Heavier weapons push Syrian crisis toward civil war
WASHINGTON — With evidence that powerful new weapons are flowing to both the Syrian government and opposition fighters, the bloody uprising in Syria has thrust the Obama administration into an increasingly difficult position as the conflict shows signs of mutating into a full-fledged civil war.
World Bank sees euro crisis taking global toll
WASHINGTON — The World Bank on Tuesday warned that fears about the eurozone had reduced investors’ tolerance for risk, and it urged poorer economies to protect themselves by reducing their debts.
Yemen says militants are driven from two cities
Yasser Alarami contributed reporting.
Shorts (left)
Even those charged with identifying the world’s greatest geniuses sometimes make bad investment decisions.
JPMorgan chief expected to play down trade risks
When JPMorgan’s chief executive, Jamie Dimon, appears on Wednesday on Capitol Hill, he plans to play down the risky trading activities that could prompt as much as $5 billion in losses.
Rainy Wednesday, Picture-Perfect Weekend
The recent pattern of sunshine and seasonably mild weather will be interrupted today by the passage of a cold front through the New England region. This frontal feature will bring with it clouds and light to moderate rainfall for much of the duration of the day today. However, after the rain tapers off this afternoon and evening, the warm weather will pick up right where it left off, as high pressure begins to build in the front’s wake.
Department of Justice sues Florida over voter purge
The Department of Justice on Tuesday followed through on warnings that it would sue Florida over the state’s controversial plan to remove noncitzens from its voter rolls.
Iran threatens delays in talks on its nuclear program
Iran raised the possibility Wednesday of delaying or canceling the resumption of nuclear talks with the big powers, scheduled in less than two weeks, because of what it called dithering by the other side in holding preliminary meetings aimed at ensuring some success.
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KABUL, Afghanistan — Violence took the lives of at least two dozen Afghan civilians and possibly many more Wednesday, making it the deadliest day for Afghan civilians so far this year. The day included a complex suicide attack in Kandahar City and a NATO airstrike that Afghan officials and residents said had killed women and children in eastern Afghanistan, according to Afghan officials and residents.
Clear weather finally returns to New England
A weak, yet pesky, area of low pressure lingered just off Cape Cod earlier this week. The system brought cold temperatures, cloudy skies, rain, and breezy conditions. This system appeared “stuck” in one location on the weather forecast models from this past week. But why? The answer was evident in the central Atlantic Ocean, where a much larger low pressure center was parked, preventing the weaker low from exiting our area.
Spain holds a trump card in bank bailout talks
BERLIN — The bargaining has begun over a deal to rescue Spain’s ailing banks, confronting Europe with urgent choices about whether to try to enforce onerous bailout terms on Madrid as the crisis spreads to the region’s largest economies.
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Conflicting signs are emerging in Washington over whether JPMorgan Chase’s surprise trading loss will spur tighter regulation on Wall Street.
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BERLIN — Chancellor Angela Merkel’s party suffered a stinging defeat in elections in Germany’s most populous state on Sunday, one likely to embolden her political opponents both at home and abroad as the European debt crisis enters a critical new phase.
Colleges begin to confront higher costs and students’ debt
COLUMBUS, Ohio — In a wood-paneled office lined with books, sports memorabilia and framed posters (including John Belushi in “Animal House”), E. Gordon Gee, the president of The Ohio State University, keeps a framed quotation that reads, “If you don’t like change, you’re going to like irrelevance even less.”
Pattern of rainy weekdays, nice weekends to continue
After letting up for a warm, sunny weekend, rain will return to Cambridge today and tomorrow. While unfortunate for those who wish to enjoy the outdoors, the rain should help ease the drought conditions that plague part of every state on the Atlantic seaboard. Drought combined with record high temperatures are also taking a toll on the Southwest, where wildfires have already forced evacuations in Arizona, and many other regions sit at high fire risk.
Iran sees success in stalling on nuclear issue
TEHRAN, Iran — As Iran starts a critical round of talks over its nuclear program, its negotiating team may be less interested in reaching a comprehensive settlement than in buying time to further establish its enrichment program, Iranian officials and analysts said.
Facebook needs to turn data trove into investor gold
SAN FRANCISCO — Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook’s chief, has managed to amass more information about more people than anyone else in history.
Greek turmoil may spur new bargaining in eurozone
BERLIN — As gridlock among Greece’s political parties made new elections and another month of uncertainty there all but inevitable, European markets dropped significantly Monday amid concerns that Greece’s departure from the euro was near, and right behind it a new round of financial instability for Europe and the outside world.
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ATHENS, Greece — With Greece still rudderless after inconclusive elections, the leader of the Socialist party indicated Thursday that he might be able to establish common ground with the leader of the moderate Democratic Left Party and try to form a government that would extricate the country from a deepening political crisis that has angered its foreign creditors and roiled global markets.
Germany likely to allow modest growth policy in Europe
BERLIN — The outlines of a potential compromise in Europe’s battle between deficit-cutting austerity and policies to promote growth has begun to take shape. The question is whether the kind of cautious measures palatable to Germany, austerity’s champion, will do enough to combat the Continent’s imbalances and do it soon enough to put its weaker countries on more solid economic footing.