NEWS As North Korea warned foreigners on Tuesday that they might want to leave South Korea because the peninsula was on the brink of nuclear war â€" a statement that analysts dismissed as hyperbole â€" the American commander in the Pacific expressed worries that the North’s young leader, Kim Jong-un, might not have left himself an easy exit to reduce tensions. Choe Sang-hun reports from Seoul, and David E. Sanger from Washington.
While a horse meat scandal recently alarmed Europe, another one has erupted in Spain â€" the increasing slaughter of horses that people either do not want or cannot afford. Raphael Minder reports from Chapineria, Spain.
A handful of Taliban emissaries flew into Qatar on an American plane in 2010 to discuss negotiating a peace deal that could stabilize Afghanistan and allow the United States a graceful exit. But peace talks broke down, and three years after their secret arrival, the Taliban officials remain idle and their political office in Doha remains unused. Rod Nordland reports from Doha.
The grandly named Syrian Observatory for Human Rights is virtually a one-man band, run by Rami Abdul Rahman from a drab industrial city in Britain. Neil MacFarquhar reports from Coventry, England.
Malaysia on Wednesday scheduled national elections for May 5, setting the stage for the biggest test of the ruling party’s dominance since the country gained independence from Britain more than five decades ago. Gerry Mullany reports.
The Italians are the most prudent people in Europe. Spaniards and Greeks are not as badly off as their homelands’ dismal economic statistics would suggest. And pity the Germans. They are poorer than the Cypriots they are helping to bail out. These were the results of a survey of European household debt and wealth â€" but a caveat is in order. Jack Ewing reports from Frankfurt.
In World War II, Japan produced the feared Mitsubishi Zero fighter planes. Today, the same company is working on a regional jet that it hopes will propel it into the industry’s big leagues. Hiroko Tabuchi reports from Tokyo.
JoaquÃn Almunia, the European competition commissioner, differs from his predecessors in how comfortable he is in personally reaching out to executives across the table â€" or the ocean â€" to negotiate settlements. James Kanter reports from Brussels.
ARTS Pacha, a decades-old dance club on the Spanish island of Ibiza, is part of a hedonistic night-life world in which the center of gravity is shifting to places like Las Vegas. Alexei Barrionuevo and Ben Sisario report.
Liao Yiwu, a Chinese poet and storyteller, has a new book, “For a Song and a Hundred Songs,†about his four years of beatings, torture, hunger and humiliation as a political prisoner. Elaine Sciolino writes from Brussels.
A judge in Paris has scheduled a hearing for Thursday on the issue of whether an auction there of Hopi Indian artifacts, viewed as sacred by the tribe, can go forward as planned on Friday. Tom Mashberg reports.
SPORTS Eight years after his last title at Augusta, Tiger Woods is back atop the list of likely champions at the Masters golf championship. Christopher Clarey reports.
