Global Dispatch

Uncovering Today's International Headlines and Top Stories

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.”

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

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

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

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.

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.

An Indigenous Group in Quebec Tries to Keep the Caribou Alive

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

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.

What’s Behind the Protests in Georgia?

An Arctic Hamlet is Sinking Into the Thawing Permafrost

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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

Mount Cook, also known as Aoraki, is the highest mountain in New Zealand.

Tuesday Briefing

A Russian airstrike hit Idlib in northern Syria yesterday.

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.

Hezbollah and Israel Trade Fire, Further Testing Cease-Fire

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

French Government Faces No-Confidence Vote Over Budget Bill

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

Who Are HTS, the Rebels Leading the Syria Offensive?

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.

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.

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.

Clashes at Soccer Match Kill Dozens in Guinea

Syria’s Rebels Struck When Assad’s Allies Were Weakened and Distracted

Opposition fighters loading ammunition onto a truck in northwestern Syria on Sunday.

Monday Briefing: Rebels Advance in Syria

Anti-regime fighters near a road leading to Hama province.

Stowaway on Flight to Paris Disrupts a Return Flight to New York

The stowaway passenger who was caught on a Delta flight from New York to Paris days earlier was removed from a Paris to New York flight, also on Delta, after creating a disturbance on Saturday.

Ireland’s Main Parties Edge Out Sinn Féin, Early Election Results Show

In Dublin and the rest of Ireland, economic concerns and anxiety about immigration were top electoral issues.

Nations Fail to Reach an Agreement on Plastic Pollution

The world produces nearly a half-billion tons of plastic each year, more than twice the amount produced two decades ago.

Former Defense Minister Accuses Israel of Committing War Crimes in Gaza

Moshe Yaalon, left, who was the Israeli defense minister from 2013 to 2016, with Benny Gantz, who later held that role, in Tel Aviv in 2019.

Protesters in Tbilisi Clash With Georgian Police

The police used water cannons and tear gas on Sunday in Tbilisi, Georgia, during a rally outside the Parliament building prompted by the government’s move to suspend negotiations on joining the European Union.

Syria Rebels Take Aleppo Airport and Attack Hama, Officials and a Monitor Say

Rebel fighters with an abandoned Syrian government tank in the east of Aleppo Province on Sunday.

A Power Vacuum in Gaza Could Empower Warlords and Gangs

A picture taken during a tour organized by the Israeli Army shows a Palestinian truck arriving Saturday to pick up aid destined for the Gaza Strip from a drop-off area near the Kerem Shalom crossing.

Angola, the U.S. and a Slavery Connection Few Talk About

A view of the Cuanza River in Massangano, Angola. Enslaved Angolans were transported by boat along the Cuanza River.

What a Marine Heat Wave Reveals About Our Warming Oceans

Rodeo Beach, Calif., one of the beaches that volunteers survey regularly for wildlife.

France’s Government Under Prime Minister Michel Barnier Faces Week of Reckoning

Prime Minister Michel Barnier of France after a cabinet meeting at the Élysée Palace in Paris last Wednesday.

Mexican Cartels Lure Chemistry Students to Make Fentanyl

A 19-year-old sophomore chemistry major, who also works for the Sinaloa drug cartel, at a stash house.

80 Years After Killings, Senegal Wants the Facts From France

The Thiaroye military cemetery in Senegal has 35 graves representing West African soldiers that France said were killed by French Army soldiers in 1944. Historians said the actual death toll may be closer to 400.

Israel Accuses World Central Kitchen Worker of Role in Oct. 7 Attack

An Israeli airstrike damaged a vehicle carrying World Central Kitchen workers.

U.S. Condemns China’s Harsh Sentence for a Prominent Journalist

Dong Yuyu is the most prominent journalist imprisoned in mainland China.

Saudi Arabia Leads Pushback Against Global Plastic Treaty

An oil processing plant in Saudi Arabia, the world’s top oil exporter.

Russia Captures More Villages in Eastern Ukraine

Damaged buildings in Kurakhove, Ukraine, last month, in an area targeted by Russian strikes.

Israel Strikes Sites in Lebanon Amid Fragile Cease-Fire

A man looked over damage in Tyre, Lebanon, on Friday.

Giving Love

For Canada, Trade Tumult From Trump’s Return Has Begun

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau leaving his hotel on Friday to meet President-elect Donald J. Trump.

Rebels Seize Control Over Most of Syria’s Largest City in Aleppo

An opposition flag waves over a market square in central Aleppo, Syria, on Saturday.

Israel-Hezbollah Cease-Fire Rests on a Wobbly Linchpin: Lebanon’s Army

Members of the Lebanese Army at the site of an Israeli strike in central Beirut, earlier this month.

How Kennedy Has Worked Abroad to Weaken Global Public Health Policy

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., an environmental lawyer, has spent years working abroad with organizations and associates that undermine longstanding global health policies, records show.

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