business

Friedrich Merz, the man favored by early exit polls to be Germany’s next chancellor after elections on Sunday, is a conservative businessman who has never been a minister and was forced out of government years ago in a power struggle with Angela Merkel. The leader of the conservative Christian Democratic Union, Mr. Merz earned his … Read more

Israel announced on Sunday that it was expanding its weekslong military operation against armed Palestinian groups in the occupied West Bank and had deployed tanks in the territory’s north for the first time in two decades. Adding to the escalating tensions, the country’s defense minister, Israel Katz, said that tens of thousands of Palestinian residents … Read more

Germans are voting on Sunday in a rare snap election that has taken on outsize importance as the new Trump administration threatens European countries with tariffs, cuts them out of negotiations over Ukraine and embraces an authoritarian Russia. The election for Parliament was called after Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s unpopular and long-troubled three-party government collapsed in … Read more

Interference by Trump administration officials in the German campaign put off some left-leaning voters but was welcomed by others supporting the far-right Alternative for Germany, or AfD, according to a smattering of interviews at polling stations. Several voters in the eastern city of Dresden took note of a speech by Vice President JD Vance at … Read more

Israel and Hamas on Sunday accused each other of violating the already fragile Gaza cease-fire deal after Israel delayed the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners who were supposed to be exchanged for hostages. The office of Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, said the prisoners would not be freed until the release of further hostages … Read more

Israel and Hamas on Sunday accused each other of violating the already fragile Gaza cease-fire deal after Israel delayed the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners who were supposed to be exchanged for hostages. The office of Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, said the prisoners would not be freed until the release of further hostages … Read more

A man went on a stabbing rampage in a small city in France on Saturday, killing one person and injuring several more in what President Emmanuel Macron called “an Islamist terrorist attack.” “It was a terrorist attack, there’s no doubt — an Islamist terrorist attack,” he said, adding that the government was determined “to root … Read more

Ruwayda al-Aqaar was sleeping next to her husband and 3-year-old daughter in late December when they were awakened by the sound of approaching tanks and bulldozers. They rushed outside their small house and saw dozens of Israeli soldiers marching into their small farming village, she said. “I was terrified,” Ms. al-Aqaar said recently in her … Read more

A month ago, no one would have ever mistaken Germany’s often taciturn chancellor for an aggressive political campaigner. But prowling the stage in a dark suit and open shirt with a microphone in hand, Olaf Scholz certainly looked like one on Friday night. At a nearly euphoric rally for someone trailing in the polls, Mr. … Read more

Pope Francis was in critical condition on Saturday night after having a long “asthmatic respiratory crisis” earlier in the day that required “high flows of oxygen” as well as a blood transfusion, the Vatican said, adding to concerns about the health of the 88-year-old pontiff. The announcement indicated that Francis’ medical condition had become more … Read more