Issues Remain for Beijing Games, Says Int’l Olympic Committee
With a month remaining before the Beijing Olympics, the International Olympic Committee on Tuesday praised the city’s preparations but also cited two “open issues” that remain: whether the city can deliver good air quality and fulfill promises to allow television networks to broadcast from non-Olympic sites.
Hurricane Season Underway
Although the Atlantic Ocean sees the lion’s share of its hurricanes August through October, hurricanes have been observed to form in July. Last week, a strong and consolidated area of thunderstorms emerged off Africa and quickly developed into Tropical Storm Bertha. On Monday, Bertha strengthened into a hurricane and underwent a period of rapid intensification becoming a category 3 storm with winds of 120 mph (190 kph). While hurricanes in July aren’t remarkable, the location of Bertha is. Bertha has set records for the farthest east a tropical storm, hurricane, and major hurricane have formed so early in the hurricane season (though reliable records date back to only the early ’70s).
Richest Nations Pledge To Halve Greenhouse Gas
President Bush and leaders of the world’s richest nations pledged Tuesday to “move toward a low-carbon society” by cutting greenhouse gas emissions in half by 2050, the latest step in a long evolution by a president who for years played down the threat of global warming.
Guantanamo Camp Remains, But Not Its Legal Rationale
The Guantanamo Bay detention center will not close today or any day soon.
House Passes Extension of Unemployment Benefits
The House took another step Thursday in a running political fight over unemployment insurance by ignoring a veto threat from President Bush and easily approving an extension of benefits for idled workers whose aid is running out.
Shorts (left)
Microsoft’s four-month-long courtship of Yahoo has finally thrown Yahoo into the arms of their biggest common rival, Google.
Japan Wages War on Its Widening Waistlines
Japan, a country not known for its overweight people, has undertaken one of the most ambitious campaigns ever by a nation to slim down its citizenry.
Zimbabwe Detains Opposition Leader Again, and Aide Is Held On
The standard-bearer for Zimbabwe’s opposition was twice detained by the police on Thursday, and one of his most important deputies was arrested to face treason charges.
Shorts (right)
A leading Sunni political party’s headquarters in western Iraq was blown up early Thursday morning while in southern Iraq, where Shiite factions have been fighting one another, a powerful bomb was discovered on the road to an important Shiite shrine.
The Heat Is Gone
The series of hot days beginning last Saturday and ending last Tuesday was very unusual for this early in the season. Intense heating of the land relative to the chilly ocean (still about 60°F at the surface) typically supports a strong sea-breeze circulation, which serves to draw relatively cool air from Boston Harbor into Cambridge. During this heat wave, however, large-scale westerly winds generally did not allow the sea-breeze circulation to penetrate beyond the immediate coast line. The result was very hot afternoons, including as estimated high of 99°F (37°C) in Cambridge last Tuesday.
Critics Raise Cries of Sexism In Clinton Coverage
Angered by what they consider sexist news coverage of Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton’s bid for the Democratic presidential nomination, many women and erstwhile Clinton supporters are proposing boycotts of the cable networks, putting up videos on a “Media Hall of Shame,” starting a national conversation about sexism and pushing Clinton’s rival, Sen. Barack Obama, to address the matter.
Zimbabwean Opposition Leader Detained by Police
The Zimbabwean opposition presidential candidate Morgan Tsvangirai and other party officials were detained by police while campaigning on Wednesday and were taken into custody, his party said.
The Days After Tomorrow
My fellow members of the MIT Class of 2008, I know that this Commencement ceremony fills you with a variety of emotions, including happiness, excitement, nostalgia, and uncertainty. The same thoughts and questions are running through all of our heads: Is it June already? What am I going to do with my life? Can I really make the world a better place? Will anyone actually read my thesis? I spent a lot of time writing it.
Shorts (right)
Antoin Rezko, a once-powerful fundraiser who helped propel the career of Sen. Barack Obama, was found guilty on Wednesday by a federal jury of 16 criminal counts, including fraud, money-laundering and bribery in an influence-peddling scheme that touched the highest levels of the administration of Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich of Illinois.
Clinton Ready to End Bid and Endorse Obama, Aides Say
Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton will endorse Sen. Barack Obama on Saturday, bringing a close to her 17-month campaign for the White House, aides said. Her decision came after Democrats urged her Wednesday to leave the race and allow the party to coalesce around Obama.
Scientists Say China Disregarded Warnings on Earthquake Risk
Chinese scientists say that even before a final accounting can be made in last month’s earthquake in Sichuan Province, one thing is painfully evident: The huge death toll stems partly from a failure to heed clear warnings of a devastating earthquake in the area.
Shorts (left)
In its first substantial move since taking power, the main political party in Pakistan has proposed sweeping constitutional changes designed to limit the authority of President Pervez Musharraf.
Palestinian Leader Urges Talk With Hamas
The Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, called unexpectedly on Wednesday for a resumption of dialogue with the Islamic militant group Hamas, a move that could herald a breakdown of his peace talks with Israel.
U.N. Leader Bluntly Tells Myanmar to Hurry on Aid
As the authorities in Myanmar raised the cyclone death toll to nearly 32,000 and admitted one U.S. military aircraft, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon pressed the junta to let international assistance and aid workers into the country without hindrance and expressed “deep concern and immense frustration” with what he called “the unacceptably slow response to this grave humanitarian crisis.”
Don’t Put Away That Jacket Just Yet
For the rest of the work week, Boston will continue to see slightly below average temperatures, with no dramatic warming trends on the horizon. The reason for these slightly chilly conditions can be blamed on the wind direction. There are three main factors in determining the temperature. The first is the sun. Obviously, it is warmer during the day rather than at night and during summer rather than winter, based on the sun’s presence. The second factor in determining temperature is cloudiness. Clouds can act to block sunlight from hitting the ground, or act like a blanket to trap heat. The third factor is the wind direction. Wind can blow warmer or cooler air into our region. Meteorologists call this phenomenon “advection.”