Scarcely a day passes in India by without news of an encounter between the police and criminals elements — “encounter” being the local jargon for shootouts involving the police, who are allowed to fire only in self-defense. On Wednesday, it was a “dreaded mafia don” who was gunned down by the Uttar Pradesh police — shot dead, and therefore unable to challenge the police account of the circumstances of the shooting. But some in India have begun to question the frequency of such “encounters”
Category Archives: Daily News
Reporter’s Notebook: Visiting Lincoln’s Springfield
The best thing and the worst thing about Springfield is the same: the location. Middle of Illinois, which is not far from the middle of nowhere.
Bankruptcy For General Motors, Chrysler?
— Call it a bankruptcy in disguise. Although General Motors and Chrysler are scrambling to pull together plans by Tuesday showing that it makes sense for the government to support them without invoking the dreaded “B-word,” the efforts look like a classic case of reorganization
How to Fix the Housing Market
Here’s a thought: let’s have the government do something to fix the housing market. Now what would that be? Ideas are flying around Washington.
Are Hugs the New Handshakes?
If White House etiquette is any indication, you should be getting a random hug soon.
Volcano eruption sparks alert in Colombia
A volcano near southwest Colombia’s border with Ecuador erupted on Saturday, leading the government to issue a "red alert" for the region. There were not believed to be any fatalities or injuries in the blast, which happened at about 7:10 p.m. ET (12:10 a.m.
War of words between Israel and Turkey sparks formal complaint
Turkey’s Foreign Ministry summoned Israel’s ambassador to the Turkish capital of Ankara on Saturday to issue a formal complaint over a top Israeli commander’s reported remarks criticizing Turkey. The complaint is part of the escalating war of words between the two regional allies, stemming from Turkey’s outspoken criticism of the recent conflict in Gaza. The Turkish Foreign Ministry said Saturday that it had requested an “urgent explanation” from Ambassador Gabby Levy for recent remarks reportedly made by a top Israeli military commander.
5 high-ranking Kurds leave Iraqi president’s party
The second-highest ranking official in Iraqi President Jalal Talabani’s political party resigned Saturday, along with four other high-ranking Kurdish politicians, officials said. Khosrat Rasul, the vice president of the Kurdistan Regional Government, resigned, along with four other members of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), according to Kurdish lawmakers
U.S.: Financial crisis spread to emerging markets
Making his international debut at the Group of Seven meetings in Rome, new U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said swift and decisive action is needed on several levels to address the global financial crisis. “Although this crisis began in the major economies, it’s now spread to emerging markets around the world,” Geithner said
Stimulus amendment puts tough limits on executive pay
An amendment in the $787 billion economic stimulus package passed by Congress Friday would severely restrict bonuses and other forms of compensation for top executives at companies receiving federal bailout money. The amendment by Sen