Saakashvili Calls for Election Amidst Rioting, Police Clashes
The president of Georgia, Mikheil Saakashvili, on Thursday called for a special presidential election on Jan. 5, saying he would test whether he retained a mandate a day after a police crackdown and clashes with opposition demonstrators led the government to declare a state of emergency.
Niger’s Oil-Rich Delta Plagued By Gang Shootings and Violence
Rosemary Douglas has no connection to the oil business that pumps more than 2 million barrels of crude a day from beneath the swampy Niger Delta. But the violence surrounding it pierced her home in September anyway, when a bullet shattered her upper left arm as she napped with her 2-year-old daughter.
It’s Beginning to Feel Like Winter
Temperatures over the next few days will continue to be below average for a change. The month of October saw temperatures average more then five degrees above normal for Boston, mainly thanks to a dry high pressure pattern. That’s all a distant memory as far as the near-term weather is concerned. A low pressure system will be redeveloping off the mid-Atlantic coast today and track northeastward out to sea, although it will still provide us a chance of light precipitation Friday night and Saturday morning. If any precipitation does fall, it will likely be of the liquid variety, although temperatures may be marginal enough to have a few flakes mixed in as well. After the storm scrapes by us on Saturday, high pressure will settle into New England, yielding pleasant and sunny conditions for Sunday and the early part of next week. Enjoy the holiday!
Israeli and Palestinian Officials Say They Hope for Accord Soon
Israeli and Palestinian officials hope to reach a comprehensive peace agreement before the end of President Bush’s term, Israeli, Palestinian and American officials said Monday.
Thousands of Movie and TV Writers On Strike Over Stake in New Media
Hollywood writers took to the sidewalks, if not quite the streets, Monday, as last-ditch bargaining failed to avert the first industrywide strike in more than 19 years.
The Third Noel
Twice before has Hurricane Noel spun across the open waters of the North Atlantic, but the Noels of 1995 and 2001 were only storms for the fish as neither threatened any land mass. Hurricane Noel of 2007 proved much different and will likely be the most fatal of this year’s Atlantic hurricanes as it inflicted parts of Hispanola with 20 inches (50 cm) of rain, causing devastating mudslides.
Musharraf Urged to Reverse Course, Hold Elections Soon
President Bush on Monday urged Gen. Pervez Musharraf, the Pakistani president, to hold elections and give up his army post “as soon as possible,” but gave no indication that the general’s imposition of emergency rule would bring about any significant change in American policy.
Bayer Pulls Heart Surgery Drug From Market After Controversy
Pressured by regulators, the German pharmaceutical giant Bayer AG announced on Monday that it had agreed to withdraw the controversial heart surgery drug Trasylol after a Canadian study suggested that it increased death rates.
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President Bush pledged Monday to increase intelligence cooperation with Turkey in its fight against Kurdish rebels, hoping to head off any significant Turkish military operation in Iraq.
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The circulation declines of American newspapers continued over the spring and summer, as sales across the industry fell almost 3 percent compared with the year before, according to figures released Monday.
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Crack cocaine offenders will receive shorter prison sentences under more lenient federal sentencing guidelines that went into effect on Thursday.
Islamic Militants Draw New Front Line Inside Pakistan’s Swat Region
For much of the last century, the mountainous region of Swat was ruled as a princely kingdom where a benign autocrat, the wali, bestowed schools for girls, health care for everyone and the chance to get a degree abroad for the talented.
London Police Faulted in 2005 Killing Of Brazilian Citizen on Subway Train
London’s police force on Thursday was found guilty of putting the public at risk during a flawed counterterrorism operation in 2005 that led to the killing of an innocent Brazilian electrician on a subway train.
Japan Ends Naval Support for Military Mission in Afghanistan
Japan’s Defense Ministry ordered home its naval ships from the Indian Ocean on Thursday, ending for now a six-year mission in support of the war in Afghanistan that raised the nation’s military presence overseas but has recently drawn increasing criticism domestically.
Stocks Tumble on CitiGroup, Consumer Spending Outlook
A day that dawned bleakly on Wall Street turned even darker late Thursday as an afternoon sell-off sent the Dow Jones industrial average down more than 360 points, or 2.6 percent. Investors worried that Citigroup’s woes might be worsening and that consumers would not spend freely this holiday shopping season.
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Stephen Colbert’s nascent and satirical presidential campaign came to an abrupt end on Thursday when the Democratic Party in South Carolina decided he was not serious and turned down his application to get his name on the primary ballot.
Counterclockwise Rotation for Saturday
The most interesting aspect of today’s forecast is the possibility that we will see firsthand some of the effects of Noel (officially a hurricane by yesterday at 8 p.m.). As the tropical storm transitions into an extratropical cyclone, it will weaken back to tropical storm strength, to later intensify into hurricane force winds by Saturday afternoon. By Saturday at 5 p.m., the center storm will (most likely) pass at about 150 miles from the coast of Massachusetts with some models (those with the westernmost trajectories) giving even hurricane force winds for the Cape and tropical storm winds for Boston. The exact trajectory of the storm is at this moment uncertain, but there is the potential of significant wind related disruptions for Saturday afternoon and evening, so plan your activities accordingly and stay tuned to the latest forecasts.
Administration Starts an Effort To Save Mukasey’s Nomination
The White House began a campaign Thursday to save the candidacy of Michael B. Mukasey for attorney general, with President Bush defending the nominee in a speech and in an Oval Office interview, where he complained that Mukasey is “not being treated fairly” on Capitol Hill.
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They have gone from exorcism to coronation in record time. The Boston Red Sox, who fought ghosts for most of the last century, are the premier team of the new millennium.
General Motors to Build Hybrid Research Facility in Shanghai
GM announced Monday that it would build an advanced research center in Shanghai to develop hybrid technology and other advanced designs, in the latest research investment in China by a foreign automaker despite chronic problems with purloined car designs.