Residents Abandon Daraya as Government Seizes a Symbol of Syria’s Rebellion
By ANNE BARNARD
Few of the residents hold any hope of returning. Before they evacuated Friday, they kissed the ground and visited the graves of relatives for the last time.
Sergey Ponomarev for The New York Times
A poster of President Bashar al-Assad on a destroyed shopping mall in Homs in 2014. Despite many offensives, peace conferences and foreign interventions, Syria’s civil war shows no sign of ending.
Experts on civil wars say there are several reasons Syria is “a really, really tough case” that defies historical parallels.
Middle East
Europe
Court Overturns ‘Burkini’ Ban in French Town
By AURELIEN BREEDEN and LILIA BLAISE
The court ruled that the prohibition in Villeneuve-Loubet violated civil liberties, in a warning that could affect other communities that have banned the swimwear.
Quake Exposes Italy’s Challenge to Retrofit Its Architecture
By GAIA PIANIGIANI and ELISABETTA POVOLEDO
This week’s death and destruction was amplified by the lack of anti-seismic codes that are too costly, too complicated and too cumbersome to approve.
News Analysis
‘Brexit’ Vote Feeds Scotland’s Alienation
By STEVEN ERLANGER
The vote for a British exit from the European Union felt crushing to the Scots. But despite everything, another independence referendum feels far away.
Americas
Federal Investigators in Brazil to Seek Graft Charges Against Ex-President Da Silva
By SIMON ROMERO and VINOD SREEHARSHA
The move by the Federal Police, an investigative force similar to the F.B.I., deals a new blow to Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and his once-dominant Workers’ Party.
Stephen Harper, Former Prime Minister of Canada, Quits Politics
By IAN AUSTEN
Mr. Harper, whose governing coalition was soundly beaten in a general election last year, said he would give up his seat in Parliament and leave politics.
Bolivia Says Official Sent to Negotiate With Miners Is Killed
By MONICA MACHICAO and NICHOLAS CASEY
After blocking a highway, members of a miners’ cooperative kidnapped, tortured and killed Rodolfo Illanes, the deputy interior minister, the authorities said.
Asia
The Saturday Profile
A Critic’s Lonely Quest: Revealing the Whole Truth About Mother Teresa
By KAI SCHULTZ
Dr. Aroup Chatterjee has spent hundreds of hours researching the soon-to-be saint. “I just thought that this myth had to be challenged,” he said.
Indian Court Orders Haji Ali Tomb to Give Women Full Access
By GEETA ANAND and SUHASINI RAJ
Balancing religious and civil rights, the Bombay High Court overturned a ban excluding Muslim women from the inner sanctum of the tomb in Mumbai.
Philippine Government and Communist Rebels Extend Cease-Fire
By FELIPE VILLAMOR
The two sides, who have been fighting for decades, also agreed to return to peace talks in October.
Africa
Police in Zimbabwe Hit Protesters With Batons, Tear Gas and Water Cannons
By JEFFREY MOYO and NORIMITSU ONISHI
Despite a last-minute court order allowing a demonstration, the police used violent means to disperse hundreds protesting against President Robert Mugabe.
‘No One Is Safe’: Zimbabwe Threatens to Seize Farms of Party Defectors
By NORIMITSU ONISHI
In a nation where land is used as a tool of control, many former officials who were beneficiaries of seizures of white-owned farms now find themselves potential victims.
Gabon’s Leader Gives Elephants Free Rein. Rural Voters Don’t Forget.
By DIONNE SEARCEY
Though he is expected to win re-election, Ali Bongo Ondimba, who has prioritized protecting wildlife, faces criticism that he worries more about animals than his nation’s people.
More News
U.N. Security Council Condemns North Korean Missile Launches
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
The Security Council called four North Korean missile launches in July and August “grave violations” of a ban on all ballistic missile activity.
Prosecutors in Oscar Pistorius Case Lose Bid to Appeal 6-Year Sentence
By SEWELL CHAN
Mr. Pistorius was convicted of the 2013 murder of his girlfriend, but last month he received a sentence more lenient than many observers had expected.
Monthlong Ordeal for Hiker in New Zealand: Partner’s Death and Bitter Cold
By BRETT COLE
After her partner plunged to his death on their hike, a Czech woman spent a month alone in a hut on a famed New Zealand trail.
Ai Weiwei Planned to Sculpt a ‘Redline.’ Chinese Censors Say He Crossed One.
By JAVIER C. HERNÁNDEZ
An invitation to exhibit next month at a show in northwest China was withdrawn, leading the outspoken Mr. Ai to denounce efforts to limit free expression.
What In The World
What in the World
Shh. It’s Naptime at Ikea in China.
By DAN LEVIN
At Ikea’s 21 stores in China, shoppers (and those simply looking for climate-controlled shut-eye) have no qualms about getting comfortable on the display furniture.
What in the World
Holy Water for Pilgrims, via the Mail
By KAUSHIK SWAMINATHAN
The Indian postal service is using its offices to deliver holy water from the Ganges River, which is usually collected after a barefoot pilgrimage.
From Opinion
Op-Ed Contributor
Why I Go to Aleppo
By SAMER ATTAR
The field hospital is often overwhelmed. We can’t save everyone. We can only try.
Opinion
At the Beach in My Burkini
By ROMAISSAA BENZIZOUNE
I dreaded wearing it in middle school. Not anymore.
Op-Ed Columnist
America’s Retreat and the Agony of Aleppo
By ROGER COHEN
American power has lost credibility, moral conviction has eroded, and a Syrian city bleeds to death.
Photo Editors’ Notebook: What Makes the Image of Omran Daqneesh Extraordinary?
By CRAIG ALLEN
“It’s a difficult question for even the most seasoned photo editor to answer.”
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.
Notebook
How Many Guns Did the U.S. Lose Track of in Iraq and Afghanistan? Hundreds of Thousands.
By C. J. CHIVERS
A new study shows how the American military failed at the soldier’s most basic responsibility: keeping track of firearms.
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.
Feature
Fractured Lands: How the Arab World Came Apart
By SCOTT ANDERSON
The story of more than a decade of war, terror and revolution in the Middle East, seen through the eyes of six people whose lives were changed forever.
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.
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.
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