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      Your Monday Briefing: A Lunar New Year Shooting

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      Also, New Zealand’s next leader and a Lunar New Year travel surge in China.A massacre in California took place hours after a joyous Lunar New Year celebration. Mark Abramson for The New York TimesA Lunar New Year rampagePolice in California are on the hunt for a gunman who killed 10 people in the city of Monterey Park in Los Angeles County on Saturday. The mass shooting happened hours after a celebration for the eve of the Lunar New Year, the most important holiday in many Asian countries. Thousands had attended the event. (Follow our live coverage.)The sheriff of Los Angeles County said yesterday that the authorities were looking for an Asian man between 30 and 50 years old. He opened fire at a dance hall, and witnesses said he seemed to shoot indiscriminately. At least 10 others were injured. The authorities offered no motive for the attack.The mass shooting is the latest tragedy to strike Asian Americans, who have faced rising violence throughout the pandemic. Monterey Park is about 65 percent Asian American, and has been called “the first suburban Chinatown.” It is perhaps best known as the first city in the continental U.S. where a majority of inhabitants have ethnically Asian ancestry.A pattern: This mass shooting is the deadliest in the U.S. since the Uvalde massacre last May, when a gunman killed 19 children and two teachers in Texas. There have been 33 mass shootings in the U.S. so far in 2023, according to a nonprofit research group.Chris Hipkins is set to become New Zealand’s new prime minister.Marty Melville/Agence France-Presse — Getty ImagesNew Zealand’s next leaderChris Hipkins, who oversaw the country’s unique pandemic approach, is set to become New Zealand’s new prime minister next month. Hipkins, 44, was a clear front-runner to become the leader of the Labour Party after Jacinda Ardern’s surprise resignation last week. As the health minister, and then the minister for New Zealand’s Covid-19 response, he was the face of the country’s stringent, but widely applauded, response to the pandemic.The incoming leader faces a number of major challenges. Voters are looking for respite from inflation, a continuing housing crisis and other entrenched social problems such as crime and child poverty. He could struggle to get beyond his association with pandemic policy, which tainted Ardern’s leadership.Up ahead: In a national election in October, Hipkins will face Christopher Luxon, the leader of the center-right National Party. Analysis: Leaders often resign in parliamentary systems. But Ardern’s departure stands out, my colleague Max Fisher writes: “It was particularly striking to see a leader voluntarily relinquish power at a moment when the world’s strongmen — and even some elected presidents — are clinging ferociously to theirs.”Lunar New Year is the most important holiday on China’s calendar.Gilles Sabrié for The New York TimesChina’s tense Lunar New YearFor many Chinese people traveling for Lunar New Year, the joy of finally seeing loved ones for the holiday without the risk of a lockdown is laced with anxiety. Many are traveling from cities to rural areas, where health care services are woefully underdeveloped. They fear spreading the virus to older relatives.They’re also on the move just weeks after the government lifted its “zero Covid” restrictions. One official said it was “the most challenging spring festival in recent years,” as outbreaks continue to spread. “It’s precisely because we’ve opened up that I feel so tense,” one villager said.But after years of muted celebrations, hundreds of millions of people are aching for reunions. In one sign of national relief, some people on social media are celebrating congestion at travel hubs as a sign of a return to normal — or at least to a new normal.Details: Before the pandemic, the travel rush was the world’s largest annual migration. This year, China expects traffic to nearly double compared with 2022, exceeding two billion passenger trips over the holiday period.Zero Covid fallout: Some Chinese entrepreneurs have left the country, my colleague Li Yuan writes in an analysis. They moved to Singapore, and took their wealth with them.THE LATEST NEWSAsia PacificPakistan’s blasphemy laws are often used to settle personal scores or persecute minorities.Akhtar