Worldwide Pulse

Exploring the Latest in International Breaking News and Features

Lawmakers Move to Impeach South Korean Leader After Failed Martial Law Bid

Members of South Korea’s opposition parties protesting on the steps of National Assembly in Seoul on Wednesday.

South Korea’s Martial Law Turmoil Threatens Pacific Alliance With U.S. and Japan

President Biden with President Yoon Suk Yeol of South Korea, left, and Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba of Japan, right, in Peru last month. Their countries have been strengthening their ties, largely to counter China.

Writers Silenced by Stalin Get New Life Amid War in Ukraine

A performance of “You [Romance],” a play chronicling the lives of the “Executed Renaissance” directed by Oleksandr Khomenko, in Kyiv, Ukraine, in October.

With Assad Challenged, a Push to Cut Syria’s Ties to Iran Grows More Unlikely

Images of President Bashar al-Assad of Syria, center, and Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, south of Damascus, in March.

Tapped by Trudeau to Steer Foreign Affairs, She’s Now His Possible Successor

Mélanie Joly, Canada’s minister of foreign affairs, at her home in Montreal in July.

Iran Releases Narges Mohammadi, Nobel Laureate, From Prison for 21 Days

Syrian Forces Battle Rebels Outside Government Stronghold

Syrian military equipment abandoned on the road near Suran, north of Hama, on Tuesday.

Biden Hopes Train Project in Angola Defines Africa Legacy

President Biden during a visit to the Lobito Port Terminal in Angola, on Wednesday.

Israel’s Military Says Hostages Were Likely Killed by Hamas as Airstrike Hit

Ruti Munder at the grave of her husband, Avraham Munder, in Israel in August.

Georgia Tumbles Deeper Into Crisis as Opposition Leader is Detained

A still image taken from a video shows Nika Gvaramia, an opposition leader, surrounded by police officers before being detained in Tbilisi, Georgia, on Wednesday.

Why South Korea’s Leader Made Such a Fateful Decision

Protesters blocking a military vehicle outside the National Assembly in Seoul on Wednesday, after President Yoon Suk Yeol declared emergency martial law.

Zelensky Offers $24 One-Off Payment to Win Over War-Weary Ukrainians

A butcher in Myrnohrad, Ukraine, in November. The grant is a modest sum compared to the average monthly salary in Ukraine of roughly $500.

Why Israel and Hezbollah Are Still Firing Amid a Lebanon Cease-Fire

Israeli troops leaving Lebanon on their way back to Israel, as seen from the Israeli side of the border, on Monday.

Researchers Release Hawaiian Crows Back Into the Wild

Only about 110 ʻalalā, or Hawaiian crows, remain on Earth.

Map: Where Rebels Have Advanced in Syria

FIFA Secures $1 Billion Broadcast Deal With DAZN for Club World Cup

DAZN is paying close to $1 billion to broadcast the inaugural Club World Cup, a soccer tournament featuring 32 men’s teams gathered from leagues across the globe.

Elite Sumo Wrestlers Will Compete in London, a Rarity Outside Japan

The sumo wrestlers Kitanowaka Daisuke and Fukutsuumi Akira of Japan outside Royal Albert Hall in London on Wednesday.

Stripping Down for a Night at a French Museum

Visitors attended “Naturist Paradise” at the Museum of the Civilizations of Europe and the Mediterranean in Marseille, France.

Who Would Replace South Korea’s President Yoon?

South Korean Prime Minister Han Duck-soo at the National Assembly in Seoul in November.

Wednesday Briefing

Outside the National Assembly in Seoul last night.

For Some Koreans, Martial Law Stirs Harrowing Memories of Gwangju Uprising

Police officers outside the National Assembly in Seoul on Tuesday night.

Nearly 300 Troops Stormed South Korea’s National Assembly, Official Says

South Korean troops at an entrance to the National Assembly in Seoul early Wednesday. Some protesters tried to push their way in.

South Korea Stock Markets Wobble After Martial Law Turmoil

Analysts and investors on Wednesday were trying to gauge how long South Korea’s outbreak of political turmoil would persist.

South Korean History Is Scarred by Martial Law

Soldiers with bound pro-democracy protesters in Gwangju, South Korea, in 1980.

President Yoon Suk Yeol of South Korea Declares Martial Law, Then Backs Down

Protesters outside the National Assembly in Seoul demanding an end to martial law on Tuesday.

Timeline: How Yoon’s Presidency in South Korea Led to Martial Law Order

President Yoon Suk Yeol being sworn into office in May 2022.

Who is Lee Jae-myung, South Korea’s Opposition Leader?

