U.S.-Backed Militias in Libya Claim to Retake ISIS Stronghold of Surt
By ROD NORDLAND
If confirmed, the capture of the seaside city of Surt would be a severe blow to the Islamic State’s expansion into North Africa.
Middle East
Germany Proposes Tougher Security Laws After Terrorist Attacks
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
The new measures would strip the citizenship of dual nationals who fight for extremist groups abroad and make it easier to deport foreigners considered dangerous.
Gay and Transgender Egyptians, Harassed and Entrapped, Are Driven Underground
By LIAM STACK
A quiet crackdown by the country’s morality police has shattered what had been an increasingly vibrant and visible community.
Europe
Bratislava Journal
A Renewed Cafe Culture Perks Up Bratislava’s Old Town
By MIROSLAVA GERMANOVA
The new scene has ushered in a revival of tradition that was interrupted during the Communist era, when officials tried to limit social interaction.
Russia, in Military Exercise, Pits Fog of War Against Dogs of War
By LINCOLN PIGMAN
Severomorsk, home to a naval base and roughly 50,000 people, is shrouded in smoke and fumes for a three-day military exercise.
Asia
Explosion at Coal-Fired Plant in Central China Kills at Least 21
By EDWARD WONG
A high-pressure steam pipe blew up at a plant in the city of Dangyang in Hubei Province, a news website run by the provincial government said.
Sinosphere
The Exuberant Chinese Swimmer Who Has Become a Star at Rio
By AUSTIN RAMZY
Fu Yuanhui won a bronze medal for China in the 100-meter backstroke and has won fans for her unabashed joy at competing in the Games.
Americas
In the Shadow of Olympic Joy, a Struggle to Simply Survive
By SIMON ROMERO
In Rio de Janeiro’s sprawling slums, gang wars and police raids provide a stark contrast to the excitement of the Games happening just across the city.
How Did People Migrate to the Americas? Bison DNA Helps Chart the Way
By NICHOLAS WADE
Two groups of experts generally agree when a gateway from Siberia to North America opened, but not on who used it first.
Africa
Zambians Vote Amid Severe Economic Slowdown and Political Violence
By NORIMITSU ONISHI
President Edgar Lungu, who won a special election last year, is seeking a full term. China’s slowdown has hurt the nation’s copper-reliant economy.
Safari Guide Accused of Killing Tourist in Masai Mara Reserve in Kenya
By JEFFREY GETTLEMAN
After an argument broke out at a lodge, apparently over where people would sit, the guide is alleged to have sunk a pocketknife into a woman’s chest.
Australia
Australia Stops Online Collection of Census Data After Cyberattacks
By AUSTIN RAMZY
Officials said that a website where citizens could upload information had experienced four denial-of-service attacks, but that no data had been compromised.
Leaks Detail Abuse of Asylum Seekers Sent to Nauru by Australia
By AUSTIN RAMZY
Thousands of incident reports published by The Guardian amplify longstanding concerns about the conditions faced by migrants held on the island.
What In The World
What in the World
Sending Mail in Mongolia? ‘Dissident.sloth.ploy’ Could Be the Address
By BRYANT ROUSSEAU
Oddly poetic three-word codes will soon act as addresses in Mongolia, one of the world’s most sparsely populated nations.
More News
Deadly Wildfires on Portuguese Island of Madeira Reach Its Largest City
By RAPHAEL MINDER
The biggest fire rapidly encroached on the residential outskirts of Funchal, home to about 110,000 people, and there are nearly 200 blazes on the mainland.
Julian Assange to Be Questioned by Sweden Over Rape Claim, Ecuador Says
By STEVEN ERLANGER
The WikiLeaks founder was granted political asylum by the Ecuadoreans in 2012, and he has been confined to its London embassy ever since.
Survivor of Dubai Crash-Landing Wins $1 Million Sweepstakes
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
After he escaped unharmed from the burning wreckage of an Emirates airliner, Mohamed Basheer Abdul Khadar already considered himself lucky. Then he won $1 million.
Greek Crisis, the Book. Or Actually Several of Them.
By LANDON THOMAS Jr.
As the anniversary of Greece’s bailout deal approaches, memoirs and essays about that nation’s economic crisis abound.
Brussels Airport Lifts Emergency Precautions After Bomb Scare
By ALISSA J. RUBIN
The international airport in Zaventem, near the capital, resumed normal operations after receiving threats that bombs were on incoming planes.
Letter from China
‘Lethal Weapons’ for Chinese Feet, but Without a Feminist Debate
By DIDI KIRSTEN TATLOW
The shoe choices of Britain’s new prime minister have fashion lovers in China talking. But feminist discussions about high heels are largely absent in the country.
Russia Announces Daily Cease-Fires to Allow Aid into Aleppo
By REUTERS
The Russian plan will halt “all military action, air and artillery strikes” in the Syrian city for three hours every day, allowing aid groups to enter the city.
Entrepreneurship
A Start-Up Turns to Saffron to Help Afghanistan Regrow
By AILI McCONNON
Rumi Spice, started by Army veterans, is part of efforts to help develop Afghanistan’s resource economy.
Putin Accuses Ukraine of Plotting Terrorist Attacks in Crimea
By IVAN NECHEPURENKO
The claims by the Russian president, denounced as “fantasies” by his Ukrainian counterpart, raised the possibility of retaliation.
