Author: NY TIMES

Thousands of anti-government protesters gathered on Saturday outside the Israeli Defense Ministry in Tel Aviv, renewing calls for the resignation of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and a cease-fire in Gaza that would allow the return of hostages taken during the Hamas-led attack on Oct. 7.One protester held up a sign that called Mr. Netanyahu “the enemy of Israel,” while others covered themselves in fake blood and bandages and lay in the street. Relatives and family members of hostages have held weekly street demonstrations since October to pressure the government to bring their loved ones home. Some hostages were released as…

France is heading to the polls on Sunday for the first round of snap legislative elections that President Emmanuel Macron unexpectedly called this month, a gamble that has thrust the country into deep uncertainty over its future.Voters are choosing their 577 representatives in the National Assembly, the country’s lower and more prominent house of Parliament, which will determine the future of Mr. Macron’s second term.A new majority of lawmakers opposed to Mr. Macron would force him to appoint a political opponent as prime minister, radically shifting France’s domestic policy and muddling its foreign policy. If no clear majority emerges, the…

A Supreme Court justice’s political flag shined a light on a longstanding shore tradition of flying flags — so many flags — to celebrate colleges, sports teams and more.By Jen A. MillerPhotographs by Michelle GustafsonReporting from Avalon, N.J.June 30, 2024The monthly teatime event at the Avalon Historical Center is a casual affair. There’s no agenda or talking points for the handful of regulars who dress up for the occasion, and anyone in a bathing suit and flip-flops can wander in and sit down to fresh scones and hot tea.At the group’s June meeting, I showed up to ask about something…

“Inside Out 2,” starring a personified Anxiety, continued to resonate with moviegoers as the No. 1 film in North America for a third weekend. The dread-infused prequel “A Quiet Place: Day One” also struck a cultural nerve, arriving to stronger-than-expected ticket sales.But ticket buyers largely rebuffed Kevin Costner’s three-hour vanity project, “Horizon: An American Saga — Chapter 1,” the supposed start of an Old West movie series that was once headed straight to a streaming service before managing to get bumped up to the big screen.“Inside Out 2” from Pixar was on pace to collect $55 million, for a three-week…

When I was growing up, my dad, who has left the country only a few times, told me about the trip to Europe he took with his parents when he was 14, in 1966. He told me how much Nonie loved the immaculate Swiss streets and window boxes fizzing with flowers; the fireplace in the hillside home outside Lugano, where his father was born, with clever alcoves on either side for drying clothes or warming bread; the palpable poverty of the home in Pozzuoli, a city just outside Naples, where Nonie’s aunt lined her walls with newspaper to add insulation.…

São Paulo’s main avenue was packed this month with thousands of people draped in the yellow and green of the Brazilian flag and captivated by a commanding figure atop a tractor-trailer rigged with speakers.From above, the scene could have maybe passed for one of the many political rallies held in the same spot by former President Jair Bolsonaro, the Brazilian far-right leader who has infamously declared that he could never love a gay son.(Though, to be fair, the enormous rainbow flag would be a giveaway.)It was, in fact, one of the world’s largest Pride parades, and the person atop the…

Iranian voters signaled their disenchantment with Iran’s system of clerical rule in the country’s presidential election on Friday, going to the polls in record-low numbers to help two establishment candidates limp to a runoff.The runoff on July 5 will offer voters a final choice between a reformist former health minister, Dr. Masoud Pezeshkian, and an ultraconservative former nuclear negotiator, Saeed Jalili, neither of whom managed to get more than the 50 percent of votes needed to win the presidency. That postpones for another week the question of who will steer Iran through challenges including a sickly economy, the gulf between…

India won the men’s Cricket World Cup on Saturday, defeating South Africa to end a dry spell in tournament victories that had lasted over a decade, even as the nation was dominating the sport globally in other measures like talent, cash and influence.The tournament was played across several Caribbean islands, with a few of the matches hosted in the United States, including at a pop-up stadium in New York. When the final, in Barbados, ended with India declared the champion, it was close to midnight back home, where joyful crowds poured into the streets across several cities.“Maybe in a couple…

These early studies “highlighted both the potential that we could learn from dogs, but also that we were going to need bigger sample sizes to do it really well,” said Elinor Karlsson, a geneticist at UMass Chan Medical School and the Broad Institute. And so, researchers began creating large citizen science projects, seeking DNA samples and data from dogs across the United States.Pet owners rose to the challenge. The Golden Retriever Lifetime Study, which began recruiting in 2012, has been following more than 3,000 dogs in an effort to identify genetic and environmental risk factors for cancer, which is especially…

Miguel Martínez was not entirely sure how to react. On Monday evening, he found himself standing outside a bar in Bilbao, tuning in and out of his colleagues’ conversation, his eyes fixed on a television screen inside. He has been avidly tracking Spain’s progress in the European soccer championship, he said, and a work trip was not going to get in the way.He had watched the country’s first two games with his 13-year-old son, back home in Seville. The city, he said, has caught a severe dose of major tournament fever, a condition that reliably sweeps across Europe on a…