Gananath Obeyesekere, 95, Dies; Anthropologist Bridged East and West

Gananath Obeyesekere, an anthropologist whose long career and wide-ranging social insights — which drew on Hindu texts, Freudian psychoanalysis and Christian mysticism, among many other ideas — made him a leading intellectual figure in both his native Sri Lanka and the rarefied world of Western academia, died on Tuesday at his home in Colombo, Sri … Read more

Hegseth Pledges to Step Up Military Cooperation With Japan and Deter China

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth wrapped up his first official visit to the Asia on Sunday by offering reassurances to Japan that President Trump wants a stronger military alliance in the region to deter an increasingly assertive China. Following an 85-minute meeting in Tokyo with his Japanese counterpart, Mr. Hegseth said the Trump administration would … Read more

Syrians Wake Up to a New Government

Syrians on Sunday were digesting the overnight announcement of a caretaker government that will be in power for the next five years, accepting with some resignation the continued dominance of the rebel group that seized power in December but welcoming its representation of the country’s main ethnic minorities. The rebels who overthrew President Bashar al-Assad … Read more

Earthquake Devastates Myanmar’s Cultural Sites

The powerful earthquake that shook Myanmar on Friday took a considerable toll on historic and religious sites across the country, toppling pagodas, collapsing sections of Buddhist monasteries and reducing centuries-old monuments to rubble, according to photographs and videos shared by witnesses and verified by The New York Times. In its latest count on Saturday morning, … Read more

French Schools Will Finally Teach Sex Education

Students in France will learn about something new starting in September: sex, gender stereotypes and consent. Nearly a quarter-century after the French government passed a law mandating — but never putting in place — sex education for every student, it has finally developed and approved a curriculum for sex education classes, with a plan for … Read more