Turmoil in Iraq amid tight vote tally, as some charge fraud
BAGHDAD — Iraq’s major coalitions were locked in a surprisingly close race on Thursday, in initial results from elections that deepened divisions across a fractured landscape. Candidates were quick to charge fraud, heightening concerns whether Iraq’s fledgling institutions were strong enough to support a peaceful transfer of power.
Shorts (left)
During the economic crisis last year, the prices for many goods held steady or even dropped. But on American farms, the picture was far different, as farmers watched the price they paid for seeds skyrocket. Corn seed prices rose 32 percent; soybean seeds were up 24 percent.
Afghan tribal rivalries bedevil a U.S. plan to counter Taliban
JALALABAD, AFGHANISTAN — Six weeks ago, elders of the Shinwari tribe, which dominates a large area in southeastern Afghanistan, pledged that they would set aside internal differences to focus on fighting the Taliban.
Study sees efficiency, not natural gas, as best way to meet future energy needs
The big buzz at the CERAWeek conference may be natural gas, but a new study says it’s time to light a fire under energy efficiency to meet future energy demands.
Springing forward
Early Sunday morning marks the beginning of Daylight Saving Time (not Daylight “Savings” Time), when we move our clocks one hour forward. Eastern Standard Time (EST), five hours behind Greenwich Mean Time (GMT), gives way to Eastern Daylight Time (EDT), four hours behind GMT. The good news is that the sun will set an hour later, but at the price of one hour less of sleep on Saturday night.
$657.6 million settlement reached for 9/11 rescue and cleanup crews
NEW YORK — A settlement of up to $657.5 million has been reached in the cases of thousands of rescue and cleanup workers at ground zero who sued the city over damage to their health, according to city officials and lawyers for the plaintiffs.
States increase risk by seeking higher returns on pensions
States and companies have started investing very differently when it comes to the billions of dollars they are safeguarding for workers’ retirement.
Shorts (left)
Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates met here on Monday with President Hamid Karzai and Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal to review plans for a major U.S.-led offensive in the city of Kandahar, the spiritual heart and birthplace of the Taliban, an operation McChrystal indicated could get under way this summer.
In earthquake’s aftermath, invisible cracks threaten Chile’s capital
SANTIAGO, Chile — From outside, there is no sign that the century-old building where Cecilia Painaqueo lived with her four children was damaged by one of the strongest earthquakes ever recorded.
Obama says passing health bill is more important than politics
PHILADELPHIA—President Barack Obama challenged wavering members of his party on Monday not to give in to political fears about supporting health care legislation, asserting that the urgency of getting a bill through Congress should trump any concern about the consequences for Democrats in November.
Shorts (right)
For decades, advocates have fought to protect women from disfiguring breast cancer surgery, arguing that it was just as effective to remove only the cancerous tissue rather than the whole breast.
After boom and bust, solar power finds a place in Spain
PUERTOLLANO, Spain — Two years ago, this gritty mining city underwent a brief, 21st-century gold rush. Long famous for coal, Puertollano discovered another energy source it had overlooked: the relentless, scorching sun.
Blue skies smiling at me
The past few days have given us a taste of the spring weather to come with sunny skies and comfortable highs approaching 60°F (16°C). A cold front that moved through New England last night will keep highs a little cooler than the past few days, although still well above the normal high for this time of year. High pressure in the region will allow us to keep these dry conditions and mostly clear skies for today and tomorrow. Tonight’s clear skies and light winds will also be ideal for radiational cooling: Expect temperatures tonight to dip into the low 30s on campus, and into the 20s further inland. Clouds will begin to build in our region throughout Thursday, as the next storm system further strengthens over the mid-Atlantic and begins to move our way on Friday. Ample moisture means that we could see plenty of rain (potentially a few inches) for the whole weekend starting sometime Friday afternoon or evening. But for today and tomorrow, enjoy the sun — nothing but blue skies do I see.
Nigerians raise death toll from ethnic violence to 500
DAKAR, Senegal — Officials and human rights groups in Nigeria sharply increased the count of the dead after a weekend of vicious ethnic violence, saying Monday that as many as 500 people — many of them women and children — may have been killed near the central city of Jos, long a flashpoint for tensions between Christians and Muslims.
As states shrink budgets, concern over trimming prison populations
In the rush to save money in grim budgetary times, states nationwide have trimmed their prison populations by expanding parole programs and early releases. But the result — more convicted felons on the streets, not behind bars — has unleashed a backlash, and state officials now find themselves trying to maneuver between saving money and maintaining the public’s sense of safety.
Bracing for tepid job numbers, House grants tax breaks for hirers
WASHINGTON — The House on Thursday approved a $15 billion measure intended to spur job creation by granting tax breaks to businesses that hire workers, as Democrats, bracing for new jobless figures, tried to show that Congress was doing something about stubborn unemployment.
Deadly attacks on soldiers at polls mar early voting in Iraq
BAGHDAD — Iraq opened its polls early on Thursday for hundreds of thousands of soldiers and police officers responsible for protecting the country’s electorate, and they came under assault themselves.
China’s spectacular real estate boom may presage bubble
SHANGHAI — The spacious duplex comes with crocodile-skin bedposts, hand-carved bronze doors inlaid with Swarovski crystal lights — and a $45 million price tag.
Coupling solar energy to natural gas, and hoping for the best of both
INDIANTOWN, Fla. — In former swamplands teaming with otters and wild hogs, one of the nation’s biggest utilities is running an experiment in the future of renewable power.
Shorts (left)
SACRAMENTO — Angered by increases in tuition and cuts in state funding, thousands of students, parents and faculty protested across California on Thursday, demonstrating at colleges, universities and even elementary schools to plead for help with the state’s ongoing educational crisis.