Canadians Brace for Cultural Changes as Marijuana Becomes Legal

Trees Station, an illegal marijuana dispensary in Toronto, has avoided being shut down. It has presented itself as if it were a medical dispensary.CreditCole Burston for The New York Times

For one of Canada’s largest legal cannabis companies, the vote in Parliament this week to legalize recreational marijuana use represents a broad opportunity to develop new products, including marijuana infused drinks.

Trump Will Meet Queen Elizabeth II Next Month, His Ambassador Says

Queen Elizabeth II in London this month. As Britain’s head of state, she meets with foreign leaders frequently at the behest of her ministers.CreditNiklas Halle'N/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

President Trump will meet Queen Elizabeth II during his long-delayed first trip to Britain next month, the United States ambassador to Britain said on Wednesday, an encounter that could reignite furor among British critics who oppose his deeply divisive policies and his polarizing personality.

As Kim Ends Beijing Visit, China and North Korea Craft New Messages

Images of the meeting between Kim Jong-un, the North Korean leader, and President Xi Jinping of China were displayed on outdoor screens in Beijing on Tuesday. CreditAndy Wong/Associated Press

Propaganda departments in China and North Korea were in full swing on Wednesday as Kim Jong-un, the North Korean leader, concluded a two-day tour of China that painted the once-reclusive autocrat as a forward-looking leader.

Hungary Criminalizes Aiding Illegal Immigrants

Asylum seekers crossing the border between Hungary and Serbia in 2015. Few migrants have tried to enter Hungary in the years since, but Prime Minister Viktor Orban continues to present migration as a threat to the fabric of society.CreditSergey Ponomarev for The New York Times

The Hungarian Parliament approved a package of laws on Wednesday that criminalizes the act of helping undocumented migrants and creates a parallel court system that some fear will be used for politically sensitive cases, accelerating efforts by Prime Minister Viktor Orban to transform the country into what he calls an “illiberal democracy.”

Kim Jong-un Returns to China, This Time With Leverage

President Xi Jinping of China welcomed North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong-un, at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Tuesday. Analysts said the trade conflict between China and North Korea put Mr. Kim in an enviable position.CreditKorean Central News Agency, via Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong-un, arrived in Beijing on Tuesday amid an escalating trade conflict between China and the United States, one that gives him an opening to play the powers against each other as Washington presses him to dismantle his nuclear arsenal.

Vote in Canada Paves the Way for Legalization of Marijuana

Canadians celebrated National Marijuana Day in Ottawa in April 2016. On Tuesday, Canada’s Senate voted to legalize marijuana for recreational use, though Canadians will not be able to buy it legally for a few more months.CreditChris Roussakis/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

Canada’s Senate passed legislation on Tuesday that will make Canada the first country with a major economy to legalize recreational marijuana use.

Facing Defeat on Brexit, May Gives Ground to U.K.’s Parliament

Anti-Brexit demonstrators outside Parliament in London.CreditDaniel Leal-Olivas/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

Britain’s prime minister, Theresa May, on Tuesday promised greater control for Parliament over withdrawal from the European Union, after a threatened rebellion by lawmakers forced her into a new and potentially significant retreat in the country’s troubled exit from the bloc.

Macedonia Agrees to Change its Name to Resolve Dispute With Greece

Demonstrators in Pella, Greece, protesting the use of the name “Macedonia” in any solution to a dispute between Athens and Skopje over the former Yugoslav republic’s name.CreditAlexandros Avramidis/Reuters

Macedonia agreed to change its name to resolve a decades-old dispute with Greece, the two countries said on Tuesday, and Greece said it would drop its objection to the neighboring country’s entry into the European Union and NATO if the changes are formally adopted.

Trump Concession Over Military Drills Blindsides Many South Koreans

South Koreans at a train station in Seoul watching television coverage of the Singapore summit meeting between President Trump and North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong-un.CreditAhn Young-Joon/Associated Press

For South Koreans who have long felt threatened by nuclear war, seeing President Trump and North Korea’s leader shake hands and sign an agreement on improving ties brought relief, if not closure, to the decades-old standoff.