Memo From Poland
'We Don’t Need to Be Alone’: A Political Shift Has Poland Assessing Its Values
By ALISON SMALE
Many Poles are questioning whether the European identity and freedom that meant so much after the fall of Communism hold the same value today.
Putting Politics Aside, Korean Gymnasts Pose for Olympic Selfie
By CHOE SANG-HUN
The photograph, of Lee Eun-ju from South Korea, and Hong Un-jong from North Korea, has since been hailed as capturing the Olympic spirit.
Brazil’s Senate Votes to Move Ahead With Dilma Rousseff’s Trial
By VINOD SREEHARSHA
With the eyes of the world on the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, senators in Brasília voted 59 to 21 in favor of trying the suspended president.
Chinese City Backs Down on Proposed Nuclear Fuel Plant After Protests
By CHRIS BUCKLEY
Thousands had demonstrated against plans to build a reprocessing plant in Lianyungang, which said that it was suspending preliminary work.
Musicians in a Refugee Camp in France Record ‘The Calais Sessions’
By BENOÎT MORENNE
Professional musicians and talented amateurs at the migrant camp in France teamed up for a benefit world music project.
‘A Fire Happened in the Newborn Unit, and Your Baby Died’
By FALIH HASSAN, OMAR AL-JAWOSHY and TIM ARANGO
It took more than an hour for firefighters to arrive at Baghdad’s Yarmouk hospital. No one could find keys to the nursery. None of the fire extinguishers worked.
Echoing a Film Plot, Chinese Gangs Kill Drifters in an Elaborate Mining Ruse
By CHRIS BUCKLEY
In dozens of cases, the Chinese authorities say, gangs have killed vagrants and workers far underground and used the deaths to defraud mine owners.
Ai Weiwei’s Animal Heads Offer Critique of Chinese Nationalism
By EDWARD WONG
The heads, on display at Princeton University, are replicas of zodiac heads once at the Old Summer Palace and are a commentary on historical memory.
What in the World
A Space-Age Food Product Cultivated by the Incas
By SIMON ROMERO
Astronauts need lightweight, long-lasting provisions for hazardous trips. So did the Incas, and villagers in the Andes have made their version for centuries.
From Opinion
Opinion
How the Most Dangerous Place on Earth Got a Little Bit Safer
By SONIA NAZARIO
American investments are helping transform Honduras. Who says American power is dead?
Op-Ed Contributor
For Migrants, an Olympic Village in Ruins
By DOVE BARBANEL
Greece is housing some 2,000 Afghan and other migrants in crumbling stadiums left over from the Games of 2004. The biggest complaint: boredom.
Op-Ed Columnist
Obama’s Worst Mistake
By NICHOLAS KRISTOF
Yes, there are steps we can take in Syria.
How the AK-47 and AR-15 Evolved Into Rifles of Choice for Mass Killers
By C. J. CHIVERS and ATTILA FUTAKI
The weapons, ready amplifiers of rage, allow a few people to kill scores and menace hundreds, and fight head-to-head against modern soldiers and police forces.
Afghanistan Is in Chaos. Is That What Hamid Karzai Wants?
By MUJIB MASHAL
Critics say the former president is working from the wings to destabilize his successor’s government. He says he has no interest in returning to power.
Talking to Terrorists
By RUKMINI CALLIMACHI
For once, the conversation wasn’t via social media, and the name the Islamic State defector used was the one on his birth certificate.
Outstanding Issues: A Yemeni Teenager’s Trip to Estonia, by Way of Guantánamo
By CHARLIE SAVAGE
The reporter Charlie Savage wrote about an ex-Guantánamo inmate’s resettlement; the story didn’t end when the article published.
Photographer's Notebook
At the Front in a Scarred Falluja
By BRYAN DENTON
Bryan Denton, a photographer who works for The New York Times and is based in Beirut, Lebanon, gives his account of covering Iraqi forces’ recapture of Falluja from the Islamic State.
The Human Toll of Terror
A look at the lives of 247 men, women and children who were cut down in mass killings in six countries.
The Scale of Turkey’s Purge Is Nearly Unprecedented
By JOSH KELLER, IARYNA MYKHYALYSHYN and SAFAK TIMUR
How the Turkish president’s sweeping purge of political opponents would look if Americans were targeted at a similar scale.
Devanampattinam Journal
Mortal to Divine and Back: India’s Transgender Goddesses
Photographs by CANDACE FEIT
During the 10-day Hindu festival Mayana Kollai, the troubles of transgender women are distant as they transform into the deities they worship and are revered by villagers.
Not Forgotten: Inside The Times Archives
By THE NEW YORK TIMES
Since 1851, more than 200,000 people have been the subjects of obituaries in The New York Times. Join us each day this summer as we revisit many of these memorable lives.
The New Panama Canal: A Risky Bet
By WALT BOGDANICH, JACQUELINE WILLIAMS and ANA GRACIELA MÉNDEZ
After a Spanish-led consortium won the right to build locks for bigger ships at a rock-bottom price, internal arguments soon gave way to larger problems.
Voices From Europe’s Far Right
By PALKO KARASZ
Hundreds of readers from across the Continent responded to our call to share their experiences as supporters of far-right parties.
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