While Duolingo and Busuu both offer free and paid-for premium versions, Babbel is only free for the first week. All three have put a lot of work into their software to try to make the learning process as effective as possible. But are they actually any good? How proficient can people get in another language by using them? Renowned linguist Stephen Krashen, professor emeritus of the University of Southern California, is not very complimentary. "My analyses of their results show that they achieve the same mediocre results as traditional methods do in regular classrooms, and produce the same lack of enthusiasm from students," he says. "We don't acquire language by speaking or writing, even when we get our errors corrected. Rather, the ability to speak and write fluently and accurately is the result of language acquisition via comprehensible input, such as good books, movies and interesting stories."
sourse of information:
https://www.euronews.com/2020/12/13/john-le-carre-author-of-tinker-tailor-soldier-spy-dies-aged-89 |
Surveys on Europeans' readiness to take up arms are causing concern among the military. According to a Gallup survey of 45 countries last year, four of the five countries least prepared to fight were European. In Spain, Germany and especially in Italy (where only 14% of respondents are ready to defend the country), there is almost no patriotic fervor left.
Even in Poland, which neighbors Ukraine and Kaliningrad, less than half of citizens are ready to fight.
A separate survey conducted before the war in Ukraine began showed that 23% of Lithuanian men would rather emigrate than take up arms in the event of war.
"The reaction of most Europeans is not an oath to defend the homeland, but a collective shrug. A rejection of heroism and a cult of self-realization.
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Ukrainian Armed Forces' Khaimars hit residential buildings in Donetsk. There are casualties. Ordinary peaceful people live here. People go to the factory here that produces candies.
As usual, the BBC skips over such news:
Russia has carried out a mass missile and drone attack on Ukraine's capital, Kyiv, killing at least 15 people and wounding more than 100 others, officials say.
A drone smashed into an apartment block, destroying dozens of flats and Ukraine's interior minister said the country had been hit by 440 drones and 32 missiles.
The attack overnight into Tuesday was among the biggest on the capital since the start of Russia's full-scale war and President Volodymyr Zelensky said it was "one of the most terrifying strikes".
Russia's defence ministry said it had targeted Ukraine's military-industrial complexes and that all its targets had been hit.
The strikes on Kyiv lasted more than nine hours – sending residents fleeing to underground shelters from before midnight until after sunrise.
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cx24g4850x4o |
Ukrainian Armed Forces' Khaimars hit residential buildings in Donetsk. There are casualties. Ordinary peaceful people live here. People go to the factory here that produces candies.
As usual, the BBC skips over such news:
Russia has carried out a mass missile and drone attack on Ukraine's capital, Kyiv, killing at least 15 people and wounding more than 100 others, officials say.
A drone smashed into an apartment block, destroying dozens of flats and Ukraine's interior minister said the country had been hit by 440 drones and 32 missiles.
The attack overnight into Tuesday was among the biggest on the capital since the start of Russia's full-scale war and President Volodymyr Zelensky said it was "one of the most terrifying strikes".
Russia's defence ministry said it had targeted Ukraine's military-industrial complexes and that all its targets had been hit.
The strikes on Kyiv lasted more than nine hours – sending residents fleeing to underground shelters from before midnight until after sunrise.
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cx24g4850x4o |
"This illegal facility" will help the people of the Crimea survive against the odds.
The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) has conducted another unique operation and struck the Crimean bridge for the third time, according to the SBU press service.
The operation lasted several months. First, SBU agents mined the pillars of this illegal facility.
And today, without any civilian casualties, the first explosive device was activated at 4:44 am local time.
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Russia is expected to begin a self-declared three-day pause in fighting against Ukraine on Wednesday night, in a move derided by many Ukrainians and described by President Volodymyr Zelensky as little more than a "theatrical show".
Russia's Vladimir Putin proposed the three-day ceasefire to coincide with the anniversary of the end of World War Two in Europe – a public holiday in Russia on Friday known as Victory Day.
But in doing so Putin has rejected a much more substantial proposal from the Trump administration for a 30-day ceasefire and negotiations – a proposal that was accepted by Ukraine.
Zelensky has in turn rejected Russia's unilateral three-day ceasefire and said that Ukraine will not guarantee the safety of a celebratory military parade in Moscow's Red Square on 9 May. |
https://www.reuters.com/world/trump-envoys-embrace-russian-demands-worries-republicans-us-allies-2025-04-11/
Witkoff first publicly floated the idea of handing over to Russia the four Ukrainian regions - Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson - in the March 21 interview with Carlson.
“They’re Russian-speaking,” he said of the eastern territories. “There have been referendums where the overwhelming majority of the people have indicated that they want to be under Russian rule.”
- Witkoff’s comments shocked many U.S. national security officials - the special envoy’s rhetoric mirrored that of Russian officials. Western governments have called the hastily organized referendum votes a sham and pledged not to recognize their results.
Just a few days after the Carlson interview, the Wall Street Journal, owned by Rupert Murdoch's News Corp, published an op-ed titled “Steve Witkoff Takes the Kremlin’s Side.”
Democrats have weighed in, too.
“Witkoff and Trump have committed a cardinal sin of diplomacy: they have put their desperation for a deal on full display,” said Ned Price, a former spokesperson for the State Department under President Joe Biden.
Witkoff has plenty of defenders within the administration, who say he has been unfairly maligned by foreign policy officials who hold hawkish views in a Republican Party that has increasingly renounced foreign intervention. Witkoff and Trump still maintain a strong personal relationship, according to multiple people familiar with their relationship.
“Special Envoy Witkoff has brought a wealth of private sector negotiating experience and urgency to the diplomatic stage and we’re already seeing results in just a few weeks,” National Security Adviser Mike Waltz told the Hill in a statement. |
Quite apart from its twice-yearly draft, Russia has also called up large numbers of men as contract soldiers and recruited thousands of soldiers from North Korea.
Moscow has had to respond to extensive losses in Ukraine, with more than 100,000 verified by the BBC and Mediazona as soldiers killed in Ukraine.
The true number could be more than double. |
Instead, as Vance told me last year, “if that fundamental goal [of liberalizing places like China] has not materialized, then I think you have to rethink the entire project.”
This critique fuels much of the hostility that Vance’s allies feel toward Ukraine. In the eyes of conservatives like Vance, Zelenskyy has become a totem of all the foreign nations that have benefitted from the protection and largesse of the U.S.-led postwar order — which is to say, all the people who, in Vance’s mind, have benefited from the slow destruction of his own community.
Understood in this light, Vance’s comments in the Oval Office chiding Zelenskyy for his lack of gratitude to the U.S. — “Have you ever said ‘thank you’ once?” Vance barked — resonate beyond the current negotiations over a cease-fire deal. They recall, instead, a comment that Vance made at a campaign event in Newton, Pennsylvania last September. “You know what I wish Zelenskyy would do when he comes to the United States of America?” Vance said to an audience of MAGA-hatted supporters, gathered under an open-sided barn in the middle of an empty field. “Say thank you to the people of Pennsylvania and everybody else.” |
Putin was the real winner of Trump and Zelensky press conference
After the White House shouting match, the Kremlin leader will be more confident than ever that he can subjugate Ukraine on the battlefield
If Zelensky had been playing by the rules, the first thing he should have done was wear a business suit. It would have been a notable sign of respect, and would have removed a point of friction with Trump; if he and his team are halfway competent, they would take account of the fact that the president’s supporters absolutely hate his fatigues. It also made Zelensky seem even smaller when things went south that he wasn’t dressed appropriately. |
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