NEWS As the sun set on Rome and on his turbulent eight-year papacy, Pope Benedict XVI, a shy theologian who never seemed entirely at home in the limelight, was whisked by helicopter into retirement on Thursday. Rachel Donadio reports from Vatican City.
As President Obama and congressional Democrats have tried to force U.S. House Speaker John Boehner back to the table for talks to head off the automatic budget cuts set to take effect on Friday, Mr. Boehner has instead dug in deeper, refusing to even discuss an increase in revenue and insisting in his typical colorful language that it was time for the Senate to produce a measure aimed at the cuts. Ashley Parker reports from Washington.
Local councils in rebel-held towns are trying to set up courts, police forces and social services, amounting to Syria’s first experiments in self-government after years under the Assads. David Kirkpatrick reports from Tilalyan, Syria.
In South Africa, where violent crime, vigilante attacks and police brutality are daily fare, a cellphone video of a man being dragged behind a police truck has incited outrage for its brazen and outsize cruelty. Lydia Polgreen reports from Johannesburg.
A U.S. soldier, Pfc. Bradley Manning, on Thursday confessed in open court to providing vast archives of military and diplomatic files to the antisecrecy group WikiLeaks, saying that he had released the information to help enlighten the public about “what happens and why it happens” and to “spark a debate about foreign policy.” Charlie Savage reports from Fort Meade, Maryland.
Jean-Claude Duvalier, the former dictator known as Baby Doc, walked into a muggy, packed Haitian courtroom on Thursday, sat down next to shocked victims and for the first time answered questions in a court of law about his brutal 15-year reign. Isabeau Doucet reports from Port-au-Prince, and Randal C. Archibold from Mexico City.
The European Union took a big step Thursday toward putting strict limits on the bonuses paid to bankers, hoping to discourage the risk-taking behavior that set off the financial crisis. But the proposal to cap bankers’ bonuses must still be approved by a majority of the E.U.’s members. James Kanter reports from Brussels and David Jolly from Paris.
FASHION Alexander Wang’s debut collection for Balenciaga was a promising start. Suzy Menkes reviews from Paris.
ARTS Historians will soon release a report on the Vienna Philharmonic’s links to Nazi activity in the 1930s and ’40s. James R. Oestreich reports.
SPORTS Somluck Kamsing became a muay Thai star 20 years ago. Now, at age 40, he’s back at his home ring and trying to bring artistry back to the sport. Joseph Hincks reports from Bangkok.
Under the owner Roman Abramovich, no manager of Chelsea can expect to last long, but Rafael BenÃtez took exception at being labeled “interim” from day one. Rob Hughes reports from London.
IHT Rendezvous: IHT Quick Read: March 1
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