Proposed ‘Sundays Off’ Plan Crawls Ahead

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A proposal to extend the weekend past Shabbat into Sunday has made it past the prime minister, sources in Jerusalem said this week. A proposal to extend the weekend past Shabbat into Sunday has made it past the prime minister, sources in Jerusalem said this week. There is nothing new about a shorter work week in…

China’s Hu Reportedly Tells Navy to Get Ready for Military Combat

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As tensions grow over local maritime disputes and U.S. influence in the South China Sea, China’s president said Tuesday that its navy should “make extended preparations for military combat,” the AFP reported. President Hu Jintao told the Central Military Commission its navy should modernize in the interest of national security. The Chinese navy has grown in recent…

Putin slams Clinton for encouraging protesters

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MOSCOW (AP) — Prime Minister Vladimir Putin strongly criticized U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton on Thursday, accusing her of encouraging and funding Russians protesting election fraud, and warned of a wider Russian crackdown on dissent. By describing Russia’s parliamentary election as rigged, Putin said Clinton “gave a signal” to his opponents. “They heard this signal and with the…

European Union weighs greater unity to save euro

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RUSSELS (AP) — European leaders were wrestling Thursday over how much of their sovereignty they are willing to give up in a desperate attempt to save the ambitious project of continental unity that grew from the ashes of World War II. At stake at the summit in Brussels not is not only the future of…

Analysis: Leaving the euro carries massive costs

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BRUSSELS (AP) — European leaders have struggled mightily to keep Greece in the eurozone, despite the drag that its economic weakness places on their growth. The reason is this: If Greece abandons the euro, the chaos it would wreak on the global economy can hardly be overstated. A Greek exit from the euro would almost certainly cause…

Interview with China’s Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs

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‘The West Has Become Very Conceited’ In a SPIEGEL interview, China’s vice minister of foreign affairs, Fu Ying, 58, accuses Europeans and Americans of perpetuating Cold War stereotypes of her country, rejects allegations surrounding the treatment of artist Ai Weiwei and disputes notions that Beijing would like to rule the world. SPIEGEL: Madame Fu Ying,…

Europe on the Verge of Becoming a Transfer Union

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The euro zone looks set to evolve into a transfer union as it struggles to overcome the debt crisis. There are a number of options for the institutionalized shift of resources from richer to poorer member states — and Germany would end up as the biggest net contributor in every scenario. As a practicing Catholic,…

UN: Somalia drought is worst humanitarian crisis

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By MALKHADIR M. MUHUMED and LUC VAN KEMENADE Associated Press DADAAB, Kenya — The head of the U.N. refugee agency said Sunday that drought-ridden Somalia is the “worst humanitarian disaster” in the world after meeting with refugees who endured unspeakable hardship to reach the world’s largest refugee camp. The Kenyan camp, Dadaab, is overflowing with…

Defiant Gadhafi threatens attacks in Europe

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TRIPOLI, Libya (AP) — A defiant Moammar Gadhafi threatened Friday to carry out attacks in Europe against “homes, offices, families,” unless NATO halts its campaign of airstrikes against his regime in Libya. The Libyan leader, sought by the International Criminal Court for a brutal crackdown on anti-government protesters, delivered the warning in a telephone message…