SLIDESHOW: From Turkey to Jordan, heavy overnight snowfall Thursday jammed transportation, closed businesses, and made life more difficult for thousands in refugee camps around the Middle East. The wacky weather provided a surreal backdrop for everything from snowball fights to clashes between Palestinian youths and Israeli soldiers.
By Dan Bilefsky, Alan Cowell and Sebnem Arsu, New York Times, Jan. 10/11, 2013
PARIS — Three Kurdish women, including a founding member of a leading militant group fighting for autonomy in Turkey, were shot to death at a Kurdish institute in central Paris, police officials said on Thursday, potentially jeopardizing efforts to negotiate a cease-fire in the decades-old conflict.
By Sheryl Gay Stolberg, New York Times, Jan.. 8/9, 2013
WASHINGTON — From the moment Barack Obama burst onto the political scene, the poet Richard Blanco, a son of Cuban exiles, says he felt “a spiritual connection” with the man who would become the nation’s 44th president.
In Focus with Alan Taylor @ theatlantic.com, Jan. 7, 2013
14 photos: [....] Presented here are the winners from the three categories of People, Places, and Nature, captions provided by the photographers. [....]
The deal struck by Congress raised taxes on a handful of the highest-earning Americans, with about 99.3 percent of households experiencing no change in their income taxes.
Former representative Barney Frank revealed today that he had asked Governor Deval Patrick to appoint him to the interim Senate seat that would need to be filled if Senator John F. Kerry resigns to serve as secretary of state. [....]
More soldiers took their own lives than died in combat during 2012, new Department of Defense figures show. The Army's suicide rate has climbed by 9 percent since the military branch launched its suicide-prevention campaign in 2009.
Through November, 177 active-duty soldiers had committed suicide compared to 165 during all of 2011 and 156 in 2010. In all of 2012, 176 soldiers were killed in action -- all while serving in Operation Enduring Freedom, according to DOD.
Three women were shot and killed and two men were wounded before police in southern Switzerland disabled the gunman by shooting him in the chest, officials said Thursday. Police said the alleged assailant, an unemployed 33-year-old who had been treated for psychiatric problems in the past, was arrested and hospitalized after the rampage late Wednesday in the village of Daillon.
By Salman Masood and Ismail Khan, New York Times, Jan. 3/4, 2013
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — An American drone strike killed a top Pakistani militant commander in a northwestern tribal region, security officials said Thursday. The death of the commander, Maulvi Nazir, was seen as a serious blow to Taliban fighters who attack United States and allied forces in neighboring Afghanistan.
By Andy Borowitz, The Borowitz Report @ newyorker.com, Dec. 28, 2012
WASHINGTON —The international terror group known as Al Qaeda announced its dissolution today, saying that “our mission of destroying the American economy is now in the capable hands of the U.S. Congress.”
In an official statement published on the group’s website, the current leader of Al Qaeda said that Congress’s conduct during the so-called “fiscal-cliff” showdown convinced the terrorists that they had been outdone [....]
Blow for François Hollande as constitutional council vetoes Socialist policy at the 11th hour
By Kim Willsher in Paris, The Observer, 29 Dec 2012
France's constitutional council has dealt a blow to beleaguered Socialist president François Hollande by rejecting the new 75% rate of income tax due to come into effect on Tuesday.
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — A ban on YouTube, which Pakistan imposed after an anti-Islam video caused riots in much of the Muslim world, was lifted Saturday, only to be reinstated — after three minutes — when it was discovered that blasphemous material was still available on the site.
Google has announced its annual Zeitgeist, offering a unique perspective on 2012's major events and hottest trends based on searches conducted in Kenya, Ghana, Senegal, Uganda, South Africa, Nigeria, and Egypt [....]
The US says it has evacuated its embassy in the Central African Republic as rebels threaten to advance towards the capital, Bangui. The state department said it had not broken off diplomatic ties with the government but warned US citizens not to travel to CAR during the unrest.
Earlier, CAR President Francois Bozize appealed to the US and France to help block the rebel advance.
By Steven Greenhouse, New York Times/Business Day, Dec 26/27, 2012
[....] The dockworkers are flexing their muscles again, threatening a strike beginning Sunday that would shut seaports from Massachusetts to Texas. It would be the first such coastwide strike since a two-month walkout in 1977 paralyzed the flow of tens of billions of dollars of imports — and the nation’s retailers and other businesses fear a painful replay if the 14,500 dockworkers make good on their threats. [....]
