Author: Elon Mark

Around sunset during the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, something remarkable happens in the Bangladeshi capital, Dhaka. The streets in this city of more than 10 million people, known for its hectic bustle and choking traffic, turn quiet and empty.But for political parties, which know well the persuasive powers of full bellies, sunset is their high time.Iftar parties, where the faithful break their fast, were closely watched through the end of Ramadan last week for what direction Bangladesh could take after the overthrow of its authoritarian leader last summer.Who was attending which party? Who was seated next to whom? In…

The question posed to Wen Han, founder of the electric truck maker Windrose Technology, was a simple one: Is it accurate to call the firm a Chinese company?After some rambling, Mr. Han settled on an answer: “I would describe it as Chinese origin.”There’s a reason it felt like a trick question: Windrose’s investors include an Australian property group, U.S. venture capital financiers and Chinese state-owned funds. It is now based in Belgium. But at its heart, Windrose packs China’s significant advantages in making electric vehicles.Mr. Han wants to use that edge to sell long-haul trucks globally. He is intent on…

Second, it wasn’t clear that the DOGE affiliates had the authority to either access these systems or do what they purportedly wanted to. An executive order signed by president Donald Trump gives the US DOGE Service broad authority to access unclassified systems. But while Holmes is detailed to DOI from USDS, Hassen and Trampe are DOI employees and are not, according to one source with knowledge, even part of a formal DOGE team. That means they have no authority or privileges past those of a normal DOI employee. Even Holmes, the acting chief HR officer, does not obviously have the…

The Israeli military issued a sweeping evacuation order for the southern Gaza Strip on Monday, signaling that it could relaunch intensive assaults in the area.The order — which came during the Eid al-Fitr holiday — heralded renewed hardship for Palestinians in the southernmost city of Rafah, which has been battered by the war between Israel and Hamas, and has endured periods of being overwhelmed with displaced people and depopulated by evacuation orders. The war restarted two weeks ago after a monthslong cease-fire collapsed.In the past, the Israeli military has ordered evacuations ahead of both aerial attacks and ground maneuvers that…

Army food has been vexing and perplexing the soldiers who have to eat it for about as long as there’s been an Army. An age-old marching song describes a biscuit that “rolled off the table and killed a friend of mine.” Troops in World War II immortalized a much-reviled beef dish with the nickname S.O.S., an acronym that still can’t be translated in this newspaper.And at lunchtime on a recent Wednesday, a mess hall at Fort Jackson in South Carolina was serving up tacos filled with nondescript meat that glistened with grease. The brussels sprouts had the green boiled out…

Elon Musk’s xAI is facing a potential trademark dispute over the name of its chatbot, Grok. The company’s trademark application with the US Patent and Trademark Office has been suspended after the agency argued the name could be confused with that of two other companies, AI chipmaker Groq and software provider Grokstream. Now, a third tech startup called Bizly is claiming it owns the rights to “Grok.”This isn’t the first time Musk has chosen a name for one of his products that other companies say they trademarked first. Last month, Musk’s social media platform settled a lawsuit brought by a…

Marine Le Pen, the French far-right leader, has tried and failed three times to become president. Now, even as her popularity rises, she may be barred from taking part in an election to lead France if she is found guilty of embezzlement on Monday.Such a verdict, far from certain, has been equated by Ms. Le Pen with a “political death” sentence and a “very violent attack on the will of the people.” It would ignite a major political storm at a time when the French Fifth Republic has appeared increasingly dysfunctional.On the one hand stands the principle, as Nicolas Barret,…

Richard Carlson, who won a Peabody Award for his investigative television reports about an automobile company’s brazen fraud — during which he also outed the company’s founder as a transgender woman — and who later ran Voice of America during the last years of the Cold War, died on March 24 at his home in Boca Grande, Fla. He was 84.His son Tucker Carlson, the conservative commentator and former Fox News host, said the cause was pneumonia.The younger Mr. Carlson said that his father, who strongly believed in the role of Voice of America, did not know before his death…

What About Nintendo Fans?Photograph: NintendoIt’s a shame that two of the best retro gaming consoles in recent years, the NES Classic Mini and the SNES Classic Mini, have been discontinued. Both feature great designs with a miniaturized look that’s true to the originals, silky performance, and strong game lineups of Nintendo’s greatest hits. You can still buy them online (usually from third-party resellers), but prices are seriously inflated. The SNES Classic Mini, for example, was $80 at launch, but a reseller has it for more than $320 on Amazon right now. You might have better luck buying one used.Nintendo fans…

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth wrapped up his first official visit to the Asia on Sunday by offering reassurances to Japan that President Trump wants a stronger military alliance in the region to deter an increasingly assertive China.Following an 85-minute meeting in Tokyo with his Japanese counterpart, Mr. Hegseth said the Trump administration would abide by promises to increase security cooperation with its staunch ally. This would include speeding up a Biden administration-era plan to create a new joint U.S.-Japan military command in Tokyo that he called a “war-fighting headquarters,” although Mr. Hesgeth did not say when it would become…