Soomro/ReutersPakistan tightened its blasphemy laws. Insulting Islam was already punishable by death, but now those who insult people connected to the Prophet Muhammad can face prison time.Some cruise ships have been forced to idle at sea for days because they cannot pass New Zealand’s tight “biofoul” standards, which regulate foreign organisms on a boat’s exterior.One man in Western Australia made a 3,000-mile detour after record floods cut off a bridge.The War in UkraineNATO countries failed to agree on whether to send tanks to Ukraine last week. Germany’s hesitance is born of history. After its Nazi past, the country is committed to promoting “peace,” and it’s long relied on Russian energy.Despite the war, life in Ukraine proceeds almost normally at times. Then, in a flash, a Russian missile can shatter ordinary lives, as one did last week in Dnipro.Around the WorldAbortion rights protesters marched yesterday in Wisconsin.Jamie Kelter Davis for The New York TimesIn cities across the U.S., Americans marched in support of abortion rights on the 50th anniversary of Roe v. Wade.Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s leader, complied with a Supreme Court ruling and fired a top minister who had been convicted of tax fraud.Cholera is surging in Malawi, which nearly wiped out the disease in 2021.U.S. investigators seized more classified documents in a search of President Biden’s home in Delaware.Other Big StoriesJob cuts in the tech industry are proving shocking for younger workers, who have yet to experience a cyclical crash.King Charles III’s coronation is set for the first weekend in May.A 76-year-old woman in Florida fatally shot her terminally ill husband in a hospital because of a pact they’d made, the police said.A Morning Read“Emily embarrasses me,” one American expat in Paris said. Stéphanie Branchu/NetflixAmericans in Paris think “Emily in Paris” is giving them a bad name.“We try so hard not to be the ugly American,” one woman lamented. “Being an American expat in Paris is all about trying to seem vaguely French or invisibly American, and Emily is the opposite of that.”MUMBAI DISPATCHOne film, 27 years of screeningsSimran, a prostitute who goes by the name of the movie’s lead female character, regularly dances in the aisles to the movie’s songs.Atul Loke for The New York TimesIndia’s film industry puts about 1,500 stories on the screen annually. But every day, audiences in Mumbai line up for “Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge,” a movie still on the screen after 27 years.The film, known as “D.D.L.J.,” is a boy-meets-girl story set in India in the 1990s, a moment of unbridled optimism when the economy had just opened up. In many ways, the India of today is similar to the one reflected in the movie. The economy is still on the rise. Women are still seeking more freedom. Modernity and conservatism remain in tension.But some of the sense of unlimited possibility has waned since the movie’s 1995 premiere. As the early rewards of liberalization peaked and economic inequities deepened, aspirations of mobility have diminished. Some on Mumbai’s margins buy a ticket to escape into a rosier past, while others still seek inspiration.“I come every day,” said one regular, who goes by Simran, the name of the female lead. She is a prostitute in the waning red-light district nearby. “I like it every day.”PLAY, WATCH, EATWhat to CookLinda Xiao for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Sue Li. Prop Stylist: Megan Hedgpeth.These black sesame shortbread cookies are snappy, crumbly and not too sweet.What to Watch“After Love,” an intelligent portrait of grief, follows a British woman who discovers her husband has been leading a double life.The CosmosHere’s how to see a green-hued comet pass by Earth for the first time since the Stone Age.VowsFour wedding ceremonies. Three continents. One Indian-Ghanian-American marriage.Now Time to PlayPlay the Mini Crossword, and a clue: Hairstyling goop (three letters).Here are the Wordle and the Spelling Bee.You can find all our puzzles here.That’s it for today’s briefing. See you next time. — AmeliaP.S.: A.G. Sulzberger, The Times’s publisher, discussed the problem of disinformation at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.Here’s Friday’s edition of “The Daily,” on migrants trying to come to the U.S.We’d like your feedback! Please email thoughts and suggestions to briefing@nytimes.com. More

