Syrian Forces and Hezbollah Fighters Press Assault in Key Town

By HANIA MOURTADA and ANNE BARNARD

via Associated Press

The battle for Qusayr, Syria, raged on Tuesday. A photo from a citizen journalist captured what was said to be the result of a military airstrike.

Airstrikes were reported on Tuesday amid conflicting accounts about the progress of the battle for Qusayr, a town in western Syrian long held by anti-government forces.

Hezbollah’s Role in Syria War Shakes the Lebanese

The shortest way for pedestrians to get from Tahrir Square in Cairo to the American Embassy is through a hole in a wall.

U.S. Takes Steps to Add Security at Embassies

By ERIC SCHMITT

The State Department is racing to fulfill recommendations on diplomatic security, but some Republicans have questioned its ability to carry out the changes.

Graphic: State Department: Progress on Tasks

The Lede

Former President of Iran Disqualified From Race to Succeed Ahmadinejad, State TV Says

By ROBERT MACKEY

Iran’s state television announced Tuesday that Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, a two-term former president who called for greater freedom during protests in 2009, has been barred from running in next month’s election to succeed President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Kaori Nirei, in mirror, tried on a dress as her mother and daughter looked on at the Takashimaya department store in Tokyo’s financial district. “I can’t believe all the people shopping,” she said.

Japan’s New Optimism Has Name: Abenomics

By MARTIN FACKLER

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s economic shock therapy, which combines a flood of cheap cash, fiscal stimulus and deregulation, is getting early results.

Torture Victim’s Body Is Found Near U.S. Base, Afghans Say

By ROD NORDLAND

Afghan investigators say the man was seen in a videotape undergoing torture at the hands of an Afghan-American translator for a United States Special Forces unit.

Bombing Kills Key Figure in Northern Afghan Province

Coalition Plays Down Afghan Reports of Major Battle in Helmand

By MATTHEW ROSENBERG and TAIMOOR SHAH

Afghan officials portrayed the fighting as a big victory against the Taliban, but the American-led coalition was circumspect about the scale of the battle.

The scene of a car-bomb attack in a Shiite area of eastern Baghdad on Monday. Scores of people died in attacks in Baghdad, in Basra and elsewhere in Iraq.

Attacks in Iraqi Cities Raise Fears of Renewed Sectarian Conflict

By DURAID ADNAN

A series of explosions and gunfire assaults that left scores of people dead deepened concerns that sectarian tensions could lead to widespread fighting.

Earlier this month, the former dictator Efraín Ríos Montt was sentenced to 80 years in prison.

Guatemalan Court Overturns Genocide Conviction of Ex-Dictator

By ELISABETH MALKIN

The decision, which reset the proceedings to April 19, when a judge’s ruling sent the trial into disarray, is a dramatic legal victory for Gen. Efraín Ríos Montt, 86.

Lev D. Gudkov, the director of the Levada Center, which pioneered American-style polling after the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Polling Group in Russia Says It May Close

By ELLEN BARRY

After the Levada Center, the country’s only independent polling agency, was told it must register as a “foreign agent,” its director said fighting the requirement would effectively shut the center.

Gerard Depardieu attended a news conference in Grozny, the formerly war-torn Chechen capital, on Tuesday.

Depardieu, Newly a Russian, Will Play a Chechen in Films

By DAVID M. HERSZENHORN

Gérard Depardieu, who renounced his French citizenship over high taxes, held a news conference in Grozny, the formerly war-torn Chechen capital, to announce the two films.

Police and investigators at the site of a car bomb blast in Makhachkala, the capital of Dagestan, Russia, on Monday.

Twin Bombings Kill 3 in Dagestan

By ANDREW ROTH

The explosions in Makhachkala came the same day that Russian security officials announced that they had prevented a terrorist attack in Moscow.

Musharraf Granted Bail in the Killing of Bhutto

By SALMAN MASOOD and ISMAIL KHAN

Amid speculation that the military was trying to free him or return him to exile, Pervez Musharraf won a small victory relating to the assassination of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto.

