Author: NY TIMES

Ukraine’s intelligence agency said it had exposed a defense company’s $40 million embezzlement scheme, money that had been intended to procure mortar rounds, as the government sought to underline its commitment to fighting corruption at a time when U.S. military aid has stalled.Officials at the defense company, Lviv Arsenal, attempted to siphon off 1.5 billion Ukrainian hryvnias, or $40 million, from the state budget that had been designated for the purchase of 100,000 mortar rounds, said the intelligence agency, the Security Service of Ukraine. The Defense Ministry cooperated in the investigation, which implicated some of its current and former senior…

Haute couture is a celebration of artisanship — and one-upmanship — as the world’s top fashion houses gather in Paris to compete with one another and show off new designs.So, too, with the celebrities and socialites on the front row, who also have something to sell — movies, music, reality television, cosmetics. The season this week has been no exception, as a constellation of stars in some seriously flashy wares descended on the runway shows. Here is what — and who — was there.Jennifer Lopez was everywhere.Be it at Schiaparelli in a coat made from 7,000 real rose petals and…

Edward E. Crutchfield, who grew a small North Carolina bank into one of the nation’s largest through a deal-making spree that earned him the nickname Fast Eddie and helped establish Charlotte, N.C., as a national financial hub, died on Jan. 2 at his home in Vero Beach, Fla. He was 82.His death was confirmed by his son, Elliott, who said his father had dementia.When Mr. Crutchfield graduated from business school in 1965, he took a job as a credit analyst at the First Union bank in Charlotte. It was the lowest-paying job he was offered, but he thought he could…

Microsoft said Thursday that it would eliminate 1,900 roles in its video game division, including at Activision Blizzard, which it acquired for $69 billion three months ago.The job cuts will be made at Activision Blizzard, the maker of hit games like Call of Duty and Guitar Hero, as well as Xbox, according to a staff memo from Phil Spencer, the head of Microsoft Gaming, that was obtained by The New York Times.The cuts amount to a reduction of nearly 9 percent of Microsoft’s 22,000-person video game division, but less than 1 percent of the company’s roughly 220,000 employees overall.“Looking ahead,…

This week’s episode of Popcast (Deluxe), the weekly culture roundup show on YouTube hosted by Jon Caramanica and Joe Coscarelli, includes segments on:Will-they-or-won’t-they releases from Playboi Carti, Rihanna and Cardi BNew music from WaxahatcheeThe Atlanta rapper 2Sdxrt3allThe post-rage rappers Nettspend and XaviersobasedThe teenage SoundCloud rap elder Matt OxThe ambitious punk band Sheer MagThe sibling harmony group Infinity SongThe Mexican American singer-songwriter XaviThe Brooklyn drill trio 41The rustic roots-folk singers Sam Barber and Dylan GossettSnack of the weekConnect With Popcast. Become a part of the Popcast community: Join the show’s Facebook group and Discord channel. We want to hear from you!…

The U.N. agency that provides aid to Palestinians has been a vital lifeline in the Gaza Strip for generations — and it was a point of contention with Israel long before some of the agency’s employees were accused of involvement in the Hamas-led Oct. 7 assault on Israel.The allegation, made by Israel, is a serious blow to the reputation of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees, generally known as UNRWA. The claim was acted on by both the United Nations, which said on Friday that it had fired the accused workers and was investigating, and the…

When Russian troops and tanks invaded Ukraine in February 2022, tens of thousands of Ukrainians rushed to serve in the army in a surge of patriotic fervor. The influx of fighters who dutifully answered their draft notices or enlisted as volunteers helped to repel Russia’s initial assault and thwart the Kremlin’s plans to decapitate the Ukrainian government.But after nearly two years of bloody fighting, and with Ukraine once again in need of fresh troops to fend off a new Russian push, military leaders can no longer rely solely on enthusiasm. More men are avoiding military service, while calls to demobilize…

Once Mr. Caneco responded, he displayed what she considered a weirdness of his own: After only a few messages, he asked to switch to phone calls. “I’m somebody who only talks on the phone for work,” she said. Overcoming that aversion for Mr. Caneco seemed worth it, though. His devotion to Beanhead, whose mystery illness was never diagnosed before his death at the end of 2020, was part of it. So were his messages, which rang sincere. “There was nothing off-putting about him,” she said, including his background.Born on Staten Island, Mr. Caneco joined the Navy in 2005 after earning…

In 2018, Anna-Lisa Miller was working with agricultural cooperatives in Hawaii, helping them reinvest in their communities through shared ownership.Ms. Miller, who had gone to law school and had planned to do civil rights litigation, loved the principle of workers partaking in the financial success of their employers, and the next year joined Project Equity, a nonprofit that helps small businesses transition to worker ownership. But it was slow going, with each transaction requiring customized assistance.Then she came across an investor presentation from a different universe: KKR, one of the world’s largest private equity firms. In it, a KKR executive,…

Since Apple introduced the App Store in 2008, it has tightly controlled the apps and services allowed on iPhones and iPads, giving the company an iron grip on one of the digital economy’s most valuable storefronts.Now Apple is weakening its hold on the store, in one of the most consequential signs to date of how new European regulations are changing consumer technology.To comply with a European Union competition law taking effect on March 7, Apple on Thursday announced major changes to the App Store and other services for consumers in Europe. Users of iPhones and iPads in the 27-nation bloc…