe/notre-dame-restoration-american-donors.html

Ukraine’s Aggressive Draft Efforts Are Facing a Backlash

New York Times After being left for dead by Russian soldiers, Mykola Kulichenko doesn’t think he should be forced to serve. His experience highlights the vagaries of Ukraine’s aggressive mobilization. https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/08/world/europe/ukraine-army-draft-mykola-kulichenko.html