Global Dispatch

Uncovering Today's International Headlines and Top Stories

In Syria, a Crackdown on Gunfire at Weddings

Wedding festivities in Binnish, Syria, this summer. Under the new government, there is a push to celebrate special occasions by using fireworks rather than firearms.

Cheer Up, or Else: China Cracks Down on the Haters and Cynics

Chinese censors are going after content that “excessively exaggerates negative and pessimistic sentiment” or promotes “defeatist narratives like ‘hard work is useless.’”

How the Right Uses Charlie Kirk’s Death to Further Their Policies

Meet ‘Porky,’ Lima’s Right-Wing Mayor Embracing Trump’s MAGA Movement

Lima’s right-wing mayor, Rafael López Aliaga, who is known widely as “Porky.”

With Sébastien Lecornu’s Resignation, France Faces Increasing Turmoil

Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu of France in Paris on Monday after making the announcement that he had resigned, just a day after naming his government.

Ex-Husband Contradicts a Man Appealing Conviction in Pelicot Rape Case

Gisèle Pelicot and her son Florian Pelicot, on Tuesday, leaving the Court of Appeal in Nimes, France, where the trial in the appeal filed by a man convicted of raping Ms. Pelicot is being heard.

Israel Marks Two-Year Anniversary of Oct. 7 in Subdued Fashion

Mourners at a memorial service marking two years since Oct. 7, 2023, in Kfar Aza, southern Israel, on Tuesday.

A Former Israeli Hostage Is Freed From Hamas, but Not Captivity

Freed From Hamas, but Not CaptivityBack home in Israel, an ex-hostage fights for those left behind.

Pope Leo to Visit Lebanon and Turkey

Pope Leo XIV plans to visit Turkey and Lebanon starting in November. Pope Benedict XVI was the last pope to visit Lebanon, in 2012.

Witkoff and Kushner Expected to Join Israel-Hamas Talks

Jared Kushner, left, and Steve Witkoff, President Trump’s Middle East envoy, last week.

Feared Sudanese Warlord Found Guilty at The Hague for Crimes in Darfur

Ali Muhammad Ali Abd-Al-Rahman attends his verdict hearing at the International Criminal Court on Monday.

Deadly Clashes Erupt Between Syrian Government Forces and Kurdish Fighters

Residents leaving the Ashrafieh and Sheikh Maqsoud neighborhoods of Aleppo, Syria, on Tuesday, after overnight clashes between Syrian government troops and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces.

Ukraine’s Secret Weapons Spending Faces Questions After Internal Review

A Ukrainian artillery crew preparing to fire toward Russian positions in the Kharkiv region of Ukraine last year.

Myanmar Military Paraglider Bombs Buddhist Festival, Killing Dozens

A candlelit event in Yangon, Myanmar, on Monday. The deadly attack occurred in a different area of the war-torn country.

Napa on the Aegean: A Turkish Wine Region Re-emerges

Visitors enjoying a glass of wine at Urlice.

Why Diamonds Are Computer Chips’ New Best Friend

Athens Democracy Forum: Reinventing a Democracy for Our Times

The ruins of the Acropolis in Athens. The Athens Democracy Forum was first held in 2013. This year, participants were largely pessimistic about the ability to strengthen democracies around the world.

Athens Democracy Forum: ‘The Mother of All Battles?’ Information Integrity

Athens Democracy Forum: As Democracy Erodes Globally, So Do Women’s Rights

Protesters in Belgrade, Serbia, demonstrating in support of Nikolina Sindjelic, an activist who was detained by police while protesting and, she said, was assaulted and threatened with rape and sodomy.

Athens Democracy Forum: Dialogue Is An Antidote for Security Threats

Only hours after South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol declared emergency martial law, in December 2024, was democracy restored. “This was an unfathomable event,” said Jaeyoung Lee, a former member of the Korea National Assembly.

Five Young Democracy Advocates Share What They Have Learned

Civics Education Struggles, Even as Government and Politics Saturate Daily Life

Ask a Correspondent, With Our Chief White House Reporter

Hunter Biden Pursued a Deal to Sell Land Around the U.S. Embassy in Romania

Hunter Biden’s efforts on the proposed land deal came partly as his father was pressing the Romanians to rid their country of nepotism and corruption.

