A U.S. Army soldier accused of killing 16 Afghan villagers appeared in a military courtroom for the first time Monday. Prosecutors say Staff Sergeant Robert Bales was “lucid,” “coherent” and “responsive” when he carried out the attack. Prosecutor Joseph Morse said Bales spent the night before the raid drinking whiskey and watching a violent movie […]
US Soldier Faces Hearing in Afghan Massacre
New US Storm Threatens Weather-Battered East Coast
Weather forecasters in the United States say another potentially damaging storm is headed to the East Coast, a week after Superstorm Sandy devastated the region. Forecasters say a strong storm, called a nor’easter, is developing off the southeastern United States and is expected to move north, eventually reaching the northeast coast by the middle of […]
Car Bombs, Air Strikes Kill Dozens in Syria
A Syrian activist group says a suicide car bomber has killed more than 50 Syrian soldiers and gunmen loyal to President Bashar al-Assad in central Hama province. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Monday’s attack in the village of Ziyara was carried out by the Al-Nusra Front, an al-Qaida-inspired Islamist militant group. The […]
New York Struggles to Recover from Sandy
One million New York City school children returned to classes Monday, a week after superstorm Sandy devastated much of the U.S. East Coast, but workers continued to endure long commutes and many homes remained without power. Even as the city struggled to regain some semblance of a normal start to the work week, thousands of […]
Ukrainian Election Officials Call For Partial Vote Recount
Election officials in Ukraine have called for a recount of ballots cast in several districts during last month’s vote, after the opposition threatened to boycott the country’s new parliament over alleged vote-rigging. Some 2,000 protesters gathered outside the Central Election Commission building in Kyiv on Monday. Police clashed with protesters but there was no major […]
Laos Gives Go Ahead To Build Controversial Dam
Laos says it will start construction of a controversial dam, despite opposition from neighboring countries. Deputy Energy Minister Viraphonh Viravong says the groundbreaking ceremony will take place on Wednesday. The Xayaburi hydroelectric dam project on the Mekong River is expected to cost at least $3.5 billion. It is backed by a Thai company, with Thailand […]
Folk Remedies Repel Mosquitoes
Some people in Africa and India have traditionally burned oil from seeds of the Jatropha curcas shrub in their lamps to keep mosquitoes away. U.S. Department of Agriculture scientists now know why it works so well. Chemist Charles Cantrell analyzed properties of the smoke and identified a number of active compounds that repel insects, including […]
New York Struggles to Recover from Sandy
A million New York school children returned to classes Monday a week after superstorm Sandy devastated much of the U.S. East Coast, but workers endured long commutes to their jobs and 1.4 million people remained without power. Even as the city struggled to regain some semblance of a normal start to the work week, thousands […]
Greek Workers Strike Ahead of New Austerity Vote
Greek public transport workers and journalists have launched a week of strikes against a new round of austerity measures the Athens government is seeking to impose. Tram and metro stations throughout the capital were closed Monday, and journalists began a 24-hour walkout over job layoffs. A 48-hour strike is set to begin Tuesday, including a […]
Suicide Car Bomb Kills 50 Syrian Troops – Observatory
A Syrian activist group says a suicide car bomber has killed more than 50 Syrian soldiers and gunmen loyal to President Bashar al-Assad in central Hama province. The head of the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, Rami Abd al-Rahman, said Monday’s attack in the village of Ziyara was carried out by the Al-Nusra Front, […]