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Netanyahu Doubles Down on Gaza Offensive After Global Backlash

This is not the first time the Israeli prime minister has called for one final military drive to dismantle Hamas and end the war.

© Saher Alghorra for The New York Times

Palestinians waiting for aid in Gaza City last month. The Israeli military is preparing to take control of the city.
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Trump’s Cartel Order Revives ‘Bitter’ Memories in Latin America

The decision triggers fears that the U.S. might return to a pattern of military interference in the region that dates to the Monroe Doctrine.

© Haiyun Jiang/The New York Times

The news of President Trump’s order has already intensified a wariness against intervention from abroad.
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Ukraine and Europe Project United Front Ahead of Trump-Putin Summit

Washington’s push to negotiate an end to the war has raised concerns the Trump administration will make concessions to Moscow that Kyiv finds unacceptable.

© David Guttenfelder/The New York Times

A town in the Donetsk region of Ukraine in June. The Trump administration has been pushing for an end to the war that began with Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
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Takeaways From The Times’s Reporting on Putin’s Powerful Aide

Showing an uncanny ability to adapt to circumstances, Sergei V. Kiriyenko has turned himself into a key engineer of President Vladimir V. Putin’s autocratic machine.

© Alexander Kazakov/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

Sergei V. Kiriyenko, in glasses, at President Vladimir V. Putin’s annual state of the nation address in Moscow in 2024, in a photograph distributed by Russian state media.
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Dmitri Kozak Was a Key Putin Aide. He Lost Power When He Balked at the Ukraine War.

Dmitri N. Kozak, who has said privately that the invasion was a mistake, has lost power to another senior Putin ally, Sergei V. Kiriyenko, who has embraced the military action.

© Pool photo by Andrea Verdelli

Dmitri N. Kozak in Beijing in 2019. Mr. Kozak told associates this year that he had presented President Vladimir V. Putin with a proposal to stop the fighting in Ukraine, Kremlin insiders said.
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The Russian Technocrat Who Helps Enable Putin and Manage the Ukraine War

For three years, Sergei V. Kiriyenko has handled the political aspects of the war in Ukraine, rising among a cadre of skilled managers who oversee the sprawling Russian state.

© Maxim Shemetov/Reuters

Sergei V. Kiriyenko in Moscow in 2023. His modest title, first deputy chief of staff, belies a sprawling portfolio of responsibilities.
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In India, Immigration Raids Detain Thousands and Create a Climate of Fear

Officials have picked up people across the country, most of them Muslim, citing a national security risk. Rights groups say the raids are targeting detainees’ religion and language.

© Samir Jana/Hindustan Times, via Getty Images

Demonstrators protesting the harassment of Bengali speakers in states led by the Bharatiya Janata Party, or B.J.P., in Kolkata, India, this month.
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Book Blacklist in Kashmir Aims to Muzzle Criticism of India

The federally appointed government in the contested region has declared 25 books off limits, part of what many see as a pattern of repression.

© Sharafat Ali/Reuters

A display at a bookstore in Srinagar, the capital of Indian-administered Kashmir, where 25 books have been declared “forfeit.”
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How Starmer, Macron and Merz Tried to Halt the War in Gaza

Images of starving children and Israel’s planned expansion of settlements spurred Britain, France and Germany to a tougher stance. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was undeterred.

© Leon Neal/Getty Images

Both Prime Minister Keir Starmer of Britain, left, and President Emmanuel Macron of France announced plans to recognize the state of Palestine last month.
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With Ukraine in the Balance, Trump and Putin Head Into Summit With Mismatched Goals

For President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia, it is an opportunity not just to end the Ukraine war on his terms, but to split apart the Western security alliance.

© David Guttenfelder/The New York Times

Ukrainian firefighters and rescue workers lower the covered body of a person killed in a Russian strike on an apartment building in the Donetsk region of Ukraine, in June.
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Xi Looks to Tighten Grip After Scandals Shake China’s Military Elite

The Chinese leader’s crackdown on military corruption reveals how deep his concerns run, not only about battlefield readiness, but about political survival, as well.