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      Your Thursday Briefing: A Deadly Helicopter Crash in Ukraine

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      Also, why economists are alarmed about China’s demographic crisis.“I started to yell the name of my daughter, too, because I didn’t know where she was,” said one mother, whose daughter survived the crash.Ed Ram/Getty ImagesUkrainian minister dies in a crashUkraine’s minister of internal affairs, Denys Monastyrsky, was one of at least 14 people who died yesterday in a helicopter crash. He is the highest-ranking Ukrainian official to die since Russia invaded last year. An investigation is underway, but there were no initial signs that the aircraft had been shot down.The helicopter crash also damaged a kindergarten in a suburb of Kyiv. It happened at 8:20 a.m., a time when parents typically drop their children off at the school. There were conflicting death tolls, but officials said that a child had been killed.Monastyrsky’s death deals a blow to a ministry that has played a critical role in the war effort: He oversaw police and emergency services and handled rescue efforts after missile strikes. His top deputy was also killed, as well as other pivotal figures in Ukraine’s wartime leadership.Davos: In a video address to the World Economic Forum in Switzerland, Volodymyr Zelensky, the Ukrainian president, called for a moment of silence to remember the victims, then made a passionate speech.“Tragedies are outpacing life. The tyranny is outpacing democracy,” Zelensky said. “The time the free world uses to think is used by the terrorist state to kill.”Crimea: The U.S. has long refused to give Ukraine the weapons it needs to target Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014. But that stance is starting to soften, despite the risk of escalation. Kyiv is looking to strike Russia’s land bridge, a critical supply route that connects Crimea to Russia through the occupied cities of Melitopol and Mariupol.The median age in China has already surpassed that of the U.S. and could rise above 50 by 2050. Gilles Sabrie for The New York TimesChina’s self-inflicted crisisEconomists are alarmed by China’s recent news that deaths outnumbered births last year for the first time in decades, a situation arriving sooner and more sharply than many experts had forecast.China’s declining population threatens its position as the most populous country. Its shrinking work force could also hobble the global economy and erode its strength in coming decades. And the government’s efforts to reverse or slow the trend may be too little, and too late.The State of the WarWestern Military Aid: Kyiv is redoubling its pleas to allies for more advanced weapons ahead of an expected new Russian offensive. The Netherlands said that it was considering sending a Patriot missile system, and the Pentagon is tapping into a vast stockpile of American ammunition in Israel to help meet Ukraine’s need for artillery shells.Dnipro: A Russian strike on an apartment complex in the central Ukrainian city was one of the deadliest for civilians away from the front line since the war began. The attack prompted renewed calls for Moscow to be charged with war crimes.Soledar: The Russian military and the Wagner Group, a private mercenary group, contradicted each other publicly about who should get credit for capturing the eastern town. Ukraine’s military, meanwhile, has rejected Russia’s claim of victory, saying its troops are still fighting there.A shortage of factory employees in China — driven by a more educated workforce and a shrinking number of young people — could raise costs for consumers outside China, potentially exacerbating inflation in countries that rely heavily on imported Chinese products. The shrinking population could also mean a decline in spending by Chinese consumers, which could hurt global businesses that rely on China.Within China, a plunging birthrate poses a major threat to its embattled real estate sector, which accounts for roughly a quarter of its economic output. And a shrinking work force may struggle to support China’s aging population. A 2019 report predicted that the country’s main pension fund, which many older Chinese residents rely on for income, would run out of money by 2035.Self-inflicted crisis: China sped up its demographic struggles with its one-child policy, which was in effect from 1980 until 2016. Now, the government’s recent attempts to induce a baby boom have failed, as the high cost of housing and education deter potential parents.