Author: NY TIMES

The Chicago Symphony Orchestra, which has been led for decades by conducting titans including Georg Solti, Daniel Barenboim and Riccardo Muti, announced Tuesday that its next music director would be Klaus Mäkelä, a 28-year-old Finnish conductor whose charisma and clarity have fueled his rapid rise in classical music.When he begins a five-year contract in 2027 at 31, Mäkelä will be the youngest maestro in the ensemble’s 133-year history, and one of the youngest ever to lead a top orchestra in the United States.Mäkelä, who will become music director designate immediately, said in an interview that he did not think his…

President Biden spoke with Xi Jinping, China’s leader, in a call on Tuesday morning that was aimed at addressing a wide range of combative and cooperative issues, as the United States grapples with wars and other global crises, according to a White House statement.The topics on Mr. Biden’s agenda included fighting narcotics production, the Middle East conflict and China’s support of Russia during the Ukraine war, a senior administration official said.Mr. Biden intended the talk to be a “check-in” rather than a summit with concrete outcomes, said the official, who spoke to a small group of reporters on Monday night…

Exploding drones hit an oil refinery and munitions factory far to the east of Moscow on Tuesday, in what Ukrainian media and military experts said was among the longest-range strikes with Ukrainian drones so far in the war.The drones struck in the Tatarstan region of Russia, about 700 miles from Ukrainian-held territory. Just a day earlier, a Ukrainian official had announced that the country’s domestically produced drones were now able to hit targets beyond 1,000 kilometers, or 621 miles.The targeted factory was built by Russia to produce its own arsenal of long-range attack drones that are based on an Iranian…

Digging For TourmalinesPerhaps it is not surprising, but gem- and jewelry-themed travel is a trend especially relevant to the tastes and inclinations of high-net worth individuals — people with at least $1 million in liquid assets — according to Milton Pedraza, the founder and chief executive of the Luxury Institute, a consultancy specializing in luxury consumer research with offices in New York and Florida.Mr. Pedraza said the sophisticated traveler has “seen it, done it.” So, he said, when someone has the opportunity to access an exclusive experience in a far-flung part of the world, “it makes your life more unique,”…

Narendra Modi has big money behind him as he appears set to win a third term as India’s prime minister. His party has collected more political cash than the others combined, and the country’s richest business leaders support him.The campaign is fueled partly by a winning story Mr. Modi tells about India’s economy, some of which can be traced to changes made during his decade in office. He has also benefited from geopolitical currents that have made India more attractive to global financiers. Here are five factors that are essential to understanding India’s economy. Elections will start on April 19…

Tesla, which has been accustomed to brisk growth, reported a drop in car sales during the first three months of the year as models from other automakers appeared to gain ground.The company led by Elon Musk said it delivered 387,000 cars worldwide in the first quarter, down 8.5 percent from 423,000 vehicles in the same period last year. The sales figure was significantly below expectations.The reduced sales are the latest sign that Tesla’s dominance of the market for electric cars is slipping. The company’s shares have fallen 30 percent this year because investors are concerned that the company is not…

In the 1960s, he also performed as a folk singer in Greenwich Village coffee houses. He and Richie Havens co-wrote the antiwar song “Handsome Johnny,” which Mr. Havens recorded in 1966 and later sang at Woodstock.His dozens of feature films included “The Landlord” (1970), in which he played a man on the brink of insanity; “Travels With My Aunt” (1972); and “The Deep” (1977), as a Bahamian drug dealer. His later films included “Diggstown” (1992), in which he played a boxer, and the movie version of Sam Shepard’s “Curse of the Starving Class” (1994), in which he played a bar…

Seven aid workers with World Central Kitchen were killed when their convoy came under fire overnight between Monday and Tuesday, according to the aid organization and Palestinian health officials in Gaza.The disaster relief organization, founded by the Spanish chef José Andrés, said members of its staff were hit in an Israeli strike, the Israeli army said the episode was being investigated, without taking responsibility for the strike. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel acknowledged on Tuesday a “tragic case of our forces unintentionally hitting innocent people”Here’s what we know.The convoy of three vehicles had just left a food warehouse.The World…

Gazing out from his 265-acre farm to the silhouetted Jura mountains in the distance, Jean-Michel Sibelle expounded on the intricate secrets of soil, climate and breeding that have made his chickens — blue feet, white feathers, red combs in the colors of France — the royalty of poultry.The “poulet de Bresse” is no ordinary chicken. It was recognized in 1957 with a designation of origin, similar to that accorded a great Bordeaux. Moving from a diet of meadow bugs and worms to a mash of corn flour and milk in its final sedentary weeks, this revered Gallic bird acquires a…

On Friday morning, at 11:40 on the dot, hundreds of Mets fans flooded into the new team store at Citi Field in Queens. It was the opening day of baseball season, and they were the first ones into the new space, located in the Jackie Robinson Rotunda, the grand entryway to the ballpark.Susan Wiedeman, 65, from Riverdale, N.J., who has attended Mets opening day with her husband for the last 40 years, was giddy with the experience. “We were just about the first ones in,” she said. “That was really cool.”At 10,000 square feet, the store is twice the size…