World

Berlin's Prenzlauer Berg neighborhood, like many others across the city, is experiencing a real estate boom. Housing prices have risen by as much as 20 percent in the past year in some German cities.

Germany's Housing Market Is Hot. Is It Overheating?

9:59am January 05, 2013

by Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson

Buyers are snapping up property in Germany, leaving some analysts worried that it's a bubble in the making. But others say the conservative approach to home ownership, including a tradition of large down payments, will protect the market from a U.S.-style crash.

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Foreign buyers are pushing the prices of prime London real estate through the roof. Neighborhoods such as West London, Kensington and Chelsea are particularly popular.

London Real Estate, A Magnet For Mega-Rich From Around The Globe

9:59am January 05, 2013

by Vicki Barker

In most of Britain, property prices are slumping amid a weak economy. But mega-rich foreigners see London's upscale neighborhoods as a safe place to invest, and they are snapping up properties and pushing up prices even though many don't plan to use these homes as a primary residence.

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World News

Congo's Tutsi Minority Enveloped In Complex Conflict

9:59am January 05, 2013

by Gregory Warner

One of the hard things to tell about the ongoing conflict in Eastern Congo is whether it is an ethnic war or a mercantile battle for resources. The Tutsis, an ethnic minority in Congo, have been at the center of the conflict for the past 20 years. Some support the M23 rebel group because they say it offers them protection, but others say the M23's only interest is controlling mineral wealth.

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World News

Pakistani Cafe Is Oasis In Desert Of Civil Discourse

9:59am January 05, 2013

by Dina Temple-Raston

Pakistan's Second Floor cafe is listed in a local Karachi social blog as one of the coolest cafes in town. Since it opened its doors five years ago, it has become a haven in a city more known for its violence than its civil discourse.

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A Greek Orthodox priest is blocked by riot police as he takes part in a protest outside an Athens theater in October. The play, Corpus Christi, portrays Jesus and his apostles as gay men living in modern-day Texas. The director and the cast have been char

World News

Old Greek Blasphemy Laws Stir Up Modern Drama

10:16pm January 04, 2013

by Joanna Kakissis

The laws date to the 1850s, but have rarely been invoked. However, two recent cases have put the law in the spotlight, and critics say the measure is being abused.

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World News

Pakistani Military Hopes Rehab Will Lead Men To Paralympics

7:02pm January 04, 2013

by Dina Temple-Raston

The Pakistani military's Armed Forces Institute for Rehabilitative Medicine in Rawalpindi is the top rehab center for veterans wounded in what they call "the war on terror." Most of the young men there are from the country's Frontier Corps and have fought in Waziristan. They have lost arms and legs to roadside bombs and improvised explosive devices. Pakistan is doing its best to get them artificial limbs. But a new program goes a step further. The hospital is furnishing some men with blade legs and training them for the Paralympics.

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World News

Under Pressure, India Fast-Tracks Gang-Rape Case

9:55am January 04, 2013

by Julie McCarthy

Demonstrations in India continued for a second straight day after a young woman who was gang-raped on a public bus died of her injuries over the weekend. Police are awaiting forensic reports that would establish the presence of the men inside the bus that the young woman boarded with her companion, who was also brutally beaten in the attack.

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A Malian troop member checks bushes after a military raid in the Wagoudou forest.

World News

Northern Mali: A Violent Islamist Stronghold

2:16pm January 03, 2013

Adam Nossiter, the West Africa bureau chief for The New York Times, is one of the few reporters covering the situation in northern Mali, where Islamist extremists allied with al-Qaida have taken control after a coup destabilized the country in April.

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Pete Sampras returns a forehand against Russia's Marat Safin during an exhibition tennis match at the L.A. Tennis Open tournament in 2009. The tournament, which has been around for decades, is now relocating to Colombia as America's dominance in the sport

Game, Set And Match: U.S. Tennis Tournaments Move Abroad

7:16am January 03, 2013

by Ben Bergman

At its height, American tennis consistently fielded the world's top male players. Now that American dominance is gone, so too are many of the top U.S. men's tournaments. They're moving overseas, snapped up by groups offering more lucrative payouts in a sport enjoying huge global appeal.

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Baloch has been the most powerful figure in Karachi's Lyari neighborhood since 2009. His armed men control the area, and police stay away. He's shown here at his home.

World News

The Tony Soprano Of Karachi: Gangster Or Politician?

7:56pm January 02, 2013

by Dina Temple-Raston

Gangsters in Karachi are a little different from the American variety. They often control armed groups linked to political parties. Uzair Baloch is known as the don of Karachi's Lyari slum. But ask him if he's a gangster, and he'll laugh. He says he's a politician and a social worker.

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