“Hope,” Maria Ressa said yesterday, after the verdict. “That is what it provides.”Eloisa Lopez/ReutersA victory for Maria RessaIn a rare legal win, Maria Ressa, the Philippine journalist and Nobel laureate, was acquitted of tax evasion yesterday.Ressa is an outspoken critic of both Rodrigo Duterte, the former president, and current President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. Her uphill battle to keep publishing her news site, Rappler, has become emblematic of the Philippines’ declining press freedoms.This recent case was the first high-profile test of whether her legal troubles would continue under Marcos; other cases are pending. The new president has benefited from online disinformation and tried to play down the brutality of his father’s dictatorship decades ago, but has declined to attack the country’s mainstream media, as Duterte did.Background: Philippine authorities began hounding Ressa under Duterte. Rappler aggressively covered his bloody campaign against drugs and drug traffickers, which helped Ressa win the Nobel Peace Prize in 2021.THE LATEST NEWSAsia PacificRafael Nadal, who has won 22 Grand Slams, lost in the second round.Martin Keep/Agence France-Presse — Getty ImagesRafael Nadal, the top seed, is out of the Australian Open. He lost yesterday after he injured his hip.After speculation that it would pivot, Bloomberg reports that the Bank of Japan maintained its policy of aggressive sovereign bond purchases and negative interest rates. DealBook has an explainer.A Qantas flight traveling from New Zealand to Australia landed safely yesterday after a midflight engine failure, The Guardian reports.Around the WorldAryeh Deri, left, is a close ally of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The court ruled that Deri should be removed from his posts.Pool photo by Ronen ZvulunIsrael’s Supreme Court blocked the ministerial appointment of a politician who was convicted of tax fraud, as a fight over the judiciary intensifies.The U.S. could soon default on its debt. That would be an outright catastrophe, analysts say.Nemat Shafik, who runs the London School of Economics, will be the first woman to lead Columbia University.Microsoft plans to lay off 10,000 people, its largest cut in roughly eight years.A Morning ReadMeera Shankar, center, rents rooms to women, with no curfew or visiting rules.Saumya Khandelwal for The New York TimesIf women were represented in India’s formal work force at the same rate as men, some estimates suggest, the country’s economy could expand by an additional 60 percent by 2025.But housing is a major obstacle. Many single women pay more, for a narrower selection of apartments, and brokers often make them promise to never bring men over, drink or live alone.Lives lived: Sister André, the world’s oldest known person, died at 118. The French nun lived through two world wars, survived Covid and was said to enjoy a daily dose of wine and chocolate.ARTS AND IDEASUrban Hawker is unlike any other food court in Midtown Manhattan.Rachel Vanni for The New York TimesSingapore’s eats, in New YorkA vivid bazaar of Singaporean dishes has opened in the heart of Midtown Manhattan, adapted from a grand concept by Anthony Bourdain. Urban Hawker, the food hall, puts cooks front and center: Most of the 17 vendors relocated from Asia to New York to work there.One standout is Hainanese chicken rice, perhaps the country’s most recognized dish. Pete Wells, our New York restaurant critic, says it’s “fleshier, softer, more voluptuous than you’d think boiled poultry could be.” Other stalls prepare dishes that started out somewhere else but have adapted to or been adopted by Singaporeans, like biryanis and Malaysian coconut stew.“You get an overview of Singaporean food unlike any you’ll find in a restaurant,” Pete writes, adding, “The stalls preserve and spotlight the separate origins of the dishes.”Check out Pete’s review, which has more mouthwatering photos than we can fit in the newsletter. And here is a recipe for Hainanese chicken with rice.PLAY, WATCH, EATWhat to CookLinda Xiao for The New York TimesWonton soup comes together in 10 minutes.What to ReadA new, unabridged volume of Franz Kafka’s diaries, which he ordered a friend to burn, offers revelation upon revelation.What to Watch“Beautiful Beings” is a brutal Icelandic drama about boyhood and bullying.ExerciseHere are tips to become a morning exercise person.Now Time to PlayPlay the Mini Crossword, and a clue: Superstitiously curse (four letters).Here are the Wordle and the Spelling Bee.You can find all our puzzles here.That’s it for today’s briefing. See you next time. — AmeliaP.S. Wordle’s editor, Tracy Bennett, discussed “passionate” fans and how she picks words on The Today Show.“The Daily” looks at facial recognition software.We’d like your feedback! Please email thoughts and suggestions to briefing@nytimes.com. More

