World

Japan’s choice of a conservative woman to lead the ruling party reframes familiar dilemmas The Liberal Democratic Party’s selection of Sanae Takaichi as its leader — a 64‑year‑old conservative who could become Japan’s first female prime minister — is less a break with the past than a new turn in an old playbook. Her victory, against younger and more moderate rivals, signals the LDP’s attempt to recapture voters unsettled by inflation, stagnating wages and a rising appetite for parties that promise real change on immigration…

Manchester synagogue attack raises fraught questions about security, policing and public protest On a day reserved for introspection and prayer, a Jewish community in north Manchester was thrust into trauma. A car and knife attack outside the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation synagogue in Crumpsall on Thursday left three men hospitalised and two dead — the alleged attacker and a passer-by who tried to intervene — and has prompted a national debate over community safety, the limits of protest and how police respond in rapidly…

U.S. government grinds to a halt as partisan stalemate triggers shutdown WASHINGTON — Much of the United States federal government shut its doors early today after Congress failed to pass a short-term funding bill, setting off what officials warned could be a prolonged and costly stand‑off that will touch millions of Americans and ripple through global markets. The shutdown — the 15th since 1981 — began hours after the Senate rejected a stopgap measure that would have kept agencies operating through Nov. 21. Agencies…

Israeli navy intercepts international aid flotilla; at least eight Irish citizens detained An international flotilla attempting to bring food and medicine to Gaza was intercepted and boarded by Israeli naval forces on Wednesday, organisers and officials said, in a tense standoff that recalled a deadly raid more than a decade ago. Video livestreams from the boats showed passengers in life jackets sitting on deck, hands raised, as military vessels closed in. Detentions and immediate reactions Global Sumud Flotilla…

Mobile and internet services return across Afghanistan after 48-hour blackout Mobile phone and internet services were restored across much of Afghanistan on Wednesday afternoon, local residents and telecommunications firms said, ending an abrupt 48‑hour outage that left banks, remittances, flights and online classrooms in disarray. Subscribers of Roshan and Etisalat — the country’s largest mobile operators, both with significant foreign ownership — reported signal returning late in the day in Kabul and in provincial…

Atop Rockefeller, a celebration of luck, labor and the long arc of migration On a glittering evening at the top of Rockefeller Center, with the Manhattan skyline folding into dusk, about 40 recipients of what they still call the Morrison Visa gathered to trade stories and to measure a particular kind of success: the steady, ordinary achievement that accumulates into a life remade. The event — a gala that could have been any high‑end New York fundraiser except for the unmistakable Irish cadence in the room — was less about…

Israeli navy intercepts international aid flotilla en route to Gaza; Greta Thunberg among those taken to port Israeli forces boarded and detained vessels from a high-profile international flotilla attempting to reach Gaza on Saturday, seizing 39 boats, according to the organizers, and leaving only one ship still underway. Live-feed footage verified by Reuters showed soldiers in helmets and night-vision goggles climbing onto decks as passengers — some wearing life vests and huddling with their hands raised — were taken into…

Britain steps in to shore up Jaguar Land Rover — but the fix poses bigger questions After nearly a month of halted production following a crippling cyberattack, Britain is turning to a familiar — if politically sensitive — tool: a government-backed guarantee to unlock private lending for Jaguar Land Rover’s supply chain. The move, announced by the business ministry, aims to steady suppliers and protect jobs in the wake of an industrial shock that has rippled through communities from the West Midlands to Merseyside. What…

Valencia on edge as new storms revive memory of last year’s deadly floods Valencia’s empty schoolyards and shuttered libraries felt, on a wet dawn this week, like a city holding its breath. After hours of heavy overnight rain, Spain’s national weather agency AEMET issued red alerts across the eastern Mediterranean coast — warning of “a very complicated situation” and “extraordinary danger” in the provinces of Valencia and Castellón, and parts of Tarragona in Catalonia. Towns that still bear the scars of October 2024’s…

Dead child and grandmother in Moscow region underscore risks as war’s long arm reaches deeper The charred ruins of a private home in Voskresensk, a small commuter town southeast of Moscow, came to symbolize on Monday how a war that began on the plains of eastern Ukraine is seeping into the everyday life of ordinary Russians. Regional governor Andrey Vorobyov said a fire sparked by a drone strike killed a 76-year-old woman and her six-year-old grandson. “Last night, air defence forces shot down four drones in Voskresensk and…