© Gilles Sabrié for The New York Times

A portrait of China’s leader, Xi Jinping, at the Military Museum in Beijing. Mr. Xi has set a 2027 target for modernizing the People’s Liberation Army.
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These Are Drug Cartels Designated as Terrorists by the U.S.

President Trump has signed an order telling the Pentagon to begin using military force against certain criminal gangs that the United States has named terror organizations.

© Meridith Kohut for The New York Times

Police officers surrounding a man they accused of being a MS-13 gang member, in Ilopango, El Salvador, in 2018.
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A Sidelined Europe Seeks a Voice as Trump and Putin Prepare to Meet

Ukraine and its allies are concerned that President Trump and President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia will do a deal without them and then try to impose it on Kyiv.

© Pool photo by Kin Cheung

David Lammy, Britain’s foreign secretary, and Vice President JD Vance, on Friday in Chevening, England. Mr. Vance is attending a meeting of European and Ukrainian leaders on Saturday.
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Netanyahu Says Israel Wants ‘Arab Forces’ to Run Gaza. What Does That Mean?

The Israeli cabinet agreed to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s military plan, but the quandary of who will eventually govern Gaza remains intractable.

© Saher Alghorra for The New York Times

Gathering aid airdropped on Gaza City on Thursday. The Israeli government announced on Friday that its military would prepare to seize control of the city.
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There’s Barely Any Food in Gaza, and Barely Any Cash to Buy It

Palestinians who fear being killed or seriously injured during rushes to obtain aid are being forced to pay exorbitant fees to take out money to buy food.

Repairing a damaged bank note. A cottage industry making such fixes has sprung up in Gaza because of the shortage of cash.
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A Pay Raise for Canada’s Military to Boost Recruitment and Retention

Canada’s top military commander, however, says other measures will also be needed to keep people enlisted.

© Ian Austen/The New York Times

Prime Minister Mark Carney announced substantial raises for the military in Trenton, Ontario.
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A Small European Nation Has a Big Explosions Problem

Three bombs go off on an average night in the Netherlands, blowing out windows and sometimes causing injury or death. “It is not normal,” a security guard says.

© Ilvy Njiokiktjien for The New York Times

An apartment building damaged by an explosion in Duivendrecht, the Netherlands.
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How a Top Mexican Cartel Smuggles Fentanyl to the U.S.

New York Times reporters documented how fentanyl was concealed by Mexico’s most powerful criminal syndicate, which is adapting in the face of a crackdown by two governments.

© Adriana Zehbrauskas for The New York Times

A liquid, made up of chemicals that help disguise the potent smell of fentanyl, is sprayed on a package.
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Russia Goes After Ukraine With Distant Strikes and New Tactics

Assaults on Ukraine have been intensifying even as President Trump has threatened new sanctions on Moscow, and now is preparing to meet with Russia’s leader.

© David Guttenfelder/The New York Times

A woman running from her apartment block carrying her pets after Russian aerial bombs exploded nearby in Kharkiv, Ukraine, last month.
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Israel’s New Plan to Take Gaza City

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faced opposition at home and abroad on Friday as his office said that the Israeli military would take control of Gaza City. Adam Rasgon, a reporter for The New York Times in Jerusalem covering Israeli and Palestinian affairs, describes what’s happening.
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Trump Cracks Down on Bird Deaths, but Only From Wind Turbines

Critics accused the administration of a double standard, trying to stop wind projects because of potential bald eagle deaths while easing rules for oil and gas companies.

© Tony Cenicola/The New York Times

In contradiction, Trump has sought to weaken laws that have been credited with bringing the bald eagle back from the brink of extinction.
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A Small European Nation Has a Big Explosions Problem

Three bombs go off on an average night in the Netherlands, blowing out windows and sometimes causing injury or death. “It is not normal,” a security guard says.

