Turkish cultural and economic influence on the rise in Iraq
ZAKHO, Iraq — A Turkey as resurgent as at any time since its Ottoman glory is projecting influence through a turbulent Iraq, from the boomtowns of the north to the oil fields near southernmost Basra, in a show of power that illustrates its growing heft across an Arab world long suspicious of it.
Killing of politician Salman Taseer adds to turmoil within Pakistan
ISLAMABAD — The assassination of an outspoken secular politician by one of his police guards Tuesday plunged the Pakistani government deeper into political crisis and highlighted the threat of militant infiltration within the nation’s security forces.
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BERLIN — For the first time in a decade, Microsoft’s Internet Explorer is no longer the leading Web browser in Europe, ceding the position to Mozilla’s Firefox, an Irish research company that tracks web use said Tuesday.
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WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden are both looking for new chiefs of staff now. Those are the more prominent changes under consideration for a midterm makeover that so far suggests continuity more than a shakeup.
Many implanted defibrillators unnecessary, study finds
Doctors are implanting high-tech heart devices in thousands of people who probably do not need them, a new study finds. The procedures cost more than $35,000, involve surgery and anesthesia, and may unnecessarily harm some patients.
Birthright citizenship looms as next immigration battle
NOGALES, Ariz. —Of the 50 or so women bused to this border town on a recent morning to be deported back to Mexico, Inez Vasquez, eight months pregnant, stood out.
Qualcomm said to be near deal to purchase chip maker
Qualcomm, the pioneering wireless technology company, is near an agreement to buy the chip maker Atheros Communications for about $3.5 billion, according to two people with direct knowledge of the talks, in a deal that underscores the emerging dominance of smart phones and tablet computers. The transaction is expected to be announced on Wednesday morning, said these people. They added the negotiations were in their final stages but could still fall apart.
A Snowy December
According to the National Weather Service, this December was the 9th snowiest December on record for Boston, MA, with 22 inches of snow recorded. A significant portion of that (18.2 inches) was due to a single storm, the December 26–27 storm. This snowstorm tied for the 10th greatest snowstorm total for Boston, and was also the greatest 24 hour December snowfall amount. We won’t need to wait long for our next chance at significant snowfall. Following a high pressure system that will have control over the area until Friday, the forecast models are predicting the development of a strong coastal or offshore low pressure system that would impact our area Friday–Saturday. There is still much uncertainty surrounding this system, both in terms of the timing and track (which of course affects the snowfall total), but there is a good likelihood for precipitation in our region.
September 11 rescue worker health bill blocked by Senate this week
WASHINGTON — Republican senators blocked Democratic legislation on Thursday that sought to provide medical care to rescue workers and others who became ill as a result of breathing in toxic fumes, dust and smoke at the site of the 9/11 World Trade Center attack.
Senate stalls bill to repeal gay exclusion policy in military
WASHINGTON — In a blaze of unusual bipartisan fury, a military policy bill that would repeal the ban on gay and lesbian soldiers serving openly in the military stalled in the Senate on Thursday, severely diminishing the chances of ending the Clinton-era policy this year.
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MUMBAI, India — When it was introduced in early 2009, the egg-shaped Tata Nano was billed as a modern-day people’s car, an ultracheap vehicle that would bring greater mobility to the masses of India and, eventually, the world. But those ambitions have stalled — for now, at least.
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WASHINGTON — While President Barack Obama presses the Senate to embrace a new arms control treaty with Russia, another nuclear pact with Moscow cleared its final hurdle on Thursday after more than four years with virtually no notice but potentially significant impact.
UK student protesters attack car carrying Prince Charles
LONDON — Britain’s coalition government survived the most serious challenge yet to its austerity plans on Thursday when Parliament narrowly approved a sharp increase in college fees. But violent student protests in central London, including an attack on a car carrying Prince Charles and his wife Camilla to the theater, provided a stark measure of growing public resistance.
Sports stars seek profit from catchphrases, nicknames, epithets
Jets cornerback Darrelle Revis shut down so many receivers last season that teammates started calling his turf Revis Island, where opposing players were inevitably marooned.
Weekend weather warmer, wetter
A proverbial grab bag of weather will be on display this weekend, with clouds, sunshine, rain, and possibly even snow all on tap. First, clearing skies and calm winds will result in some of the coldest air of the autumn this morning, with temperatures plunging into the mid-teens. However, as a high pressure center drifts offshore, southerly flow will advect warm air to our area, and temperatures will increase steadily throughout the day and overnight, bringing Saturday’s high to the mid-40s.
China moves to block foreign broadcasts on Nobel prize
SHANGHAI — Chinese censors apparently began blocking the news websites of CNN, the BBC and the Norwegian broadcaster NRK from appearing in China on Thursday, a day before the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony is to be held in Oslo, Norway, to honor Liu Xiaobo, the imprisoned dissident.
Illegal immigrants who drive risk more than a ticket
LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. — It was just another suburban fender-bender. A car zoomed into an intersection and braked too late to stop at a red light.
Supreme Court to hear Wal-Mart discrimination case
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Monday agreed to hear an appeal in the biggest employment discrimination case in the nation’s history, one claiming that Wal-Mart Stores discriminated against hundreds of thousands of women in pay and promotion. The lawsuit seeks back pay that could amount to billions of dollars.
Germany reluctant to expand European bailout fund
BRUSSELS — Despite rising pressure for new measures to draw a line under the debt crisis, Germany moved Monday to close off debate on an increase to a 750-billion-euro bailout fund, or the more radical step of issuing common euro zone bonds.
Three Republicans in race to lead appropriations committee
WASHINGTON — The thick binder is dominated by a drawing of a chubby Uncle Sam, with shirt buttons straining against his girth, and a fleshy hand open and outstretched.