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      Tawang Is the India-China Battleground for Tibetan Buddhism

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      The Fair Observer website uses digital cookies so it can collect statistics on how many visitors come to the site, what content is viewed and for how long, and the general location of the computer network of the visitor. These statistics are collected and processed using the Google Analytics service. Fair Observer uses these aggregate statistics from website visits to help improve the content of the website and to provide regular reports to our current and future donors and funding organizations. The type of digital cookie information collected during your visit and any derived data cannot be used or combined with other information to personally identify you. Fair Observer does not use personal data collected from its website for advertising purposes or to market to you.As a convenience to you, Fair Observer provides buttons that link to popular social media sites, called social sharing buttons, to help you share Fair Observer content and your comments and opinions about it on these social media sites. These social sharing buttons are provided by and are part of these social media sites. They may collect and use personal data as described in their respective policies. Fair Observer does not receive personal data from your use of these social sharing buttons. It is not necessary that you use these buttons to read Fair Observer content or to share on social media. More

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      The Importance of Being Asian and Earnest about It

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      The Fair Observer website uses digital cookies so it can collect statistics on how many visitors come to the site, what content is viewed and for how long, and the general location of the computer network of the visitor. These statistics are collected and processed using the Google Analytics service. Fair Observer uses these aggregate statistics from website visits to help improve the content of the website and to provide regular reports to our current and future donors and funding organizations. The type of digital cookie information collected during your visit and any derived data cannot be used or combined with other information to personally identify you. Fair Observer does not use personal data collected from its website for advertising purposes or to market to you.As a convenience to you, Fair Observer provides buttons that link to popular social media sites, called social sharing buttons, to help you share Fair Observer content and your comments and opinions about it on these social media sites. These social sharing buttons are provided by and are part of these social media sites. They may collect and use personal data as described in their respective policies. Fair Observer does not receive personal data from your use of these social sharing buttons. It is not necessary that you use these buttons to read Fair Observer content or to share on social media. More

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      Why Is Rahul Gandhi Walking 2,000 Miles Across India?

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      Rahul Gandhi is hoping to pull his once-mighty party out of the political wilderness. The future of India as a multiparty democracy may be on the line.On the 76th day of his long march north through the entire length of India, Rahul Gandhi, scion of a once-mighty political dynasty, walked into a textile-making town in the middle of this vast country, his face and hair covered in dust.Gone were the luxury trappings that his adversaries in India’s Hindu nationalist governing party had used to caricature him as entitled and aloof. Now, Mr. Gandhi was speaking of blistered feet and the struggle of the common man. He was shaking hands with children, hugging older men and women who caressed his hair and kissed his forehead, on what he hoped was a 2,000-mile journey out of the political wilderness for his once-dominant Congress party.“Every democratic institution was shut for us by the government: Parliament, media, elections,” Mr. Gandhi, 52, told supporters late last month in Burhanpur, in the state of Madhya Pradesh. “There was no other way but to hit the streets to listen and connect with people.”With a national election less than 16 months away, Mr. Gandhi’s march could determine whether India’s fractured political opposition can do anything to halt the era-defining ambitions of the governing Bharatiya Janata Party, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.The future of India as a multiparty democracy hangs in the balance. Mr. Modi, one of the most powerful leaders in India’s history, has remade its secular political foundation to privilege the Hindu majority and sideline Muslims and other minorities.His imprint is so deep, and his successes so complete, that his lieutenants say the B.J.P. will remain in control of the country for decades to come.As the party has tightened its grip across the country and its institutions, opposition politicians complain that they have been pushed out of platforms where they can reach the masses in the cycle of democratic politics.Parliament, once a thriving debate chamber, is now largely confined to ministerial speeches, with the governing party avoiding debates on key policy issues. The B.J.P., through a mix of pressure and the threat of withholding government advertising money, has largely cowed the traditional media.Prime Minister Narendra Modi has remade India’s secular political foundation to privilege the Hindu majority and sideline Muslims and other minorities.Ajit Solanki/Associated PressAfter Mr. Gandhi reached Burhanpur, where a large crowd greeted him, with some watching from rooftops and others from the lean branches of trees, there was barely a mention of it on nightly television programs.That Mr. Gandhi has found it necessary to walk the length of India, fighting to steal a ray of the spotlight and project a new profile, is the culmination of a once-unimaginable reversal of fortune for his family and party. More

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      Can India’s Ailing Agricultural Procurement Find a New Model?

