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Fury in South Korea After President Imposes Martial Law

Amid Syria’s Rebel Offensive, a Geopolitical Cauldron Simmers

Syrian opposition fighters last month. They have made their most significant advance in years against government forces, shaking up a civil war that had long been at a stalemate.

Why Israel and Hezbollah Are Still Firing Amid a Lebanon Cease-Fire

Israeli troops leaving Lebanon on their way back to Israel, as seen from the Israeli side of the border, on Monday.

Biden, in Angola, Warns That Slavery’s History Should Not be Erased

President Biden outside the National Museum of Slavery in Luanda, Angola, on Tuesday.

Syria Fighting Worsens Already Dire Conditions in Idlib and Aleppo

Damage from an airstrike in Idlib, a rebel-held city in northern Syria, on Monday. Russian and Syrian fighter jets have targeted the area in recent days.

NATO Chief Urges More Weapons for Ukraine Ahead of Any Peace Talks

Mark Rutte, NATO Secretary General, right, with Ukrainian foreign minister, Andrii Sybiha, in Brussels on Tuesday.

From Chinese Patriot to American Spy: The Unusual Life of John Leung

Italian Sentenced in Killing of Ex-Girlfriend, Giulia Cecchettin

A demonstrator holding a photo of Giulia Cecchettin at a march in Milan last year.

Investigation Into Forced Adoptions From Ukraine Points Finger at Putin

President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia and his commissioner for children, Maria Lvova-Belova, in a photo released by the Russian state news media in May. The International Criminal Court has issued warrants for their arrest.

Top U.N. Envoy Says Gaza War Followed Years of Weak Diplomacy

Tor Wennesland, the top United Nations envoy for the Middle East peace process, says: “Politics failed. Diplomacy failed. The international community failed. And the parties failed.”

Netanyahu Welcomes Trump’s Demand to Free Hostages Before Inauguration

A makeshift memorial for hostages kidnapped on Oct. 7, 2023, in Tel Aviv last month.

China Announces a Ban on Rare Minerals to the U.S.

China, which produces almost all the world’s supply of critical minerals, has been tightening its grip on the materials.

Airbnb ‘Gladiator’ Experience at the Colosseum Prompts Outcry in Rome

The Colosseum in 2020. Some people in Rome feel that gladiator re-enactments in the iconic amphitheater would be in poor taste.

An Indigenous Group in Quebec Tries to Keep the Caribou Alive

Jean-Luc Kanapé’s fiberglass replica of a woodland caribou.

Wednesday Briefing

Outside the National Assembly in Seoul last night.

For Some Koreans, Martial Law Stirs Harrowing Memories of Gwangju Uprising

Soldiers and police officers outside the National Assembly in Seoul on Tuesday night. “It didn’t seem real that we were undergoing this again after 40 years,” said one lawmaker, Chung Chin-ook.

Nearly 300 Troops Stormed South Korea’s National Assembly, Official Says

South Korean troops at an entrance to the National Assembly in Seoul early Wednesday. Some protesters tried to push their way in.

South Korea Stock Markets Wobble After Martial Law Turmoil

Analysts and investors on Wednesday were trying to gauge how long South Korea’s outbreak of political turmoil would persist.

South Korean History Is Scarred by Martial Law

Soldiers with bound pro-democracy protesters in Gwangju, South Korea, in 1980.

President Yoon Suk Yeol of South Korea Declares Martial Law, Then Backs Down

Protesters outside the National Assembly in Seoul demanding an end to martial law on Tuesday.

Timeline: How Yoon’s Presidency in South Korea Led to Martial Law Order

President Yoon Suk Yeol being sworn into office in May 2022.

Who is Lee Jae-myung, South Korea’s Opposition Leader?

Lee Jae-myung, center, the opposition leader, speaking at the National Assembly in Seoul on Tuesday.

Namibia Elects Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah as Its First Female President

Supporters of Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah during a campaign rally in Windhoek, Namibia, last month.

Wednesday Briefing: A Brief Martial Law in South Korea

Outside the National Assembly in Seoul, South Korea, yesterday.

Martial Law in South Korea Tests Biden and a Key U.S. Alliance

President Biden has put a special emphasis on South Korea, and invited President Yoon Suk Yeol to the White House last year.

Who Is Yoon Suk Yeol, South Korea’s President?

Yoon Suk Yeol, the president of South Korea, in Seoul in 2022.

Why Was Martial Law Declared in South Korea?

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol during a press briefing on Tuesday at the presidential office in Seoul.

Chaos Plays Out at South Korea’s Legislature Building After Declaration of Martial Law

A barricade made of chairs and cushions at the National Assembly in Seoul on Tuesday.

