“I like punctuality, it’s a virtue I have learned to appreciate,” Pope Francis writes in the fifth chapter of his autobiography, to be published on Tuesday in 18 languages, adding that he considers it “a sign of good manners and respect, to arrive promptly.”

Unfortunately, as a newborn, Francis writes, he arrived a week late, necessitating a call to the doctor, who sat on his mother’s stomach and began to “to press and to ‘jump about’’’ to induce his birth.

“And so it was that I came into the world,” Francis writes.

“Hope: The Autobiography,” by Pope Francis — a 320-page compendium of the pope’s memories and musings on the major social and political issues of our times, including climate change, poverty, immigration, arms control and war — is billed by its English-language publisher, Random House, as an “historic publication” and “the first memoir to be published by a sitting Pope.”

That is not technically true. That honor belongs to Pope Pius II’s 15th Century chronicles, “The Commentaries,” a 13-book account of his life that is considered a seminal text in Renaissance humanism.

Francis is also not the first pope to share his life story. As a cardinal, Joseph Ratzinger wrote an autobiography which was published in 1997, eight years before he became Pope Benedict XVI, and both he and his predecessor, John Paul II, coauthored books with journalists that were personal reflections and not official papal documents.

But for readers, including the Roman Catholic faithful, “Hope” vividly recreates the colorful world where the young Jorge Mario Bergoglio grew up — a world that was a menagerie of migrants from various countries and colorful figures, including prostitutes, his “bag-lady” aunt, and other memorable family members.

People who watch Francis closely will recognize in the autobiography many of his views from his various encyclicals, his weekly addresses at the Vatican and speeches during his travels. “Hope,” however, draws a line from the childhood events and encounters that forged Francis’ thinking to the current day.

Francis’ unswerving support for migrants, he writes, derives from his own background as the son of Italian immigrants to Argentina. His abhorrence of war — “anyone who makes war is evil. God is peace,” he writes in “Hope” — finds root in the wartime experiences of his grandfather in World War I. “Nono described the horror, the pain, the fear, the absurd alienating pointlessness of the war,” he writes. A left-leaning biomedical pharmaceutical researcher he met before entering a seminary “taught me to think —­ by which I mean, to think about politics.”

There are many personal memories described in the book: As a young teacher teaching creative writing, Francis writes, his students nicknamed him “Carucha” or “Babyface.” He recalls that he once helped a nearly blind Jorge Luis Borges to shave. “He was an agnostic who recited the Lord’s Prayer every night because he had promised his mother he’d do so, and who would die with the last rites.”

Francis is no stranger to journalistic collaborations. A book on his life written from interviews he gave to the Argentine journalist Sergio Rubin was published when he was still Cardinal of Buenos Aires.

Since he became pope there have been several more: Francis wrote “Let Us Dream,” a first-person account exploring how crisis can be a positive catalyst for change, during the coronavirus pandemic, with his biographer Austen Ivereigh. The book made the New York Times best-seller list. Last year, “Life,” an anecdote-rich book written with Fabio Marchese Ragona, was published worldwide, and also made The Times’s list.

“Hope” was six years in the making and one of the publishing world’s best kept secrets. Originally, Francis had intended the autobiography to be published posthumously, but last summer, he changed his mind so that the publication would coincide with the 2025 Jubilee, the Catholic Church Holy Year that takes place every quarter century.

Mondadori, the Italian publisher, announced the book’s imminent release at last year’s Frankfurt Book Fair, stirring excitement, not least among Francis’ biographers.

An autobiography was an opportunity, said Mr. Iverneigh in an interview, “for Francis to go into episodes of his life, about which his biographers, including me,” had speculated, argued “and struggled sometimes to interpret.”

But while rich in anecdotes about Francis’ childhood in the Buenos Aires barrio, episodes Mr. Iverneigh described as “gems,” the book does not offer much insight into Francis’ later life other than that which is already “well-trodden material.”

For example, Francis says little about his years at the Vatican. His comment that the “reform of the Roman Curia was the most demanding, and for a long while there was the greatest resistance to change” does not offer any details about the struggles that were involved.

“The pope is the pope and it’s great to have his reflections repackaged for a mass audience,” said Mr. Iverneigh, who added that he believed the pope saw these books as “an evangelizing tool.” But, he added, “I was frankly disappointed” to find that most of the original material was relegated to his childhood years.

Perhaps the most newsworthy snippet in the book is Francis’ recollections of his 2021 visit to Iraq, which were published as an excerpt in the Jesuit magazine America in December. Francis wrote that he had survived two foiled assassination attempts. The former governor of Nineveh later denied that any such incidents had occurred. The Times also published an excerpt from the autobiography in December, this one about there being faith in humor.

Gian Maria Vian, a former editor in chief of the Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore Romano, said that he appreciated the “many personal details” the book added to Francis’ biography, but that much had been written through “rose tinted glasses.”

Francis wrote the book with Mr. Musso, a former Mondadori publishing director who has recently founded an independent publishing house. The idea took shape in 2019 and work began a year later.

