Resignations Deepen Crisis for Lebanon

By NADA BAKRI

Joseph Eid/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

A poster in Beirut of Hezbollah’s leader, Hassan Nasrallah, right; Michel Aoun, center; and Nabih Berri, the Parliament speaker.

Hezbollah cabinet ministers and their allies resigned, toppling a unity government that had brought a period of relative calm to the troubled nation.

Lacking Leverage, U.S. Grasps for a Solution in Lebanon

By MARK LANDLER and ROBERT F. WORTH

Critics say the Obama administration’s engagement in Lebanon has been episodic, in part because it is preoccupied with bigger problems in the region.

The Vanishing Mind

A recreation room at the Shanghai No. 3 Elderly Home, which cares for people with Alzheimer’s disease or dementia.

China, in a Shift, Takes On Its Alzheimer’s Problem

By DAVID BARBOZA

The country is beginning to educate the public and the medical community about dementia, and big cities are making plans to build new nursing homes.

Previous Articles in the Series »

Figures on Global Climate Show 2010 Tied 2005 as the Hottest Year on Record

By JUSTIN GILLIS

New government figures also show that 2010 was the wettest year since record-keeping began in 1880.

As a deadly wave of unrest continued in Tunisia, protesters clashed Wednesday with riot police officers in Ettadhamen, a city near the capital, Tunis.

Protests Spread to Tunisia’s Capital, and a Curfew Is Decreed

By DAVID D. KIRKPATRICK

Troops fired tear gas as the first major protest hit the capital since rioting over poverty and unemployment began three weeks ago.

The Lede: Tunisians Document Protests Online

Navigating the flooded suburbs of Brisbane on Wednesday.

Australian Floods Rage Through Brisbane

By AUBREY BELFORD and MERAIAH FOLEY

Thousands of homes were inundated by waters that converged on Brisbane, in an area that officials said could remain under water for days.

Andrei Sannikov, a jailed opposition candidate whose son is at the center of a dispute.

Belarus Intensifies Efforts Against Former Candidate

By MICHAEL SCHWIRTZ

Authorities in Belarus were stepping up their campaign against the family of a former presidential candidate whose three-year-old son they have threatened to seize.

Russia presented its report into the crash that killed the Polish president in April.

Report on Polish Crash Finds Pilot Error, but Says Powerful Passengers Share Some Blame

By ELLEN BARRY

Russian investigators conclude that the pilot in the plane crash that killed Poland’s president and 95 others was under pressure to land in dangerous conditions.

Ai Weiwei standing in the rubble of his studio in Shanghai on Tuesday. He has come to see his conflict with government officials as performance art.

Chinese Authorities Raze an Artist’s Studio

By EDWARD WONG

Ai Weiwei said he suspected that officials destroyed his studio because of his political activities.

Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates arrived Wednesday in Tokyo to discuss North Korea.

Test Unrelated to Gates Visit, China Says

By MICHAEL WINES and ELISABETH BUMILLER

China’s state-run media insisted forcefully that the test flight of its new stealth jet fighter was not timed to coincide with the U.S. defense secretary’s visit.

Detained American Says F.B.I. Pressed Him

By MARK MAZZETTI

An American teenager detained in Kuwait said in an interview that he underwent a heated interrogation by F.B.I. agents on Wednesday.

Detained American Says He Was Beaten in Kuwait (January 6, 2011)

London Journal

Alistair Cook racked up a total of 776 runs to help England win the Ashes, cricket’s most storied trophy, over the host, Australia.

Pride in Batsmen and Bowlers Breaks Through Britain’s Winter Gloom

By JOHN F. BURNS

England’s defeat of Australia in the Ashes cricket series is an unusual respite in an otherwise bleak winter in Britain.

From the Magazine

Magazine — The Advance

ATHENS Protests against austerity measures brought international travel and public services to a standstill on Dec. 15.

Can Europe Be Saved?

By PAUL KRUGMAN

The liberal democracies of Western Europe represent one of the greatest achievements of human civilization. But is there any way to save them from sinking together in the ill-conceived currency union ?