WORLD NEWS

Ukraine Estimates Sharply Higher Russian Casualty Toll in Crimea Blasts

A Ukrainian serviceman on the frontline in Mykolaiv region on Thursday.

The Tumultuous Summer That Changed the World

Taliban fighters in Kabul, Afghanistan, on the day the government collapsed.

In Wealthy City, a Marxist Mayor Wins Over Voters

The iconic bell tower in the wealthy city of Graz, Austria, which is led by a Communist mayor, Elke Kahr.

Greece’s Mitsotakis Fends Off Accusations His Government Spied on Rivals

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis of Greece in May. His government has been accused of spying on its political rivals.

Erdogan and Putin: Complicated Relations With Mutual Benefits

President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia meeting with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey in Sochi, Russia, last week.

How Sri Lankans Rose Up to Dethrone a Dynasty

Protesters celebrating last month in Colombo, Sri Lanka, after the resignation of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa.

Palestinian Prisoners in Israel Use Hunger Strikes to Seek Freedom

Kayed al-Fasfos at his home in the West Bank in April. He was released from an Israeli prison after a 131-day hunger strike. “Even if I had died,” he said, “I would consider it a victory because in the end I left the prison.”

U.S. Urges Rwanda and Congo to End Support for Warring Militias

Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken visited the Kigali Genocide Memorial in Rwanda on Thursday. Backing militias, he said, was “likely to perpetuate conflict and violence.”

Serbia’s Leader Rejects Putin Label Amid Fears of Russian Meddling

President Aleksandar Vucic in the library of the presidential palace in Belgrade, the Serbian capital, this month. “We are not interested in expanding our borders and getting into any fights with our neighbors,” he said.

Rishi Sunak Has a Sterling Résumé. It’s Not Helping Him Replace Boris Johnson.

Rishi Sunak, center, spoke to people in Ropley, England, last month as part of his campaign to become leader of the Conservative Party and the next prime minister.

Fires Rip Through France Amid New Heat Wave

Farmers near Belin-Beliet, France, tried to help put out a fire overnight Thursday.

‘My School Had No Chairs, No Blackboards, No Books’

Mursal Rahim in the bedroom she shares with her two sisters in their home in Houston.

‘Day by Day, I Realized I Have the Freedom Here’

Mursal and Marwa Rahim in their new home in Houston, talking over FaceTime with their cousin, Zerghona, who is in Turkey.

‘Regimes Like the Taliban That Impose Themselves on Nations Will Not Last Long’

Omar Ahmadi, 26, whose father was the longtime chef of The New York Times Kabul Bureau, outside the apartment building where he and his family live in Alexandria, Va.

Shelling of Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Plant Raises Fears and Outrage

The Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant this month.

Russian Attack in Kramatorsk Kills 2 civilians, Regional Military Leader Says

A Russian attack on Kramatorsk on Friday left two civilians dead and more than a dozen others injured.

Kenya on Edge as Media’s Election Tally Suddenly Stops

Motorcycle taxi drivers watching live news on television for updates on the presidential election, in Kisumu, Kenya, on Friday.

Climate Bill Heads to Biden’s Desk. There Is More to Be Done.

Young climate activists say they worry the new tax and climate law will lead to a complacent electorate that believes climate change is solved, when in fact the government has only taken the first necessary steps.

8 Americans Reflect on U.S. Withdrawal From Afghanistan

Montenegro Gunman Kills 10 Before Being Shot and Killed

A crime scene investigator carrying a rifle believed to have been used in a mass shooting on Friday in Cetinje, Montenegro.

Protests Turn Deadly in Sierra Leone Over Rising Cost of Living

Police officers patrolled the streets of Freetown, Sierra Leone, during an anti-government protest on Wednesday.

Ukrainian Children Bring a Play From a Bomb Shelter to Brooklyn

Hanna Oneshchak, 12, playing the accordion, with other Ukrainian students during rehearsals for their play.

How the Taliban Has Rolled Back the Clock Since Seizing Power

A year since the Taliban seized power, two decades of U.S.-financed reforms have been reversed by mounting restrictions on daily life.

‘We Are the Flour Between Two Millstones’

Fahim Abed in Houston last year.

‘I Plan to Encourage and Inspire Women With My Success’

Marwa Rahim at a mall in Houston.

‘In the United States, I Feel Optimistic’

Samira Rustami, 20, with her 1-month-old daughter, Durrin, at their home in Houston.

What Happens If Shelling Continues at Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Plant?

Russian forces seized the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, Europe’s largest, in March.

Estonia never needed to import gas by ship, until now.

A floating facility in Estonia will take in shipments of natural gas and pipe it to a network that serves the Baltics and Finland.

Russia’s Economy Contracts Sharply as War and Sanctions Take Hold

Shoppers in Moscow. The Russian economy has proved more resilient to sanctions than some economists initially expected, but experts now predict a downturn.

