Shorts (right)
World financial markets powered higher Thursday in the giddy hope that Europe’s plan to solve its sovereign debt crisis would finally lift the uncertainty over the global economy and markets. In the United States, a sharp jump in stocks continued what has become the biggest monthly rally in 47 years.
Shorts (left)
WASHINGTON — Despite a pledge not to take money from lobbyists, President Barack Obama has relied on prominent supporters who are active in the lobbying industry to raise millions of dollars for his re-election bid.
Thousands leave Bangkok as flooding spreads
BANGKOK — With government officials saying there was nothing more they could do to protect the capital city from devastating flooding, tens of thousands of people were fleeing Bangkok on Thursday, jamming train and bus stations and clogging the southern highways out of town.
UN votes to end foreign intervention in Libya
The U.N. Security Council voted unanimously Thursday to end its authorization on Monday of the foreign military intervention in Libya, the legal basis for the NATO attacks on Moammar Gadhafi’s forces during the eight-month civil war that toppled him from power.
US economy shows modest growth last quarter
U.S. economic growth picked up last quarter in the latest encouraging sign that the recovery, while painfully slow, had not stalled.
Early-season snow possible on Saturday
While many people will be celebrating Halloween this weekend, Mother Nature may have a trick (or treat) of her own up her sleeve. A storm currently centered over Georgia is forecast to develop and move up the Atlantic coast Saturday, potentially leading to some stormy conditions here in the Boston area on Saturday night. Depending on the exact track the storm takes off the New England coast, rain showers on Saturday evening may turn to snow showers overnight.
Attack in Kandahar breaks rare respite
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan — Insurgents armed with guns and rocket-propelled grenades attacked a small NATO base here Thursday, breaking an unusual period of calm in this volatile city and setting off a standoff between the attackers and coalition and Afghan forces that was continuing late into the evening.
North Korea is talking, but Panetta is skeptical
SEOUL, South Korea — Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta cast doubt Thursday on talks aimed at persuading North Korea to abandon its nuclear program despite more positive public comments from negotiators for both countries earlier this week.
Nuclear talks with North Korea begin in Geneva
GENEVA — The United States and North Korea began two days of talks here Monday that U.S. officials have said will test the ground for a possible resumption of wider discussions on North Korea’s nuclear program.
Shorts (left)
WASHINGTON — Republican presidential candidates are issuing biting and sustained attacks on the federal courts and the role they play in American life, reflecting and stoking skepticism among conservatives about the judiciary.
Cameron faces internal revolt over European policy
LONDON — After being berated by President Nicolas Sarkozy of France at a rancorous European summit meeting over the weekend, Prime Minister David Cameron on Monday faced an all-out rebellion from members of his own party over whether Britain should even be part of the European Union.
Sequence of low pressures to affect region
This week, a fairly active weather pattern is in place, with a sequence of low-pressure systems marching across the country and bringing periods of bad weather to New England. The first was a mid-level shortwave trough that passed through last night. Tomorrow will be calm, but clouds will increase tomorrow night as a warm front pushes through ahead of the next system. There is uncertainty as to how much precipitation that system will bring, but there remains the possibility of rain showers on Wednesday. More certain is a cold front that will pass through on Thursday, which will cause high temperatures to struggle to reach 50°F. The timing is subject to change, but as of now it looks like Thursday afternoon and evening have the highest chance of rain. That low should move out in time for Friday to be sunny, but chilly.
Shorts (right)
ISTANBUL — At least 138 people were killed and about 350 were injured after a powerful earthquake struck eastern Turkey, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in a news conference early Monday. The death toll was expected to rise, perhaps significantly, with many people reported to be stuck beneath dozens of collapsed buildings.
Kenyan offensive is not welcome, Somalia’s president says
NAIROBI, Kenya — Somalia’s president Monday criticized Kenya’s military offensive into his nation to root out Islamist rebels, raising questions about how bilateral the military action is.
Microsoft and Google consider bid for Yahoo
As a host of potential bidders circle Yahoo, several of Silicon Valley’s biggest companies are considering whether to jump into the fray themselves.
US secretly infiltrates criminal groups across Mexico
WASHINGTON — U.S. law enforcement agencies have significantly built up networks of Mexican informants that have allowed them to secretly infiltrate some of that country’s most powerful and dangerous criminal organizations, according to security officials on both sides of the border.
Shorts (right)
ISTANBUL — Turkey’s offensive against Kurdish militants this week is one of its largest military operation in years, with 10,000 troops backed by warplanes pursuing rebels in southeastern Turkey and northern Iraq, the Turkish army said Thursday.
Shorts (left)
The owner of the Ohio wildlife preserve, who authorities say set dozens of lions, tigers, bears, and other animals free, was bitten by one of his large cats, apparently after he fatally shot himself, officials said Thursday. The head wound to the man, Terry Thompson, 62, was “consistent with a tiger bite,” Sheriff Matt Lutz of Muskingum County said, referring to results from Thompson’s autopsy report.
An erratic leader, Gadhafi was brutal to the end
Moammar Gadhafi, the erratic, provocative dictator who ruled Libya for 42 years, crushing opponents at home while cultivating the wardrobe and looks befitting an aging rock star, met a vengeful and violent death Thursday at the hands of the Libyan forces that drove him from power.
Tranquil weekend weather expected
Would the weather last Wednesday or Thursday be your ideal weather for the weekend? Ponchos and umbrellas were common across campus on Wednesday as a tight low pressure system moved north across the Mid-Atlantic states. The system brought heavy rain (1.64” at Logan Airport) and high winds to many areas. Then, as dryer air was pulled in from the South yesterday, the rain departed and the sun popped out. Well, the sunshine should stick around through this weekend, with winds slowly diminishing each day as a broad high pressure approaches from the southwest. Temperatures will also remain normal for this time of year, with highs in the lower 60s (15°C) and lows in the mid 40s (4°C). For the weather enthusiasts, sorry you couldn’t see Wednesday’s weather again this weekend.