South Korea said on Thursday that it would abandon a vital military intelligence-sharing pact with Japan, a move that is likely to alarm the United States, which pushed for the arrangement in part to ensure that North Korea’s missile activity is closely tracked. South Korea’s relations with Japan have been at a low point in […]
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ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — Prime Minister Imran Khan of Pakistan intensified his criticism of India on Wednesday over its Kashmir crackdown, saying he would no longer seek dialogue with Indian officials and raising the threat of a military escalation between the nuclear-armed neighbors. In an interview with The New York Times, Mr. Khan complained bitterly about […]
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HONG KONG — An activist who drew attention to the plight of Muslims held in Chinese indoctrination camps has been freed after months of detention in Kazakhstan, but his lawyer refused to sign his plea deal, saying she believed he had been threatened into accepting it. The activist, Serikzhan Bilash, walked out of a courtroom […]
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COPENHAGEN — President Trump’s idea to possibly buy Greenland for its natural resources left residents of the semiautonomous Danish territory amused, apoplectic and in disbelief, and received a chilly reception in Denmark on Friday. “I hope it’s a joke, because it’s a terrible and grotesque thought,” said Martin Lidegaard, chairman of Denmark’s Foreign Policy Committee. […]
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Earlier this week, Pakistan’s ambassador to the United States, Asad Majeed Khan, visited The New York Times editorial board, and I asked him about the threat of armed conflict between his country and India over Kashmir. India and Pakistan have already fought two wars over the Himalayan territory, which both countries claim, and which is […]
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Israel’s decision on Thursday to bar two American Democratic congresswomen, Representatives Rashida Tlaib of Michigan and Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, from visiting the country rests on a law passed just two years ago. Aimed at Israel’s critics, the law has been used to deny entry to outspoken foreign supporters of a global movement to boycott […]
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WASHINGTON — For two and a half years, President Trump has said he is finally doing in Asia what he asserts his predecessor, Barack Obama, failed to achieve with a strategic pivot: strengthen American influence and rally partners to push back against China. But as violence escalates and old animosities are rekindled across Asia, Washington […]
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LONDON — The British and Gibraltar authorities will soon release an Iranian oil tanker that has been held for more than a month, an Iranian official said on Tuesday, signaling a possible step toward de-escalating tensions between Tehran and the West that threaten world energy supplies. Officials in Gibraltar and London would not confirm or […]
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NEW DELHI — The dispute over Kashmir has long been a flash point for war between India and Pakistan, with each nuclear-armed country holding the threat of retaliation over the other. But when India stripped the Indian-controlled region of Kashmir of its autonomy this week, Pakistan’s reaction appeared to be limited to high-level hand-wringing. As […]
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NEW DELHI — India’s prime minister, Narendra Modi, addressed the nation Thursday night for the first time about revoking Kashmir’s autonomy, speaking against a backdrop of rising protests, mass arrests and escalating tension with Pakistan. “We together took a historical decision,” Mr. Modi said at the beginning of his remarks. “A new era has begun.” […]
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NEW DELHI — Pakistan announced plans on Wednesday to punish India for unilaterally wiping out the autonomy of Kashmir by ending bilateral trade, downgrading diplomatic ties and expelling India’s high commissioner to the country. A statement from a national security committee headed by the Pakistani prime minister, Imran Khan, said the changes would be put […]
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TOKYO — It was an exhibit meant to celebrate freedom of expression. Instead, freedom of expression was shut down. A long, bitter battle between Japan and South Korea over historical memory and atonement spilled over into the art world over the weekend when organizers of an international fair in Japan closed an exhibition that featured […]
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When a small car bomb exploded outside a courthouse in the bustling port city of Bosaso in northern Somalia, local news reports chalked it up to Islamist militants retaliating for American airstrikes. At least eight people were wounded, and a local affiliate of the Islamic State claimed responsibility. The attack, however, may have also been […]
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BEIJING — China has detained another Canadian citizen, the authorities in Canada have said, adding to the high tensions between the two countries’ governments. The person, who was not identified by the Canadians, was arrested this past week in the eastern Chinese city of Yantai, according to Global Affairs Canada, the country’s foreign ministry. The […]
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BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan — Officials in Kyrgyzstan knew they could no longer put off the decision. An aging plant that provided nearly all the heat and electricity for the country’s capital was on its last legs. As the officials were weighing rival bids to reconstruct the plant, letters arrived at the Kyrgyz Energy Ministry and Foreign […]
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On July 1, 2018, the night of the election of president Andres Manuel López Obrador, I joined several friends to make our way to Mexico City’s Zócalo—the central square of this sprawling metropolis—where López Obrador would give his acceptance speech. Triumphant AMLO supporters flooded the streets. Firecrackers and car horns punctuated the celebratory hubbub. Confetti […]
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WASHINGTON — With Christine Lagarde, the current leader of the International Monetary Fund, poised to become the next president of the European Central Bank, the big questions on Wednesday were who would succeed her and whether the United States would break with tradition and try to install an American in the post. On Tuesday, European […]
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VIENNA — OPEC nations on Monday agreed to continue their production cuts until early next year, papering over their differences in order to continue an effort that analysts say is propping up prices while demand for oil is weakening. The cuts, by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, equal about 1.2 million barrels a […]
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Here’s what you need to know: An overture to North Korea’s leader. President Trump suggested on Saturday that he would be willing to meet with North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong-un, for the third time while visiting South Korea this weekend. Mr. Trump, who is in Japan for the meeting of the Group of 20 nations, […]
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So Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, has told The Financial Times, “The liberal idea has become obsolete.” It has, he says, “outlived its purpose.” President Trump finds him amusing. In Japan, at the G-20 summit meeting, he wags his finger at Putin and says, with a grin: “Don’t meddle in the election, President.” It’s a […]
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