Ally of Georgia’s Leader Charged With Abuse of Power

By ELLEN BARRY

The head of President Mikheil Saakashvili’s party was held in connection with an employment program that prosecutors say was used to pay campaign workers.

In New Delhi, Chinese Leader Promotes Trade Ties

By GARDINER HARRIS

Speaking to business leaders in the Indian capital, Prime Minister Li Keqiang said a “few clouds in the sky” couldn’t disrupt the Asian giants’ relationship.

Egyptian border police officers read a newspaper Monday that reported on the abduction of their colleagues on Thursday at the closed Rafah crossing between Egypt and the Gaza Strip. One soldier and six officers were being held captive.

Egypt Sends Show of Force to Sinai After Kidnappings

By BEN HUBBARD

Dozens of tanks and hundreds of soldiers entered the largely lawless area that borders Israel and the Gaza Strip after gunmen kidnapped seven security officers.

Federico Pizzarotti was elected mayor of Parma a year ago. His city is seen as a test of what the Five Star Movement might do elsewhere.

Italy’s Petri Dish for New Path

By ELISABETTA POVOLEDO

Like the politicians they defeated in local elections, the anti-politicians of the Five Star Movement have broken promises, too, but have maintained their idealism.

Businessman Linked by U.S. to Hezbollah Is Arrested in Brazil in a Fraud Scheme

By SIMON ROMERO

Hamzi Ahmad Barakat, a Lebanese citizen, was accused in a plot to defraud Lebanese immigrants in Brazil, though American officials have suspected him of trafficking in arms, drugs and counterfeit bills.

North Korea Launches Missiles for 3rd Straight Day

By CHOE SANG-HUN

The North has been firing short-range projectiles off its east coast since Saturday, leaving regional officials puzzled over its motives.

North Korea Releases Chinese Fishing Crew

By CHRIS BUCKLEY

The boat and crew, seized May 5, were heading home, Chinese news reports said Tuesday, but they did not say if the North had received a payment, as it had demanded.

State Dept. Report Says Countries Have Repressed Religious Freedom With Laws

By STEVEN LEE MYERS

In an annual report, the State Department singled out nations that abused laws on blasphemy and apostasy to harass political opponents.

India and China Vow to Cooperate on Border

By GARDINER HARRIS

The prime ministers of India and China papered over their recent border dispute on Monday with a friendly joint statement and an array of promises.

Former Bank Executive in China Faces Bribe Accusations

By CHRIS BUCKLEY

The Communist Party has referred the case for a criminal investigation as it continues a drive to combat corruption.

Underground Lender Gets Death Sentence in China

Obama Couples Praise for Burmese Leader With Warning Against Violence

By PETER BAKER and STEVEN LEE MYERS

President Obama encouraged the political and economic reforms in Myanmar, but warned the country’s visiting leader, President Thein Sein, that violence against minority Muslims had to stop.

Myanmar Muslims Jailed for Killing Buddhist Monk

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

A Myanmar court sentenced seven Muslims to prison Tuesday, one of them to a life term, in the killing of a Buddhist monk.

London Journal

Gnomes decorated by celebrities get their moment in the spotlight. Gnomes will be banned again next year at the Chelsea Flower Show.

Common Gnomes Pop Up at Rarefied Flower Show, to Horror of Many

By SARAH LYALL

The Chelsea Flower Show is permitting the use of previously banned gnomes in exhibits this year, its 100th anniversary, but many find them creepy.

The Bloomberg administration studied bike share systems in several cities, including, clockwise from top left, Paris, Washington, London and Barcelona.

Bike Share in New York, Built From Ideas Around World

By MATT FLEGENHEIMER

When Citi Bike is introduced in New York next week, it will resemble a sort of cycling stew — a system that borrows pieces of similar programs in other cities.

Multimedia

Slide Show

Pakistan, as Seen Through Its Railways

At every major stop on the long line from Peshawar to the turbulent port city of Karachi lie reminders of why the country is a worry to its people, and to the wider world.

Video Feature

GRAPHIC CONTENT

Islamist Rebels Execute Pro-Government Fighters

A video posted online claims to show rebel fighters from the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria executing three government army officers in a public square in Raqqa.