London’s police force is institutionally sexist, racist and homophobic, according to a new independent report investigating the culture and behavior within the department. While the force has been under intense scrutiny for months, the report, released on Tuesday, offers a damning new assessment of the police department and perhaps the strongest condemnation yet of its […]
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Macron’s Government Survives No-Confidence Vote Amid France’s Wrath Over Pensions
PARIS — The French National Assembly rejected a no-confidence motion against the government of President Emmanuel Macron on Monday, ensuring that a fiercely contested bill raising the retirement age to 64 from 62 becomes the law of the land. The first of two motions received 278 votes, nine short of the 287 needed to pass. […]
Latest Xi-Putin Meeting News: Ukraine-Russia Live Updates
BRUSSELS — European Union foreign and defense ministers agreed on Monday to spend up to 2 billion euros, or $2.14 billion, to supply Ukraine with badly needed artillery shells, replenish their own national stocks and ramp up Europe’s ammunition production. As is typical for the bloc and its 27 member states, the details of the […]
American Held Hostage in Africa Is Freed
WASHINGTON — An American aid worker abducted by militants more than six years ago in West Africa has been freed, his wife and a senior military official said on Monday, but the circumstances of his release were not immediately clear. The aid worker, Jeffery Woodke, was kidnapped in Niger in October 2016 and then was […]
Some Details on the Agenda for Xi Jinping’s Visit to Russia
While Beijing has offered few details on the agenda for the two-day state visit to Moscow by China’s leader, Xi Jinping, Russia has shared some information about the agenda. Mr. Xi is expected to arrive in Moscow at about 1:30 p.m. local time (6:30 a.m. Eastern) on Monday. President Vladimir V. Putin’s foreign policy adviser, […]
China as Peacemaker in the Ukraine War? The U.S. and Europe Are Skeptical.
Ms. Sun said China’s recent mediation of an initial diplomatic rapprochement between Saudi Arabia and Iran had boosted notions of China as a peacemaker. But that situation was entirely different than the Ukraine war — the two Middle Eastern nations had already been in talks for years to try to restart formal diplomacy, and China […]
Lab Leak or Not? How Politics Shaped the Battle Over Covid’s Origin
WASHINGTON — In the spring of 2021, with studies of the coronavirus pandemic’s origins going nowhere and the issue embroiled in bitter partisan politics, David Relman, a microbiologist at Stanford, quietly made a request of his congresswoman. He told his representative, Anna Eshoo, that he was organizing a letter from leading scientists calling for an open […]
To Combat Food Shortages, North Korea Deploys the Military
Hundreds of thousands of North Korean troops are mobilizing to help plant and harvest crops. The country’s military is rejiggering some of its munitions factories to produce tractors and threshing machines, while also converting some airfields into greenhouses. Soldiers are reportedly being asked to extend their service by three years and spend them on farms. […]
In U.S.-Led Iraq War, Iran Was the Big Winner
If visitors to Baghdad knew nothing of Iraqi politics, they could be forgiven for thinking that the trim-bearded, green-uniformed man whose larger-than-life photo is everywhere in the Iraqi capital was Iraq’s president. Along the boulevard that tracks the Tigris River and inside the Green Zone, the seat of Iraq’s government, the likeness of Maj. Gen. […]
The Secret Behind Japan’s Delicious Strawberries: Kerosene
MINOH, Japan — Strawberry shortcake. Strawberry mochi. Strawberries à la mode. These may sound like summertime delights. But in Japan, the strawberry crop peaks in wintertime — a chilly season of picture-perfect berries, the most immaculate ones selling for hundreds of dollars apiece to be given as special gifts. Japan’s strawberries come with an environmental […]