Hezbollah Chief Orders Fight to Save Syria’s Assad
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“It is our battle, and we are up to it,” the leader, Hassan Nasrallah, declared, in his most direct embrace yet of a fight in Syria that Hezbollah can no longer hide now that dozens of its fighters have fallen recently in and around the strategic Syrian town of Qusayr. Outgunned Syrian rebels have held on for a week there against a frontal assault by Hezbollah and Syrian forces.
The...
Obama Narrows Scope of Terror Fight
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In a widely anticipated speech at the National Defense University, Mr. Obama offered his most expansive defense of the drone war he has waged since taking office, but he signaled that he planned to wind down the strikes, which have stirred controversy at home and abroad. He imposed a higher standard on authorizing such aerial attacks and shifted responsibility more from the C.I.A. to the military,...
The Lede: Former President of Iran Disqualified From Race to Succeed Ahmadinejad, State TV Says
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Iran’s state television announced Tuesday that Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, a two-term former president who called for greater freedom during protests in 2009, had been barred from running in next month’s election to succeed President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. BBC News reports that the list of approved candidates presented by the state broadcaster also did not include the name of Esfandiar Rahim...
Letter From Washington: Distortions That Still Require Decisive Action
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On none of these issues — the deadly debacle at the U.S. diplomatic outpost in Libya, the Internal Revenue Service’s targeting of conservative groups, or the Justice Department’s secret and sweeping seizure of Associated Press phone records in an anti-leaks case — is there any suggestion of wrongdoing by Mr. Obama.
Republicans like Lindsey Graham, the usually sensible senator...
At War Blog: Why National Guard and Reservist Suicide Numbers May Be Misleading
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More than 80 percent of the services members who committed suicide in recent years had never been in combat. This is one of the many statistics that the Pentagon and researchers are currently struggling to explain. My colleague James Dao and I explore the tragic rising military suicide numbers in an article today.
The numbers above are striking. Over the course of nearly 12 years and two wars,...
DealBook: Uninvited Guest Jolts Japan’s Business Culture
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Kevin Winter/Getty ImagesSony’s entertainment unit includes a film studio and one of the largest music labels in the world, featuring artists like Carrie Underwood.
TOKYO — Devil. Vulture. Saboteur.
All these words have been used to greet Western investors who have agitated for change in Japan’s clubby and complacent corporate culture. As the hedge fund billionaire Daniel S. Loeb prepares...
Obama and Cameron Press Putin on Syria
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Speaking to reporters in the East Room at the White House, Mr. Cameron said that governments around the world had a responsibility to bring the Syrian conflict and the rule of President Bashar al-Assad to an end.
“Syria’s history is being written in the blood of its citizens,” Mr. Cameron said. “And it’s happening on our watch.”
Mr. Cameron said he recently had...
Afghanistan and U.S. Continue Talks on Future Relations
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The strategic partnership agreement outlines a set of principles and commitments for relations between Washington and Kabul after 2014, when foreign combat troops are to withdraw from Afghanistan. But there is lingering uncertainty over whether either party will be willing or able to stick to the provisions of the pact, which includes loopholes for both nations.
The meeting here on...
India Ink: Image of the Day: May 9
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This report on India from the journalists of The New York Times and a pool of talented writers in India and beyond provides unbiased, authoritative reporting on the country and its place in the world. India Ink also strives to be a virtual meeting point for discussion of this complex, fast-changing democracy – its politics, economy, culture and everyday life.
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The Lede: Video of Imran Khan’s Fall at Election Rally in Pakistan
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Last Updated, 2:36 p.m. Imran Khan, a former cricket superstar who has been drawing huge crowds to campaign rallies in Pakistan ahead of Saturday’s election, was rushed to a hospital in Lahore on Tuesday after he was knocked off a forklift at the edge of a stage and fell head-first to the ground, nearly 15 feet below.
As video of the incident posted on Vimeo by Karachi’s Express Tribune...
