Brown Warns Afghan Leader on Corruption

By JOHN F. BURNS and ALAN COWELL

The prime minister said that President Hamid Karzai would lose British support if he failed to stem corruption.

Man Admits to Murder of Lawyer in Moscow

By MICHAEL SCHWIRTZ

The man suspected of murdering a prominent human rights lawyer and a journalist last January said he committed the crime out of “personal enmity.”

Spanish Captives in Somali Waters Plead for Help

By ANDRÉS CALA

Crew members of a Spanish fishing ship seized by Somali pirates over a month ago pleaded with their relatives to press the Spanish government to do more to gain their release.

John Varley, chief executive of Barclays, defended his pay and bonus, and those of his peers, by saying “profit is not satanic.”

British Bankers Defend Their Pay and Bonuses

By JULIA WERDIGIER

Regulators, central bankers and citizens are criticizing bankers for continuing large compensation packages while receiving government funds.

The Avenue des Champs-Élysées is the backbone of Paris.

Seeing Paris in 5 Boroughs of New York

By RALPH BLUMENTHAL

In the 100-year-old Grand Concourse, the Bronx has its own Champs-Élysées. But what about the other boroughs?

Post a Comment on City Room

British Airways to Cut Another 1,200 Jobs

By NICOLA CLARK

The total number of planned staff reductions rises to nearly 5,000 as the British carrier wrestles with what its chief executive called the toughest year in the history of aviation.

Recent Features on Europe

Frank Siebler, right, a design engineer, with Matthias Stege, a fellow employee at Signalion, a telecommunications company in Dresden. Mr. Siebler is one of a growing number of professionals who are returning home to Dresden.

Brain Drain in Reverse Behind Fallen Berlin Wall

By CARTER DOUGHERTY

Two decades after the Berlin Wall came down, those who once left Dresden to seek work in western Germany are returning.

Chancellor Angela Merkel last month at a celebration on German Unification Day. On Thursday, she reflected on changes since the Berlin Wall fell.

To Merkel, a Night in ’89 Was Just the First Step on a Long Path for 2 Germanys

By NICHOLAS KULISH

As the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall approaches, Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany discussed the event and the long path Germans have taken since then to bring the two sides closer together.

Geneva Journal

In a Geneva supermarket, bottles of beer carried a portrait of Calvin. Commemorative wines have also been produced.

A City of Mixed Emotions Observes Calvin’s 500th

By JOHN TAGLIABUE

In the Swiss city that is associated with the religious reformer John Calvin, some are seeking to update — even soften — his image on the anniversary of his birth.

Armando Spataro, a prosecutor shown in Milan on Wednesday, achieved the first convictions involving the American practice of rendition, a significant symbolic victory.

Italy Convicts 23 Americans for C.I.A. Renditions

By RACHEL DONADIO

The Americans were tried in absentia for the seizure of a Muslim cleric from the streets of Milan over six years ago.

Times Topics: Extraordinary Rendition

A nurse checked on Sergey A. Yurovsky, 36, left, after he was brought in by police officers to a drunk tank in Mytishchi, a suburb outside Moscow.

Russia Tries, Once Again, to Rein in Vodka Habit

By CLIFFORD J. LEVY

President Dmitri A. Medvedev wants Russia to deal with its ruinous penchant for the bottle.

Driven to Distraction

Jennifer Ford visiting the grave of her daughter Victoria McBryde, who was killed when a woman who had just received a text message crashed into her car.

When Texting Kills, Britain Offers Path to Prison

By ELISABETH ROSENTHAL

Britain has become aggressive in cracking down on the use of cellphones while driving.

More News

Remembering the Berlin Wall

Where Were You in 1989?

Monday, Nov. 9, is the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. The Times wants to publish your photographs documenting that day.

Briefings From Europe

Spain Dismisses Demand to Release 2 Somali Pirates

Abroad

A section of Rosslyn Chapel in Scotland, captured in minute detail with laser scanners.

Scots Aim Lasers at Landmarks

By MICHAEL KIMMELMAN

In an era of computer animation, making laser scans of old monuments may not sound special, but a Scottish team has achieved unprecedented levels of sophistication.

Slide Show

In the Mediterranean, Killer Tsunamis From an Ancient Eruption

By WILLIAM J. BROAD

Scientists said waves produced when the Thera volcano blew more than 3,000 years ago inundated the area that is now Israel and probably other coastal sites.

From the Book Review

'The Museum of Innocence'

By ORHAN PAMUK
Reviewed by MAUREEN HOWARD

The city of Istanbul is on exhibit in this novel of first love painfully sustained over a lifetime.

Profile of Orhan Pamuk

'Enemies of the People'

By KATI MARTON
Reviewed by ALAN FURST

Kati Marton read her parents’ secret police files to research this powerful narrative of their imprisonment in Stalinist Hungary.

Excerpt

Letters From

Mixed Signals From West About Trusting Russia

By JOHN VINOCUR

On the one hand, a report said NATO allies refused to tell the Russians of their strategy about a secret Iranian nuclear site. But the Russian Navy indicated France was set to sell it an advanced assault ship.