Li Na Gets Back to Australian Open Final, Halting Trend of Upsets

Li Na Gets Back to Australian Open Final, Halting Trend of Upsets
Security Check Firm Said to Have Defrauded U.S.
Watchdog Report Says N.S.A. Program Is Illegal and Should End
Bits Blog: Big Web Crash in China: Experts Suspect Great Firewall
State Dept. Learned in November of Photos Said to Show Torture in Syria
Bits Blog: Big Web Crash in China: Experts Suspect Great Firewall
Europe, Facing Economic Pain, May Ease Climate Rules
Testy Exchange Sets Tone as Peace Talks Open on Syria
Unrest Deepens in Ukraine as Protests Turn Deadly
Collections: A New World Around Every Corner
Paris Journal: At Resting Place for France’s ‘Great Men,’ Calls to Include More Women
Treasury Secretary Sends Warning on Debt Limit
Sold on Yankees, Masahiro Tanaka Gets $155 Million
Culture of Cheating Permeates Air Force Missile Corps
Video: Times Minute | Deadly Protests in Kiev
The Carpetbagger: Below the Line: Production Design on ‘12 Years a Slave’
Bunking With the Stars at Sundance
Scene City: A Giorgio Armani ‘One Night Only’ Party? Fashion Fans Can Expect a Long Night
On Baseball: Yanks on a Budget? Yeah, Right
Renowned Scholar In Egypt Charged With Espionage
Report Says China’s Elite Use Offshore Companies
Goodyear Reaches Severance Deal With French Union
Israeli Airstrike Kills 2 in Gaza
DealBook: Japan’s Leader Revels in Limelight at Davos
Chinese Activist’s Lawyers Call His Trial Unfair

Posted: 23 Jan 2014 12:24 AM PST

Li Na, who reached the Australian Open final in 2011 and 2013, beat the tournament darling Eugenie Bouchard in straight sets in the semifinals.

Security Check Firm Said to Have Defrauded U.S.

Posted: 22 Jan 2014 09:35 PM PST

The company that conducted a background investigation of Edward J. Snowden fraudulently signed off on hundreds of thousands of incomplete security checks in recent years, the Justice Department said.

Watchdog Report Says N.S.A. Program Is Illegal and Should End

Posted: 22 Jan 2014 09:11 PM PST

The 238-page report is likely to inject a significant new voice into the debate over surveillance, underscoring that the issue was not settled by a speech President Obama gave last week.

Bits Blog: Big Web Crash in China: Experts Suspect Great Firewall

Posted: 22 Jan 2014 08:32 PM PST

On Tuesday, most of China's 500 million Internet users were unable to load websites for up to eight hours, and experts say the country's own system of Internet control was to blame.

State Dept. Learned in November of Photos Said to Show Torture in Syria

Posted: 22 Jan 2014 08:24 PM PST

The photos seem unlikely to change the American policy of seeking a settlement to remove President Bashar al-Assad rather than military action.

Bits Blog: Big Web Crash in China: Experts Suspect Great Firewall

Posted: 22 Jan 2014 07:41 PM PST

On Tuesday, a large portion of Internet traffic in China was redirected to a small 1,700-square-foot house in Cheyenne, Wyo.

Europe, Facing Economic Pain, May Ease Climate Rules

Posted: 22 Jan 2014 05:59 PM PST

The European Union proposed to end binding national targets for renewable energy production, substituting a goal likely to be much harder to enforce.

Testy Exchange Sets Tone as Peace Talks Open on Syria

Posted: 22 Jan 2014 05:42 PM PST

Ban Ki-moon, the United Nations secretary general, said his injunction for a constructive dialogue "had been broken" on Wednesday following a lengthy diatribe by the Syrian foreign minister, Walid al-Moallem.

Unrest Deepens in Ukraine as Protests Turn Deadly

Posted: 22 Jan 2014 05:32 PM PST

President Viktor F. Yanukovich met with opposition leaders after two protesters were shot to death and a civil uprising edged Kiev, the capital, toward a state of emergency.

