Germany to Override Debt Limit to Resolve Budget Crisis

Chancellor Olaf Scholz urged lawmakers on Tuesday to override Germany’s borrowing limits for a fourth consecutive year, allowing his government to take on billions of euros in fresh debt to modernize his country’s economy despite a budget crisis triggered a constitutional court ruling. “It would be a grave, unforgivable mistake to neglect the modernization of …

U.S. Has Warned Israel to Fight More Surgically in Gaza, Officials Say

The United States has warned Israel that it must fight more surgically and avoid further mass displacement of Palestinians in its war against Hamas to avoid a humanitarian crisis that overwhelms the world’s ability to respond, according to senior Biden administration officials. The White House has told Israel that replicating the scale of its bombardment …

C.I.A. Director Arrives in Qatar for Talks on Hostage Releases

William J. Burns, the C.I.A. director, was scheduled to arrive in Doha, Qatar, on Tuesday for a new round of negotiations aimed at freeing more hostages held in Gaza, according to U.S. officials. Mr. Burns and David Barnea, the head of the Mossad, Israel’s spy service, are scheduled to meet with Qatari officials. Qatar, which …

Rosalynn Carter to Be Honored by Presidents and Fellow First Ladies

Former President Jimmy Carter will emerge from hospice care to join some of his successors and every living presidential spouse on Tuesday to honor Rosalynn Carter, his wife and partner of more than three-quarters of a century and the nation’s first lady from 1977 to 1981, the Carter Center said. Mr. Carter, who turned 99 …

Vietnam Is Jailing Environmentalists Who Helped It Secure Billions

When Vietnam was awarded a multibillion-dollar deal by a group of nine wealthy nations last year to work on reducing its use of coal, it agreed to regularly consult with nongovernmental organizations. Instead, the government has arrested several prominent environmentalists from those organizations who shaped policies that helped secure the funding, prompting concerns over sending …

In New Zealand, Maori Wardens Take a Different Approach to Crime

As tempers flared on a recent evening in a nightlife district in Auckland, New Zealand’s largest city, Joanne Paikea sensed an altercation — or even an arrest — brewing. “Bro, you know the cops are behind us,” she said, describing her efforts to soothe the surging tension between two groups. “So you’re either going to …

Could Longevity Drugs for Dogs Extend Your Pet’s Life?

Longevity drugs are intended for healthy dogs, which changes the risk-benefit calculus. “It’s one thing if a dog is on death’s door and you’re giving them some late-breaking treatment,” said Bev Klingensmith, a Great Dane breeder in Iowa who also has a Great Dane and a golden retriever of her own. “Giving my young, healthy …

Even Most Biden Voters Don’t See a Thriving Economy

It’s difficult for presidents to directly control inflation in the short term. But the White House has addressed a few specific costs that matter for families, by releasing oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to contain surging oil prices in late 2022, for example. The Inflation Reduction Act reduced prescription drug prices under Medicare and …

New Zealand’s New Government Says It Will Scrap Smoking Ban

New Zealand’s new right-wing government has said it will repeal a law that would have gradually banned all cigarette sales in the country over the course of several decades. The law, passed by a previous government led by Jacinda Ardern, a prime minister who became an international liberal icon, took effect this year and was …

Tesla Sues Swedish Transport Agency in Dispute Over License Plates

Tesla sued Sweden’s Transport Agency on Monday over a strike by postal workers that has blocked delivery of license plates for Tesla cars, the latest escalation of a widening battle between Sweden’s labor unions and the U.S. manufacturer of electric vehicles. A month ago, mechanics at seven Tesla-owned repair shops in Sweden walked off their …