Shorts (left)
Gao Zhisheng, one of China's most outspoken dissidents until his conviction on sedition charges late last year, said in a recorded statement made available over the weekend that while his confession had resulted in a light sentence, it had been made under mental and physical duress.
Shorts (right)
A group of radical clerics has issued a religious decree against Pakistan's tourism minister after some local newspapers printed photographs showing her holding onto a male colleague after landing from a parachute jump in France.
Dry Weekend Ahead
Perhaps the most startling weather event of the past week was the batch of heavy snow that paid us a visit Wednesday afternoon. Fortunately, it was too warm for any significant accumulation or ice hazards. As it turns out, April snowfalls are not uncommon in Boston. The average total snowfall for April is around 1.5 inches, which accounts for a little under 4 percent of the seasonal total. The record monthly snowfall for April is 22.4 inches, which occurred in 1996 (and is more than we've gotten for the entire year). Surprisingly, the latest snowfall ever was on June 17 in 1952! (Source: <i>http://www.erh.noaa.gov/box/AveragesTotals.shtml</i>)
Shorts (left)
The conservative presidential candidate Nicolas Sarkozy abruptly canceled a campaign visit to a neighborhood of the eastern city of Lyon on Thursday as demonstrators gathered there and warned that he would not be welcome.
Bhutto Arranges Return to Pakistan After Exile, Promotes Anti-Terrorism
As the Pakistani president, Gen. Pervez Musharraf, wrestles with swelling public disaffection over his rule, one of his key political rivals, Benazir Bhutto, has embarked on an international campaign to revive her political standing.
Shorts (right)
The controversy surrounding the World Jewish Congress, the tiny nonprofit organization that won billions for Holocaust survivors, continued this week, as its chief patron, Edgar M. Bronfman, accused its former leader, Israel Singer, of misusing funds and concealing "significant information."
Sailors and Marines Released After Two Week Captivity in Iran
The 15 British marines and sailors held captive in Iran for nearly two weeks arrived back home on Thursday. But Britain's relief at their safe return was tarnished by questions about how they behaved during their detention and why they had been captured in the first place.
Companies Reopen Debate on How to Fix Health Care System
Ever since Hillary Rodham Clinton's effort to overhaul the nation's medical system was rejected in 1994, most big employers have stayed out of the debate on health care reform.
Wealthy Conn. School District Confronts Racial Imbalance
More than half a century after the landmark desegregation ruling in Brown v. Board of Education, this overwhelmingly white and wealthy town is beginning to confront the yawning racial imbalance in its cozy, well-groomed neighborhood schools.
China Turns to Brazil to Satisfy a Surmounting Hunger For Soybeans
For more than 2,000 years, the Chinese have turned soybeans into tofu, a staple of the country's diet.
April Showers
The saying goes "April showers bring May flowers." We will certainly get to experience those April showers this week, as we return to work after the break.
Top Shiite Cleric Opposes U.S. Plan Concerning Baath Party
The most powerful Shiite cleric in Iraq has rejected an American-backed proposal to allow thousands of former members of Saddam Hussein's Baath Party to return to government service, an aide to the cleric said on Monday.
EPA Has Power to Regulate Gases, Rules Supreme Court
In one of its most important environmental decisions in years, the Supreme Court on Monday ruled that the Environmental Protection Agency has the authority to regulate heat-trapping gases in automobile emissions. The court further ruled that the agency could not sidestep its authority to regulate the greenhouse gases that contribute to global climate change unless it can provide a scientific basis for its refusal.
Shorts (right)
Gov. Deval L. Patrick of Massachusetts has ordered the state Department of Public Health to register the marriages of 26 out-of-state same-sex couples whose licenses were kept from state records by the former governor.
Shorts (left)
A day after members of an American congressional delegation led by Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., pointed to their brief visit to Baghdad's central market as evidence that the new security plan for the city was working, the merchants there were incredulous about the Americans' conclusions.
South Korea, U.S. Agree on World's Largest Bilateral Free Trade Deal
U.S. and South Korean negotiators struck the world's largest bilateral free trade agreement on Monday, giving the United States a badly needed lift to its trade policy at home and South Korea a chance to reinvigorate its export economy.
Supreme Court Declines to Hear Detainees' Habeas Corpus Case
The Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear urgent appeals from two groups of detainees at Guantanamo Bay. The 45 men sought to challenge the constitutionality of a new law stripping federal judges of the authority to hear challenges to the open-ended confinement of foreign citizens held at the U.S. naval base in Cuba and designated as enemy combatants.
British Police Arrest Three in Connection With '05 Bombings
The British counterterrorism police seized three men on Thursday for offenses related to the bombings in the London transit system on July 7, 2005, in which four suicide bombers killed themselves and 52 passengers.
Melting Away the Winter
Fairly tranquil weather is in store for the first weekend of the spring season in Cambridge. We will be under the influence of a high pressure system today and tomorrow, keeping skies clear and temperatures seasonal. A developing low pressure system will skirt to our south on Saturday night and Sunday, potentially close enough to give us some light snow or rain showers. However, it is most likely that we will just see an increase in cloud cover.
More U.S. Soldiers Deserted Than Was Earlier Reported
A total of 3,196 active-duty soldiers deserted the Army last year, or 853 more than previously reported, according to revised figures from the Army.