Lee Jae-myung, center, the opposition leader, speaking at the National Assembly in Seoul on Tuesday.

Namibia Elects Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah as Its First Female President

Supporters of Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah during a campaign rally in Windhoek, Namibia, last month.

Wednesday Briefing: A Brief Martial Law in South Korea

Outside the National Assembly in Seoul, South Korea, yesterday.

Italian Sentenced in Killing of Ex-Girlfriend, Giulia Cecchettin

A demonstrator holding a photo of Giulia Cecchettin at a march in Milan last year.

NATO Chief Urges More Weapons for Ukraine Ahead of Any Peace Talks

Mark Rutte, NATO Secretary General, right, with Ukrainian foreign minister, Andrii Sybiha, in Brussels on Tuesday.

Biden, in Angola, Warns That Slavery’s History Should Not be Erased

President Biden outside the National Museum of Slavery in Luanda, Angola, on Tuesday.

Martial Law in South Korea Tests Biden and a Key U.S. Alliance

President Biden has put a special emphasis on South Korea, and invited President Yoon Suk Yeol to the White House last year.

Who Is Yoon Suk Yeol, South Korea’s President?

Yoon Suk Yeol, the president of South Korea, in Seoul in 2022.

Why Was Martial Law Declared in South Korea?

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol during a press briefing on Tuesday at the presidential office in Seoul.

Amid Syria’s Rebel Offensive, a Geopolitical Cauldron Simmers

Syrian opposition fighters last month. They have made their most significant advance in years against government forces, shaking up a civil war that had long been at a stalemate.

Chaos Plays Out at South Korea’s Legislature Building After Declaration of Martial Law

A barricade made of chairs and cushions at the National Assembly in Seoul on Tuesday.

Read President Yoon’s Speech Declaring Martial Law in South Korea

Netanyahu Welcomes Trump’s Demand to Free Hostages Before Inauguration

A makeshift memorial for hostages kidnapped on Oct. 7, 2023, in Tel Aviv last month.

Syria Fighting Worsens Already Dire Conditions in Idlib and Aleppo

Damage from an airstrike in Idlib, a rebel-held city in northern Syria, on Monday. Russian and Syrian fighter jets have targeted the area in recent days.

Investigation Into Forced Adoptions From Ukraine Points Finger at Putin

President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia and his commissioner for children, Maria Lvova-Belova, in a photo released by the Russian state news media in May. The International Criminal Court has issued warrants for their arrest.

China Announces a Ban on Rare Minerals to the U.S.

China, which produces almost all the world’s supply of critical minerals, has been tightening its grip on the materials.

Top U.N. Envoy Says Gaza War Followed Years of Weak Diplomacy

Tor Wennesland, the top United Nations envoy for the Middle East peace process, says: “Politics failed. Diplomacy failed. The international community failed. And the parties failed.”

An Indigenous Group in Quebec Tries to Keep the Caribou Alive

Jean-Luc Kanapé’s fiberglass replica of a woodland caribou.

Airbnb ‘Gladiator’ Experience at the Colosseum Prompts Outcry in Rome

The Colosseum in 2020. Some people in Rome feel that gladiator re-enactments in the iconic amphitheater would be in poor taste.

From Chinese Patriot to American Spy: The Unusual Life of John Leung

3 Climbers From the U.S. and Canada Have Gone Missing on New Zealand’s Highest Mountain

Aoraki/Mount Cook is the highest mountain in New Zealand.

Tuesday Briefing

A Russian airstrike hit Idlib in northern Syria yesterday.

France’s Prime Minister Faces No-Confidence Vote: What to Know

Prime Minister Michel Barnier of France could face a no-confidence vote as soon as Wednesday, which, if it passes. would force him to resign.

Tuesday Briefing: A Presidential Pardon

President Biden, left, and his son Hunter.

5 Women Win Reparations From Belgium for Crimes Under Colonial Rule

From left, Noelle Verbeken, Léa Tavares Mujinga and Simone Ngalula, three of the five women who sued the Belgian state for acts committed under colonial rule in Congo, in Brussels in 2021.

Trump Says There Will Be ‘Hell to Pay’ Unless Hostages in Gaza Are Released

Images of hostage abducted to Gaza on Oct. 7, 2023, were displayed in Tel Aviv in February.

Maternity Leave and Ongoing Consent: New Rights for Belgium’s Sex Workers

A bedroom in a brothel in the red light district of Ghent, Belgium.

What’s Behind the Protests in Georgia?

Hezbollah and Israel Trade Fire, Further Testing Cease-Fire

Israeli soldiers patrolling near the Lebanese border in Avivim, Israel, on Monday.

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