Author: NY TIMES

The acute food shortage in the war-ravaged Gaza Strip has become so severe that “famine is imminent” and the enclave is on the verge of a “major acceleration of deaths and malnutrition,” a report from a global authority on food security and nutrition said on Monday.The group, the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification global initiative, which was set up in 2004 by U.N. agencies and international relief groups, has sounded the alarm about famine only twice before: in Somalia in 2011 and in South Sudan in 2017.The warning came as Israeli forces again raided Al-Shifa Hospital in the northern part…

Brazil’s federal police recommended that former President Jair Bolsonaro be criminally charged in connection with a scheme to falsify his Covid-19 vaccine card, in part to travel to the United States during the pandemic. If federal prosecutors decide to pursue the charges, it would be the first time the former president has faced criminal charges.This is a developing story. Source link

It has already been a sweet life for Fumihide Oda, chief executive of Rokkatei, one of the oldest confectionary shops in Hokkaido, Japan, and the birthplace of the popular Marusei butter sandwich cookies.This summer, Mr. Oda anticipates life becoming even sweeter. He and his wife, along with two other couples — including his sister and her husband — will take their four children to Oakland, Calif., to experience, in person, another of Hokkaido’s treasured exports: Shohei Ohtani.This is the family’s first overseas trip to see Mr. Ohtani. And it will be the children’s first visit to the United States.“We have…

Unilever, the consumer goods giant, said on Tuesday that it would cut 7,500 jobs and spin off its ice cream unit, which includes Ben & Jerry’s, to reduce costs and simplify its portfolio of brands.The moves would make for “a simpler, more focused and higher performing Unilever,” Ian Meakins, the London-based company’s chair, said in a statement. The group’s ice cream unit generated 7.9 billion euros ($8.6 billion) in sales last year, or about 13 percent of the group’s total.The division is home to Ben & Jerry’s, which Unilever acquired in 2000, along with other brands like Cornetto, Magnum, Talenti…

Elon Musk released the raw computer code behind his version of an artificial intelligence chatbot on Sunday, an escalation by one of the world’s richest men in a battle to control the future of A.I.Grok, which is designed to give snarky replies styled after the science-fiction novel “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy,” is a product from xAI, the company Mr. Musk founded last year. While xAI is an independent entity from X, its technology has been integrated into the social media platform and is trained on users’ posts. Users who subscribe to X’s premium features can ask Grok questions…

The country music star Toby Keith, who died last month after battling stomach cancer, has been selected for the Country Music Hall of Fame despite a rule against electing artists in the year of their death, the Country Music Association said on Monday.The induction is moving forward on a technicality: The vote closed on Feb. 2 — three days before the singer’s death on Feb. 5 at age 62.A few hours after officials at the association learned about the death of Keith, the artist behind No. 1 country hits like “Who’s Your Daddy?” and “Made in America,” they received the…

Still, over the past several weeks, Mr. Trudeau has taken a much more critical tone toward Israel, a stance that has opened divisions within the Liberal Party. Three Liberal Party lawmakers voted against the motion.And from his left, Mr. Trudeau has been criticized by the New Democrats, whose votes he relies on to pass legislation, for not doing more to end Palestinian suffering in the enclave, where more than 30,000 people have been killed and food and medicine are in critically short supply.The Conservative Party condemned the motion and charged that Mr. Trudeau’s approach had failed Israel and supported terrorism.“Hamas…

Israel, though heavily dependent on support from the United States, Germany and other Western nations, has been noticeably out of step with them when it comes to relations with Russia during its war of conquest in Ukraine.Long before Hamas attacked Israel from Gaza on Oct. 7, the country refused Ukrainian requests to send arms or to apply widespread sanctions on Russia, including stopping flights to the country. Despite the eagerness of President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine, himself Jewish, to visit the country and show solidarity after the attack, he has never made the trip.The reasons reflect Israel’s unique security needs…

Nottingham Forest were docked four points for breaching the Premier League’s Profitability and Sustainability Rules (PSR).Forest referred it to the independent commission in January after reporting losses exceeding the allowable amount during the three-year reporting cycle ending in the 2022-23 season.Under the guidelines, they can be fined or have points deducted for breaches of the rules, and their four points now leave them 18th in the Premier League. New Premier League standings They are the second Premier League team to be docked points for a PSR breach this season, following Everton’s 10-point deduction in November. This was later reduced to…

For Course No. 7, a server wheeled in a cart featuring a mountain of gelato churned in the Carpigiani machine that we all visited many hours earlier. The cart was laden with chocolate sauce, chocolate balls, rum balls, zabaglione, Grand Marnier, Chartreuse and Borsci. Venturelli requested his gelato with a splash of Chartreuse. When finished, he requested a second bowl, this one topped with Grand Marnier. After emptying the second bowl, he abruptly vanished from the table and was gone 10 minutes, possibly on a rejuvenating stroll. Upon return he asked for a third bowl of gelato — this one…