© Ilvy Njiokiktjien for The New York Times

An apartment building damaged by an explosion in Duivendrecht, the Netherlands.
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Zelensky Rejects Ceding Territory to Russia After Trump Suggests a Land Swap

The Ukrainian leader’s blunt comments risk angering President Trump, who has made a peace deal between Ukraine and Russia one of his signature foreign policy goals.

© Antonio Masiello/Getty Images

President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine last month in Rome.
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An Unusual Soccer Finale in Italy Reveals Libya’s Frailties

With two governments, and two soccer leagues, Libya is holding its soccer championship in Italy for a second year. Volatile politics and fans follow.

© Camilla Ferrari for The New York Times

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What Lobsters and Chickens Reveal About Europe’s Trade Strategy

The European Union struck a trade deal that protected political priorities, like chicken and beef standards, while allowing headline-grabbing concessions. Consider lobsters.

© Tristan Spinski for The New York Times

Freshly caught lobsters last year in Stonington, Maine.
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Is Kim Jong-un Preparing a Successor?

Kim Jong-un, the leader of North Korea, might be preparing his young daughter, Kim Ju-ae, to become his successor. Choe Sang-Hun, the ​Seoul bureau chief for The New York Times, analyzed North Korean state propaganda to find out.
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What Putin Hopes to Gain From a Summit With Trump

The American leader has agreed to a meeting with the Russian president in Alaska next Friday to discuss ending the war in Ukraine.

© Erin Schaff/The New York Times

President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia and President Trump at a bilateral meeting at the Group of 20 summit in Osaka, Japan, in 2019.
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Netanyahu’s Plan for Gaza City Has Skeptics in Israeli Military

The military leadership has said it prefers a new cease-fire instead of renewed fighting, and the military’s chief of staff previously raised concerns about troop exhaustion.

© Saher Alghorra for The New York Times

Al-Sabra neighborhood in central Gaza City last month. In a statement on Friday morning, Benjamin Netanyahu’s office stopped short of saying Israel would conquer the entire territory.
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What’s Behind the Thailand-Cambodia Conflict

A series of border skirmishes between Thailand and Cambodia escalated into a military conflict in July that killed dozens of people and rattled the region. As negotiations take place, Sui-Lee Wee, The New York Times’s Southeast Asia bureau chief, talks to Katrin Bennhold, a senior writer on the International desk, about the context behind the evolving dispute.
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Leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan Sign Peace Pledge at White House

Armenia said it would give the U.S. exclusive development rights to a transit corridor through its territory, which will be named the Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity.

© Pool photo by Sergei Ilnitsky

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan of Armenia, left, and President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan at a meeting in Moscow last October. The two leaders’ declaration comes after months of shuttle diplomacy between the countries.
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Vance and Lammy Mix Fishing and Foreign Policy at UK Estate

JD Vance and his family are spending two nights at the country residence of the British foreign secretary, David Lammy, with whom he has a somewhat unlikely friendship.

© Pool photo by Suzanne Plunkett

Britain’s foreign secretary, David Lammy, left, and Vice President JD Vance on Friday at Chevening House. Mr. Lammy and Mr. Vance have cultivated a personal relationship that predated their current jobs.
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War of Words Erupts Between Colombia and Peru Over Island in Amazon

Both nations claim Santa Rosa de Yavarí, a tiny island of just 3,000 people that sits in the Amazon River, more than a thousand miles from their capitals.

© Santiago Ruiz/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

The island of Santa Rosa de Yavarí, foreground, sits at a border shared by Colombia, Peru and Brazil in the Amazon rainforest.
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What to Know About the Israeli Hostages Still Held in Gaza

A group representing many of the hostages’ families has said the Israeli security cabinet’s plan to take control of Gaza City could further endanger their loved ones.

© Ohad Zwigenberg/Associated Press

Relatives and supporters of Israeli hostages held in the Gaza Strip attend a rally in Jerusalem on Thursday demanding their release and calling for an end to the war in Gaza.
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Putin Briefs Leaders of China and India on Talks With U.S. on Ukraine

President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia may be seeking to build support among countries that have backed Moscow or remained neutral in the conflict.

