The European Union is responding to President Trump’s sweeping trade war with a handshake and a punch: It is promising the administration potential wins while also preparing its own retaliatory tariffs on American products starting next week. The questions are whether the enticements are enough, and whether a show of strength could backfire. “Europe can … Read more
For attending galas, cutting ribbons and meeting diplomats, a Belgian prince takes home a royal allowance of 100,000 euros, nearly $110,000, a year. But what will happen when he stops working? For that, Prince Laurent of Belgium is seeking government benefits. A court this week agreed in part, recommending that the country’s lawmakers consider drawing … Read more
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has in the past listed the three main threats facing Israel as “Iran, Iran and Iran.” He has largely staked his career on being Israel’s protector against Iranian nuclear ambitions, has openly confronted the country in recent months and is at war with Iran-backed militias around the region. Many Israelis were … Read more
Talks between the United States and Iran, which President Trump said on Monday would begin on Saturday in Oman, face considerable problems of substance and well-earned mistrust. But time is short for what is likely to be a complicated negotiation. “We’re at a fork in the road, heading toward a crisis,” said Sanam Vakil, the … Read more
At least 13 people were killed and dozens were injured when the roof of a nightclub collapsed early Tuesday in the Dominican Republic, according to the police. In a series of social media posts, the national police said that 93 people had been taken to hospitals after the roof collapsed at the Jet Set nightclub … Read more
China Vows to “Fight” Tariffs War With the U.S. “to the End”
There was a time, not long ago, when Israel’s resumption of the war in the Gaza Strip three weeks ago — a renewed offensive that has already claimed more than a thousand casualties — would have unleashed fierce Western pressure on Benjamin Netanyahu, the country’s prime minister. The condemnations would have been swift, in public … Read more
Israel’s highest court began hearing a case on Tuesday over Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s decision to replace one of his top intelligence chiefs — a courtroom battle that could open the door to a constitutional crisis. The attempt to fire Ronen Bar, the chief of the Shin Bet, has further polarized an already divided Israel. … Read more
So sharp are partisan divisions these days that it can seem as if people are experiencing entirely different realities. Maybe they actually are, according to Leor Zmigrod, a neuroscientist and political psychologist at Cambridge University. In a new book, “The Ideological Brain: The Radical Science of Flexible Thinking,” Dr. Zmigrod explores the emerging evidence that … Read more
On March 28, a 7.7-magnitude earthquake struck central Myanmar, devastating communities and killing at least 3,500 people. The quake also caused buildings to sway, even collapse, in the tourist hot spot of Bangkok. Videos posted online showed water from rooftop swimming pools spilling over the sides of high-rise hotels. Scientists can’t predict exactly where or … Read more