Shorts (left)
PRETORIA, South Africa — The trial of Oscar Pistorius was scheduled to resume on Monday as the defense begins to lay out its case that the double amputee track star killed his girlfriend in a tragic error and should not go to jail for murder.
Jet search team: signals are ‘consistent’ with black boxes
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — Even as they celebrated the discovery of underwater signals that may have come from Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, the authorities involved in the search cautioned Monday that they were still far from confirming the location of the airliner and solving the mystery of its disappearance.
Surge of violence across Syria kills over two dozen
BEIRUT — Violence flared across Syria on Sunday, as an explosion killed more than two dozen anti-government fighters in the central city of Homs and shells struck areas of Damascus, the capital, killing at least two people. On Saturday, a man died after a riot broke out in the crowded Zaatari refugee camp in Jordan.
Justices decline cases on gay rights and campaign finance
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear closely watched cases on gay rights, campaign finance and lethal injections. As is their custom, the justices gave no reasons for turning down the appeals.
Spring has arrived
After an unseasonably cold month of March, normal springtime weather has finally found its way to New England. Temperatures in Boston have broken the 50-degree barrier in each of the last three days, and that city has not seen a temperature below the freezing point since March 27. This warming trend will continue for most of the upcoming week, with temperatures meeting or exceeding their climatological normals on each day. (For this time of year, normal high temperatures are in the mid 50s, while normal lows are in the high 30s).
Protestors in Ukraine’s East call on Putin to send troops
MOSCOW — Under the watchful eye of Russian state television, several hundred pro-Russian demonstrators in the city of Donetsk, in eastern Ukraine, declared Monday that they were forming an independent republic and urged President Vladimir Putin to send troops to the region as a peacekeeping force, even though there are no obvious threats to peace in the area.
Prime minister wins a second term in Hungary election
BUDAPEST, Hungary — Voters in Hungary have re-elected Prime Minister Viktor Orban and his conservative political alliance in parliamentary elections, according to preliminary election results released Monday.
Shorts (right)
Federal health regulators approved a drug overdose treatment device Thursday that experts say will provide a powerful, life-saving tool in the midst of a surging epidemic of prescription drug abuse. Similar to an EpiPen used to stop allergic reactions to bee stings, the easy-to-use injector — small enough to tuck into a pocket or a medicine cabinet — will be prescribed for emergency use by the relatives or friends of people who have overdosed.
Shorts (left)
KILLEEN, Texas — In the aftermath of a deadly rampage at Fort Hood here in November 2009 that left 13 people dead, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates announced a Pentagon review of the shooting to help ensure, he said, that “‘nothing like this ever happens again.”
U.S. tried to build a social media site in Cuba, failed
WASHINGTON — The Obama administration acknowledged Thursday that it had attempted, and failed, to build a Twitter-like social media site in Cuba but insisted that it was part of the Agency for International Development’s effort to encourage political discussions, not a covert program to overthrow the government.
Same-sex marriage opponent Eich steps down as Mozilla’s CEO
A little more than a week after becoming chief executive of Mozilla Corp., Brendan Eich is stepping down after an intense debate over his belief that same-sex couples should not be allowed to marry.
Two women kidnapped from a resort in Malaysia
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — Gunmen kidnapped a Chinese tourist and a Filipino hotel worker, both women, from a beach resort on an island off the coast of Malaysian Borneo, the Chinese and Malaysian authorities said Thursday, spurring an international manhunt.
Nest labs stops selling high-tech smoke detector
Nest Labs, the home automation company recently acquired by Google for $3.2 billion, said Thursday that it was halting sales of its smoke and carbon monoxide detector over safety concerns.
April showers, then a return to sunny skies
Spring has finally made an appearance the last few days thanks to a high pressure taking control of the region Tuesday through Thursday, bringing dry weather and spring-like daily high temperatures in the upper 40s to low 50s°F. Today marks a brief change in this pattern as a low pressure system tracks up from the middle Mississippi River Valley and brings rain to our region overnight tonight. Expect a cooler high temperature of 43°F today due to easterly winds and increasing cloud cover ahead of the low. Tomorrow, we’ll see a return to seasonable conditions as the low pressure moves out and another high pressure settles in to take its place (although a chance of showers remains tomorrow morning as the low exits the region). Expect a pleasant weekend with partly sunny to sunny skies and daily highs in the low to mid 50s°F.
Shorts (right)
PRAGUE — The Palestinian ambassador to the Czech Republic, who was killed Jan. 1 in an explosion in his new residence here, most likely died after an explosive device he was holding detonated, the Czech police said Monday.
Curbs on data collection get tentative nod
WASHINGTON — A proposal backed by President Barack Obama to constrain the National Security Agency’s systematic collection of Americans’ telephone data drew a cautious welcome Sunday from a key congressional intelligence leader, but she offered a few significant caveats.
Greece clears the way for bailout money after vote
ATHENS, Greece — The Greek Parliament voted narrowly early Monday to back a bitterly contested package of economic changes, clearing the way for the release of further funding considered crucial for a financial rescue, despite a last-minute attempt by the political opposition to postpone the vote.
Summer arrives at last — just kidding
After a terrible weekend of floods and ice pellets, summer has arrived! Expect temperatures in the high 70s°F and unabated sunshine.
Turkey’s premier gets push from party in local elections
ISTANBUL — Even as he faced sweeping anti-government protests last summer and a corruption investigation that challenged his rule, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan held close to the notion that voters had put him in office and would do so again.
UN court orders Japan to halt Antarctic whaling
PARIS — The United Nations’ highest court Monday ordered Japan to halt its annual whaling hunt in the Southern Ocean around Antarctica, saying that its present program was not being carried out for scientific purposes, as Japan has claimed.