We live in a scammer’s world. We get texts from unknown numbers with an odd tone of familiarity. We have been promised breathtaking profits in ads on social media. We have encountered characters on dating apps who seemed too good to be true. It’s not just us, of course. Most people have heard stories or … Read more
Every few weeks, fireworks light up the night sky in Cambodia, set off by scammers to salute their biggest swindles. By the time the shells pop and crackle, somebody’s life savings are probably gone. Maybe the victim fell for an online romance scam or bought into a fake cryptocurrency exchange. Whatever the scheme, the money … Read more
With a staccato burst, a horn sounded in the control room of the H.M.S. Vanguard, sending the crew of the nuclear-armed Royal Navy submarine to battle stations. The voice of the commanding officer crackled over the intercom. “Set condition 1SQ,” he said, ordering its battery of ballistic missiles to be readied for launch. It was … Read more
President Trump’s overture to President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia to end the war in Ukraine has rattled leaders across Europe. Few have been more transformed than Prime Minister Keir Starmer of Britain, who was elected last summer on a standard-issue promise to revive his country’s economy and public services. Now, Mr. Starmer finds himself … Read more
Pope Francis’s condition has improved enough that he will be discharged from a hospital in Rome on Sunday and sent to recover in the Vatican, his doctors said on Saturday evening. They added that the case of pneumonia in both lungs was so severe that it had twice put his life in grave danger. The … Read more
Throngs of passengers anxious to get on their way surged into Heathrow Airport in London on Saturday, a day after a power blackout closed the airport and forced thousands to delay their trips. As information boards flickered back to life, an army of extra airport staff members, dressed in purple, sprang into action to help … Read more
Since President Trump began his second term in January, no high-level officials from the United States have met with their counterparts in China, even as the world’s two largest economies have taken turns imposing steep tariffs on each other. In the absence of official meetings, Senator Steve Daines of Montana has cast himself as a … Read more
Israel launched airstrikes on Saturday at sites in southern Lebanon that it said were linked to the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, hours after rockets were fired from Lebanon into Israel for the first time in months. The attacks were the latest example of how the renewed Israeli offensive in Gaza is rippling across the Middle … Read more
One afternoon last week, I convinced a friend to accompany me to a restaurant in Brooklyn to learn how to play Hong Kong-style mahjong. I’d always been intrigued by mahjong’s colorful bakelite tiles, the satisfying clacking sound they make as they’re shuffled. My mother plays the American version twice a week with the same groups … Read more
It’s been another long week in Canadian politics — and it looks as if it’s going to end with a snap-election call. Prime Minister Mark Carney is expected to call an election on Sunday, and April 28 is the likeliest date, our sources tell us. I spent 48 hours traveling with Mr. Carney to Paris, … Read more