Shorts (left)
ISLAMABAD — Pakistan’s interior minister said Thursday that Osama bin Laden’s three wives had been charged with illegally entering the country, in the first legal action against them since they were taken into custody after their husband’s death in May.
Solar storm reaches Earth, and experts say to expect more
Solar storms like the one that buffeted the Earth’s magnetic field Thursday will soon become a common occurrence.
Japan looks beyond its borders for investors after catastrophes
AIZU-WAKAMATSU, Japan — Mayor Shohei Muroi knows it is a tough sell to get new companies to invest in this struggling industrial city just 60 miles from Japan’s most notorious nuclear plant.
Democrats warm to Obama as a campaign ally
WASHINGTON — Just six months ago, having their names uttered in the same sentence as President Barack Obama’s was something many congressional Democrats could have lived without.
Yesterday’s warm day a record high for Boston
Yesterday’s decidedly spring like weather set a record high temperature for March 8 in Boston. The recorded high at Logan Airport was 68°F, surpassing the previous record set in 1995 at 67°F, and a whopping 25°F above the climatological value. In addition, as anyone who was outside yesterday knows, it was quite windy, with a sustained wind of 37 mph and gusts to 49 mph at Logan. The weather station on the roof of the Green Building recorded a high temperature of 68.8°F, a maximum sustained wind of 23 mph, and a maximum wind gust of 36 mph. These strong winds were felt across much of the Northeast, with maximum wind gusts of up to 54 mph along coast south of Boston. Unfortunately for those hoping the warm weather was here to stay, we will have a brief period of chillier weather (around normal values in the low 40°Fs) today and Saturday, following a cold front. The high temperatures look to return early next week, with temperatures near 70°F possible.
Shorts (right)
The Supreme Court of Iran has tossed out the death penalty conviction of a former U.S. Marine accused of spying and ordered a retrial in a separate court, Iranian news services reported Monday.
Shorts (left)
WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama has boasted for months about playing host to the annual summit meeting of the Group of Eight industrialized nations this May in his hometown, Chicago. But Monday, without explanation, the White House announced a shift to the secluded setting of Camp David, the presidential retreat in Maryland.
Leadership rift emerges in Pakistani Taliban
ISLAMABAD — The Pakistani Taliban faced the prospect of a damaging leadership rift Monday when the abrupt dismissal of a senior commander provoked an angry reaction in the militants’ ranks, offering the Islamabad government a fresh opportunity to weaken a foe that in recent years has killed thousands of Pakistanis and tried to detonate a crude car bomb in Times Square in 2010.
Unusual warming trend will continue until Friday
A broad ridge of high pressure will slowly build over the Atlantic this week. As a result of its slow evolution, New England will benefit from tranquil weather through at least Thursday, including a noticeable increase in temperatures. In fact, temperatures could very well reach the upper 60s (19–21°C) by Thursday due to a sustained, southwesterly flow on the western side of the ridge. This flow and its accompanying surface winds should strengthen day-by-day, reaching their maximum by Thursday and funneling in very warm air from the mid-Atlantic states.
Big sentencing disparity seen among US judges
A new analysis of hundreds of thousands of cases in federal courts has found vast disparities in the prison sentences handed down by judges presiding over similar cases, raising questions about the extent to which federal sentences are influenced by the particular judges rather than by the specific circumstances of the cases.
At least 20 police officers killed in western Iraq
Yasser Ghazi contributed reporting from Baghdad, and Iraqi employees of The New York Times from Anbar province.
Study finds a growing student debt load
A report released Monday by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York renews concerns about the growing debt load of college students and graduates.
Afghanistan talks are embittered after Quran burnings
KABUL, Afghanistan — The United States and Afghanistan appeared to make no headway here Monday in high-level negotiations on a long-term strategic partnership that have been embittered somewhat by the Quran burnings last month. Elsewhere, further violence left three people dead, including two children killed in a suicide attack on the main NATO military base where the Qurans were desecrated.
Shorts (left)
BAGHDAD — When Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki rounded up hundreds of former Baathists, accused the vice president of running a hit squad and threatened to use the apparatus of state to target other top Sunni leaders, some rivals and critics said that al-Maliki’s authoritarian streak had finally antagonized enough of Iraq’s political class to jeopardize his hold on power.
As fighting rages, Syria votes on a new Constitution
BEIRUT — As fighting churned on in major cities on Sunday, Syria held a referendum on a new constitution, an offer of reform that critics have dismissed as too little too late and Western leaders called a farce.
Thousands join anti-Kremlin protest in Moscow
MOSCOW — Thousands of anti-Kremlin protesters donned white ribbons and held hands along Moscow’s 10-mile ring highway on Sunday, demonstrating the resilience of the protest movement and continued dissatisfaction with Prime Minister Vladimir V. Putin a week before he is to run in a crucial presidential election.
Multibillion dollar trial for BP’s Gulf oil spill delayed until next week
NEW ORLEANS — The civil trial over the United States’ biggest oil spill has been delayed for a week as efforts to settle the multibillion-dollar litigation intensify.
Shorts (right)
As same-sex marriage supporters celebrate victories in Washington and Maryland this month, they are keeping a wary eye on New Hampshire, where lawmakers may soon vote to repeal the state’s 2-year-old law allowing gay and lesbian couples to wed.
Germany backs $175 billion aid plan for Greece
BERLIN — Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany managed to keep her strategy for attacking Greece’s debt problems on track with a victory in Parliament Monday, but was able to win the vote only with the help of opposition parties.
President of Ecuador to pardon four in libel case
CARACAS, Venezuela — Declaring victory over what he called a “media dictatorship,” President Rafael Correa of Ecuador said Monday that he would pardon three newspaper executives and a columnist who were sentenced to three years in prison in a libel case.