Author: openjargon

• I'm a luxury travel planner, and these are destinations I think will be popular this year.
• For a beach getaway in Europe, I recommend Sardinia, Corsica, and Costa Navarino
• I suggest Niseko, Japan, for outdoor enthusiasts or Ticino, Switzerland, as a Lake Como alternative.

With Americans spending more on travel and experiences, now could be just the time to book a trip.

I'm a luxury travel advisor, and I book five-star hotels and luxury vacations around the world for wealthy and high-profile clients.

My clients always ask me about under-the-radar luxury destinations that feel exclusive and are not overly crowded by tourists.

Here are a few places I'm recommending to my clients in 2024.

Ticino, Switzerland

This charming Italian-speaking region is also known as Switzerland's "Little Italy."

I recommend visiting Swissminiatur in Melide, an open-air miniature museum that's great for families with kids. I also suggest visiting the well-manicured Parco Ciani, a beautiful park with statues and fountains that overlook Lago di Lugano.

The region's small lakeside town Ascona is not to be missed. Take a boat cruise there and have lunch with a view of the cafe-lined promenade situated on Lago Maggiore.

You can also take a short boat ride to the Brissago Islands, which consist of two islands. Only Isola Grande is open to the public. There, you can walk around the botanical garden and have a meal at the dreamy, neoclassical Villa Emden.

Sardinia, Italy

Sardinia is also known for its nightlife and white-sand beaches. This island in the Mediterranean is also a hot spot for celebrities.

The northern side of the island is dotted with upscale beach clubs and luxury resorts such as Romazzino, Costa Smeralda, and Hotel Cala di Volpe.

Botswana, Africa

Most visitors go to Kenya for an African safari but Botswana is better suited for a high-end safari experience with luxury accommodations since there are a limited number of camps.

You can spot the Big 5 in the Okavango Delta, which offers a good mix of land and water safaris. Or visit Chobe National Park, which has a very high population of elephants.

Niseko, Japan

Niseko offers some of the best powder for skiing in the winter. In the summer, the area is known for its outdoor activities.

It has natural hot springs, river activities, golf courses, hiking, and mountain biking. If you're up for an adventure in the spring or summer, I recommend climbing to the top of Mt. Yotei, a volcano and one of the famous mountains for skiing. The hike is not for the faint of heart!

Many people visit Tokyo to see the cherry blossoms, but you can also see them in Niseko. They're often in full bloom at the beginning of May.

Corsica, France

Corsica has the perfect mix of rugged landscapes, hiking trails, rich history, and lively beaches. Its Plage de Palombaggia has stunning clear blue waters and a long stretch of white sand.

Corsica also has several vineyards — including a few along the coast — so you can take scenic tours and go wine tasting on the island.

Costa Navarino, Greece

Skip overcrowded Greek islands like Santorini and Mykonos. Instead, vacation in Costa Navarino, a coastal town in the Peloponnese known for its world-class golf courses and epic outdoor adventures.

If you want to shop for artisanal goods made by local designers, stop by Navarino Agora, a new outdoor marketplace with an open-air cinema.

Jose Ignacio, Uruguay

Jose Ignacio is a chic beach town that comes alive after Christmas (during the region's summer season) when locals from Uruguay and nearby Argentina flock here for vacation.

The former fishing village is anchored by the faro, or lighthouse, near Playa del Faro Jose Ignacio — my favorite beach for people-watching and kite surfing. Spend a day soaking up the sun and check out the trendy seaside bars and restaurants.

Vals, Switzerland

Vals is a small, quiet alpine village in Graubünden with only about 1,000 inhabitants.

It's a hiker's paradise with wide open landscapes and rolling green hills. Try the moderate hike around Lake Zervreila at the base of the gondola in the center of Vals — you'll be rewarded with spectacular lake and village views.

A crown jewel of Vals is 7132 Hotel, an architectural marvel designed by prominent Swiss architect Peter Zumthor. The hotel is famous for its thermal spa made of local quartzite.

West Kowloon Cultural District, Hong Kong

This waterfront district in Hong Kong is an art hub with multiple major arts and performance venues. M+ and Hong Kong Palace Museum are two of the newer museums that opened in 2021 and 2022, respectively.

