Security council agrees on resolution to rid Syria of chemicals
The five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council have agreed on a resolution that will require Syria to give up its chemical weapons, but the text will not threaten the use of force for a failure to comply, officials said.
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NAIROBI, Kenya — Only days after heavily armed assailants stormed a crowded mall and killed scores of people in the capital, militants killed three people near the border with Somalia, Kenyan officials said Thursday, putting this country even further on edge.
Quiet, sunny weather persists
It will be a pleasant early fall weekend, thanks to a high pressure system that will remain in control of our weather. The high temperatures will be near or slightly above the climatological normal value of 69°F, while the low temperatures will likely be slightly cooler than the climatological normal value of 54°F, thanks to mostly clear skies that allow for strong radiative cooling at night. It is unlikely we will receive rain before the end of the month on Monday, so we will fall far short of the 3.44” that is the climatological average for September precipitation (so far, we’ve received 2.21”). Looking farther ahead, a coastal low will pass to our east on Monday night. There is significant model spread in the position of the low, but there is a chance that rain will impact the Cape and Islands.
Davis is expected to run for Texas governor
HOUSTON — Wendy Davis, the Texas state senator whose filibuster in June against an abortion bill backed by the state’s powerful Republicans catapulted her to national political prominence, has told supporters and potential donors that she plans to announce next week that she will run for governor, according to Democrats in Texas and Washington.
EA sports settles lawsuit with college athletes
EA Sports and the Collegiate Licensing Co., two defendants in a lawsuit filed by student-athletes seeking to be paid, have settled their roles in the case, according to a federal court filing Thursday.
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BOSTON — Edward Davis, the Boston police commissioner who rose to national prominence after the marathon bombings in April, said Monday that he was stepping down voluntarily from his job in the next month or two.
Pakistan Christians demand protection after church bombing
LONDON — With its Muslim-style minarets topped by a large black cross, the All Saints Church in Peshawar, Pakistan, has for more than a century offered a daring architectural expression of Muslim-Christian harmony and cohabitation.
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ATYRAU, Kazakhstan — On the northern reaches of the Caspian Sea, not far from this old Soviet town known for its oil and sturgeon, lies a vast new oil find, the biggest outside the Middle East. China was rebuffed when it asked for a stake 10 years ago.
Eternal sunshine of the Fall semester
The Institute will once again experience a string of sunny days this week, with light winds and seasonable temperatures. This weather pattern will be quite similar to that of last week, in which a high pressure system was situated over New England for a majority of the week. Last week’s high pressure system resulted in sunshine from Tuesday through Saturday, before a cold front came through on Saturday night. Likewise, that cold front has ushered in a new high pressure system, which is expected to remain in place through the weekend and potentially into next week. The result will be clear skies, with temperatures reaching the upper 60s (°F) in the afternoon, and falling into the low-to-mid 50s (°F) overnight.
Former FBI agent pleads guilty in leak to the AP
WASHINGTON — A former FBI agent has agreed to plead guilty to leaking classified information to The Associated Press about a foiled bomb plot in Yemen last year, the Justice Department announced Monday. Federal investigators said they identified him after obtaining phone logs of Associated Press reporters.
Egyptian court bans Muslim brotherhood
CAIRO — An Egyptian court on Monday ordered the dissolution of the Muslim Brotherhood and the confiscation of its assets, sharply escalating a broad crackdown on the group in the three months since the military ousted its ally, Mohammed Morsi, from the presidency.
Chrsyler files for IPO under pressure from second-largest shareholder
DETROIT — Chrysler’s plan for a public stock offering would ordinarily be cause to celebrate the automaker’s comeback from its government bailout and bankruptcy in 2009. But the company’s filing for the offering, which came late on Monday, is hardly a moment of triumph.
Iranian official to meet major powers on nuclear dispute
UNITED NATIONS — Iran’s new foreign minister will meet counterparts from the five permanent Security Council members plus Germany later this week at the U.N. to discuss resuming talks on the protracted dispute over his country’s nuclear program, the European Union’s top foreign policy official said Monday after meeting with the Iranian minister for the first time.
Weather
The high pressure system that has brought good weather to our area for the past few days will continue to linger over the East Coast until at least the beginning of the weekend. Today and tomorrow will see clear skies, calm winds, and warm temperatures in the 70s°F, with nighttime lows in the upper 50s°F.
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HONG KONG — A company listed in Hong Kong that is caught up in a corruption investigation focused on China’s biggest state-owned oil conglomerate said Thursday that Chinese investigators had questioned it about projects, seized documents and frozen some bank accounts.
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LONDON — Ed Miliband, the leader of the opposition Labour Party, appeared to have Prime Minister David Cameron on the ropes. Cameron had just lost a vote in Parliament on a nonbinding motion to consider military action in Syria over chemical weapons, the first time in at least a century that a prime minister had not gotten parliamentary support for war. Cameron threw in the towel.
Gunman was ‘wandering’ halls as he shot, FBI chief says
WASHINGTON — The director of the FBI, James B. Comey, provided Thursday the most up-to-date account of the gunman’s rampage at the Washington Navy Yard, saying that he was “hunting people to shoot” as he made his way through the building but did not appear to have targeted a particular person or group of people.
New Taliban attack reported on Afghan police in remote area
KABUL, Afghanistan — Taliban insurgents have reportedly captured or killed large numbers of Afghan government forces in the remote and usually quiet northeastern corner of the country for the second time this year, officials said Thursday.
Merkel faces tough questions in former East Germany
MAGDEBURG, Germany— When Chancellor Angela Merkel made an hourlong campaign stop in this town in the former East Germany this week, Ilse Siegert was determined not to miss her chance.
Nigeria’s politicians profit from ‘industrial scale’ oil theft, report says
DAKAR, Senegal — Oil is being stolen on an “industrial scale” in Nigeria, the world’s 13th-largest producer, and the country’s politicians and security officials are among those profiting, according to a new report from a prominent British research group.