NEWS Pressed personally by Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany about the United States’ surveillance of foreigners’ phone and e-mail traffic, President Obama said Wednesday that terrorist threats in her country were among those foiled by such intelligence operations worldwide â€" a contention that Ms. Merkel seemed to confirm. Jackie Calmes reports from Berlin.
The convergence between Silicon Valley and the N.S.A. and the rise of data mining â€" both as an industry and as a crucial intelligence tool â€" have created a complex reality. Silicon Valley has what the spy agency wants: vast amounts of private data and the most sophisticated software available to analyze it. James Risen reports from Washington, and Nick Wingfield from Seattle.
For an urban elite in Turkey, including some protesters, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s response to demonstrations has led to a final break that began with his intimidation of the news media. Tim Arango reports from Istanbul.
The Philippines has the fastest-growing economy in East Asia. But unemployment is still rising and the number of people in poverty has barely changed in six years. Floyd Whaley reports from Manila.
In a bid to regain control of a peace process with the Taliban that had suddenly spun out of! control, President Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan on Wednesday slammed the brakes on two strategic lines of American negotiation, again exercising his power in a strained alliance and getting results. Alissa J. Rubin reports from Kabul, and Rod Nordland from Doha, Qatar.
New protests swept through São Paulo on Wednesday, snarling traffic and raising pressure on political leaders. Simon Romero reports from São Paulo.
Since the state broadcaster in Greece was shut down last week and its 2,600 employees fired, there has been an outpouring of solidarity, despite its long history of mismanagement and patronage. Liz Alderman reports from Athens and Rachel Donadio from Rome.
The prevalence of dangerous strains of the human papillomavirus â€" the most common sexually transmitted infection in the United States and a principal cause of cervical cancer â€" has dropped by half among teenage girls in recent years, a striking measure of success for a vaccine against the virus that was introduced only in 2006, federal health officials said on Wednesday. Sabrina Tavernise reports.
Switzerland’s Parliament on Wednesday scuttled an information-sharing agreement with the United States that the Swiss government had hailed just weeks ago as a breakthrough in a dis! pute over! banking secrecy, but left open the possibility for another solution. David Jolly reports.
ARTS James Gandolfini, the Emmy Award-winning actor who shot to fame on the HBO drama “The Sopranos†as Tony Soprano, a tough-talking, hard-living crime boss with a stolid exterior but a rich interior life, died on Wednesday. He was 51. Dave Itzkoff reports.
Information about a man celebrated for saving Jews is being removed from the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in light of evidence that the tales may be untrue. Patricia Cohen reports.
SPORTS Tahiti, a soccer team made up almost exclusively of amateurs, still can’t believe it made it as far as the Confederations Cup. The coach admits: “We are honest. Tahiti has not come to win.†James Montague reports from Rio de Janeiro.
