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German Chancellor Olaf Scholz sought to strike a delicate balance during a trip to China this week, promoting business ties with his country's largest trading partner while criticizing rising exports to Europe and its support for Russia.Scholz met China's top leader, Xi Jinping, at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing on Tuesday, the culmination of a three-day visit with a delegation of German officials and business leaders. He was also due to meet Premier Li Qiang, as the two countries face strained relations over Russia's war in Ukraine and China's rivalry with the United States, Germany's most important ally.During his trip Scholz promoted the interests of German companies that are finding it increasingly difficult to compete in China. And he expressed growing...

Maybe it's the superior experience of sipping a fizzy, carbonated drink through a straw. Maybe it's the rise of the Stanley Cup, or the primacy of cold brew even in the winter months. Whatever it is, straws have evolved beyond single-use plastic straw man argument for personal environmental responsibility in much more.There are paper straws, glass straws, metal straws and durable, reusable plastic straws. Many come with silicone accessories, cleaning systems, and custom cases.Our endless enthusiasm for sipping food through narrow tubes has given rise to many innovations in the straw market. It also created a new anxiety: wrinkles on the lips.Traditional straws force drinkers to purse their lips around the opening in an expression that many believe, over time, creates wrinkles a...

Maurice El Medioni, an Algerian pianist who blended Jewish and Arab musical traditions into a singular style he called “Pianooriental,” died March 25 in Israel. He was 95 years old.His death, which occurred in a nursing home in Herzliya, on Israel's central coast, was confirmed by his manager, Yvonne Kahan.Mr. Medioni was the last representative of a once-vibrant Jewish-Arabic musical culture that flourished in North Africa before and after World War II and drew proudly from both legacies.In Oran, the Algerian port where he was born, he was sought after by Arabs and Jews to play at weddings and banquets, in the years between the war and 1961, when the threat of violence and Algeria's new independence from France pushed Mr. Medioni and thousands of other Jews flee.With its boundle...

A Chinese company targeted by members of Congress over potential ties to the Chinese government makes blockbuster drugs for the American market that have been hailed as advances in the treatment of cancers, obesity and debilitating illnesses like cystic fibrosis.WuXi AppTec is one of several companies that lawmakers have identified as potential threats to the security of individual Americans’ genetic information and U.S. intellectual property. A Senate committee approved a bill in March that aides say is intended to push U.S. companies away from doing business with them.But lawmakers discussing the bill in the Senate and the House have said almost nothing in hearings about the vast scope of work that WuXi does for the U.S. biotech and pharmaceutical industries — and patients. A New York Ti...

Hundreds of survivors of the 2017 Manchester Arena bombing have filed a lawsuit against Britain's government intelligence agency MI5, their lawyers said.Three main firms - Hudgell Solicitors, Slater & Gordon and Broudie Jackson Canter - said in a statement on Sunday that they represented more than 250 victims of the attack and the families of those killed, and lodged a collective complaint with the Investigative Powers Tribunal. , an independent judicial body that examines complaints against British intelligence.“As this is an ongoing legal matter, we are neither able to provide further details, nor comment further, at this stage,” the group's statement read.The lawsuit comes a year after an independent public inquiry found that MI5, the national security service, failed to act on...

Tesla plans to lay off more than 10% of its workforce in an effort to cut costs, Elon Musk, the automaker's chief executive, told employees on Monday. The job cuts, which amount to around 14,000 people, come as the company faces growing competition and declining sales.“As we prepare the company for the next phase of growth, it is extremely important to examine every aspect of the company to reduce costs and increase productivity,” Musk told employees in an email, a copy of which was reviewed from The New York Times.“There is nothing I hate more, but it has to be done,” he wrote.The email was previously reported by Electrek, an online news site, and Handelsblatt, a German business newspaper.The move is the latest sign that Tesla may not be as unstoppable as it once seemed. The company...

Oil markets shrugged off rising tensions in the Middle East after Iran launched a barrage of missiles and drones at Israel over the weekend. Prices of international benchmark Brent crude oil fell about 1% to $89.49 a barrel on Monday morning.So far there has been relief because the long-awaited attack caused little damage and had no effect on supplies. Oil prices had already risen substantially in the days before the assault, surpassing the symbolic level of $90 a barrel last week.There is a sense in the market that prices are higher than would be justified based on supply and demand fundamentals. In a note after Saturday's Iranian assault, Goldman Sachs estimated this risk premium at between $5 and $10 a barrel.Rystad Energy, a consultancy, calculates that, based on fundamentals, B...

The New York Times is interested in the organ transplant system.Do you have a tip about irregularities in the system? If so, we need your help.If you are a doctor, nurse, technician, or anyone else who works on organ transplants, we would like to hear from you. We are also eager to speak with residents working in these transplant programs. And, of course, we also want to hear from patients and their families.

After Iran's attack, Israel weighs its options.

The Biden administration will award up to $6.6 billion in grants to the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, the leading maker of the most advanced microchips, in an effort to bring some of the most cutting-edge semiconductor technologies to the United States.The funds, which come from the bipartisan CHIPS and Science Act, will help support the construction of TSMC's first major U.S. hub, in Phoenix. The company has already committed to building two plants at the site and will use some of the grant money to build a third plant in Phoenix, U.S. officials said Sunday. TSMC will also increase its total investments in the United States to more than $65 billion, up from $40 billion.Bringing the world's most sophisticated chip manufacturing to the United States has been a major ...