Pentagon and Seoul Surprised by Trump Pledge to Halt Military Exercises

South Korean troops and American Marines take part in a joint military drill in Pohang, South Korea, in 2016.CreditJung Yeon-Je/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

President Trump’s pledge on Tuesday to cancel military exercises on the Korean Peninsula surprised not only allies in South Korea but also the Pentagon.

Unscripted Moments Steal the Show at Trump-Kim Singapore Summit

President Trump and the North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on Tuesday, after their lunch on Sentosa Island in Singapore.CreditDoug Mills/The New York Times

The president of the United States pulled out an iPad and showed the leader of North Korea a slick, Hollywood-style trailer presenting the North’s possible future.

Vague on Details, Trump Is Betting on ‘Special Bond’ With Kim to Deliver Deal

President Trump and the North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un, on Sentosa Island in Singapore on Tuesday.CreditDoug Mills/The New York Times

On paper, there is nothing President Trump extracted from North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong-un, in their summit meeting that Mr. Kim’s father and grandfather had not already given to past American presidents.

Trump Says Kim Jong-un Sees Shared Path After Historic Talks

Mr. Kim and Mr. Trump during a signing ceremony on Sentosa Island in Singapore on Tuesday.CreditDoug Mills/The New York Times

President Trump concluded a historic meeting with North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong-un, on Tuesday, saying that denuclearization on the Korean Peninsula would begin “very quickly.”

Ukraine Approves Anticorruption Court in Bid to Unblock Foreign Aid

Finance Minister Oleksandr Danylyuk of Ukraine addressed lawmakers in Kiev on Thursday before they voted to dismiss him.CreditValentyn Ogirenko/Reuters

After months of foot-dragging that exasperated its Western backers, Ukraine on Thursday adopted legislation that opens the way for the establishment of an independent anticorruption court.

The move, long demanded by the International Monetary Fund and Western governments, could help unblock billions of dollars in assistance frozen because of Western dissatisfaction with Ukraine’s failure to deliver on promises to tackle endemic graft and cronyism.

At the same time, however, the Parliament in Kiev, the Ukrainian capital, also voted to dismiss the country’s finance minister, Oleksandr Danylyuk, an outspoken champion of measures to curb corruption in Ukraine’s fiscal and customs service.

The votes by legislators — one signaling a major step forward in Ukraine’s on-again off-again struggle against corruption, the other a serious setback — added to a growing sense of muddle in Kiev. Last week, Ukrainian authorities announced that a dissident Russian journalist had been murdered in the Ukrainian capital, only for the journalist to appear very much alive the next day at a press briefing.

North Korea Razes Missile Test Facility Ahead of Meeting With Trump

A photograph released by North Korea’s state news agency purporting to show the launch of a Pukguksong-2 missile at an undisclosed location on Feb. 12, 2017. North Korea used the now-razed Kusong site to launch such missiles.CreditKorean Central News Agency, via Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

Satellite imagery indicates that North Korea is razing some facilities used for testing one of its most dangerous missiles after its leader, Kim Jong-un, announced a moratorium on nuclear and long-range missile tests, according to an analysis released this week.

A “key missile test stand” that was used for testing missile ejections from canisters was demolished at a test site near Kusong in North Korea’s northwest, Joseph S. Bermudez Jr., an expert on the country’s weapons systems, said in a report published Wednesday on the website 38 North.

The Kusong test site was being closely monitored by missile experts because North Korea launched its first solid-fuel midrange ballistic missile, known as Pukguksong-2, from there in February last year.

Besides its intercontinental ballistic missiles, solid-fuel missiles have been among the most worrisome additions to North Korea’s growing arsenal of ballistic missiles. They can be launched faster and are easier to transport and hide, making them more suitable for surprise attacks.

Deal for Macedonia Name? High Treason, Some Greeks Say

Tens of thousands of people protested in Thessaloniki, Greece, earlier this year against allowing a neighboring Balkan country to use the name Macedonia.CreditNicolas Economou/NurPhoto, via Getty Images

To understand how deeply the name Macedonia is embedded in the Greek psyche, look no further than Greece’s second city, Thessaloniki. It’s the capital of the northern region of Macedonia, the historical center of a long-running feud with the neighboring country of Macedonia, whose claim to the name is the focus of United Nations-mediated negotiations.

