Tunisian constitution, praised for balance, nears passage
TUNIS, Tunisia — Tunisia’s National Constituent Assembly is close to passing a new Constitution that legislators across the political spectrum, human rights organizations and constitutional experts are hailing as a triumph of consensus politics.
Temperatures above average in Cambridge
Over the past few days, temperatures more than 10 degrees higher than average melted most of the snow remaining from the last storm. The daily average for this week in Cambridge is normally below freezing (32°F), but we have barely dipped below freezing even at night since last week. Expect warmer weather to persist through Friday before a return to normal temperatures this weekend.
NSA devises radio pathway into computers isolated from web
WASHINGTON — The National Security Agency has implanted software in nearly 100,000 computers around the world that allows the U.S. to conduct surveillance on those machines and can also create a digital highway for launching cyberattacks.
Federal judge rejects Oklahoma’s gay marriage ban
A federal judge in Oklahoma ruled Tuesday that the state’s constitutional amendment barring same-sex marriage violated the federal Constitution, the latest in a string of legal victories for gay rights and one that occurred in the heart of the Bible Belt.
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WASHINGTON — FBI investigators do not believe Internal Revenue Service officials committed crimes in the unusually heavy scrutiny of conservative groups that applied for tax-exempt status, a law enforcement official said Monday.
Court rejects FCC rules on equal Internet access
WASHINGTON — A federal appeals court on Tuesday threw out Federal Communications Commission rules that require Internet service providers to give all traffic equal access through their networks.
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BEIRUT — The leader of the Nusra Front, an affiliate of al-Qaida in Syria, on Tuesday proposed an initiative aimed at halting the worst infighting yet between the armed opponents of President Bashar Assad since the start of the conflict nearly three years ago.
New Jersey enticing businesses with revamped tax credit program
The tax break wars are heating up again, as New Jersey aggressively pushes a revamped program to encourage businesses to stay or move within its borders.
Another worryingly low inflation rate for the eurozone
PARIS — Consumer prices in the eurozone barely increased last month, raising fears of deflation and putting pressure on the European Central Bank to take further action.
Obama lost faith in his Afghan strategy, Gates’ memoir asserts
WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama eventually lost faith in the troop increase he ordered in Afghanistan, his doubts fed by top White House civilian advisers opposed to the strategy, who continually brought him negative news reports suggesting it was failing, according to his former defense secretary, Robert M. Gates.
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BANGKOK — Anti-corruption authorities in Thailand announced Tuesday that they were opening investigations against 308 lawmakers, most of them from the governing party, on suspicion of “malfeasance in office,” in connection with a constitutional amendment that was later ruled by a court to have been enacted illegally.
What is a polar vortex?
The weather has been a major news story this week across much of the United States, as extraordinarily cold weather has swept the central and eastern parts of the country. Temperatures well below 0°F combined with blustery winds to create dangerous conditions, forcing the closings of schools and businesses as people were advised to stay indoors. Many recent news reports have attributed the extreme cold to a “polar vortex”— but what exactly does that mean?
Hundreds of police officers are reassigned in Turkey
PARIS — About 350 police officers in Ankara, the Turkish capital, were removed from their posts overnight, Turkish news outlets reported Tuesday, the largest single purge of the police force since a corruption investigation plunged the government into crisis last month.
In about-face, Sudan denies talking with South about a joint force
KHARTOUM, Sudan — Sudan on Tuesday backed away from its assertion that it had held discussions with South Sudan about creating a joint force to safeguard oil fields in the South, an economic lifeblood for both countries that is being threatened by the fighting in South Sudan.
House and Senate reach compromise on Pentagon bill
WASHINGTON — House and Senate negotiators reached a final agreement Monday on a Pentagon policy bill that would strengthen protections for military victims of sexual assault and keep the prison facility at Guantánamo Bay open over President Barack Obama’s strenuous objections, as Congress rushed to wrap up work in its last full week of the year.
Thai premier calls for elections as opposition quits
BANGKOK — Facing volatile street protests and the mass resignation from Parliament of the main opposition party, Thailand’s prime minister on Monday called for fresh elections, the latest in a series of attempts to defuse anger against her political party and her powerful family.
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BAGHDAD — Iraqi forces battled gunmen trying to infiltrate the country from neighboring Syria on Monday, while attacks in Baghdad and north of the capital killed more than 20 people, officials said.
Arctic front to bring temperature plunge
Yesterday, we at Cambridge witnessed our first lasting snow of the winter, more than one month later than the time of our first lasting snow last year. Temperatures over the last few days frequently oscillated above and below freezing, as is typical in Bostonian December.
Philippines and Muslim rebels move closer to final peace deal
MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines has moved a step closer to a landmark peace deal with the country’s largest Muslim insurgent group, but significant obstacles to an end to violence remain.