Read President Yoon’s Speech Declaring Martial Law in South Korea

3 Climbers From the U.S. and Canada Have Gone Missing on New Zealand’s Highest Mountain

Aoraki/Mount Cook is the highest mountain in New Zealand.

Tuesday Briefing

A Russian airstrike hit Idlib in northern Syria yesterday.

France’s Prime Minister Could Be Forced to Resign This Week. Here’s What Could Happen Next.

Prime Minister Michel Barnier of France could face a no-confidence vote as soon as Wednesday, which, if it passes. would force him to resign.

Tuesday Briefing: A Presidential Pardon

President Biden, left, and his son Hunter.

5 Women Win Reparations From Belgium for Crimes Under Colonial Rule

From left, Noelle Verbeken, Léa Tavares Mujinga and Simone Ngalula, three of the five women who sued the Belgian state for acts committed under colonial rule in Congo, in Brussels in 2021.

Trump Says There Will Be ‘Hell to Pay’ Unless Hostages in Gaza Are Released

Images of hostage abducted to Gaza on Oct. 7, 2023, were displayed in Tel Aviv in February.

Maternity Leave and Ongoing Consent: New Rights for Belgium’s Sex Workers

A bedroom in a brothel in the red light district of Ghent, Belgium.

What’s Behind the Protests in Georgia?

Hezbollah and Israel Trade Fire, Further Testing Cease-Fire

Israeli soldiers patrolling near the Lebanese border in Avivim, Israel, on Monday.

Who Is Massad Boulos, the Lebanese American Tycoon and Trump Adviser?

Massad Boulos, who was named as President-elect Donald J. Trump’s pick for senior adviser on Arab and Middle Eastern affairs, spoke to The New York Times in Detroit in October.

An Arctic Hamlet Is Sinking Into the Thawing Permafrost

French Government Faces No-Confidence Vote Over Budget Bill

Prime Minister Michel Barnier, center, at the Parliament in Paris last month.

Who Are the Syrian Rebels Who Seized Aleppo?

A fighter from Hayat Tahrir al-Sham at a frontline base in Maaret al-Naasan, Syria, in 2021. For several years, the group focused on securing and governing the area it held.

Russia and Iran Pledge Support for Syria’s al-Assad Against Advancing Rebels

The aftermath of an airstrike that targeted Syria’s rebel-held northern city of Idlib on Monday.

Germany Pledges Fast Military Aid to Ukraine in Effort to Reassure

Chancellor Olaf Scholz of Germany, left, and President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine visited a makeshift memorial in Kyiv on Monday.

Omer Neutra, Thought to Be Hostage in Gaza, Died on Oct. 7, IDF Says

Family members of Omer Neutra, a dual American-Israeli citizen who was in the Israeli military and was believed to be held alive in Gaza, at a vigil in New York City in September.

U.N. Suspends Aid Deliveries to Gaza via Kerem Shalom Crossing

Aid is distributed by UNRWA, the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees, in Nuseirat, Gaza, in early November.

Biden Arrives in Angola on His Only Trip as President to Sub-Saharan Africa

President Biden in Cape Verde on Monday. While Air Force One was refueled, he met in an airport lounge with the island nation’s prime minister.

Centrist Party Edges Out Far-Right Challengers in Romania

Voting in Mogosoaia, Romania, on Sunday. The parliamentary election came a week after a presidential vote in which a far-right candidate took a surprise first-round lead.

Inside a Secret Plan to Bring Uyghurs Trapped in China to the United States

Ayshem Mamut at her son’s home in Virginia on Sunday.

What Can the World’s Top Court Do About Climate Change?

Mexico’s Valle de Bravo reservoir this year. The court has been asked what obligations governments have to protect the world’s climate system.

Tensions Rise Among Russia’s Elite as Economic Growth Slows

An ad at a bus stop showing a Russian soldier and the slogan “Be strong, faithful, courageous” in front of Moscow’s business district in November.

The Secret Pentagon War Game That ​Offers a Stark​ Warning for Our Times

Biden Visits Angola to Promote Lobito Corridor and Counter China

A Chinese construction site in Luanda, the capital of Angola. China has been one of the biggest investors in the country.

Israel Builds Bases in Central Gaza, a Sign It May Be There to Stay

A North Korean Voice That Kim Jong-un Would Like to Silence

Kim Seongmin, president of Free North Korea Radio, editing content for the station at his home in November. He has cancer and was recently told he has months to live.

Monday Briefing

Until Sunday night, President Biden had said that he would not pardon or commute the sentence of his son Hunter.

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