Collections: A New World Around Every Corner

Posted: 22 Jan 2014 05:01 PM PST

For a couple of dealers in antique maps, there is only one place that really counts.

Paris Journal: At Resting Place for France’s ‘Great Men,’ Calls to Include More Women

Posted: 22 Jan 2014 04:51 PM PST

Officials have been barraged with suggestions to add a woman to the greats buried in the Panthéon, where Marie Curie is the only woman interred on her own merit.

Treasury Secretary Sends Warning on Debt Limit

Posted: 22 Jan 2014 04:09 PM PST

The warning by Treasury Secretary Jacob J. Lew sets up another fiscal showdown, and earlier than congressional leaders had anticipated.

Sold on Yankees, Masahiro Tanaka Gets $155 Million

Posted: 22 Jan 2014 03:57 PM PST

About two weeks after a nearly three-hour meeting in Beverly Hills, Calif., the Yankees and Tanaka, a prized pitcher from Japan, agreed to a seven-year, $155 million contract.

Culture of Cheating Permeates Air Force Missile Corps

Posted: 22 Jan 2014 03:34 PM PST

Military officials voiced outrage at recent revelations that officers responsible for launching nuclear missiles cheated on tests, but cheating has been a fact of life among the officers for decades, crew members and instructors said.

Video: Times Minute | Deadly Protests in Kiev

Posted: 22 Jan 2014 02:25 PM PST

Also on the Minute, Mayor Bill de Blasio responds to snowplowing complaints, and a pair of unlikely celebrities.

The Carpetbagger: Below the Line: Production Design on ‘12 Years a Slave’

Posted: 22 Jan 2014 02:24 PM PST

The production designer Adam Stockhausen discusses his work on Steve McQueen's film, and how it is different (and similar) to working on Wes Anderson's movies.

Bunking With the Stars at Sundance

Posted: 22 Jan 2014 01:52 PM PST

With hotel beds scarce at Sundance, some turn to rented group houses. With predictable results.

Scene City: A Giorgio Armani ‘One Night Only’ Party? Fashion Fans Can Expect a Long Night

Posted: 22 Jan 2014 01:23 PM PST

Giorgio Armani's "One Night" party in Paris goes into overtime.

On Baseball: Yanks on a Budget? Yeah, Right

Posted: 22 Jan 2014 12:59 PM PST

The Yankees understand there are better and cheaper ways to win, but shelled out about $500 million this off-season after declines in attendance, television ratings and performance.

Renowned Scholar In Egypt Charged With Espionage

Posted: 22 Jan 2014 12:50 PM PST

Emad Shahin, a political scientist, was charged along with senior leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood with conspiring to undermine Egypt's security.

Report Says China’s Elite Use Offshore Companies

Posted: 22 Jan 2014 12:10 PM PST

Leaked documents show that thousands of wealthy, well-connected Chinese have set up companies in tax-haven countries to hold assets, an investigative reporting group says.

Goodyear Reaches Severance Deal With French Union

Posted: 22 Jan 2014 11:34 AM PST

Workers at a Goodyear tire plant agreed to accept severance pay that they said was three times as much as the company had initially offered.

Israeli Airstrike Kills 2 in Gaza

Posted: 22 Jan 2014 11:24 AM PST

One of the dead was a member of the armed wing of Islamic Jihad, which vowed to retaliate for the Israeli attack.

DealBook: Japan’s Leader Revels in Limelight at Davos

Posted: 22 Jan 2014 10:55 AM PST

Comparing himself to a drill bit ready to bore through Japan's entrenched systems, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe spoke of the successes that his economic changes have brought to the long-moribund Japanese economy.

Chinese Activist’s Lawyers Call His Trial Unfair

Posted: 22 Jan 2014 10:14 AM PST

The two lawyers defending Xu Zhiyong were silent in court, saying there was no point waging a legal fight against the prosecution.