7 mins read

Six months on, the Iran war has changed the Middle East, but not in the way its architects had hoped

It’s been six months since the United States and Israel attacked Iran with the perennial goal of transforming the Middle East through military force. The region has changed, but not in the way they had hoped. The Islamic Republic survived the assassination of its top leaders and weeks of heavy bombing, and found a potent […]

7 mins read

Ratko Mladic, ex-Bosnian Serb warlord who oversaw atrocities, dies in prison at 84, state TV says

BELGRADE, Serbia | Ratko Mladic, the bullish Bosnian Serb general whose forces rained shells and snipers’ bullets on Sarajevo and carried out the worst massacre in Europe since World War II, has died while serving a life sentence for his crimes, the Serbian state RTS television and the official Bosnian Serb television reported. He was […]

5 mins read

Ukraine’s president coos over a puppy, starting a new volley in his war of visuals against Russia

KYIV, Ukraine | Wait. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Ukraine’s war chief, holding a puppy? Yes, and it’s no accident. In a collision of dog lovers, sports and ongoing war with Russia, the Ukrainian president was seen on video Tuesday as never before — cuddling and cooing over a floppy, 3-month-old American pit bull terrier, handed to […]

4 mins read

For everything from troubled hearts to lost keys, Greeks bake cakes for a wish-granting saint

ILION, Greece | For the careless and despairing alike, there’s a special day on the Orthodox Christian calendar to provide relief — with the help of some orange-flavored cake. Thousands of pilgrims gathered late Wednesday and Thursday at the Church of St. Fanourios, 10 kilometers (6 miles) northwest of Athens, with their baked offerings. They […]

5 mins read

Movie Review: ‘Finding Emily’ is the British rom-com we’ve been waiting for

Late August can be a depressing time at the movie theater, but there’s a gem to be found in the British romantic comedy “Finding Emily,” which opens in theaters Friday. Here, finally, is a smart, funny and sweet story about young love that moviegoing audiences deserve. Yes, the setup is contrived — it even fits […]

6 mins read

One Tech Tip: How to keep your child’s tablets, laptops from becoming distractions from schoolwork

Tablets and computers have become crucial school supplies for many students. But the same devices children use to read text, write essays, solve math problems or research history projects can also offer distractions in the form of games, social media and web browsing. It can be a challenge for parents to figure out how to […]

3 mins read

The epic La Tomatina food fight drew foreigners to paint a small Spanish town red

BUÑOL, Spain | Thousands of revelers — including many lured by a Bollywood film — descended on a small Spanish town on Wednesday for the annual La Tomatina food fight, where they painted Buñol red with tons of overripe tomatoes. Loaded trucks plodded through the crowd with people in their cargo beds throwing tomatoes at […]

2 mins read

Rupert Grint will become Ron Weasley again — this time, on Broadway

NEW YORK | Rupert Grint — the original Ron Weasley from the “Harry Potter” movies — will slip into his old role on Broadway next year in “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child.” Grint, who starred in all eight ” Harry Potter ” movies from 2001 to 2011, will join the play at the Lyric […]

5 mins read

Movie Review: What’s up, flop? The toon-human hybrid ‘Coyote vs. Acme’ should’ve stayed on shelf

Some Hollywood decisions defy logic. Like, who looked at the world of Looney Tunes, those unhinged cartoons of our youth, and thought: Let’s add a bunch of personal injury lawyers. Such is the premise of the clunky, too-earnest, live-action-toon-hybrid “Coyote vs. Acme,” a film initially mothballed by the studio only to later be featured in […]

4 mins read

Judge grants Blake Lively $400,000 of $8M in legal fees she sought in film fight with Justin Baldoni

NEW YORK | Blake Lively will get just over $400,000 of the $8 million she sought in legal costs from actor and director Justin Baldoni after they settled their fight over the production of their 2024 film “It Ends With Us,” a federal judge ruled Wednesday. Judge Lewis J. Liman explained in a written decision […]