As Israeli forces advanced on the southern Gaza city of Rafah before dawn last Sunday, an ambulance crew set out to evacuate civilians wounded by Israeli shelling. But the ambulance was hit on the way, and its crew injured. Several more ambulances and a fire truck headed to the scene, according to the Palestine Red … Read more
When the verdict from a Paris criminal court flashed across screens in Hénin-Beaumont, many customers in the Café de la Paix received it with the outrage and disappointment Marine Le Pen predicted. The far-right political leader was found guilty embezzlement, sentenced to four years in prison — two years suspended, two in a form of … Read more
People of Italian descent have for decades been able to dig through their family trees, find an Italian ancestor and apply for citizenship to Italy, securing a powerful passport that allows them to enter more countries without a visa than travelers of almost any other nationality. But so many have tried to claim the benefit … Read more
The United States is ending its financial support for family planning programs in developing countries, cutting nearly 50 million women off from access to contraception. This policy change has attracted little attention amid the wholesale dismantling of American foreign aid, but it stands to have enormous implications, including more maternal deaths and an overall increase … Read more
Marine Le Pen, the leader of France’s far right and a leading candidate to become the country’s next president, has been barred from running for public office for five years, after she and her party were convicted of embezzling millions of euros of European Union funds. Ms. Le Pen, an anti-immigrant, populist politician, was also … Read more
A SpaceX rocket blasted off Monday night from Florida, the first trip to put humans into an orbit that takes them over both of Earth’s poles. A spacecraft orbiting over the poles can observe the entire planet as it spins underneath. The path is particularly useful for weather, mapping and spy satellites. With many of … Read more
Pope Francis’ health has continued to improve in the week since he left the hospital after a weekslong stay, the Vatican said Tuesday. During Francis’ 38-day stay at Policlinico A. Gemelli in Rome, he was treated for pneumonia and other infections. He experienced two episodes — a breathing crisis and a bronchial spasm that caused … Read more
A volcano in southwestern Iceland began erupting on Tuesday, prompting the closure of the popular Blue Lagoon tourist destination and threatening the town of Grindavik, about 25 miles southwest of the capital, Reykjavik. The country’s meteorological office said that the length of the magma intrusion — about seven miles — was the longest measured since … Read more
The rescue teams at the collapsed office tower in Bangkok thought they’d found a miracle on Sunday night: a channel into the basement, leading to a wide-open space where workers still unaccounted for might have lived through Friday’s giant earthquake. “We thought for sure we’d find someone,” said Piyalux Thinkaew, chief of operations for the … Read more
Hooters, the restaurant chain known for its chicken wings, its all-female serving staff in revealing outfits and its slogan — “delightfully tacky, yet unrefined” — has filed for bankruptcy in a Texas court, the company announced on Monday. Under the bankruptcy agreement, a group that includes the company’s founders — who independently run about a … Read more