Before President Barack Obama was sworn into office in 2009, Benjamin Netanyahu called the Israeli diplomat Alon Pinkas out of the blue and asked for a lesson in what was essentially a foreign tongue: the language of Democrats. “I speak Republican and you speak Democratic, and I need the intermediary,” said Mr. Netanyahu, who was … Read more
His father was marched to a forest and killed, like so many victims of the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia. Before he was led away, the father told his young son, Uon Chhin, to stand up and speak the truth, even if it might compromise his liberty. Decades later, Mr. Uon Chhin became a journalist during … Read more
U.S. oil prices fell sharply, briefly dipping below $60 a barrel on Sunday — their lowest level in almost four years — as the economic fallout from President Trump’s latest round of tariffs reverberated around the world. Crude oil now costs around 15 percent less than it did last Wednesday, just before Mr. Trump revealed … Read more
Amadou Bagayoko, a Malian guitarist and composer who with his wife, the singer Mariam Doumbia, formed Amadou & Mariam, inventing a broadly accessible sound that made fans of people worldwide who otherwise knew little about music from Africa, died on Friday in Bamako, Mali’s capital. He was 70. His death was announced by the Malian … Read more
Trump’s team defended tariffs in the face of anger President Trump’s top aides yesterday appeared on various media outlets to defend his global tariffs that went into effect over the weekend. Some said that they had already heard from foreign nations that are seeking to strike a deal. His top economic advisers dismissed the turmoil … Read more
Mr. Abed said he was relieved when the Israelis brought another Red Crescent paramedic, Asaad al-Nasasra, still alive, over to the group of detainees. In handcuffs and a blindfold, Mr. al-Nasasra, whispered to him what he knew about their colleagues, Mr. Abed recalled. Two looked wounded, one of them seriously, he said Mr. al-Nasasra told … Read more
Marine Le Pen, the French far-right leader, told cheering supporters in Paris on Sunday that she would fight the five-year ban on her running for office , which resulted from an embezzlement conviction, casting herself as an underdog representing those who are “disdained” by the political elite. Addressing a crowd of several thousand who chanted … Read more
The Israeli military has acknowledged flaws in its initial accounts of its troops’ involvement in the killing last month of 15 people in southern Gaza who the United Nations said were all paramedics and rescue workers. The admission came on Saturday, the day after a video obtained by The New York Times appeared to contradict … Read more
Britain and Israel traded sharp criticisms this weekend after Israel blocked two British lawmakers from entering the country and sent them back to London. The members of Parliament, Abtisam Mohamed and Yuan Yang, both of whom belong to the governing center-left Labour Party, said in a joint statement on Sunday that they had been “astounded” … Read more
As entrances go, this one was both unexpected and welcome. That much was clear from the thunderous applause and cheers on Sunday as Pope Francis made his first public appearance since leaving a Rome hospital two weeks ago. Francis arrived, unannounced, on the dais in St. Peter’s Square near the end of a Mass that … Read more