The Xiqu Centre in The West Kowloon Cultural District is an especially cool performing arts venue where you can watch a Cantonese opera.

Hawke's Bay, New Zealand

This warm and sunny region is perfect for foodies and wine lovers, with over 100 wineries and many restaurants that serve farm-to-table food.

It's one of New Zealand's oldest wine regions and a great alternative to European ones. The vast majority of New Zealand's cabernet sauvignon and merlot are produced in Hawke's Bay.

Plus, the area's flat trails make it ideal for wine and food tours by bicycle.

Kids will love the National Aquarium of New Zealand and Napier's Marine Parade, an outdoor playground with a skate park, gardens, and mini-golf.

• Can America hold onto the power it accrued in the 20th century?
• Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz would like to think startups can play a key role in that process.
• However, they worry startups face forces that could ruin them — and America's global leadership.

Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz have been fretting about 21st-century America.

Less than 24 hours after commemorating American independence on July 4, the investor duo in charge of venture capital firm A16z published a very Silicon Valley spiel on how the US can retain the power it accrued in the 20th century.

They call it the "Little Tech Agenda."

Simply, the agenda is about "Little Tech" startups, as opposed to Big Tech companies such as Apple, Google, and Meta. The opportunities that Little Tech presents — and the threats it faces — must be fully understood if America wants to stay on top, the investors argue.

It's very worth noting that both Andreessen and Horowitz are hugely incentivized as VCs to draw attention to startups. In April, their firm said it raised $7.2 billion to spearhead investments into startups leading several areas, including "American Dynamism" — a catch-all term for founders leading companies that "support the national interest." Think aerospace, defense, education, housing, manufacturing.

That said, the Silicon Valley veterans are ready to make their case for why concern for the future of startups extends to concern for the future of America itself.

The Little Tech Agenda, explained

Andreessen and Horowitz have a simple explanation for their new agenda: They want America to recreate the successes that gave it unassailable leadership in the 20th century.

But they're not sure current circumstances will allow for that to happen.

In the blog published on Friday, they wrote how America enjoyed unipolar power over the global order in the 1900s thanks to the second Industrial Revolution, the spread of computers, a championing of a free market system, and sheer military might.

That said, they are aware of a growing chorus of voices that think such successes will be hard to come by again. "Naysayers say America's best days are behind us, that the 21st century will see America play a diminished role," they wrote. "We disagree."

As VCs, their disagreement is rooted in a belief that startups have a vital role to play in ensuring America's continued role as the world's chief nation-state. The spirit that produced Ford, Lockheed Martin, and SpaceX is the spirit needed for future prosperity, their argument goes.

However, they think startup spirit is being wrecked by the very people who need it to ensure continued power.

Andreessen and Horowitz argue that "there is no reason the 21st century cannot be a Second American Century" if the political machinery in Washington DC stops getting in the way of startups reaching their full potential.

As they put it, the US government is "now far more hostile to new startups than it used to be," with regulatory agencies being "greenlit to use brute force investigations, prosecutions, intimidation, and threats" to hobble growing industries such as artificial intelligence.

They also claimed that regulators are getting in the way of market activities such as takeovers, and proposing new tax regimes targeting "unrealized capital gains" that would "absolutely kill both startups and the venture capital industry that funds them."

Now, it's worth asking the extent to which vocalizing such concerns is really about America keeping the hot seat on the global stage until 2100 rather than helping VCs further line their pockets.

'Regulatory capture'

The technology sector's tilt toward generative AI since the launch of ChatGPT, for instance, has thus far massively favored Big Tech over VCs and startups. Silicon Valley heavyweights leading the Nasdaq have earned a far larger share of the financial reward from AI than their startup counterparts.

That's partly because Big Tech firms have had an easier time securing the vast amounts of capital and computing power needed to power the intensive large language models driving up AI costs.

Andreessen and Horowitz also argue that Big Tech's advantage has been helped by "regulatory capture" that has served to "protect and entrench their positions."

The end result, they say, is "stagnation and then decline." They'll now hope others share the view that America's future depends massively on bootstrapped founders with a dream.

• Europe's artillery shell production won't meet promises made to Ukraine, an investigation found.
• The European Commission claimed production of 1 million shells annually as of January this year.
• An investigation found that actual production is around 550,000 shells, a major shortfall.