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      The Fair Observer website uses digital cookies so it can collect statistics on how many visitors come to the site, what content is viewed and for how long, and the general location of the computer network of the visitor. These statistics are collected and processed using the Google Analytics service. Fair Observer uses these aggregate statistics from website visits to help improve the content of the website and to provide regular reports to our current and future donors and funding organizations. The type of digital cookie information collected during your visit and any derived data cannot be used or combined with other information to personally identify you. Fair Observer does not use personal data collected from its website for advertising purposes or to market to you.As a convenience to you, Fair Observer provides buttons that link to popular social media sites, called social sharing buttons, to help you share Fair Observer content and your comments and opinions about it on these social media sites. These social sharing buttons are provided by and are part of these social media sites. They may collect and use personal data as described in their respective policies. Fair Observer does not receive personal data from your use of these social sharing buttons. It is not necessary that you use these buttons to read Fair Observer content or to share on social media. More

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      Your Thursday Briefing: Bombs Kill a Teenager in Jerusalem

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      Plus: Blackouts in Ukraine, Japan’s soccer triumph and an A.I. Thanksgiving menu.Aryeh Schupak, a 15-year-old yeshiva student, was killed in the bombings.Mahmoud Illean/Associated PressBombs explode in JerusalemTwo blasts in Jerusalem yesterday killed a 15-year-old and wounded at least 18 other people. They were the first bomb attacks on Israeli civilians since 2016.The bombs, which detonated at bus stops during the morning rush hour, prompted calls by far-right leaders for the swift formation of a new government that would be tougher on terrorism. Benjamin Netanyahu, who is likely to become the prime minister again, is trying to form Israel’s most right-wing government ever.The blasts were just the latest episode in the deadliest wave of violence to sweep Israel and the occupied West Bank since 2015.Overnight, a Palestinian teenager died during a West Bank firefight between Israeli soldiers and Palestinian militants. This week, the body of an abducted Israeli teenager was being held. He was taken by Palestinian gunmen from a West Bank intensive care unit; his family insisted that he was alive at the time of the kidnapping and later died. And last week, a Palestinian killed three Israelis at a settlement.Comparison: The bombs were smaller and less sophisticated than those used in attacks that killed hundreds of Israelis during a Palestinian uprising two decades ago. But experts said they departed from recent “lone wolf” episodes.Context: This wave of violence began when Arab assailants killed 19 people in five attacks this spring. The Israeli Army then intensified its raids on West Bank militants, which have left more than 100 Palestinians dead and prompted another surge of Palestinian militancy.West Bank: Rising violence by settlers against Palestinians, coupled with Israeli efforts to evict more than 1,000 Palestinians from their homes, has also compounded Palestinian anger.Ukraine said that Russia launched about 70 cruise missiles. Brendan Hoffman for The New York TimesPower outages blanket UkraineMuch of Ukraine is without electricity after a new wave of Russian strikes targeted critical infrastructure. At least 10 people were killed, including a newborn who died after a Russian rocket hit a maternity ward in the south.The barrage of Russian missiles appeared to be one of the most damaging attacks in weeks, and left Kyiv and other cities without power. Power was also cut in Moldova, whose Soviet-era electricity system is entwined with Ukraine’s system. Three Ukrainian nuclear power plants were forced to shut down, the authorities said.The State of the WarDnipro River: A volunteer Ukrainian special forces team has been conducting secret raids under the cover of darkness traveling across the strategic waterway, which has become the dividing line of the southern front.Evacuation Plans: The Ukrainian government is preparing to help evacuate residents from the southern cities of Kherson and Mykolaiv, where shattered infrastructure has raised fears of a humanitarian crisis when winter sets in.A Race to Rebuild: Ukrainian attempts to stabilize some of the country’s battered electricity supply and make a dent in the seemingly endless task of demining swaths of the country offered a glimpse into the Herculean effort that lies ahead off the battlefield.Visual Investigation: Videos circulating on social media have ignited a debate over whether Ukrainian forces committed war crimes or acted in self-defense as they tried to capture a group of Russian soldiers who were then killed. Here’s what we know.What’s next: Volodymyr Zelensky, Ukraine’s president, said the grid was suffering “colossal” damage. He announced a national drive to prepare thousands of makeshift centers to provide basic services in the event of prolonged blackouts, called “Points of Invincibility.”A hazy day in Delhi this month.Money Sharma/Agence France-Presse — Getty ImagesDelhi’s stubbornly toxic airA decade ago, the capitals of Asia’s two largest countries had some of the dirtiest skies in