Hong Kong Marks Tiananmen Crackdown, as China Ignores Event

Tens of thousands of people attended the annual candlelight vigil at Hong Kong’s Victoria Park, on Monday, to mark the 29th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square crackdown.CreditKin Cheung/Associated Press

Tens of thousands of pro-democracy activists turned out in Hong Kong Monday to commemorate the 29th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square crackdown in Beijing, observing an event that goes largely unmentioned in mainland China.

A Trump-Kim Deal Could Send China’s Trade With North Korea Soaring

A luxury apartment complex in Dandong, China, near the border with North Korea, last month. A big screen played footage on a loop of a meeting between President Xi Jinping of China and North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong-un.CreditYan Cong for The New York Times

In the Chinese border town of Hunchun, garment factories gladly employ squads of North Koreans, who are valued as skilled and dutiful workers. Live crab from the North wriggle in huge tanks in the fish market. Informal bankers promise to deliver the equivalent of thousands of dollars in Chinese currency to North Koreans across the border in a matter of hours.

U.S. Army Veteran Tried to Spy for China, Officials Say

Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, where Ron Rockwell Hansen of Syracuse, Utah, was arrested on Saturday, just before he entered the airport to board a connecting flight to China.CreditRuth Fremson/The New York Times

Tens of thousands of dollars in cash. Documents listing locations of United States Cyber Command outposts. A passcode-protected thumb drive, hidden behind a sock in the toe of a shoe.

More Afghan Children Are Out of School, Reversing a Trend

Afghan children outside their school in Kunduz Province last July. A Unicef study finds that the number of out-of-school children has risen for the first time since 2002.CreditJim Huylebroek for The New York Times

Even with all the rising measures of mayhem in Afghanistan’s long war — civilian casualties, suicide bombings and refugees, to name a few — the number of children out of school had been falling. Until now.

Putin Moves to Capitalize on Europe’s Fury With Trump

President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia, left, and Austria’s president, Alexander Van der Bellen, in Vienna on Tuesday.CreditPool photo by Michael Klimentyev

President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia arrived in Austria on Tuesday sensing an opportunity almost unimaginable just months ago: to overhaul frosty relations with a European Union infuriated by President Trump on a host of issues, from climate and Iran to, most recently, tariffs and trade.

Italy’s New Populist Government Articulates Vision, but Few Specifics

Italy’s economic development and labor minister, Luigi Di Maio, left, and interior minister, Matteo Salvini, right, congratulated Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte after his speech on Tuesday.CreditAngelo Carconi/ANSA, via Associated Press

Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte of Italy on Tuesday called his country’s new government proudly populist and anti-establishment as he outlined a sweeping, if unspecific, vision for overhauling its migration system, renegotiating its relationship with Europe and moving closer to Russia.

Guatemala Volcano Erupts, Killing 25 and Injuring Hundreds

Police officers in El Rodeo, Guatemala, carrying an injured man on Sunday after the eruption of the Volcán de Fuego.CreditNoe Perez/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

A volcano erupted near Guatemala’s capital on Sunday, killing at least 25 people and leaving many more missing, officials and the local news media reported.

Volcán de Fuego exploded on Sunday morning, and volcanic ash was later seen billowing in the area.

North Korea Says Syria’s Assad Will Visit With Kim

President Bashar al-Assad of Syria, left, was visited by North Korea’s newly appointed ambassador to Damascus, Mun Jong-nam, on Wednesday.CreditSyrian Arab News Agency, via Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

President Bashar al-Assad of Syria plans to visit North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong-un, the North’s state-run news media said on Sunday, suggesting that Mr. Kim is continuing his outreach to American adversaries even as he courts President Trump.

kengo kuma + OODA to transform porto slaughterhouse into a new cultural complex

japanese architect kengo kuma and portuguese studio OODA have been selected to transform a former slaughterhouse in porto. known as the ‘matadouro’, the existing cluster of buildings is located in campanhã, in close proximity to the home stadium of soccer club FC porto. the project seeks to restore the historic building, allowing it to establish itself as a vibrant part of the community.

Denmark bans wearing the burqa in public

Muslim community members outside the East London Mosque on | Dan Kitwood/Getty Images

Denmark is the latest European country to pass a law banning face veils, outlawing the burqa and niqab worn by some Muslim women.