European claims about its capacity to produce artillery shells are wildly overblown, meaning it won't be able to supply Ukraine anywhere near the quantity it has promised, according to a new investigation.

The European Commission claimed that, as of January this year, Europe's annual production capacity for 155 mm shells had reached one million shells a year.

This was followed by claims in June by the EU's Commissioner for Internal Market, Thierry Breton, that the bloc planned to be producing 1.7 million shells annually by the end of 2024.

But a consortium of newsrooms, including Radio Free Europe and Die Welt, which spoke to manufacturers, experts and government officials, said in an investigation published Monday that these claims are far from the reality.

An internal document from Rheinmetall, Germany's flagship arms manufacturer and one of Europe's largest, instead put the EU's annual 155mm shell production at the start of the year at more like 550,000, the group reported.

This tallies with a report published at the end of 2023 by the Estonian defense ministry, which estimated that collective production for that year stood at between 480,000 and 700,000 shells — a far cry from the European Commission's claims a month later.

The investigation published Monday reported that unnamed experts and industry insiders broadly agreed with their assessment.

One source familiar with the industry said Europe would produce less than half a million shells by the end of the year, and said it was poor policy to pretend otherwise.

The report identified numerous factors affecting the shortfalls, including a global gunpowder shortage and the lack of long-term contracts from governments to encourage the scaling-up of production.

European Commission spokesperson Johanna Bernsel told Business Insider that it stands by its estimate "under realistic operational conditions, in response to orders received."

She added that the estimates were based on EU member state and industry data, and that they take into account ongoing investment and efforts to reduce bottlenecks.

She also said that not all production is openly disclosed to media for security reasons.

155mm shells have been a crucial staple for both sides of the conflict in Ukraine. As of January, Ukrainian forces were firing in the range of 200,000 a month, according to internal estimates seen by Bloomberg.

In addition to supplying Ukraine, European states need to conserve some supplies for their own defensive stockpiles, and for other conflicts worldwide.

Ukraine has already experienced critical shortages of the munition, notably during the six months that US Congress held up sending further aid to Ukraine, forcing it to drastically ration its supplies at a time when Russia was firing an estimated 10,000 shells a day.

As of May, Russia was able to produce artillery shells about three times faster than Ukraine's allies were able to, and for a quarter of the cost, Sky News reported.

• Biden sent a stern letter to congressional Democrats reiterating that he has no plans to drop out.
• He said questions about him have "been well-aired for over a week" and "it's time for it to end."
• The list of Democrats calling for Biden to drop out is likely to grow this week.

As lawmakers head back to Washington today after their one-week recess, President Joe Biden is issuing a stern warning: I'm not going anywhere, time to pipe down.

In a letter to Democrats in both chambers, Biden struck a defiant tone, even as he acknowledged "good faith fears and worries about what is at stake in this election."

"The question of how to move forward has been well-aired for over a week now," Biden wrote. "And it's time for it to end."

Five House Democrats have publicly called for Biden to drop out, and more are likely to do so this week.

According to several media reporters, several high-ranking House Democrats — including Rep. Jerry Nadler of New York, Mark Takano of California, Adam Smith of Washington, and Joe Morelle of New York — said that Biden should step aside during a private call with colleagues on Sunday.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Leonid Shteyn. It has been edited for length and clarity.

Last year, I started looking for ways to make more money from my retirement savings. I'm 70, and my wife, who is also retired, is 68. We were worried about having enough money to live with rising inflation. We also wanted to have something to leave our four grandchildren, two of whom have special needs.

I researched investment options online and eventually reached out to a friend. He connected me to a company he was investing in. I checked the company out online, and everything seemed above board. I spoke with a professional financial planner tied to the company.

Still, I was cautious. I opened an account with just $250. Then, I transferred $10,000. When that investment began to grow, I wanted to go all in. I withdrew $100 from the account to make sure it was legit. After that withdrawal was processed, I transferred all my money: $256,470.

Things quickly became strange

After that, things started to get strange. The so-called investment company asked me to take out a line of credit. They encouraged me to invest in bitcoin and started charging me steep commissions.

