NEWS With any decision about closing down the prison in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, put on the back burner, inmates there have lost hope that they will ever be released. A hunger strike is now in its third month, with 93 prisoners considered to be participating â€" more than half the inmates. Charlie Savage reports from Guantánamo Bay, Cuba.
After months of political paralysis capped by a week of turmoil, President Giorgio Napolitano on Wednesday named Enrico Letta, a high-ranking official in the center-left Democratic Party, to form a broad coalition government to try to steer Italy out of political chaos and its worst recession since World War II. Rachel Donadio reports from Rome.
Paraguay’s economic boom, fueled by bountiful harvests of export commodities like soybeans and corn, exists only in pockets. More than 30 percent of the population lives in poverty, according to the central bank, and Paraguay ranks near the bottom among South American countries in reducing poverty over the last decade, according to the United Nations. Simon Romero reports from Asunción, Paraguay.
Confident they can sell their message, Syrian government officials have eased their reluctance to allow foreign reporters into the country, paraded prisoners they described as extremist fighters and relied unofficially on a Syrian-American businessman to help tap into American fears of groups like Al Qaeda. Anne Barnard reports from Damascus.
A building housing several factories making clothing for European and American consumers collapsed into a deadly heap on Wednesday, only five months after a horrific fire at a similar facility prompted leading multinational brands to pledge to work to improve safety in the country’s booming but poorly regulated garment industry. Julfikar Ali Manik reports from Dhaka, Bangladesh, and Jim Yardley from New Delhi.
A Japanese scientist has warned for years that deaths of pine trees on Yakushima island is caused by pollution from China. Now he is being taken more seriously. Martin Fackler reports from Yakushima, Japan.
In what appeared to be a new phase in an intensifying conflict that has raised fears of greater bloodshed and a wider sectarian war, Iraqi soldiers opened fire from helicopters on Sunni gunmen hiding in a northern village on Wednesday, officials said. Tim Arango reports from Baghdad.
ARTS The world’s leading ballet companies are adding the Gulf region to their itineraries, performing the classics to sold-out houses. Sarah Hamdan reports from Dubai.
SPORTS Barcelona had a mesmerizing run as the premier club in soccer, but it is clear that Bayern Munich is now the top power after it beat the Catalan club by four goals in the Champions League. Rob Hughes reports from London.
