Author: NY TIMES

I was at my station, a folding table dressed up with a burlap cloth, checking in visitors at a Garden Conservancy Open Days event maybe 10 years ago and answering questions from those who had already explored my garden, when I saw someone across the yard taking a photograph.But of what, I wondered — what’s over there? There was nothing in that spot, I felt certain.And then I realized that there was no way I could know exactly what the subject was. Because it was my garden, as someone else sees it.Sharing a garden with others is an eye-opener —…

European Central Bank officials are expected to cut interest rates this week for the first time in more than five years, drawing a line under the worst of the eurozone’s inflation crisis and easing the pressure on the region’s weak economy.But as policymakers in the eurozone move ahead, they leave behind their counterparts at the U.S. Federal Reserve, who are grappling with a seemingly more persistent inflation problem and warning that it will take longer to cut rates there.Lowering interest rates in Europe before the United States does would create a gap between the policies of two of the world’s…

At first sight, it looked like a typical party in a nightclub. It was mid-March in central Kyiv and a hundred or so people were wiggling on the dance floor of V’YAVA, one of the Ukrainian capital’s most popular live music venues. The hall was dark, lit only by bright blue and red spotlights. Bartenders were busy pouring gin and tonics.But the lineup that night, in a concert hall that typically hosts pop artists and rappers, was unexpected: four Ukrainian folk singers, filling the room with their high-pitched voices and polyphonic choruses, accompanied by a D.J. spinning techno beats —…

A municipal candidate for the far-right Alternative for Germany party was slashed with a box cutter in the western German city of Mannheim, the authorities said on Wednesday.While the police said that the incident on Tuesday night did not appear to be politically motivated, it came four days after a knife attack on members of an anti-Islam party in the same city, which raised concerns about more violence in the prelude to Sunday’s vote in Germany for the European Parliament.The attack on Tuesday occurred after the candidate, Heinrich Koch, who is running for municipal office in Mannheim, noticed a man…

My father, who died seven years ago, was estranged from his brother for over 40 years. (I don’t know why.) So, I haven’t seen my uncle in decades. On a whim, when I was writing Christmas cards this year, I sent one to my uncle. On Valentine’s Day, I came home to find a dozen red roses and a box of candy on my doorstep with a note that read: “Your Christmas card meant the world to us!” It was signed, with love, from my uncle and aunt. I wasn’t sure what to do next, so I sent another note,…

Dollar Tree said on Wednesday that it is considering a sale or spinoff of Family Dollar, which has struggled with its operation for years.There are about 8,000 Family Dollar stores, and Dollar Tree, which owns Family Dollar, said in March that it would close nearly 1,000 of them. In February, the U.S. Justice Department fined Family Dollar $41.7 million, the largest-ever financial criminal penalty in a food safety case, for distributing food, drugs, medical devices and cosmetics from a rat-infested warehouse.Rick Dreiling, chairman and chief executive of Dollar Tree, said in a statement on Wednesday that the “unique needs” of…

Spending time in graveyards and libraries may not be everyone’s idea of summer fun, but for those interested in finding their roots, collecting information about one’s ancestors is a “family” vacation. Sure, genealogy sites have made researching one’s ancestral history much easier with digitized document archives, family-tree-building software and community forums. But not everything is online.As you visit libraries, archives and cemeteries in pursuit of your roots, keep your smartphone or tablet at hand — it can help with translation tools, document scanners and more. Here are a few tips that can make your research trips more efficient.Decipher TextOld newspapers,…

Listen on YouTube◆ ◆ ◆Mandla Mlangeni, trumpeterMalcolm Jiyane Tree-O, “Life Esidimeni”“Life Esidimeni,” from trombonist Malcolm Jiyane’s debut album, “Umdali,” weaves together a story of those forgotten and sometimes neglected by society. With its hauntingly lyrical trumpet improvisation, the piece laments an often neglected part of our recent history, the Life Esidimeni tragedy, which left 144 people dead at psychiatric facilities in the Gauteng province. Malcolm’s musical arrangement is both a reminder and an ode to the voiceless and dispossessed. Part of the pervasive beauty of South African jazz is that it recounts histories that we sometimes choose to forget or…

After his first two national election victories, Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India easily set his own terms, with his Bharatiya Janata Party winning clear majorities.The result was different in this vote. It was still a victory, but one that left him dependent on a host of coalition partners — particularly on two other politicians from regional parties who could make or break Mr. Modi’s ability to form a government.Of the more than a dozen parties that make up the B.J.P.’s coalition, the National Democratic Alliance, most won just one or two seats. The ones Mr. Modi needs the most…

The Unstoppables is a series about people whose ambition is undimmed by time. Below, Lauren Hutton explains, in her own words, what continues to motivate her.I turned 80 in November. Sometimes I feel like I’m 33. Sometimes I’m 572. I’ve been writing a book — a memoir — writing almost every day and, doing it, I realized I’ve had an extremely lucky life. Obviously anyone who has success has luck, but there are three or four other things you need — intelligence, a certain amount of talent for the gig, a strong work ethic.I’ve said this before, but modeling was…