The government benefits began their existence as objects of partisan rancor and harsh criticism. Eventually, though, they became so popular that politicians of both parties promised to protect them. It was true of Social Security and Medicare. And now the pattern seems to be repeating itself with Obamacare. Consider what has happened recently in North […]
Month: March 2023
Myanmar’s Military Regime Disbands Aung San Suu Kyi’s Political Party
The political party of Myanmar’s imprisoned opposition leader, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, has been officially dissolved, in yet another blow to the Southeast Asian nation’s democracy, two years after the military staged a coup. The party, the National League for Democracy, was disbanded by Myanmar’s military-appointed election commission, state media said late Tuesday night. […]
Kamala Harris, at Former Slave Port in Ghana, Ties Past to Present
After walking down a path where enslaved people once marched in chains to waiting ships, Vice President Kamala Harris entered a dungeon in Cape Coast, Ghana, where captive women had sung songs praying for death. If nothing else, her tour guide said on Tuesday, they believed death would bring freedom. Ms. Harris, wiping her face […]
Biden’s Defense of Global Democracies Is Tested by Political Turmoil
WASHINGTON — A political crisis in Israel and setbacks to democracy in several other major countries closely allied with the United States are testing the Biden administration’s defense of democracy against a global trend toward the authoritarianism of nations like Russia and China. President Biden will deliver remarks on Wednesday at the second White House-led […]
Russia-Ukraine War: Live Updates – The New York Times
AVDIIVKA, Ukraine — When the shelling starts, the people who have remained in this town in eastern Ukraine hardly flinch. In truth, the shelling barely stops. Russian efforts to capture Avdiivka began over a year ago and in recent weeks have escalated. On Monday, as a Ukrainian police evacuation team went from basement to basement […]
Your Tuesday Briefing
A delay in Israel’s plan to overhaul the judiciary.
Who Is Itamar Ben-Gvir? – The New York Times
He was barred as a teenager from serving in the Israeli Army because he was considered too extremist. He admires a hard-line rabbi who wanted to strip Arab Israelis of their citizenship. Until recently, he hung a portrait in his home of Baruch Goldstein, who shot dead 29 Palestinians in a West Bank mosque in […]
Israel Judicial Overhaul: Live Updates
As political protests over efforts by the far-right coalition to assert greater control over the Supreme Court have roiled Israel for months, bringing hundreds of thousands into the streets, the country’s Palestinian citizens have largely stayed on the sidelines. That appears to be largely because of a widespread feeling among Palestinians that demonstrations have ignored […]
Restoring a Giant Plane: Ukrainian Resilience or Folly?
HOSTOMEL, Ukraine — The gigantic twin tail fins, once stretching as high as a six-story building, are gone. So are the tailplane, flaps, hydraulic systems, fuel pumps and three of six engines of the plane, which was destroyed in fighting in the first days of the war. Piece by piece, workers are now dismantling the […]
Kamala Harris Looks to Deepen Relations With Africa Amid China’s Influence
Vice President Kamala Harris has begun a weeklong tour of Ghana and two other African nations as the Biden administration hopes to set a new path for U.S.-Africa ties that focuses on collaboration rather than crises, a trip seen as a significant step toward revitalizing a relationship with Africa that was widely thought to be […]