“I was honored by his trust,” Mr. Musso said. “I don’t think he wanted an autobiography to talk about himself, but using his memories, his stories, to speak of everyone and to everyone, even very difficult moments.”

Greenland is ready to talk.

Responding on Monday to the diplomatic earthquake set off last week by President-elect Donald J. Trump, who mused about taking over the gigantic island in the Arctic Ocean, Greenland’s prime minister said the territory would like to work more closely with the United States on defense and natural resources.

“The reality is we are going to work with the U.S. — yesterday, today and tomorrow,” Prime Minister Múte Egede said at a news conference in Nuuk, Greenland’s tiny, icebound capital.

But he was firm: Greenlanders did not want to become Americans.

“We have to be very smart on how we act,” he said, adding, “The power struggles between the superpowers are rising and are now knocking on our door.”

Mr. Trump refused to rule out using economic or military force to wrest back the Panama Canal and to take Greenland, a semiautonomous territory of Denmark that he suggested buying during his first term in office. Then, as now, Greenland and Denmark said the island was not for sale. Panama’s leaders, too, rejected the threat.

Mr. Egede said on Monday that “all of us were shocked” by Mr. Trump’s words, which were accentuated by a surprising and somewhat mysterious visit by the president-elect’s eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., to the island on the same day.

The younger Mr. Trump did a lightning-fast sightseeing tour, saying he was on private business, and since then, headlines around the world have blared Greenland.

Most of Greenland’s territory is covered in ice, only about 56,000 people live here and, until recently, the island was best known for its icebergs and polar bears. As climate change melts the Arctic ice, this region has been quietly falling into the cross hairs of the world’s powers.

The United States, Russia, European countries, China and others have been eyeing the Arctic’s shipping lanes and the extensive mineral resources that are no longer considered out of reach.

The island has been tied to Denmark for centuries, first as a colony and now as a separate territory that has achieved a large degree of autonomy in recent years. Denmark still controls the island’s foreign affairs and defense policy.

But the surge of interest by international powers dovetails with Greenland’s quest to gain independence, and that itch has only grown stronger. At the same time, many people here are reluctant to completely cut ties with Denmark because of the hundreds of millions of dollars in subsidies that Denmark provides each year.

In Nuuk, which was a sunny zero degrees Fahrenheit on Monday afternoon, many people were eagerly waiting to hear what the prime minister was going to say.

“Whatever happens, there’s no turning back,” said Aviaq Kleist, the owner of a cafe in the Nuuk Center, the city’s biggest mall, with a couple dozen shops. She joked that maybe Mr. Egede would suddenly declare independence.

Mr. Egede did not — he danced around the question, saying the country had been steadily working toward the goal but that “different parties have different views.” (There’s also a clear independence process that involves a referendum, should it come to that.)

The prime minister also expressed relief at comments that JD Vance, the incoming vice president, made on a Fox News show this weekend. Though Mr. Vance didn’t exactly rule out military force, saying, “We don’t have to use military force” because “we already have troops in Greenland,” his tone was upbeat as he spoke about Greenland’s “incredible natural resources” and “a deal to be made.”

The United States has been interested in Greenland for years. During World War II, it established bases here, and after the war, it tried to buy Greenland from Denmark, which refused. Today, the American military runs the Pituffik Space Base, which specializes in missile defense, at the northern end of the island.

In Nuuk on Monday, people seemed to be on the same page as the prime minister, expressing a mix of hope and caution. Several said they did not want to be swallowed by the United States. But they did want a stronger partnership with America.

“What we really need is more cooperation and trade,” said Nielseeraq Berthelsen, a fisherman. He was working at an ice-encrusted seafood market, selling hunks of whale skin and bright red seal meat.

He said that he was walking through another mall last week when someone approached him out of the blue and invited him to a special dinner.

Next thing he knew, he said, he was shaking the younger Mr. Trump’s hand.

“He had a lot of enthusiasm,” said Mr. Berthelsen, who was standing in air so cold that his eyes watered as he talked. “He had good energy.”

Ivik Kristiansen contributed reporting.

Lebanon’s fractured Parliament named Nawaf Salam as prime minister on Monday, handing the country’s political reigns to the prominent diplomat and international jurist as Lebanon emerges from a devastating war and attempts to recover from a dire economic meltdown.

Mr. Salam was endorsed by a majority of lawmakers in the country’s 128-seat Parliament on Monday, after which Lebanon’s newly elected president, Joseph Aoun, asked him to form a government. Mr. Salam is currently serving as the head of the International Court of Justice, the United Nations’ top court, and previously served as Lebanon’s ambassador to the United Nations.

The selection of Mr. Salam was widely seen as a major political blow to Hezbollah, the Lebanese militant group and political party that has served as the real power in Lebanon for decades. For much of that time, almost no major political decision could be made without Hezbollah’s backing.

But the vote on Monday offered a rebuke to that status quo, elevating Mr. Salam — whom Hezbollah opposed — and delivering a stunning defeat to the Hezbollah-backed candidate. For many, it underscored Lebanon’s new political reality: Since emerging from a 14-month war with Israel, Hezbollah no longer has an iron, unshakable grip on Lebanon’s state.

