Nobody doubted that Lea Salonga could sing. She had won a Tony Award at the age of 20 for her breakout role as the besotted Vietnamese teen Kim in “Miss Saigon,” and sung her heart out as Éponine, and later Fantine, in Broadway productions of “Les Misérables.” She provided the crystalline vocals of not one … Read more
The world economy was already grappling with a perplexing assortment of variables, from geopolitical conflicts and a slowdown in China to the evolving complexities of climate change. Then, President Trump unleashed a plan to uproot decades of trade policy. In starting a process to impose so-called reciprocal tariffs on American trading partners, Mr. Trump increased … Read more
A teenager died and several other people were injured in Villach, Austria, on Saturday after a man attacked them with a knife, officials said. A suspect has been detained in connection with the attack; it is not clear whether he knew the victims. The attack happened around 4 p.m. local time, killing a 14-year-old and … Read more
Three decades ago, he was a scrappy campaigner roaming the world’s corridors of power with a dream to win independence for his tiny homeland. Today, at 75, José Ramos-Horta is both the president and a relentless salesman for East Timor. He asked China’s president, Xi Jinping, to “help us resolve the problem of agriculture, food … Read more
Fifteen people died in a stampede on Saturday at New Delhi’s main railway station as a crush of pilgrims were trying to make their way to a huge Hindu festival in northern India, an official said. The caretaker chief minister of the Delhi region, Atishi, who uses one name, told reporters outside a hospital in … Read more
Before she waded into the water to take a holy dip among the teeming throngs at the world’s largest religious gathering, Draupadi Devi reached into her blouse and handed her husband a small pouch to safeguard. Inside was a slip of paper with his phone number scrawled on it, so she would have it if … Read more
The nonprofit groups track the imprisonment of Chinese political dissidents and the expansion of state censorship. They speak out for persecuted minority groups like the Uyghurs and Tibetans. And they help sustain attention on Beijing’s crackdown of freedoms in Hong Kong. The future of their work is now in question as Elon Musk’s government efficiency … Read more
In early February, Vishvaa Rajakumar, a 20-year-old Indian college student, recently won the Memory League World Championship, an online competition pitting people against one another with challenges like memorizing the order of 80 random numbers faster than most people can tie a shoelace. The renowned neuroscientist Eleanor Maguire, who died in January, studied mental athletes … Read more
Barbie Hsu, a Taiwanese actress, television host and pop star who catapulted to Pan-Asian popularity in 2001 as the star of the Cinderella-style teenage drama “Meteor Garden,” died on Feb. 2 in Tokyo. She was 48. Her death was announced to TVBS News in Taiwan by her sister Dee Hsu, who said the cause was … Read more
China said Friday that the United States should take the lead in the reduction of nuclear weapons and military spending, after President Trump proposed working with China and Russia on these issues. Mr. Trump had told reporters on Thursday in the Oval Office that he would like to hold talks with both China’s top leader, … Read more