Vowing reform, China’s leader airs other message in private
HONG KONG — When China’s new leader, Xi Jinping, visited the country’s south to promote himself before the public as an audacious reformer following in the footsteps of Deng Xiaoping, he had another message to deliver to Communist Party officials behind closed doors.
Benedict says he will be ‘hidden to the world’ in retirement
VATICAN CITY — Saying he would soon be “hidden to the world,” Pope Benedict XVI took his leave of parish priests and clergy of the Diocese of Rome on Thursday in a moving encounter during which he gave a personal, and incisive, recollection of the Second Vatican Council, the gathering of bishops 50 years ago that set the Roman Catholic Church’s course for the future.
Prisoner X linked to Dubai assassination in new report
JERUSALEM — The Australian-Israeli man recently identified as Prisoner X — found dead in 2010 in a maximum-security prison cell — may have been involved in the assassination of a Hamas leader that year, an episode that was among the most embarrassing in the history of Israel’s intelligence agency, Mossad.
Sun, warmth to decrease depth of snow
This past weekend’s blizzard blanketed our area with over two feet of snow, creating several shoveling and plowing problems for residents and commuters in the Boston area. However, this week’s weather will be somewhat beneficial to those who wish the snow out of their way. Sunshine will return today, and temperatures are expected to be comfortably above the freezing mark during each daytime period through Friday.
Partners of gay military personnel are granted some benefits
WASHINGTON — The Pentagon on Monday expanded benefits to same-sex partners of military personnel to include a range of services offered at posts and bases, but withheld more expansive benefits sought by gay and lesbian couples — in particular medical and dental coverage and housing allowances.
Pope Benedict XVI says he will resign, cites ill health
ROME — Citing advanced years and infirmity, Pope Benedict XVI, the former Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, stunned the Roman Catholic world Monday by saying that he would resign Feb. 28, less than eight years after he took office, the first pope to do so in six centuries.
Senate Democrats unveil plan to avert broad spending cuts
Senate Democratic leaders are closing in on a $120 billion package of tax increases on the affluent and targeted spending cuts that they say would be large enough to put off looming, across-the-board spending cuts to defense and domestic programs for 10 months.
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VATICAN CITY — Pope Benedict XVI’s surprise announcement Monday that he will resign Feb. 28 sets the stage for a succession battle that is likely to determine the future course of a church troubled by scandal and declining faith in its traditional strongholds.
Syrian insurgents claim large hydropower dam
BEIRUT — Syrian insurgents and opposition activists said Monday that rebel forces had taken control of Syria’s largest hydroelectric dam, an assertion that, if confirmed, would give them significant control over a vital reservoir and what remains of the sporadic power supplies in their war-ravaged country.
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PARIS — For more than a century, the lengthy school days of French children have been punctuated by a midweek day off, in recent decades for most children on Wednesdays, originally created for catechism studies.
Afghan panel confirms torture of detainees
An Afghan government panel on Monday acknowledged widespread torture of detainees, after a two-week investigation of a U.N. report citing rampant abuses.
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DALLAS — Eddie Ray Routh, the former Marine corporal accused of killing Chris Kyle, an author and retired Navy SEAL sniper, had been released from a veterans hospital here four days before the shootings over the objections of his parents, Routh’s court-appointed lawyers said.
Catholic bishops reject contraception compromise
WASHINGTON — The nation’s Roman Catholic bishops rejected the latest White House proposal on health insurance coverage of contraceptives on Thursday, saying it did not provide enough safeguards for religious hospitals, colleges
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HONG KONG — The police in a restive Tibetan area have arrested 12 people and detained dozens more accused of a playing a part in acts of self-immolation by Tibetan monks and others protesting Chinese rule, the state-run media said Thursday, as the government stepped up its campaign of attributing the protests to a plot inspired by the exiled Dalai Lama.
Some states push measures to repel new US gun laws
DENVER — A tide of anger at Washington’s gun-control efforts is sweeping through statehouses from South Carolina to North Dakota, taking the form of laws that would let states ignore — or at least resist — any new national gun restrictions.
Report faults Indian government over child sex abuse
NEW DELHI — Sexual abuse of children is “disturbingly common” in India, and the government’s response to it has fallen short, both in protecting children and in treating victims, Human Rights Watch said in a report released Thursday.
Manhunt for ex-officer in three California killings
LOS ANGELES — A former Navy reservist who was fired from the Los Angeles Police Department in 2008 has gone on a murderous rampage aimed at police officers and their families, law enforcement officials said Thursday, killing at least three people — including an 11-year veteran of the Riverside Police Department — and setting off a huge manhunt across Southern California.
Iran’s supreme leader rejects direct talks with US
WASHINGTON — Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, rejected any idea of bilateral talks with the United States on Thursday, in a speech in which he seemed to dismiss the views of Iranian officials — including the country’s foreign minister — who had advocated for such negotiations.
Winter megastorm Nemo, today through Saturday
A threatening nor’easter will impact our region today. The storm may have historic consequences, possibly dropping over 2 feet of snow across much of southeast New England and producing white-out conditions late today into tonight. A low pressure center moving northeast along the coast will rapidly intensify as it combines with another low pressure moving east over Pennsylvania and New York. The system is rich with moisture and will drop heavy snowfall across our region into Saturday. Snowfall totals will be around 10-12 inches over Cape Cod, reaching 20-28” over the Greater Boston area. In the heaviest snow bands, we cannot rule out thundersnow either.
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FRANKFURT, Germany — It was only a few years ago that some economists were arguing that Europe was “decoupling” from its long dependence on trade with the United States, and predicted that the Continent’s future lay with the so-called tiger economies of Asia.