the world.Beijing pressed ahead with a $100 billion effort to clean its air after China’s government declared war against pollution. Now, the city has 100 more days of clear skies each year.But New Delhi still faces acrid, toxic air, as pollution from millions of vehicles and open fires used for heating and cooking fill the skies. This fall, the haze prompted officials to halt truck traffic, close schools and push for remote work.Context: India — a huge, messy democracy — has lacked both political resolve and public pressure, and is less wealthy than China. Indian politicians use the crisis to attack each other instead of trying to find solutions.Voters: Air pollution has been known to kill more Indians than any other risk factor. But voters ranked air quality as their 17th most urgent concern in a 2019 survey, well behind jobs, health care and infrastructure.THE LATEST NEWSU.S. NewsThere was another mass shooting: A Walmart manager killed six people at a store in Virginia yesterday. The gunman was also found dead.In updates from the mass shooting in Colorado, lawyers for the person accused of killing five people at an L.G.B.T.Q. club said their client identifies as nonbinary.Officials said they anticipated a reduced Covid threat in the coming winter months, but urged people to get updated booster shots.The World CupJapan’s goalkeeper, Shuichi Gonda, makes a save.Petr Josek/Associated PressJapan beat Germany, 2-1, in another defeat of a top team. Before the game, Germany’s players protested FIFA’s decision to stop players from wearing rainbow-colored armbands.Spain defeated Costa Rica, 7-0. Croatia tied with Morocco, 0-0.As we send out this newsletter, Belgium is leading Canada in the second half: 1-0. Here are updates.It’s $200 a night to stay in what is essentially a shipping container.“We got here six beers ago.” After Qatar banned the sale of beer in stadiums, British fans found a solution.Around the WorldAn ambulance drives into a police station in Iran.Iran is using ambulances to infiltrate demonstrations and detain protesters.Rescue workers in Indonesia are still searching for survivors of the earthquake on Monday. The death toll rose to 271.Thieves stole nearly 500 ancient gold coins, which could be worth $1.7 million, from a German museum.Science TimesA farm sanctuary is investigating the inner lives of cows, pigs and chickens — but only if the animals volunteer to be studied.Diagnoses of anxiety disorders are rising among children. Some young patients are trying exposure therapy, which makes them face the situations that cause them distress.Comets, which normally fly in from the far reaches of space, appear to be misplaced in the asteroid belt. Why?A Morning ReadLaundrymen take photos for the poster.Rishi ChandnaOur colleagues on the Opinion desk publish short documentaries. I loved this 20-minute video on the way laundrymen in Mumbai, India, use posters, more commonly deployed by political candidates, to advertise their businesses.The film, by Rishi Chandna, is a wry exploration of the ways religion, politics and science intersect in a ubiquitous poster culture. “No matter how much of a big shot you are, or how much clout you wield, without a poster, you don’t exist,” one man said.Lives lived: Hebe de Bonafini became a human rights campaigner when her two sons were arrested and disappeared under Argentina’s military dictatorship. She died at 93.HOLIDAY SPOTLIGHT“Show me a Thanksgiving menu made for me,” Priya Krishna told the A.I.Timothy O’Connell for The New York TimesHappy Thanksgiving from … A.I.?Artificial intelligence can create art, play “Jeopardy!” and make scientific breakthroughs. But how good is it in the kitchen? Priya Krishna, a Times food reporter, gave an A.I. system the ultimate challenge: a Thanksgiving menu.Priya used a neural network called GPT-3. She fed it information about her family background, her favorite ingredients and flavors that she likes.It was … interesting. GPT-3 produced recipes both plausible and intriguing: pumpkin spice chaat, naan stuffing and roasted turkey with a soy-ginger glaze. But the turkey was dry and flavorless (the recipe called for one garlic clove, no butter or oil). And the naan stuffing, Priya writes, “tasted like a chana masala and a fruitcake that had gotten into a bar fight.”“This technology is not a replacement for people, at least so far,” Priya writes. “It can nudge cooks in one direction or another. But it is still humanity — with its intuition, storytelling and warmth — that drives a good recipe.”For more: In a video, Priya cooks the recipes and asks Times cooking columnists to judge.PLAY, WATCH, EATWhat to CookMelina Hammer for The New York TimesCelebrating Thanksgiving? Here are recipes for turkey, gravy, stuffing, green beans and a pumpkin pie, all of which you can make the day you plan to eat them.What to ReadBrowse our annual list of 100 notable books.What to WatchIn “Leonor Will Never Die,” a comatose genre director in the Philippines becomes trapped in one of her own screenplays.HealthIs it safe to whiten your teeth? And which methods work?EmojisAs tech workers get laid off, they’re saluting in solidarity.Now Time to PlayPlay the Mini Crossword, and a clue: In good spirits (five letters).Here are the Wordle and the Spelling Bee.You can find all our puzzles here.That’s it for today’s briefing. See you tomorrow. — AmeliaP.S. The Athletic plans to double its coverage of women’s sports through a partnership with Google.“The Daily” is about cooking the perfect turkey. And “Still Processing” discusses Beyoncé’s latest album.Email us at briefing@nytimes.com. I read every note. More