In just over two months, Israel assassinated the group’s top leaders. The war left billions of dollars in damages across the country. Hezbollah also lost its main ally in neighboring Syria, the dictator Bashar al-Assad, who was toppled by rebels last month. And its patron, Iran, is now on its back foot after its web of anti-Israel militias has unraveled. Those developments have opened a new political chapter in Lebanon, analysts say.

“The whole political dynamic has changed,” said Sami Nader, the director of the Political Sciences Institute at Saint Joseph University of Beirut. “It’s a total collapse of the old modus operandi.”

The Lebanese state is made up of a multitude of factions and sects that jockey for power and influence. For years, it has been controlled by a weak and ineffectual caretaker government. Hezbollah was both a part of that government and the dominant political and military force, effectively guiding almost all of the country’s major decisions.

In recent days, Lebanon’s shifting political sands have been laid bare in a flurry of political developments that have underscored just how much political ground Hezbollah has lost.

Last week, Lebanon’s Parliament elected Mr. Aoun as the country’s new president — overcoming more than two years of political gridlock that critics had attributed to Hezbollah. Then on Monday, Mr. Salam — whom Hezbollah had repeatedly blocked from becoming prime minister in recent years — gained the support of 85 members of the country’s 128-seat Parliament. The departing prime minister whom Hezbollah supported, Najib Mikati, secured only nine votes. Thirty-five ballots were cast blank.

After the vote, a senior Hezbollah lawmaker, Mohammad Raad, told reporters at a news conference that Hezbollah had “extended its hand” by supporting the election of Mr. Aoun, only to have its “hand cut” on Monday, according to local media reports.

The new government that is emerging in Lebanon also reflects the realignment of power dynamics across the Middle East, analysts say. The era of Iran’s sway over Lebanon appears to be over, they say, creating an opening for Gulf countries that had vied with Iran unsuccessfully in Lebanon for years.

Saudi Arabia and Western countries have thrown their support behind Mr. Salam and Mr. Aoun, and many within Lebanon hope that the new government they lead will bring an influx of funds from those countries as Lebanon grapples with a billions-dollar bill for reconstruction from the war between Hezbollah and Israel.

“The Arab countries are on board, there’s a possibility of Lebanon being welcomed back to the Arab family,” Mr. Nader said. “It’s an unbelievable change. You can feel the weakening of Iran.”

L.A. is braced for dangerous winds

A forecast of rising winds yesterday threatened the progress that firefighters had made to contain the destructive wildfires in Los Angeles. At least 24 people were reported to have died, and at least 16 people were missing in the areas of two of the blazes. Follow our live coverage here.

A rare fire danger alert was put in place through tomorrow, the same warning that was issued last week when strong winds stoked some of the deadliest fires in California’s history. Fire crews were being deployed to at-risk areas in anticipation of the winds, which may not be as powerful as last week’s. Still, the gusts’ duration could pose a problem.

An investigation into what started the fires was underway, with officials looking into nearby power lines as a possible cause, but arson has not been ruled out.

There were some signs of a return to normalcy. Some local schools reopened after campuses across the city were closed last week, and the production of some television shows resumed.

Disparities: As local and state fire crews struggled against the flames in entire neighborhoods, private firefighters hired by wealthy residents for thousands of dollars a day kept watch on individual homes.

Deciding the fate of South Korea’s president

South Korea’s Constitutional Court is beginning deliberations today on whether President Yoon Suk Yeol should be removed or reinstated after his impeachment. Last month, Yoon declared a short-lived martial law that launched the country into its worst political crisis in decades.

Rival groups of citizens have protested for weeks for both outcomes, with some hard-liners warning that a civil war could break out if the court does not rule in their favor.

What’s next: If Yoon is removed, he will be the third conservative president in a row to be ousted, imprisoned or both before or after the term of office ended. A reinstatement could set a precedent for future leaders to use martial law as a political tool.

A territorial bargaining chip behind Russian lines

In the Kursk region of Russia, the Russian and Ukrainian militaries are fighting some of the most intense battles of the war so far. The area, pivotal to both sides, could play a key role in any potential cease-fire talks: Ukraine hopes to use it as a bargaining chip.

On the ground: With the aid of North Korean reinforcements, Russia has managed to recover some of the territory that it lost over the summer. Ukrainian soldiers say the North Koreans are part of the reason the fighting has been so ferocious.

“They are pressuring our fronts en masse, finding weak points and breaking through them,” Jr. Sgt. Oleksii, a platoon leader, said.

Related: A video of captured North Korean soldiers being interrogated seemed to reveal that they knew very little about the war they were fighting in.

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Why do TV title sequences have so much stuff?

The average prestige TV drama nowadays probably has a lot going on in the opening credits. “Game of Thrones” took viewers across a map of its fictional landscapes; “The Last of Us” uses the fungi that turns humankind into zombies to create onscreen images of the characters. But TV credits weren’t always this heavy-handed with a metaphor.

Opening credits have come a long way since “The Dukes of Hazzard.” Today’s sequences try to show you that you’re not sitting down for the same old TV, but the best of them tell their own story and build on the narrative.

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