Over the last two decades, countries like Turkey, Hungary, Venezuela and India gave the world a lesson on how democracy can erode into “competitive authoritarianism” — a system in which elections are still meaningful, but leaders manipulate the rules to their own benefit, while systematically violating civil liberties. Now, we are starting to find out … Read more
The long-running battle over whether to allow Pacific Ocean seabed mining took an unexpected turn Thursday when a company disclosed it had been confidentially negotiating a plan with the Trump administration to circumvent a United Nations treaty and perhaps obtain authorization from the United States to start mining in international waters. The proposal, which drew … Read more
F.B.I. agents stationed overseas had sex with prostitutes in Cambodia, the Philippines and Thailand, even as some bureau employees attended training meant to combat human trafficking, a practice that often exploits vulnerable women, according to an investigation by the Justice Department’s watchdog. The document, made public on Thursday in response to a lawsuit by The … Read more
King Charles III was briefly hospitalized on Thursday morning after suffering side effects from his cancer treatment, Buckingham Palace said in a statement. The palace said Charles, 76, had since returned to his London residence, Clarence House, and that his public schedule for Friday would be canceled as a precautionary measure. The king announced he … Read more
King Charles III was briefly hospitalized on Thursday morning after suffering side effects from his cancer treatment, Buckingham Palace said in a statement. The palace said Charles, 76, had since returned to his London residence, Clarence House, and that his public schedule for Friday would be canceled as a precautionary measure. The king announced he … Read more
Trump’s car tariffs increased the risk of a trade war President Trump’s plan to impose a 25 percent tariff on cars and parts imported into the U.S. sent a shudder through the global car industry. Markets in Asia, Europe and the U.S. wobbled yesterday as many automakers’ stock prices fell. Trump announced the tariffs on … Read more
French prosecutors requested a seven-year prison sentence against former President Nicolas Sarkozy on Thursday, in a trial over accusations that his 2007 campaign received illegal financing from the Libyan government of Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi. Such a sentence would be unprecedented in modern French history for a former president. Mr. Sarkozy, a conservative politician who led … Read more
As in many places around the world, Tesla sales in Canada have been falling for months, an apparent reaction to Elon Musk’s outsize role in the Trump administration and his repeated denigration of Canadian sovereignty. Yet somehow, four Tesla- owned dealerships reported to the Canadian government that they sold an astonishing 8,653 cars during a … Read more
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Thursday that there would be “consequences” if Venezuela used forceful actions in asserting claims to resource-rich territories that are under the control of neighboring Guyana. Mr. Rubio said at a news conference in Georgetown, the Guyanese capital, that his government would steadfastly oppose “the regional threats based on … Read more
Tom Moore got the call just before Christmas in 2021. The head of the University of Durham’s Archaeology department, Mr. Moore was well-known in history circles in Yorkshire, in northeast England. It was why he had received the urgent message, from a man who claimed to have stumbled on something big. “I think it’s Iron … Read more