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      Qatar’s World Cup of woe: inside the 18 November Guardian Weekly

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      Qatar’s World Cup of woe: inside the 18 November Guardian WeeklyGeopolitical football. Plus: a world beyond 8 billion people
      Get the Guardian Weekly magazine delivered to your home address Ordinarily a football World Cup would be a moment for celebration, a time to savour sport’s power to unite nations and a glorious distraction from the problems of the day. Not this time: the 2022 tournament has been mired in controversy since it was awarded to Qatar 12 years ago. The small but ultra-wealthy Middle Eastern state thought that hosting the world’s most-watched sporting event would showcase it as a major player on the global stage. But instead Qatar has come in for severe criticism on a number of fronts, in particular for its treatment of migrant workers, anti LGBTQ+ laws, and restrictions on freedom of speech.“A deflated football in the desert seemed like a perfect metaphor to capture the controversy,” says illustrator Barry Downard of his cover artwork for this week’s Guardian Weekly magazine.In a special report, Patrick Wintour asks whether Qatar has lost at geopolitical football before the action has even begun. The cartoonist David Squires brilliantly brings to life the plight of a migrant worker turned whistleblower and, in the final reckoning, sports writer Jonathan Liew tries to salvage some actual football from the diplomatic wreckage.On that theme, further back in the features section there’s a reminder of what the game should be about as we meet some of the young people who will be cheering on their teams from afar.Another dubious global milestone was reached this week as the world’s population passed 8 billion, according to UN estimates. In a the first of a series of dispatches from the frontline of population growth, Hannah Ellis-Petersen reports from India, which next year will overtake China as the planet’s most populous nation, on what the shift means for the world.The US midterm elections saw the Democrats fare better than expected, retaining control of the Senate despite looking likely to lose control of the House by a small margin to the Republicans. The more consequential outcome may be for Donald Trump: Chris McGreal and David Smith ask if the former president’s grip on the GOP is weakening, and if his rival Ron DeSantis’s time may be coming.If your settlement is at existential risk from climate change, is the answer to move it? Guardian Australia’s Pacific editor Kate Lyons visits Fiji’s vulnerable Pacific islands, where communities have started to do just that – discovering that it is not nearly as simple as it sounds.Get the Guardian Weekly magazine delivered to your home addressTopicsQatarInside Guardian WeeklyWorld CupWorld Cup 2022Middle East and north AfricaPopulationIndiaChinaReuse this content More