© Pool photo by Kristina Kormilitsyna

President Vladimir Putin of Russia meeting with Ajit Doval, India’s national security adviser, in Moscow on Friday, in a photo released by Russian state media.
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Mexico’s President Says U.S. Forces Are Unwelcome in Her Country

The Mexican government thought it had turned a corner in cooperating with the Trump administration on combating the cartels, having launched an aggressive crackdown of its own.

© Haiyun Jiang/The New York Times

President Trump directed the Pentagon to target drug cartels on Friday. If the Pentagon plans to deploy troops to Mexico, it could strain ties to their worst point in decades.
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Canada’s Girl Guides Suspend U.S. Trips Amid Trump’s Immigration Crackdown

The organization, Canada’s equivalent of the Girl Scouts, said it was pausing the trips out of safety concerns for its members.

© Chris Helgren/Reuters

The Peace Arch monument at the U.S.-Canada border in Surrey, British Columbia.
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‘Alligator Alcatraz’ in the Florida Everglades Is Testing Environmental Law

Officials building a Florida detention center appear to be skipping environmental reviews made mandatory decades ago after a fight over an airport at the very same spot.

© National Archives

A planned airport in the Everglades would have been the world’s biggest, but only one runway was built and it was rarely used.
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India’s Modi Left Soul-Searching After Failed Courtships of Xi and Trump

The collapse of the prime minister’s high-stakes efforts to transform ties with the world’s two superpowers has exposed the limits of India’s leverage.

© Adnan Abidi/Reuters

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is seeing relations with President Trump break down over issues including trade with Russia.
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‘Alligator Alcatraz’ in the Florida Everglades Is Testing Environmental Law

Officials building a Florida detention center appear to be skipping environmental reviews made mandatory decades ago after a fight over an airport at the very same spot.

© National Archives

A planned airport in the Everglades would have been the world’s biggest, but only one runway was built and it was rarely used.
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New Tariff on ‘Transshipped’ Goods Mystifies Importers

The Trump administration levied a hefty tariff on goods that are moved through other countries, but it has not yet fully explained its plans.

© Gilles Sabrie for The New York Times

In addition to an extra 40 percent tariff on goods that pass through more than one country, the White House is designing rules to apply higher charges on components that go through a similar transshipment before assembly.
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Trump Directs Military to Target Foreign Drug Cartels

The president has ordered the Pentagon to use the armed forces to carry out what in the past was considered law enforcement.

© Haiyun Jiang/The New York Times

President Trump ordered the State Department to label drug cartels as terrorist organizations after taking office in January.
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Germany Says It Will Suspend Military Exports to Israel for Use in Gaza

The move followed weeks of debate over reports of hunger in Gaza, but it was precipitated by Israel’s decision to expand military operations there.

© John MacDougall/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

Chancellor Friedrich Merz of Germany last month. He said the country would stop exporting weapons to Israel that could be used in the Gaza Strip.
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Netanyahu Broadly Criticized at Home and Abroad After New Gaza Plan

International allies and families of hostages condemned Benjamin Netanyahu’s plan to take control of Gaza City, with the British prime minister calling it “wrong.”

© Ronen Zvulun/Reuters

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel in Jerusalem last month. His office said that the Israeli military “will prepare for taking control of Gaza City” while distributing aid to civilians “outside the combat zones.”
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Trump to Host Leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan for ‘Peace Signing’

President Trump appeared eager to project confidence that an agreement could be reached in a long-intractable conflict.

© Nanna Heitmann for The New York Times

A border crossing in the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region in 2023. It has been at the center of decades of conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
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Russian Strikes Kill 3 in Ukraine, Which May Be Left Out of Peace Talks

“Here on the ground, we don’t feel any real changes from all these high-level meetings and statements,” a soldier said.

© Gleb Garanich/Reuters

An explosion from a Russian drone strike lit up the sky over Kyiv, Ukraine, on Friday.
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