McClatchy reports that Syria’s Kurds are dead set on reversing some historical land confiscations that’ve left them high and dry: The land confiscation took place across the country. But in the predominantly Kurdish province of Hasaka, in Syria’s northeast corner, the resettlement of Arabs from another part of the country in the 1970s created ethnic tensions […]

According to the Independent, “British Government sources” are saying that the Obama administration is begging European leaders to keep Greece in the euro fold until after November: American officials are understood to be worried that if they decide Greece has not done enough to meet its deficit targets and withhold the money, it would automatically trigger Greece’s exit […]

One of the most remarkable things about the U.S. energy revolution is how quickly it is changing the conversation. On Wednesday, Mitt Romney released a 21-page policy paper outlining how he intends to encourage domestic energy (oil) production in order to reach partial energy independence (using only North American sources) by 2020. The Financial Times reports: The […]

Is the cost of doing business poised to skyrocket on January 1? With tax cuts about to expire and spending cuts poised to take effect, the small business community seems to think so. The WSJ’s Washington Wire blog has the story: A group that lobbies for small businesses released a big survey showing that uncertainty […]

China isn’t the only Asian economy being buffeted by strong headwinds. Vietnam, which has averaged an impressive 6.4 percent growth rate since 2000, is now dropping to a lower cruising altitude as well. Expectations for Vietnam’s GDP growth are now in the 4 percent range—reasonable, to be sure, but a significant downgrade nonetheless.The New York […]

One green pet cause du jour is the banning or taxing of disposable plastic bags at supermarkets and other grocery stores. These measures, which are designed to encourage shoppers to use their own reusable tote bags, have been spreading widely in recent years, and have already gone into effect in cities like San Francisco, Seattle, and Washington, […]

In 2008, Pastor Rick Warren hosted a forum for both presidential candidates at his Saddleback Church. The event became one of the most popular and celebrated parts of that election.Those looking for a repeat performance this year will be disappointed: Warren has just announced that he is cancelling this year’s forum because he believes the […]

Earlier this year Scranton made news by joining the ranks of cities flirting  with bankruptcy. Although it avoided that fate with an emergency rescue plan, the details of that plan are now coming out, and they aren’t pretty. In particular, Scranton residents can expect to see their taxes go up. A lot.The official statistics from […]

The China slump continues. This time, the grim news comes from the manufacturing sector, with preliminary readings for August suggesting yet another contraction—the tenth straight month of falling manufacturing activity.According to the Wall Street Journal, the Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) fell to 47.8 in August (anything below 50 indicates a contraction from the previous month). […]

Despite the election of a pious president, Egypt appears to be running out of money to pay its fuel import bills. That’s the news from this Reuters story, which reports that after payment delays and other hiccups, banks and other lenders have been pulling back from Egypt and that the resulting funds shortage is forcing […]