What People in Gaza Told Us About Two Years of War

Mayor-Elect in Critical Condition After Stabbing in Western Germany

Ambulance vehicles were parked near where Iris Stalzer was found stabbed in Herdecke, Germany, on Tuesday.

Global Trade Growth to Slow Sharply Next Year, W.T.O. Says

The World Trade Organization has repeatedly expressed concern about the economic effects of President Trump’s tariffs.

President Trump and the Military

Trump at the Navy’s 250th anniversary.

How to Protect Your Pets From Pollution

Downtown Portland, Ore., blanketed by wildfire smoke in September 2020.

Trump Predicts That ‘Canada Will Love Us Again’ in Meeting With Carney

Prime Minister Mark Carney of Canada during a meeting with President Trump at the White House on Tuesday.

Trump to Unveil Farmer Aid as China Shuns U.S. Crops

A soybean farm in Stuttgart, Ark. China has been boycotting U.S. crops this year, worsening a financial crisis for American growers.

In a Toxic World, Pets Could Be Vital Health Watchdogs

One Hostage’s Path to Healing and Advocacy

Can Sweet Songs Prevail Over Bloody Ones? Mexico Is Giving It a Try.

Mike León, from Guanajuato, and Brian Sebastián Muñoz, from Los Angeles, during their performance in the final of Mexico Canta on Sunday.

Trump Calls Off Diplomatic Outreach to Venezuela

Richard Grenell, a special presidential envoy and executive director of the Kennedy Center, had been leading negotiations with Venezuela’s leader, Nicolás Maduro, and other top Venezuelan officials.

Israel at War With Itself

Marine Park in Ontario Warns It May Euthanize Beluga Whales Without Cash Infusion

Beluga whales swimming in a tank at Marineland amusement park in Niagara Falls, Ontario, in 2023.

Syria Chooses a Parliament of Revolutionaries

The spokesman for Syria’s electoral committee, Nawar Najma, announces results of the first parliamentary elections since the ouster of President Bashar al-Assad, at a news conference in Damascus on Monday.

Russia Welcomes Trump’s Blessing of Proposal to Extend Caps on Nuclear Weapons

A RS-24 Yars intercontinental ballistic missile system drives across Red Square during the Victory Day military parade in Moscow in May.

Greta Thunberg Among Hundreds From Gaza Aid Flotilla Deported by Israel

Greta Thunberg, the Swedish activist, arriving at an airport in Athens on Monday after being deported from Israel.

Nobel Prizes 2025: What to Know

A Nobel Prize medal at the National Library of Colombia in Bogota.

President Trump and the Supreme Court

We May Know Why Ernest Shackleton’s Endurance Really Sank

The Endurance, in the background, stuck in ice in August 1915 during the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition led by Ernest Shackleton. In the foreground, a dog sled team on a food-gathering expedition.

Jilly Cooper, Widely Popular Romance Novelist, Is Dead at 88

Trying to Survive Gaza’s War-Torn Present, and Hoping for a Future

Israel and Hamas Meet in Egypt to Discuss Gaza Peace Plan

French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu Resigns

Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu of France in Paris on Friday. He quit less than 24 hours after he had formed a cabinet.

Pilots Demand India Ground Boeing 787s to Investigate Use of Emergency System

Air India said that one of its Boeing planes used an emergency system to land in Birmingham, England, on Saturday. It was at least the second time this year the system has been used on an Air India flight.

Snowstorm Traps Hundreds of Everest Hikers

A still image taken from a video showed trekkers leaving their campsite, as unusually heavy snow and rainfall pummeled the Himalayas, in the Tibet Region, China, on Sunday.

The Pelicot Trial: A Timeline

Gisèle Pelicot leaving the courthouse in Avignon, France, last November during the trial of her ex-husband, Dominique Pelicot.

Appeal Trial Opens in Gisèle Pelicot Rape Case

The Nîmes courthouse in southern France on Sunday.

Pakistan Fights Its Fiercest Taliban Insurgency in a Decade

Drones, Democracy and the War in Ukraine

In the Donetsk region of Ukraine last year.

Macron Appoints French Cabinet, but Doubts Over Government’s Stability Persist

The French prime minister, Sébastien Lecornu, in Paris on Friday.

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