Shift in Pakistan Could Curtail Attacks on Terrorist Suspects
American officials reached a quiet understanding with Pakistan’s leader last month to intensify secret strikes against suspected terrorists by unmanned aircraft launched inside Pakistan, senior officials in both governments say. But the prospect of changes in Pakistan’s government has the Bush administration worried that the new operations could be curtailed.
A Defective Satellite is Obliterated, But Numerous Questions Still Linger
Videotape of the Navy mission to shoot down a dying spy satellite made available Thursday shows an interceptor missile ascending atop a bright trail of burning fuel, and then a flash, a fireball, a plume of vapor. A cloud of debris left little doubt that the missile had squarely hit its mark as it spent its final days orbiting more than 130 miles above the Pacific Ocean.
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In tones freighted with frustration, Britain’s foreign secretary, David Miliband, told the House of Commons on Thursday that, “contrary to earlier explicit assurances,” the Central Intelligence Agency had confirmed using an American-operated airfield on a British island in the Indian Ocean for refueling two “rendition” flights carrying terrorism suspects in 2002.
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The Kennedy assassination — a defining moment in American history and a never-ending topic of debate among conspiracy theorists — re-entered the spotlight for a moment Monday, after the Dallas district attorney unveiled the contents of a safe that had been secret for more than 40 years.
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When former President George Bush stood beside Sen. John McCain here Monday and gave him a Presidents Day endorsement, it was just the latest chapter in the sometimes-tangled saga of the Bush and the McCain dynasties.
Middle-Age Suicide Rate Increase Leaves Health Experts at a Loss
Shannon Neal can instantly tell you the best night of her life: Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2003, the Hinsdale Academy debutante ball. Her father, Steven Neal, a 54-year-old political columnist for The Chicago Sun-Times, was in his tux, white gloves and tie. “My dad walked me down and took a little bow,” she said, and then the two of them goofed it up on the dance floor as they laughed and laughed.
In Independence, Kosovo Finds Mix of Recognition, Rejection
Kosovo won the recognition of the United States and its biggest Western European allies on Monday, while earning rebukes and rejections from Serbia, Russia and a disparate mix of states the world over that face their own separatist movements at home.
Princeton to Offer Entering Students A Year Abroad Doing Social Service
Seizing on students’ desire for a year off before college, Princeton University is working to create a program to send a tenth or more of its newly admitted students to a year of social service work in a foreign country before they set foot on campus as freshmen.
Facing Recession, Clinton and Obama Push Populist Projects
Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y, and Barack Obama, D-Ill., intensified their populist appeals on Monday, responding to widespread economic anxiety and pushing the Democratic Party further from the business-friendly posture once championed by Bill Clinton.
Musharraf Receives Strong Rebuke in Pakistan Elections
They arrived in small groups over the course of the day, defying religious militants who say Pakistani women should not be allowed to vote.
Sunny Today But Wet Pattern to Continue
After yesterday’s rain storm, Boston is now over three inches above the normal liquid precipitation (3.3”) for all of February. Last year, there were only 2.2” for the whole month and only four cloudy days. This year, there have already been seven cloudy days. So what’s causing this unpleasant stretch of weather?
A Weather Machine
As computers and models become more sophisticated, weather forecasting is growing increasingly independent of humans. Even the text of this analysis could eventually be produced by a computer. What then is the contribution of humans in the process of weather forecasting? If the contribution is merely communicating the forecast, then meteorology as a physical science is only important in providing the tools to improve models. People are not usually interested in the physical consistency of their forecasts, rather, they are interested in the forecasts themselves and their accuracy. Once a model is capable of producing a forecast, the communication of the forecast to the public proceeds independently from the physical principles on which the forecast was based.
Black Leader Pulls His Support From Clinton, Shifts to Obama
Rep. John Lewis, an elder statesman from the civil rights era and one of Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton’s most prominent black supporters, said on Thursday night that he planned to cast his vote as a superdelegate for Sen. Barack Obama in hopes of preventing a fight at the Democratic convention.
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On the eve of a planned trip to Africa, President Bush thrust himself into the role of peacemaker on Thursday, as his plans to promote American efforts against poverty and disease gave way to a more pressing imperative: addressing the violence and turmoil on the continent.
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The Bush administration has agreed to turn over to international inspectors intelligence data it has collected that it says proves Iran worked on developing a nuclear weapon until a little more than four years ago, according to American and foreign diplomats.
Kenyans Split on Ethnic Lines Even Though Violence Declining
Sarah Wangoi has spent her entire life — all 70 years of it — in the Rift Valley. But last month, she was chased off her farm by a mob that called her a foreigner. She now sleeps on the cold floor of a stranger’s house, seeking refuge in an area of Kenya where her ethnic group, the Kikuyu, is strong. It is, supposedly, her homeland.
Faulty Satellite Will Be Target In Shoot-Down by the U.S. Military
The military will try to shoot down a crippled spy satellite in the next two weeks, senior officials said Thursday. The officials laid out a high-tech plan to intercept the satellite over the Pacific just before it tumbles uncontrollably to earth carrying toxic fuel.
Top Officials Make Bleaker Assessment of U.S. Economy
With the credit markets once again deteriorating, the nation’s two top economic policymakers acknowledged Thursday that the outlook for the economy had worsened, as both came under criticism for being overtaken by events and failing to act boldly enough.
Hezbollah Threatens New Attacks On Israeli Targets After Leader’s Death
Accusing Israel of killing one of his top commanders, Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Hezbollah, threatened Thursday to intensify his group’s conflict with Israel and to retaliate against Israeli targets anywhere in the world.
Clinton Backers Desperate For Wins in Ohio, Texas Primaries
Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton and her advisers increasingly believe that, after a series of losses, she has been boxed into a must-win position in the Ohio and Texas primaries on March 4, and she has begun reassuring anxious donors and superdelegates that the nomination is not slipping away from her, aides said Monday.