One day, I got an email, reportedly from a blockchain, the digital wallet where people keep bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. When I looked closely, I noticed that one digit in the email was off—it was a scam meant to look like an official blockchain communication.

That's when I knew something was very wrong.

I trusted the big bank that the scammers used

Still, the so-called investment company called me, asking for more money. I got my own lawyer, who looked up the company's legal representation. He couldn't find any licensed lawyer with the name I'd been given. Next, I hired a private investigator. He tracked one scammer to Bulgaria and another to the US.

My lawyer realized that I had sent most of my funds to an account at Bank of America. As an immigrant, I trusted Bank of America intrinsically. I never would have transferred money to a small bank or international establishment, but if you can't trust them, who can you trust?

Unfortunately, I feel Bank of America failed me terribly. Even after my lawyer alerted them to what was happening, they cleared a check I'd written to the scammers. They ignored requests from my bank to look at the fraud, and after three requests, my bank gave up.

Within three months, I went from having a healthy retirement savings to having $20,000 in the bank. With lawyer fees and the private investigator, I was out nearly $300,000.

Older people, like myself, need help to protect themselves

This whole debacle is no one's fault but my own. The thing is, I'm a smart guy. I ran a major business for 30 years. I am good at vetting people—or at least I thought.

What frustrates me is that the lack of government oversight allows scams like this to thrive. I contacted my local police department, and they said they'd investigate. I didn't hear from them, so I called back. They told me they have 600 cases like this and only three investigators. When I heard that, I knew the chances of my case being solved were slim to none.

People always ask me what advice I'd give other seniors, but I think that's the wrong question. Scammers will always exist, and people, especially older people, will always be vulnerable. We need to be able to trust the government and major institutions like Bank of America to stop this fraud. I believe they don't because they make money in interest and fees from these fraudulent accounts.

My retirement looks a lot different now

I've started from scratch a lot in my life. I immigrated from the Czech Republic to New York in 1989 and later moved from New York to Texas. But it's hard to start over at 70. I've been sending out my résumé and looking for work as a consultant, but I haven't had any leads.

I'm lucky to have a house and cars that are paid off and still have some money in the bank. I've abandoned my dream of helping my grandkids or traveling in retirement. I'm just hoping my wife and I have enough to live on.

Editor's note: In a statement to Business Insider, Bank of America said: "We don't want any bank's clients to become victims of scams. We try to work with victims and their banks to return the funds when feasible, but unfortunately, this is not always possible. We encourage clients to do thorough due diligence to ensure that they are transferring funds to legitimate businesses."

• Hungary's prime minister said the war's next two or three months will be "far more brutal."
• Viktor Orbán cited the volume of weapons, troops on the battlefield, and commitment on both sides.
• He said he is on a "peace mission" tour to create a cease-fire to speed up peace talks.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said the next two or three months on Ukraine's front lines before the US presidential elections will be "far more brutal" than they have ever been.

The Hungarian leader made the prediction in an interview Sunday with Axel Springer media outlets. Business Insider is owned by Axel Springer.

"The energy of the confrontation, the number of deaths, the lost lives, and the casualties will be more brutal than it was in the last seven months, even though the previous period was also very brutal," Orbán said.

Orbán mentioned the volume of weapons on the battlefield, Russian troops "consistently moving ahead" on the front lines, and the overall commitment on both sides.

"So, what is ahead of us is far worse than we think now," he said.

The Hungarian leader has paid visits to Ukraine and Russia, and is now in China as part of a peace mission, per an X post on Monday.

In the one-on-one interview, Orbán said the purpose of his meetings with world leaders was to create a "limited-time" cease-fire to speed up peace talks.

To achieve that goal, Orbán said he is trying to change what he described as the US "war policy" and the policy of Europe, which he said copies that of the US, so that world leaders can converge toward a "peace policy."

"If China, the United States, and Europe would like to have peace, it's far easier for the Ukrainians and the Russians to find a solution on how to stop fighting, how to save lives, how to negotiate, and find a durable solution," he said.

Orbán said that Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, both of whom he spoke to, have a "clear vision" of how their respective countries will win the war. But the prospect of defeating Russia on the battlefield right now is "totally out of any calculation," he said.

Hungary will take on the EU Council's rotating presidency for the next six months, and Orbán said the European Union cannot afford the "luxury" of staying on the sidelines.