Parliament voted on Thursday for the law, proposed by the centre-right government, by 75 votes to 30, with 74 abstentions. It comes into effect on August 1.

Dutch Official Says Russia Must Accept Blame for 2014 Attack on Jet

Dutch Foreign Minister Stef Blok at the United Nations Security Council on Tuesday. Russia, he said, has offered nothing but “denials, distortions of reality and disinformation.”CreditJustin Lane/EPA, via Shutterstock

Days after a consortium of international investigators announced that Russia was the source of a missile that shot down a civilian airliner over Ukraine four years ago, the foreign minister of the Netherlands on Tuesday challenged Russia to “accept its responsibility” for the deaths of 298 people killed in the attack.

A Search for MH370, Missing Since 2014, Ends ‘With a Heavy Heart’

The Seabed Constructor, a ship operated by Ocean Infinity, set out in January for the search of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370.CreditOcean Infinity, via EPA

The latest search for MH370 — the Malaysia Airlines plane that disappeared four years ago en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing with 239 people onboard — has ended in failure, the company behind the search said on Tuesday.

Top Aide to Kim Jong-un Is Bound for U.S., Trump Says

Kim Yong-chol has been at the side of the North Korean leader during a recent whirl of diplomacy and is expected to meet soon with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.CreditAhn Young-Joon/Associated Press

North Korea’s top nuclear weapons negotiator was headed for New York on Tuesday and plans to meet with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo as officials race to settle on an agenda for a June 12 summit meeting between the North’s leader, Kim Jong-un, and President Trump in Singapore.

North Korea Willing to Talk About ‘Complete Denuclearization’

President Moon Jae-in of South Korea met with the North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un, on Saturday inside the Demilitarized Zone dividing the two nations.CreditSouth Korea Presidential Blue House, via Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

The leader of North Korea, Kim Jong-un, said during a surprise summit meeting that he is determined to meet President Trump and discuss a “complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula,” South Korean President Moon Jae-in said on Sunday.

Ireland Votes to End Abortion Ban in Rebuke to Catholic Church

The referendum repeals the Eighth Amendment of the Irish Constitution — a 1983 measure that banned abortion under almost all circumstances.CreditJeff J Mitchell/Getty Images

Ireland voted decisively to repeal one of the world’s more restrictive abortion bans, sweeping aside generations of conservative patriarchy and dealing the latest in a series of stinging rebukes to the Roman Catholic Church.

China Tries to Erase Taiwan, One Ally (and Website) at a Time

The changing of the guard at Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall in Taipei, Taiwan’s capital. China’s recent efforts to isolate Taiwan, diplomatically and otherwise, have been its most intense in decades, people on the self-governing island say.CreditIsaac Lawrence for The New York Times

Can China use its enormous economic and diplomatic leverage to simply erase Taiwan’s international identity?

Keeping Summit Hopes Alive Suggests Kim Jong-un May Need a Deal

South Korean news coverage on a screen in Seoul, the capital. Kim Jong-un, the North Korean leader, has promised his people a prosperous economy, and President Trump’s cancellation of their summit talks put that goal in jeopardy.CreditAhn Young-Joon/Associated Press

Ever since Kim Jong-un took over as the young, untested ruler of North Korea seven years ago, he has promised his country a future free from deprivation.

Understanding Ireland’s Vote on Whether to Keep Its Abortion Ban

Competing signs in Dublin on Friday.CreditClodagh Kilcoyne/Reuters

Voters in Ireland appear to have overturned the country’s abortion ban, according to two exit polls released Friday night.

North Korea Says It Will Give Trump ‘Time and Opportunity’ to Reconsider

Mr. Trump on Thursday.CreditDoug Mills/The New York Times

Hours after President Trump canceled a summit with its leader, Kim Jong-un, North Korea said on Friday that it was still willing to give Mr. Trump “time and opportunity” to reconsider his decision, saying that Mr. Kim had held great expectations for the meeting.

Trump Pulls Out of North Korea Summit Meeting With Kim Jong-un

President Trump on Thursday pulled out of a highly anticipated summit meeting with Kim Jong-un, accusing the North Koreans of bad faith and lamenting that “this missed opportunity is a truly sad moment in history.”

