Money may not buy you happiness, but happiness can improve your financial bottom line. A study by researchers from University College London finds that young people who report a higher level of happiness and satisfaction with their lives earn higher levels of income later in life. The impact is significant: using a 5-point scale, a […]
US Housing Construction Advances to Four-Year High
Posted November 20th, 2012 at 1:30 pm (UTC-5)
U.S. housing construction surged in October to its highest level in more than four years. The American housing market has perhaps been the weakest link in the country’s sluggish, but steady recovery from its worst economic downturn since the Great Depression in the 1930s. Millions of homeowners lost their homes to bank foreclosures, often after […]
Former Croatian PM Jailed for Corruption
Posted November 20th, 2012 at 12:35 pm (UTC-5)
A Croatian court has convicted and sentenced former prime minister Ivo Sanader to 10 years in prison for corruption. Judges at the Zagreb court found Sanader guilty of accepting more than $6 million in bribes from a Hungarian oil company in exchange for retaining controlling rights in Croatia’s state-run oil company. The court also sentenced […]
Eurozone Finance Chiefs Resuming Greek Bailout Talks
Posted November 20th, 2012 at 11:40 am (UTC-5)
Eurozone finance chiefs are meeting in Brussels in another effort to decide whether to release more bailout money to debt-ridden Greece. Greece hopes the finance ministers on Tuesday will approve a $40 billion rescue segment the Athens government says it needs to avoid a default on its financial obligations. The payment is part of Greece’s […]
France Ends Combat Mission in Afghanistan
Posted November 20th, 2012 at 11:15 am (UTC-5)
France has ended its combat mission in Afghanistan, pulling its last troops from a province northeast of the capital, Kabul. Tuesday’s withdrawal of 500 combat troops from Kapisa province is part of President Francois Hollande’s pledge to accelerate the country’s exit from Afghanistan. Afghan security forces will now be in charge of maintaining security in […]
Britain Charges Former Murdoch Aides With Bribery
Posted November 20th, 2012 at 11:05 am (UTC-5)
British prosecutors have charged a former aide to Prime Minister David Cameron and a former chief of Rupert Murdoch’s News International media company with paying bribes for information on the royal family and the military. Crown Prosecution Service said Tuesday that Andy Coulson, the prime minister’s former media chief, and Rebekah Brooks, a close friend […]
Heavy Fighting as Syrian Rebels Push for Damascus
Posted November 20th, 2012 at 11:00 am (UTC-5)
Syrian government troops backed by tanks battled to oust rebel forces from an opposition stronghold in a Damascus suburb on Tuesday in the heaviest fighting in the capital for months. Opposition sources said elite Republican Guard troops attacked the rebel-held suburb of Daraya and were met by fierce resistance from anti-government fighters, who hung on […]
US Charges 4 Men in Alleged Terror Plot
Posted November 20th, 2012 at 9:45 am (UTC-5)
U.S. authorities have charged four men, including one who served in the U.S. military, with plotting to kill Americans overseas by joining al-Qaida and the Taliban,. The Federal Bureau of Investigation said late Monday the group was planning to engage in “violent jihad” with bombings of military bases and other government facilities. The FBI says […]
Pakistani Court Dismisses Blasphemy Charges Against Christian Girl
Posted November 20th, 2012 at 9:20 am (UTC-5)
A Pakistani court has dismissed charges against a Christian girl accused of blasphemy in a case that drew international outrage. The Islamabad High Court on Tuesday threw out the case against Rimsha Masih, whom neighbors accused of burning pages from the Quran in August. She was arrested and spent three weeks in jail before being […]
Mauritanian President Says Return Imminent
Posted November 20th, 2012 at 8:50 am (UTC-5)
Mauritanian President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz says he will return to his country “in a few days,” following treatment in France for a gunshot wound. The president spoke to journalists Tuesday in Paris, after meeting with French President Francois Hollande. Mr. Aziz was shot by a soldier outside the Mauritanian capital October 13, in what […]