A 1,300-Pound Walrus Could Be Killed if She Endangers the Public

Freya, a young female walrus, rested on a boat in Frognerkilen in the Oslo Fjord of Norway in July.

Five State-Run Chinese Giants to Delist From U.S. Stock Exchanges

Three of the world’s biggest energy companies, including Sinopec, said they would apply to delist their American shares.

What I’m Reading

The English novelist Jane Austen as depicted in a family portrait.

Drought Is Declared in Parts of a Hot, Dry Britain

The grass in many of London’s parks has dried out after a summer of record-breaking temperatures and little rain.

How the Climate Bill Will Make Cleaner Energy Cheaper

Solar panels in Grafton, Mass.

You Just Can’t Get the Staff

A restaurant in Sydney earlier this year. Australia’s labor and skills shortage has affected almost every sector, including food service.

Why are Russia and Turkey growing so close? Putin needs allies, and Erdogan needs bolstering.

President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia meeting with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey in Sochi, Russia, last Friday, for their second face-to-face talks in three weeks.

U.N. Ship to Carry Ukrainian Grain Directly to Horn of Africa

Grain silos at the Odesa Port in Odesa, Ukraine, in July.

Your Friday Briefing

U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland.

Shelling Threatens Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Plant, and U.N. Pleads for Access

A Russian military convoy on the road to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant in May.

How the war changed a Kyiv museum’s view of its past.

Heavy Losses Leave Russia Short of Its Goal, U.S. Officials Say

The remains of a tank in the Chernihiv region of Ukraine. U.S. officials estimate that 500 Russian troops are killed or wounded every day in Ukraine.

Your Friday Briefing: U.S. to Unseal Trump Warrant

Attorney General Merrick B. Garland had come under pressure to provide more information about the search at former President Donald J. Trump’s Florida home.

Rhythm of War: A Thunderous Blast, and Then a Coffee Break

A Ukrainian artillery unit firing from a frontline position near the town of Bakhmut on Wednesday.

Don’t Blame Monkeys for Monkeypox, W.H.O. Says After Attacks

A monkey at Lage Park in Rio de Janeiro. At least 10 monkeys were rescued in São Paulo, Brazil, after they appeared to have been attacked or poisoned, the police there said.

All Hooting Aside: Did a Vocal Evolution Give Rise to Language?

A study of more than three dozen primates found that they all possessed an extra set of vocal membranes in the larynx, just above the vocal cords. Only humans lack the structure.

Italy Salutes a War Hero and the Values He Fought For

Mr. Fiorentini when he was in his 20s.

The New ‘Monuments Officers’ Prepare to Protect Art Amid War

The Army’s Monuments Officers in training. They will work in a military capacity to identify and preserve cultural treasures around the world that are threatened by conflict, just like the Monuments Men of World War II.

A Moscow court places a former state television journalist under house arrest over her anti-war protest.

Marina Ovsyannikova, who was detained and fined after protesting the war on television in March, has been sentenced to house arrest over her protest outside the Kremlin in July.

Arctic Warming 4 Times as Fast as the Rest of the Planet, New Analyses Find

An iceberg from the Greenland ice sheet near Pituffik, Greenland, last month.

Rethinking Joe Manchin

Senator Joe Manchin on Capitol Hill last week.

China Vows More Drills, but Taiwan Is Undeterred

A live-fire drill in Pingtung, Taiwan, on Tuesday. The Taiwanese military said it would not escalate after Chinese military drills in the region.

North Korea’s Covid Outbreak Is Over, Kim Jong-un Says

Pyongyang, the North Korean capital, in late July. North Korea claimed to have no Covid-19 cases until May, when it announced its first outbreak.

Zelensky addresses the explosions in Crimea as photos suggest a major loss for Russia.

Your Thursday Briefing

The Jan. 6 attack was a crisis. So why wasn’t it more of a scandal?

Protesters storming the Senate side of the U.S. Capitol after a rally where President Trump spoke on Jan. 6 last year.

Crimean Officials Detail Size of Explosions, Contradicting Kremlin

Beachgoers in Novofedorivka, in Russian-occupied Crimea, were initially startled by an explosion at a nearby Russian military air base on Tuesday.

Families of Israelis Killed at Munich Olympics Plan Anniversary Boycott

Ankie Spitzer, at her home in Israel last month, held a framed photo of her husband, Andrei, who was killed in the 1972 attack.

Your Thursday Briefing: Trump Declines to Answer Questions

Former president Donald J. Trump leaves Trump Tower in New York, on Wednesday.

Russia Detains a Former Journalist Who Protested the War

Marina Ovsyannikova, a former state television employee, during a court hearing in Moscow last month.

Kenyans Await Results as Votes Are Counted in Presidential Race

Police officers and polling workers sorting sealed ballot boxes on Wednesday in Nairobi.