NEWS Cardinals gathered for a third day to choose a successor to Benedict XVI, but leaks to the news media have complicated the proceedings. Rachel Donadio and Laurie Goodstein report from Vatican City.
Philippine officials appealed Thursday for the release of nearly two dozen Filipino United Nations peacekeepers who were seized by insurgent fighters from Syria while patrolling the disputed Golan Heights region between Syria and Israel. Floyd Whaley reports from Manila, and Gerry Mullany from Hong Kong.
As President Hugo Chávez’s death neared, Vice President Nicolás Maduro’s imitatons of him became apparent, but less clear are Mr. Maduro’s intentions toward the United States. William Neuman reports from Caracas, and Ginger Thompson from New York.
The entire secret military file that was used to wrongly convict Capt. Alfred Dreyfus of spying for Germany in 1894 has been posted online by the historical department of the French Ministry of Defense. Steven Erlanger reports from Paris.
In Jordan, call-in radio shows are now able to address political topics and human rights issues that were unmentionable in public before the Arab Spring. Rana F. Sweis reports from Amman.
Houses of worship have been slow to embrace green initiatives, for reasons including architectural challenges and a lack of incentive to make the upfront investment. Kate Galbraith reports from Austin, Texas.
The European Union fined Microsoft $732 million on Wednesday for failing to respect an antitrust settlement with regulators. But in a highly unusual mea culpa, the European Union’s top antitrust regulator said that his department bore some of the responsibility for Microsoft’s failure to respect a settlement that caused the fine. James Kanter reports from Brussel..
The euro zone economy ended the year on a sour note, official data confirmed Wednesday, with major indicators shrinking across the 17-country currency zone. David Jolly reports from Paris.
Just two months into office, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is showing an increasing willingness to take on some pillars of Japan’s establishment â€" the central bank and the country’s politically influential farmers â€" in an aggressive attempt to finally breathe some new life into Japan’s listless economy. Martin Fackler reports from Tahara, Japan.
FASHION As the autumn 2013 season closed, Marc Jacobs sent out a Louis Vuitton show that was an! exercise! in the erotic. Suzy Menkes reports from Paris.
ARTS Prosecutors have yet to lay out a possible motive in the January attack on the Bolshoi Ballet’s artistic director, Sergei Filin, but the revelations of the past few days suggest that it may boil down to a ballerina. Ellen Barry and Sophia Kishkovsky report from Moscow.
SPORTS When Nani was shown the red card during United’s loss to Real Madrid in the Champions League, the referee did what he was supposed to do: judge action, not intention. Rob Hughes on soccer.
Angelo Mathews and Sri Lana’s 23 leading players were feuding with the Sri Lanka Cricket Board over pay, but they reached a settlement Monday. Huw Richards reports.