"My motivation is that if we would like to do something and change from war policy toward a peace policy, now is the right time to do so," he said.

Orbán's visit to Moscow last week was met with fierce criticism from other EU and European leaders, who said Orbán had no mandate to engage with Russia on the EU's behalf.

His administration has also repeatedly sought to restrain Western and NATO support for Ukraine since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022, notably blocking billions in funds for months.

In May, Orbán told Hungarian state radio that his lawyers and officials were "hard" at work to alter its membership in the Western military alliance, so that it could avoid further aiding Ukraine in its fightback against Russia's invasion.

NATO members are set to meet in Washington, DC, on Tuesday to mark the 75th anniversary of the military alliance, while also tackling some of its current challenges.

• The NATO summit is being held in Washington, DC, this week. 
• It comes amid rising global conflict and turmoil. 
• But questions about President Joe Biden's political future will overshadow the meeting. 

NATO leaders are gathering in Washington, D.C., this week amid global conflict and rising tensions from Ukraine to the Taiwan Strait.

But it's the political future of the alliance's most powerful member, the US, that will be among the core focus of discussions.

Following his disastrous debate performance against former US President Donald Trump on June 28, President Joe Biden's political future is in question just months before the November election.

NATO faces growing threats

European governments have been discussing how to "Trump-proof" NATO. One official told The Associated Press the mood ahead of the summit was "gloomy."

The 23-member alliance was formed during the Cold War as a bulwark against Soviet aggression. Under President Vladimir Putin, it faces the most potent threat from Russia in decades.

The alliance is handing money and weapons to Ukraine to defend against the Russian invasion, with leaders believing that if Ukraine is defeated, Putin could move on to Europe in a matter of years.

While Biden has been a staunch defender of NATO and has handed Ukraine billions of dollars to help it defend itself against the Russian invasion, Trump, who is now surging in polls, has questioned both US commitment to NATO and to helping Ukraine defend its territory.

During Trump's four years in office, he has accused NATO members of freeloading off the US, threatened to withdraw from the organization, promoted baseless conspiracy theories about Ukraine, and repeatedly praised Putin.

After decades of unbroken US backing for European security, Trump's presidency threw NATO into turmoil.

And on the campaign trail, he's offered, at best, ambivalent commitments to NATO and to Ukraine.

Moves to 'Trump-proof' NATO

It has prompted some European leaders, including France's President Emmanuel Macron, to call for greater strategic autonomy for Europe to reduce its dependence on US wealth and military power.

The US Congress also moved to safeguard the US's NATO commitment, passing legislation requiring presidents to have Congress' backing to withdraw from the alliance.

Trump, if reelected, could bypass this by cutting off NATO funding and military aid.

According to The Wall Street Journal, NATO members are expected to announce a range of new measures to "Trump-proof" NATO this week, including taking the lead in coordinating the training and equipping of Ukrainian forces.

And while NATO members have boosted their spending in the wake of the Russian invasion — with nearly all members meeting their 2% of GDP defense spending goal — a lack of US support would leave a huge hole.

In the first few months of the year, there was a stark warning of what losing US support could mean for Ukraine.

As Trump-supporting Republicans blocked a US aid bill, Ukraine's military came perilously close to collapse as they ran out of ammunition on parts of the front line. Ukraine's European allies were unable to make up the shortfall.

The prospect of a second Trump term means that NATO members are once again asking hard questions about the alliance's future.

• "The Man with 1000 Kids" claims that Jonathan Jacob Meijer mixed sperm samples with another donor.
• Meijer denied the claim in several YouTube videos.
• Meijer demanded that Netflix remove the allegation from the docuseries, and threatened legal action.

The prolific sperm donor at the center of Netflix's "The Man with 1000 Kids" has denied claims that he mixed his sperm with another donor's to see who the babies would resemble.

The three-part docuseries, which was released on July 3, details how parents who used Jonathan Jacob Meijer as a sperm donor brought a case against him in his native Netherlands for fathering 550 children.

In April 2023, Meijer was banned from donating sperm to new parents worldwide, and he faces a fine of €100,000 for every future violation of the ban.

