U.S. Reaches Deal With Iran to Free Americans for Jailed Iranians and Funds Five American detainees will eventually be allowed to leave Iran in exchange for Tehran gaining access to $6 billion for humanitarian purposes and the United States freeing several jailed Iranians. http://web.archive.org/web/20230812130755/https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/10/us/politics/iran-us-prisoner-swap.html

Jacob Zuma Released From South Africa Prison After Brief Return The authorities said Mr. Zuma, the former president, was a beneficiary of a new program to relieve crowding. His political opponents called the timing suspicious. http://web.archive.org/web/20230812201415/https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/11/world/africa/jacob-zuma-released-south-africa.html

A Withering Assessment of a Multibillion-Dollar Real Estate Windfall Ontario’s auditor general found that the process to open up land in Toronto’s Greenbelt was influenced by and favored two developers. http://web.archive.org/web/20230813010255/https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/12/world/canada/ontario-auditor-greenbelt-developers.html

After Russian Attack in Ukraine, Broken Glass and Rattled Nerves in Romania A drone assault on a Danube River port sent shock waves — both the physical and the psychological kind — into villages just across the water that are in NATO territory. http://web.archive.org/web/20230813012443/https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/09/world/europe/russia-attack-romania-danube.html

A Japanese Candy Tasted Like Nothing. Why Do People Miss It? Flavorless (?) Candy, a convenience store product in Japan, spurred debate over what the “taste of nothingness” tastes like, if anything. http://web.archive.org/web/20230813015241/https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/11/world/asia/japan-flavorless-candy-lawsons.html

Ukraine Fires Top Military Enlistment Officers After Bribery Scandal President Volodymyr Zelensky said he was removing all 24 regional recruitment chiefs, as corrupt draft evasion schemes put the confidence of the public and Ukraine’s Western backers at risk. http://web.archive.org/web/20230812212006/https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/11/world/europe/ukraine-fires-recruitment-chiefs.html

Was That an Earthquake in Rome? No, It Was a Travis Scott Concert. The rap star’s show in Rome at the Circus Maximus, an archaeological site by day and concert venue by night, has raised concerns about the risks posed by crowds. http://web.archive.org/web/20230812023035/https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/09/world/europe/travis-scott-rome-earthquake.html

Ecuador Reels From Assassination of Fernando Villavicencio The killing of Fernando Villavicencio marks a grim turning point for a once-tranquil country now awash in violence fueled by drug gangs. http://web.archive.org/web/20230812202758/https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/10/world/americas/ecuador-fernando-villavicencio-assassination.html

Sweden Is Not Staying Neutral in Russia’s Information War The country has empowered a government agency to openly combat online disinformation coming from foreign adversaries, and especially the Kremlin. http://web.archive.org/web/20230812194738/https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/10/technology/sweden-combat-disinformation.html

98 Arrests in Child Abuse Inquiry That Followed Killing of F.B.I. Agents The investigation the two agents were part of grew into a larger inquiry that netted members of an online pedophile ring in the U.S. and Australia. http://web.archive.org/web/20230813013120/https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/09/world/australia/child-abuse-fbi-agents-killed.html

U.K. Evacuates Asylum Seekers From Barge Over Bacteria in Water Bacteria that can cause Legionnaires’ disease were found on the Bibby Stockholm, a barge that began housing migrants this week as part of a hard-line government policy. http://web.archive.org/web/20230812194657/https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/11/world/europe/uk-migrants-bibby-stockholm-bacteria.html

Israel’s Supreme Court Braces to Rule on Judicial Overhaul The justices will be scrutinized as never before at a hearing in September on the first part of a judicial overhaul that the government pushed through Parliament, angering many Israelis. http://web.archive.org/web/20230812012231/https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/10/world/middleeast/israel-judicial-overhaul-supreme-court.html

When art and money meet Encouragement, profit or exploitation? http://web.archive.org/web/20230812162025/https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/11/world/europe/interpreter-art-market.html

Dozens of Migrants Die After Boat Sinks in Strait of Sicily Survivors said that 41 people, shunted by traffickers onto a small makeshift iron vessel, had drowned after it capsized en route from Tunisia to Italy. http://web.archive.org/web/20230813040419/https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/09/world/europe/migrants-boat-sinks-italy-tunisia.html

Amid Niger Coup, Nigeria Grapples with Potential Military Intervention A coup in Niger could shape the future of a West African regional bloc and the presidency of Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the newly elected leader of Nigeria. http://web.archive.org/web/20230812034607/https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/09/world/africa/niger-coup-nigeria-military.html

Russia Is Making Copies of Iranian Drones to Attack Ukraine Called the Geran-2, the drones are a Russian-made version of the Shahed-136, which explodes on impact, researchers say. http://web.archive.org/web/20230812085309/https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/10/us/russia-iran-drones-ukraine.html

Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar Appointed Interim Prime Minister of Pakistan The announcement comes amid growing speculation that elections — once expected to happen this fall — will be delayed until 2024. http://web.archive.org/web/20230813002815/https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/12/world/asia/pakistan-prime-minister-elections.html

Six Colombians Arrested in Assassination of Ecuador Presidential Candidate The candidate, Fernando Villavicencio, had been vocal about ties between the state and organized crime, in a country roiled by violence tied to drug trafficking. http://web.archive.org/web/20230813012628/https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/09/world/americas/ecuador-presidential-candidate-killed.html

Climber Defends Finishing K2 Climb After Finding Dying Sherpa One of the climbers, Kristin Harila, said she continued her summit of the mountain after finding a porter who fell from a cliff and later died. http://web.archive.org/web/20230813010035/https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/12/world/asia/kristin-harila-himalayas-dying-climber.html

Yandex Founder Calls Russia’s War In Ukraine ‘Barbaric’ Arkady Volozh is only the second sanctioned Russian businessman to take an unequivocal public position against the invasion. http://web.archive.org/web/20230813012521/https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/10/world/europe/yandex-ukraine-war-arkady-volozh.html