Author: NY TIMES

A new tourist fee in Bali. Higher hotel taxes in Amsterdam and Paris. Stricter rules on public drinking in Milan and Majorca. Ahead of the summer travel season, leaders in many tourist spots have adopted measures to tame the tourist crowds — or at least earn more revenue from them.All of this may pose headaches for travelers, although in most cases, the new fees or tax increases represent only a tiny fraction of the total cost of a trip. The goal is to ensure that tourism functions smoothly for visitors and locals alike, said Megan Epler Wood, managing director of…

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer, the leader of the opposition Labour Party, will square off on Tuesday evening in their first debate of Britain’s general election. But it is a third man, Nigel Farage, who has seized the spotlight in a race defined, until now, by a fading incumbent and a rising opponent.Mr. Farage, a gleeful insurgent who has long roamed the right-wing fringes of British politics, said he would run as a candidate for Reform U.K., a party he co-founded. That has shaken up the race and threatens to siphon off votes from Mr. Sunak’s Conservative Party,…

Larry Bensky, a radio journalist whose reporting on major political events made him the signature voice of Pacifica Radio, a network of progressive, listener-supported stations, died on May 19 at his home in Berkeley, Calif. He was 87.His wife, Susie Bluestone, said he died in home hospice care.Mr. Bensky’s gavel-to-gavel coverage of the congressional Iran-contra hearings of 1987 put the Pacifica network on the map, earning him a prestigious Polk Award for radio reporting.Mr. Bensky, who called himself an activist-journalist, brought leftist views to reporting — often on people and issues under-covered by other news outlets — which he hoped…

Ten years after Narendra Modi was first elected prime minister, India’s economy is roughly twice as large. That is what happens when a country grows at 7 percent a year, as India has been doing, on average, since it opened its markets to international competition in 1991.That steady growth has been skillfully repackaged to promote an image of one man’s leadership making it all happen. Along with nationalism and Hindu pride, the idea that Mr. Modi can make the economy move has been central to his appeal since the beginning.And Mr. Modi has burnished India’s economy in ways that count…

FORT WORTH, Texas — What do you get for the nine-time national all-around champion who has it all? Apparently an engraved silver belt buckle.On Sunday night, Simone Biles won the USA Gymnastics Championships with a total score of 119.750 (60.450 on Day 1, 59.300 on Day 2) to win the trophy that is the symbol of Texas. She also won all the individual events.The 27-year-old’s biggest mistake over the course of two nights was over-rotating her Yurchenko double spear jump and landing on her back. Even with the fall, she still scored 15,000 points because the vault was so difficult…

Chinese people know their country’s internet is different. There is no Google, YouTube, Facebook or Twitter. They use euphemisms online to communicate the things they are not supposed to mention. When their posts and accounts are censored, they accept it with resignation.They live in a parallel online universe. They know it and even joke about it.Now they are discovering that, beneath a facade bustling with short videos, livestreaming and e-commerce, their internet — and collective online memory — is disappearing in chunks.A post on WeChat on May 22 that was widely shared reported that nearly all information posted on Chinese…

Brother Marquis, the rapper and member of the hip-hop group 2 Live Crew, whose sexually explicit lyrics prompted a debate about race and artistic freedom in the 1980s and ’90s, has died.His death was announced on 2 Live Crew’s social media accounts on Monday night. The posts did not provide a cause or location of death.2 Live Crew was founded in 1984, and Brother Marquis, born Mark Ross, joined after the group moved from California to Miami. He became part of its most well-known lineup alongside Christopher Wong Won (Fresh Kid Ice); the group’s leader, Luther Campbell (Luke Skyywalker); and…

Real Madrid had the celebratory jerseys ready as soon as its place in the Champions League final was secured. As the players raced to one another, exulting in yet another heart-stopping, nerve-shredding win, staff members sprinted onto the field after them, ensuring each star was correctly attired.On the back of each shirt was the latest club-approved slogan: A Por La 15. For the 15th. The shorthand ran the risk of coming across as hubris: Real Madrid’s 15th Champions League title was still one win away. Nobody, though, seemed especially worried. The Champions League, as far as the team that has…

Jaylen Johnson finally re-signed with the Chicago Bears in March.The Bears invited him to Halas Hall to announce the $76 million contract, with $47.8 million guaranteed, the second-highest amount ever given to a defensive back. Johnson was willing, but only if the team commissioned a private jet to fly him and his loved ones from his hometown of Fresno, California.Johnson was accompanied by nine people during the press conference, including his father John Johnson Sr., mother Carmela Warren Johnson, brother, roommate and coach Johnny Johnson, agent Chris Ellison and girlfriend Janessa McFadden. He walked in wearing a long-sleeved Prada shirt…

In the swashbuckling world of British newspapers, the editor Robert Winnett stands out for his lack of flash. Taciturn and low key, more likely to be buried in documents at his desk than hobnobbing at a Mayfair club, Mr. Winnett, the deputy editor of The Daily Telegraph, is known for his focus on breaking news, once earning the nickname “Rat Boy” for his relentless drive for scoops.Now Mr. Winnett is stepping into a spotlight that will be hard to avoid: This fall, he will become the editor of The Washington Post, taking over one of the most powerful and scrutinized…