NEWS The French foreign minister announced on Tuesday that laboratory tests confirmed that sarin gas had been used in Syria, and that there was “no doubt it was the regime and its accomplices†that had used it. Steven Erlanger reports from Paris, and Nick Cumming-Bruce from Geneva.
Several weeks ago, rebels in Syria opened a front on the flatlands east of the Aleppo-Damascus highway in an effort to break a near-stalemate with government forces, and an attempt to shift away from guerrilla tactics and more toward traditional battle tactics. Results have been mixed. C.J. Chivers reports from Iblil, Syria.
In Italy and around Europe, detention centers that hold people lacking proper working or residence permits are increasingly being criticized for being inhumane, ineffective and costly. Elisabetta Povoledo reports from Rome.
Chancellor Angela Merkel visited flood-stricken regions of eastern and southern Germany on Tuesday and pledged millions of euros in immediate aid to residents struggling to cope with high-water levels not seen in centuries. Melissa Eddy reports from Pirna, Germany.
A spike in diabetes cases in Vietnam is worrying doctors, who say the prime causes of the increase are “Westernization and urbanization.†Thomas Fuller reports from Ho Chi Minh City.
The European Union’s trade commissioner on Tuesday carried out his threat to impose tariffs on solar panels from China â€" but significantly watered down the penalties that will be in place, at least initially. James Kanter reports from Brussels, and Keith Bradsher from Hong Kong.
On Wednesday, Bloomberg L.P. will announce the formation of Bloomberg Beta, a $75 million venture capital fund to fund young start-ups, including some that its news operations report on. Nicole Perlroth reports from San Francisco.
China is notorious for its knockoffs, and now it even has a knockoff of Steve Jobs: Lei Jun, the chief of Xiaomi. Xiaomi sold $2 billion in handsets in China last year and expects its revenue to double this year. David Barboza reports from Beijing.
ARTS The composer Joseph Bertolozzi is on a mission to “play the Eiffel Tower†by striking its surfaces and collecting the sounds to use as samples in a composition called “Tower Music.†Maïa de la Baume reports from Paris.
A Paris Opera production brings some levity to Handel’s opera “Giulio Cesare.†George Loomis reviews.
SPORTS The miasma of corruption claims hanging over the Board of Control for Cricket in India, by far the most powerful body in the game, is not going away any time soon. Huw Richards reports.
After falling behind in her quarterfinal match, Serena Williams fought her way back and defeated Svetlana Kuznetsova. Christopher Clarey reports from Paris.