In the second episode of the series, a woman called Patricia, who says she is Meijer's friend, claims he and another donor named Leon mixed their semen samples together before giving them away to unsuspecting couples on several occasions.

Patricia described it as a game. Describing the pair's alleged approach, she said: "Let's do a sperm roulette and see who wins."

Since the docuseries was released, Meijer has denied the claims in several videos on his YouTube channel.

On July 3, Meijer appeared in a livestream interview with Patricia on the Down the Rabbit Hole YouTube channel and challenged her accusation that "he swapped sperm with Leon." Patricia said that she only recounted what Leon told her, but accepted she couldn't prove the claim.

"I didn't say that. I said it was mentioned by Leon and it could be possible. I never said… Because I wasn't there. I wasn't there to witness it," Patricia said.

On July 4, Meijer said in a YouTube video that he planned to take legal action against Netflix.

"I filed the report against slander for the statement that I swapped or mixed sperm with another donor, Leon. I've never done that," he said, without clarifying what "the report" referred to. "It's a blatant lie, and Netflix will have to remove it, or I will make a legal case. Money money!"

It's the second time this year that the subject of a high-profile Netflix project has threatened legal action against the streamer.

In June, Fiona Harvey filed a defamation suit against Netflix over the abuse she faced online after audiences identified her as the person stalker Martha Scott (Jessica Gunning) is based on in "Baby Reindeer."

Meijer's response to "The Man with 1000 Kids" has been watched on YouTube over 100,000 times since July 5, which indicates that audiences want to know the truth about the sperm-mixing allegations. If Meijer can prove that it didn't happen, he may have grounds for a similar defamation case.

Netflix did not immediately respond to Business Insider's request for comment.

• Gen Z has ditched traditional flirting methods.
• Dating apps and the pandemic reduced in-person flirting skills.
• Experts say it could be a positive change as the younger generation are direct about what they want.

Gen Zers have put their stamp on many things, but flirting doesn't seem to be one of them.

"I think flirting is dying," Nikki Sanjongco, a 24-year-old from Los Angeles, told NBC News' Daysia Tolentino.

"If someone thinks you're cute, they just ask for your Instagram these days and then DM you or swipe up on your story to show they're interested," Sanjongco said.

Generation Z — those born between 1997 and 2012 —have grown up with the internet. Most of them don't remember a time before smartphones.

For many, interacting with people online is as natural as doing it in person.

That means that it has become less common for young Americans to receive compliments from strangers or to be asked out by someone they just met in real life, experts say — but that may not be a bad thing.

The fall of the flirt

"People are not flirting anymore. I hear this from clients of all ages," Eimear Draper, founder of Kindling Dating Coaching, told Business Insider.

Draper, who works with clients between the ages of 26 and 73, said the rise of dating apps and the impact of the pandemic could be to blame.

"For a long time, that 'chatting to strangers' muscle wasn't exercised, and potentially for some, social anxiety has developed," she said.

The popularity of online dating has grown steadily over the past six years. According to the online data platform Statista, the online dating industry was worth $1.89 billion in 2019 and is predicted to grow to $3.15 billion in global revenue by the end of 2024.

Dating apps are most popular in the US, where the industry made almost $1.4 billion in 2023, according to Statista.

Maxine Williams, the founder of single events group We Met IRL, told NBC that social isolation during the pandemic prevented young people from developing the skills required to form meaningful connections.

Speaking to BI, relationship coach Railey Molinario said many Gen Zers feel "more comfortable expressing interest through texts, emojis, and social media engagement" rather than "direct, personal encounters" that can be attributed to traditional flirting.

Young people are also less inclined to date strangers than the generations that came before them.

A survey conducted by the Survey Center on American Life, previously cited by BI, found that 43% of people between the ages of 18 and 29 were friends with their partner before they started dating.

In comparison, an estimated 21% of people over 65 said they were friends with their partner before getting into a relationship.

Molinario said the lack of traditional flirting could lead to a decrease in social skills, "like reading body language, picking up on social cues, and engaging in spontaneous conversation."

"This can make it more difficult for young people to form deep, meaningful relationships in person," she said.

The dating landscape has changed for good

Nonetheless, Molinario said the switch to digital has benefits. For example, she said those expressing a romantic interest in someone online can do so "without the immediate pressure of in-person rejection."

