(Want to get this briefing by email? Here’s the sign-up.) Good morning. We’re covering the takeaways from more than two decades of President Trump’s tax returns, the global death toll from the coronavirus and the death of a man who ate one to two large bags of black licorice a day for…
Month: September 2020
Switzerland Votes to Approve Paternity Leave
ZURICH — Swiss voters on Sunday agreed to adopt a law mandating paternity leave, making it the last nation in Western Europe to do so and beating back strong conservative opposition to the proposal. Fathers in the country had been allowed one day off for the birth of a child — the…
Melbourne Eases Virus Lockdown Restrictions
“We are ahead of schedule. We have made more progress than we had hoped to make at this point in time. Now that is something that we can all be pleased about. But it doesn’t mean this is over.” “In terms of public gatherings that are outside, a household or a limit…
Canadian Police Charge Man With Faking Terrorist Activity
OTTAWA — The police in Canada have arrested a Toronto-area man who asserted he was an ISIS executioner, accusing him of perpetrating a hoax that he was involved in terrorist activities. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police said the man, Shehroze Chaudhry, 25, “claimed he traveled to Syria in 2016 to join the…
Leader of India Says Country’s Vaccine Industry Will ‘Help All Humanity’
Here’s what you need to know: Video transcript Back transcript India’s Vaccine Industry Will ‘Help All Humanity,’ Modi Says In a recorded address to the United Nations General Assembly, Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India said the country’s vaccine production and delivery capacity would help fight the coronavirus pandemic. [none] In a…
In Melbourne, Springtime Ushers in a New Sense of Hope
ImageSpringtime in Melbourne’s Carlton GardensCredit…Besha Rodell The Australia Letter is a weekly newsletter from our Australia bureau. This week’s issue is written by Besha Rodell, a columnist with the Australia bureau. There are blossoms on the trees in Melbourne and days of cold rain and blustering wind, but also days of sweet-smelling…
Ang Rita, Who Conquered Everest Again and Again, Dies at 72
KATHMANDU, Nepal — Ang Rita Sherpa, who earned global fame by climbing the world’s highest mountain, Mount Everest, 10 times without the use of supplemental oxygen, died on Monday at his daughter’s house in Kathmandu. He was 72. His death was confirmed by his family and by Nepal’s mountaineering associations. No cause…
Justin Trudeau Offers Wide Array of Promises With Few Specifics
One thing became clear during the 54 minutes it took Governor General Julie Payette to read the throne speech this week: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is back to making lots of big promises, after pulling back on pledges during last year’s election. ImageJulie Payette, Canada’s governor general, delivering the throne speech.Credit…Pool photo…
Ukrainian Military Plane Crashes, Killing 22
MOSCOW — A military transport plane carrying air force cadets crashed and burst into flames near a highway in northeastern Ukraine on Friday evening, killing at least 22 people on board, officials said. The Antonov An-26 aircraft crashed while trying to land during a training exercise, the military said in a statement,…
Germany Dismisses Military Intelligence Official After Neo-Nazi Scandals
BERLIN — After a series of scandals involving far-right extremists in the German military, the government on Thursday dismissed the head of its military counterintelligence service, the body tasked with monitoring extremism inside the armed forces. Christof Gramm, who has led the agency since 2015, will take early retirement next month, according…
Famine Emerges as U.N. Theme, Crystallized by Yemen Disaster
The coronavirus scourge is a prevailing theme at this year’s United Nations General Assembly, forcing the gathering to be conducted largely online. But the pandemic is also fueling another crisis preoccupying the organization and humanitarian groups: the strong prospect of famine in some of the world’s most destitute places. Nowhere is famine…
Britain Introduces a Scaled-Back Wage Support Plan
The British government, battling a second wave of coronavirus cases, on Thursday announced a slew of new and extended economic measures to support jobs and businesses. But the centerpiece, a wage-support program, is less generous to workers and employers than the furlough program it is replacing, which expires next month. And that…
Breonna Taylor, Coronavirus Vaccine, Belarus: Your Thursday Briefing
(Want to get this briefing by email? Here’s the sign-up.) Good morning. We’re covering protests after a decision in the Breonna Taylor case, the final round of testing for a U.S.-made coronavirus vaccine and Finland’s canine front line against the pandemic. ImageJohnson & Johnson will recruit participants for its vaccine trial in…
U.S. Ambassador to Netherlands Faces Questions About Political Interference
BRUSSELS — One of President Trump’s most outspoken ambassadors has found himself in a new controversy after co-hosting a fund-raiser for a populist far-right Dutch political party in the American Embassy in the Netherlands. The act appears to breach diplomatic protocol because of its involvement with domestic politics in the host nation.…
Eiffel Tower Briefly Evacuated After Bomb Threat
PARIS — The Eiffel Tower was briefly evacuated on Wednesday after the police in Paris received a phone call suggesting there was a bomb at the monument, but officers inspecting the site did not find anything suspicious. The monument was “fully” evacuated shortly after midday as a precautionary measure after the police…
Poisoned Russian Opposition Leader Leaves Berlin Hospital
BERLIN — Aleksei A. Navalny, Russia’s most prominent opposition leader, has been released from a hospital in Germany and could make a full recovery after being poisoned with a highly toxic nerve agent, doctors said on Wednesday. “Based on the patient’s progress and current condition, the treating physicians believe that complete recovery…
Boris Johnson, United Nations, Climate Change: Your Wednesday Briefing
(Want to get this briefing by email? Here’s the sign-up.) Good morning. We’re covering the U.S.-China rivalry at the U.N., the United Kingdom’s new virus restrictions and the certainty of decades of climate disasters. ImagePrime Minister Boris Johnson waited to wash his hands during a visit to a school in Bovingdon, England,…
Former Rebel Leader Is Elected President of Bougainville
SYDNEY — A former rebel military commander has been elected president of Bougainville, the autonomous region in the South Pacific, electoral officials said on Wednesday, and he is set to lead talks for the territory’s independence from Papua New Guinea. The victory by the former rebel leader, Ishmael Toroama, is a break…
A London Caper With a Car James Bond Would Never Drive
What the burglars lacked in panache, they made up for in their ability to stymie the London police after stealing a valuable collection of handguns brandished by James Bond himself in three movies. On Monday, the Metropolitan Police appealed to the public for help in finding the thieves, six months after the…
N.Y.P.D. Officer Is Accused of Spying on Tibetans for China
Federal prosecutors on Monday charged a New York City police officer with acting as an illegal agent of the Chinese government, accusing him of providing intelligence about Tibetans living in the United States to officials at the Chinese consulate. The officer, Baimadajie Angwang, 33, was taken into custody on Monday, officials said.…