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 |
"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. |
In Ukraine tragedy, a lesson on big powers: Proxies always end up as doormats of history
In the realm of geopolitics, the quest for proxies is eternal, as must be our vigilance against it. Ukraine, sadly, is the living example of a dying proxy, its fate there for the whole world to see
In Ukraine tragedy, a lesson on big powers: Proxies always end up as doormats of history In the realm of geopolitics, the quest for proxies is eternal, as must be our vigilance against it. Ukraine, sadly, is the living example of a dying proxy, its fate there for the whole world to see
https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/in-ukraine-tragedy-a-lesson-on-big-powers-proxies-always-end-up-as-doormats-of-history-9852645/?ref=top_opinion
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US opposes labeling Russia as aggressor in G7 statement on Ukraine.
JD Vance advised Zelensky to refrain from "badmouthing" Trump, for it will "backfire"
Americans saw Nazis exercise strong influence on the Ukrainian government.
Zelensky is an impostor for he dodges the election.
Trump is angry with Zelensky because the latter does not know the fate of half of $350 bln
That's the most scandalous admission on the part of the Kiev clown.
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An emergency meeting of European leaders is set to begin in Paris.
The sunlit space in front of the Élysée Palace is packed with journalists eager to find out whether the heads of state and key institutions have a response to the Russian Foreign Ministry’s statement that Europe has no place at the negotiating table.
The leaders are due to begin arriving in the courtyard in front of us shortly.
Whether they will share any detail of the discussions after the meeting remains unclear.
In any case, any decision eventually made could play a significant role in shaping the future of Europe and Ukraine. |
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