Swedish Law Now Recognizes Sex Without Consent as Rape

A demonstration against rape in Malmo, Sweden, last year.CreditJohan Nilsson/EPA, via Shutterstock

“Sex must be voluntary — if it is not, then it is illegal.”

This is the straightforward language of a new Swedish law set to change the way rape and other sexual crimes are prosecuted in the country.

Deep in the Desert, Iran Quietly Advances Missile Technology

An Iranian facility 25 miles from Shahrud, Iran, where missiles testing is believed to be taking place.CreditDavid Schmerler/Center for Nonproliferation Studies; Imagery via Planet Labs Inc.

When an explosion nearly razed Iran’s long-range missile research facility in 2011 — and killed the military scientist who ran it — many Western intelligence analysts viewed it as devastating to Tehran’s technological ambitions.

Italy’s New Government Will Challenge the E.U. at Its Heart

Giuseppe Conte was given the mandate to become prime minister of Italy by President Sergio Mattarella on Wednesday.CreditEttore Ferrari/EPA, via Shutterstock

As Italy’s new populist leaders prepare to form a government, European leaders are bracing for potential new confrontations over migration and some of the core principles of the common currency, the euro.

Venezuela Election Won by Maduro Amid Widespread Disillusionment

President Nicolás Maduro of Venezuela giving a victory speech in Caracas on Sunday night. He made scant mention of the low turnout, telling a cheering crowd, “And here we are again, victorious!”CreditMeridith Kohut for The New York Times

President Nicolás Maduro won a second term as president of Venezuela, a country in the midst of a historic economic collapse marked by soaring prices, widespread hunger, rampant crime, a failing health system and a large-scale exodus of its citizens.

Electoral officials declared Mr. Maduro the victor Sunday night, in a contest that critics said was heavily rigged in his favor.

Malaysia Seizes Najib’s ‘Rather Big’ Trove of Jewels and Handbags

The Malaysian police said they removed 284 boxes of handbags from residences belonging to former Prime Minister Najib Razak and his wife, Rosmah Mansor.CreditAriffin Jamar/The Straits Times, via Reuters

The police investigating Malaysia’s former prime minister, Najib Razak, said they seized more than 350 boxes and bags containing cash, jewelry and designer handbags early Friday during searches of three residences.

Intel finally made a 10nm processor

Mike Blake / Reuters

Around two years later and Intel is finally shipping its 10nm Cannon Lake CPUs. The chip itself is a bit of a bore, but given its legacy of delays and how long Intel has been talking about it, that they're finally being found in the wild is worth mentioning. The 8th-gen i3-8121U is a dual-core, four-thread CPU with a base clock of 2.2GHz and boost clock of 3.2GHz.

New Samsung ad is all about Apple’s iPhone throttling mess

Months after the controversy made headlines and angered consumers, Samsung is only now getting around to trolling Apple for throttling iPhones. A new commercial tells the familiar tale of many Samsung ads: an iPhone user gradually becomes so fed up with Apple’s phone that they ultimately make the switch to the latest Galaxy device, which in this case is the Galaxy S9.

Facebook adds Voice Posts, Stories archive, and new cloud storage features

Save photos and videos to Facebook Camera.

 Images: Facebook

Facebook, the app you used to use before Instagram, is making three updates that it says will help users better “create and save memories.” The changes will let you save your photos and videos directly to your account in the Facebook cloud, share voice messages with friends, and archive your favorite Facebook Stories. The new features announced today will begin rolling out in India, before hitting the rest of world “shortly thereafter.”

Google’s File on Me Was Huge. Here’s Why It Wasn’t as Creepy as My Facebook Data

Credit: Minh Uong/The New York Times

Google has far more data about us than Facebook. Yet unlike Mark Zuckerberg’s social networking empire, which has been under fire for improperly leaking user data, Google has sidestepped controversy.

You may wonder: Why is that? After all, we turn to Google for not only our internet searches but also for our emails, calendaring, maps, photo uploads, video streaming, mobile phones and web browsers. That’s far more pervasive than the baby photos and comments that we post on Facebook.

Rely on Filipinos, not China, senators tell Duterte

President Rodrigo Roa Duterte. TOTO LOZANO / PRESIDENTIAL PHOTO

President Rodrigo Duterte should depend on the Filipino people, not on China, for his survival in office, several senators said on Thursday.