Assassination highlights rifts facing Syria rebels
BEIRUT — The assassination of a Syrian rebel fighter linked to al-Qaida called new attention Thursday to the ideological differences among the Islamists fighting the government of President Bashar Assad and threatened to set off new strife among the rebels.
Enthusiasm in Europe helps lift US stocks
Decisive moves by the head of the European Central Bank to preserve the eurozone pushed the benchmark U.S. stock index to a four-year high Thursday and fueled hopes that the rally may have staying power.
Weekend weather goes from warm to wet
This weekend’s weather will alternate between sunshine and showers as a set of disturbances creates an unsettled atmospheric pattern. First, southwesterly flow associated with a low pressure system to our northwest will bring warm air to campus, making for a sunny day with temperatures into the 80s °F. However, a weak cold front will also pass through the area today, possibly kicking off a few showers and thunderstorms along the way.
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BEIJING — As tensions between China and its neighbors over islands in nearby strategic waterways, China has scored some subtle victories, making the United States and its friends increasingly uneasy about the potential for violent confrontations.
Remnants of Isaac to bring rain to region
After a lovely Labor Day Weekend with sunny skies and seasonal temperatures, rain will return to the area just in time for the start of the semester.
U.S. prepares economic aid to bolster democracy in Egypt
WASHINGTON — Nearly 16 months after first pledging to help Egypt’s failing economy, the Obama administration is nearing an agreement with the country’s new government to relieve $1 billion of its debt as part of a U.S. and international assistance package intended to bolster its transition to democracy, administration officials said.
US vehicle rammed by suicide bomber in Pakistan
PESHAWAR, Pakistan — A suicide bomber rammed his explosives-laden vehicle into a sport utility vehicle belonging to the U.S. Consulate in the northwestern city of Peshawar on Monday morning, Pakistani and U.S. officials said, in one of the most brazen attacks against Americans in the country in recent years.
Protesters gather in Charlotte for Democratic Convention
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Protesters from scores of groups around the country filled the streets of Charlotte on Sunday afternoon to push their agenda as Democrats gathered in the city for their convention.
Trial set to open for former Detroit mayor Sept. 6
During his nearly seven-year stint as mayor of Detroit, there was little about Kwame M. Kilpatrick that was not big. His 6-foot-4 frame. His “hip-hop mayor” persona and the 1 1/2-carat diamond that pierced his ear. His wide appeal made him, at the age of 31, the youngest person ever to lead the city.
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NEW YORK — New York City may have regained all of the jobs it lost during the recession, but its labor unions have not and the steep decline in the past several years may signal a lasting erosion of one of the few remaining bastions of union power, according to the authors of a report to be released this week.
As growth flags, China shies from stimulus
HONG KONG — As evidence has mounted that the Chinese economy is slowing, Beijing has kept the world on tenterhooks, delivering none of the big, headline-grabbing economic stimulus measures many analysts have predicted.
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CARACAS, Venezuela — The authorities in Venezuela said Wednesday that they would investigate claims that illegal Brazilian gold miners massacred a village of Yanomami Indians deep in the Amazon jungle.
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LONDON — Police officials investigating phone hacking by journalists at Rupert Murdoch’s British newspapers arrested a man on Thursday who was identified in news reports as Tom Crone, a former senior lawyer for the newspapers.
Concerns arise over defining storms by category
NEW ORLEANS — Why were people in Plaquemines Parish and other coastal areas of Louisiana and Mississippi so blase about Hurricane Isaac? The answer could have something to do with the yardstick most commonly used to measure storms.
Soldiers’ deaths in Afghanistan mark Australia’s worst toll
KABUL, Afghanistan — Five Australian soldiers were killed in southern Afghanistan within hours of one another Wednesday and Thursday, three of them at the hands of a turncoat Afghan soldier, making it the deadliest period in a decade of fighting here for one of the staunchest U.S. allies.
As Iranians watch, Egyptian and UN leaders rebuke Syria
TEHRAN, Iran — Iran’s triumphal stewardship of the Nonaligned Movement summit meeting here veered off script on Thursday when the two most prominently featured guest speakers, President Mohammed Morsi of Egypt and United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, denounced the repression of the armed uprising in Syria, a close Iranian ally.
Nuclear report on Iran puts Israel in a box
JERUSALEM — For Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the International Atomic Energy Agency on Thursday offered findings validating his long-standing position that while economic sanctions and diplomatic isolation may have hurt Iran, they have failed to slow Tehran’s nuclear program. If anything, the program is speeding up.
Brazil enacts affirmative action law for universities
RIO DE JANEIRO — Brazil’s government has enacted one of the Western Hemisphere’s most sweeping affirmative action laws, requiring public universities to reserve half of their admission spots for the largely poor students in the nation’s public schools and vastly increase the number of university students of African descent across the country.
Labor Day to bring lovely weekend weather
After a hot and windy day today, a more settled weather pattern will take hold, bringing pleasant weather for the holiday weekend.
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NEW YORK — Reversing course, city education officials said Monday that a well-regarded culinary organization that recruits professional chefs to prepare school lunches could continue doing so when the new year begins next week.