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Apple is imposing unfair restrictions on application developers for its App Store in violation of a new European Union law intended to encourage competition in the technology sector, regulators in Brussels said Monday.The allegations have further intensified the tussle between Apple, which says its products are designed in the best interests of customers, and EU regulators, who say the company is unfairly using its size and considerable resources to stifle competition.Apple is the first company to be accused of violating the Digital Markets Act, a law passed in 2022 that gives European regulators broad authority to force the largest "online gatekeepers" to change their business practices.After launching an investigation in March, EU regulators said Apple was imposing illegal restrictions o...

More than 1,300 people died during the Islamic hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia this month, the vast majority of whom the Saudi government said did not have permission. Many walked for miles in the scorching heat after paying thousands of dollars to illicit tour operators.While pilgrims with permits are transported around the holy city of Mecca in air-conditioned buses and rest in air-conditioned tents, unregistered ones are often exposed to the elements. In recent days, when temperatures soared above 120 degrees, some pilgrims described seeing people fainting and passing bodies in the street.In an interview on state television on Sunday, Saudi Health Minister Fahd al-Jalajel said 83% of the 1,301 reported deaths involved pilgrims without permits.“The rising temperatures during the Hajj s...

Immunotherapy has transformed cancer treatment. It tinkeres with the immune system to attack malignant tumors that have evaded the body's natural defenses. This advancement offers an alternative to treating cancer with surgery or chemotherapy and radiation, which can attack healthy tissue and cause extreme side effects.The treatment is not only scientifically complex but also expensive. The investment of time and money makes sense when it comes to saving humans. But what about when it comes to dogs?Dr. Hans Klingemann has worked and researched cancer immunotherapy for decades, leading departments at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago and Tufts Medical Center in Boston. Now he is the chief scientific officer of cellular products at ImmunityBio, which develops immunotherapy d...

Gunmen attacked synagogues and churches in two southern Russian cities on Sunday, killing several police officers and a priest, in an apparently coordinated attack that underlined Russia's vulnerability to extremist violence.Officials said six of the gunmen were killed after shootings in two cities, Makhachkala and Derbent, in the Muslim-majority Dagestan region on the Caspian Sea. Armed with rifles and Molotov cocktails, they attacked a synagogue and a church in each of the two cities, according to authorities and religious organizations.Sergei Melikov, governor of Dagestan, described the attack as the latest attack "on our brotherhood, on our multi-ethnic unity." The precise death toll was not immediately clear. Melikov said that "more than 15 police officers were victims of today&...

Apple, Microsoft and Google are heralding a new era of what they describe as artificially intelligent smartphones and computers. The devices, they say, will automate tasks such as editing photos and wishing a friend a happy birthday.But for this to work, these companies need something from you: more data.In this new paradigm, your Windows computer will take a screenshot of everything you do every few seconds. An iPhone will combine information from many apps you use. And an Android phone can listen to a call in real time to alert you to a scam.Is this information you are willing to share?This change has significant implications for our privacy. To provide new tailored services, companies and their devices need more persistent and intimate access to our data than before. In the past, t...

Israeli troops tied a wounded Palestinian to the roof of a military vehicle on Saturday morning during an operation in the occupied West Bank, a scene that was captured on video and quickly went viral, sparking outrage and promises of an investigation by of the Israeli army.Israeli soldiers raided Wadi Burqin, a Palestinian town on the outskirts of the West Bank city of Jenin, on Saturday morning to arrest Palestinians suspected of involvement in militant groups. Jenin, a long-time stronghold of loosely organized armed groups, has suffered repeated crackdowns by the Israeli army in recent months.A firefight broke out between Palestinian militants and Israeli soldiers, the military said. Israeli troops arrested a Palestinian wounded in the shooting. The man's family later identified ...

Pharmacy benefit managers are driving up drug costs for millions of people, employers and the government. New York Times pharmaceutical reporter Rebecca Robbins explains how.

Niclas Füllkrug arrived early at the Adidas campus just outside Herzogenaurach, a postcard-perfect town in Bavaria that would host the German national team ahead of this summer's European soccer championships. The staff had been told that the players would arrive on Monday morning, a few days before the opening match. But on Sunday evening, Füllkrug, one of the team's attackers, arrived.He had decided to make the 300-mile journey from his home in Hanover on the high-speed train of Germany's national railway company, Deutsche Bahn. The company was not only one of the sponsors of the tournament; it should also have been a standard-bearer for the event's green credentials.But years of failure to invest in rolling stock, upgrade railways and digitalize switchgear have made ...

Heather Massey took Ladybird to the vet when the 9-year-old mutt he began to have convulsions. A scan from an MRI machine revealed some bad news: brain cancer.Given the poor prognosis, Ms. Massey decided not to undergo further treatment at the animal hospital near her home in Athens, Georgia, and Ladybird died four months later. Her MRI scan and related care had cost nearly $2,000, which Ms. Massey had put on a special credit card that she had learned about during an earlier veterinary visit.This was in 2018. He is still paying off the debt, with over 30% interest.“Could I afford to do this? Not really,” said Ms. Massey, 52, who is disabled and doesn't work. “Was it worth it for me? YES."Ms. Massey's experience illustrates the new, expensive realities of owning a pet. For dec...

Cyprus found itself in the center of global attention this week when Hezbollah's leader threatened to target the small island nation if it supported Israel in potential war efforts.Amid escalating violence between the powerful Iran-backed Lebanese militia and the Israeli army on the Israel-Lebanon border, Hezbollah's chief warned on Wednesday that the armed group would punish Cyprus if it allowed Israel to use its airports and its basis for targeting Lebanon, claiming it would be “part of the war.”The warning from Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah came as world leaders were scrambling to contain the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, despite clear efforts by both sides to prevent the cycle of attacks and counterattacks from turning into a full-blown war.Here's a closer look...