"It also provides a layer of safety, as interactions can be more easily controlled and monitored in digital spaces," she said.

That's not to say that rejection doesn't exist online. "Ghosting" — when someone abruptly cuts off communication — and "quiet quitting" — when someone does the bare minimum without officially ending the relationship — can be hurtful. Williams told NBC that the internet has created a buffer for young people when it comes to rejection.

It's clear there's an appetite for the return of in-person interactions. Eventbrite reported that searches on its ticketing platform for in-person events increased by 1.5 million over the last year, according to NBC.

Williams told the outlet that attendees at her singles events group told her they are "more open to going into events alone."

However, it's worth noting that the fall of traditional flirting isn't entirely dependent on the rise in digital dating.

Briana Paruolo, a psychotherapist and founder of On Par Therapy NYC, told BI that traditional flirting has been replaced with a more direct and open communication style that she has witnessed both online and in person.

"The way Gen Z approaches flirting and relationships has certainly shifted from other generations, but that isn't necessarily a bad thing," she said.

Paruolo said she works with Gen Z clients who approach dating with self-awareness, assertiveness, open communication, and intentionality. She added that young people are more open and explicit about their intentions and desires, "eliminating potential misunderstandings."

According to Paruolo, Gen Zers have a greater understanding of their preferences and boundaries when dating compared with other generations, which means they are more likely to form real emotional connections.

"There is a new form of digital flirting that is also more suited to Gen Z's communication style and preferences," she said.

"This generation's approach often emphasizes an emotional connection and understanding, which can happen in real life or a digital landscape."

• Estonia's president said Ukraine joining NATO is "non-negotiable" and "irreversible."
• NATO must send a strong message that it will support Ukraine for as long as it takes, Alar Karis said.
• Trump is reportedly open to a deal with Russia that would block Ukraine from the alliance.

Estonian President Alar Karis said Ukraine joining NATO isn't negotiable and that the Western military alliance must send a strong message that NATO will support Ukraine for as long as it takes.

"Ukraine's NATO membership is non-negotiable, and the process of becoming a member is irreversible," he said, according to Estonian news outlet ERR.

Karis' comments came after reports that former President Donald Trump, now the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, would consider stopping Ukraine's NATO progress as part of a peace deal with Russia.

Trump-aligned national security experts told Politico last week that, if elected, Trump is considering negotiating a deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin that would see Russia getting some territory and NATO committing to not expanding membership to Ukraine or Georgia.

Sources told Politico that Trump is unlikely to quit NATO outright, but members worry that, if elected, he could downplay the US role, block aid for Ukraine, or try to strike an unpopular peace deal with Russia.

Ukraine and the majority of its allies don't want a peace deal that gives Russia territory. They say it's not right, as Russia invaded a sovereign country, and that Russia can't be trusted in such deals.

Ukraine has taken steps toward joining NATO but has not yet been given a clear road map. Estonia has been a strong backer of its membership, saying that it would help protect it from Russia.

In his comments, Karis said that "if Ukraine's territorial integrity and sovereignty are not respected, it will lead to new and larger wars in the future. Russia and other aggressors will only be emboldened to attack again."

"NATO has successfully overcome previous hesitations regarding military aid to Ukraine," he added. "No limits should be set on further assistance."

Being a member of NATO would offer Ukraine strong protection due to the alliance's mutual protection policy, which means that if one member is attacked it can call on other members, like the US and UK, for help.

Many NATO states have called for Ukraine to be granted membership of the alliance.

But any single member, such as a Trump-led US, could block it, as new membership needs consensus support.

Trump has long been critical of NATO, and threatened to withdraw from it during his presidency.

Trump long complained that many NATO members did not spend the recommended 2% of their GDP on defense.

(Members' spending has soared since — but experts told Business Insider that Trump's protests were not the reason.)

The Associated Press reported this week that European leaders are trying to "Trump-proof" NATO and its Ukraine support, in case he is reelected.

Member states like Estonia are also preparing in case Russia attacks them next.

"Russia will be more hostile in the next decade than it was in the previous one," Karis said. "NATO must be prepared for this. NATO has good collective defense plans, which need to be backed by necessary forces and weapons systems."