Alarm Over India’s Dengue Fever Epidemic

Enrico Fabian for The New York TimesA man at the Yamuna River, an ideal breeding ground for mosquitoes. Filthy standing water abounds in New Delhi. More Photos »NEW DELHI — An epidemic of dengue fever in India is fostering a growing sense of alarm even as government officials here have publicly refused to acknowledge the scope of a problem that experts say is threatening hundreds of millions of people,...

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DealBook Column: The Election Won't Solve All Puzzles

Here comes more uncertainty.It may sound counterintuitive, but whatever the outcome of the election — whether President Obama or Mitt Romney wins — the economy and markets are likely to face more uncertainty, not less, over the coming year.“Uncertainty” has become the watchword over the last several years for many chief executives, politicians and economists as an explanation — or perhaps an excuse...

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Global Update: Polio Eradication Efforts in Pakistan Focus on Pashtuns

Michael Kamber for The New York TimesPolio will never be eradicated in Pakistan until a way is found to persuade poor Pashtuns to embrace the vaccine, according to a study released by the World Health Organization. A survey of 1,017 parents of young children found that 41 percent had never heard of polio and 11 percent refused to vaccinate their children against it. The survey was done in...

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Global Update: Polio Eradication Efforts in Pakistan Focus on Pashtuns

Michael Kamber for The New York TimesPolio will never be eradicated in Pakistan until a way is found to persuade poor Pashtuns to embrace the vaccine, according to a study released by the World Health Organization. A survey of 1,017 parents of young children found that 41 percent had never heard of polio and 11 percent refused to vaccinate their children against it. The survey was done in...

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Silicon Valley Objects to Online Privacy Rule Proposals for Children

Washington is pushing Silicon Valley on children’s privacy, and Silicon Valley is pushing back. Daniel Rosenbaum for The New York TimesPhyllis H. Marcus, a lawyer for the F.T.C., is leading a team that is updating a privacy rule to require more parental consent. Apple, Facebook, Google, Microsoft and Twitter have all objected to portions of a federal effort...

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Egyptian Vigilantes Crack Down on Abuse of Women

Tara Todras-Whitehill for The New York TimesA self-appointed citizens patrol that tries to protect women on Cairo’s streets spray-painted a youth for identification last month. CAIRO — The young activists lingered on the streets around Tahrir Square, scrutinizing the crowds of holiday revelers. Suddenly, they charged, pushing people aside and chasing down a young man. As the captive thrashed to get...

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The Mirror: Fears of Aging Color the Discussion of Gray Hair

I OFTEN think longingly of buying a wig. My newly bought hair would be the little black dress of wigs. It would be my hair, or rather, someone else’s hair, but it would look the way mine did at its best: raven, not too long, not too short, glossy, curly without frizz and easy to wear. I still have that kind of hair, somewhere in my mind, and somewhere in the vague recesses of eternal hope,...

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The Mirror: Fears of Aging Color the Discussion of Gray Hair

I OFTEN think longingly of buying a wig. My newly bought hair would be the little black dress of wigs. It would be my hair, or rather, someone else’s hair, but it would look the way mine did at its best: raven, not too long, not too short, glossy, curly without frizz and easy to wear. I still have that kind of hair, somewhere in my mind, and somewhere in the vague recesses of eternal hope,...

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Chinese Messaging App Gains Ground Elsewhere

BEIJING — Chinese Internet companies have long struggled to establish their products beyond the country’s borders. In 2007 China’s dominant search engine, Baidu, announced an ambitious plan to break into the Japanese search engine market; as of last year, the company said it had lost more than $108 million trying. WeChat, a mobile messaging application created by Tencent Holdings, China’s...

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Coptic Church Chooses Pope Who Rejects Politics

Tara Todras-Whitehill for The New York TimesCoptic clergymen at a ceremony on Sunday for choosing a pope. CAIRO — A blindfolded 6-year-old reached into a glass bowl on Sunday to pick the first new Coptic pope in more than 40 years, a patriarch who promises a new era of integration for Egypt’s Christian minority as it grapples with a wave of sectarian violence, new Islamist domination of politics,...

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