World/Nation Briefs February 10, 2012
<p>Lava flows during an eruption of Mt. Etna volcano, near Catania, Sicily, in the early hours of Thursday. It was the second eruption of the volatile volcano in 2012.</p>
Ten states will leave 'No Child' rules behind
WASHINGTON - It could be the beginning of the end for No Child Left Behind.
The goal was lofty: Get all children up to par in math and reading by 2014. But the nation isn't getting there, and now some states are getting out.
In a sign of what's to come, President Barack Obama on Thursday freed 10 states from some of the landmark law's toughest requirements. Those states, which had to commit to their own, federally approved plans, will now be free, for example, to judge students with methods other than test scores. They also will be able to factor in subjects beyond reading and math.
"We can combine greater freedom with greater accountability," Obama said from the White House. Plenty more states are bound to take him up on the offer.
While many educators and many governors celebrated, congressional Republicans accused Obama of executive overreach, and education and civil rights groups questioned if schools would be getting a pass on aggressively helping poor and minority children - the kids the 2002 law was primarily designed to help.
Pentagon adapts to reality of women in combat
WASHINGTON - New orders from the Pentagon: The military on Thursday formally opened thousands of jobs to women in units that are closer to the front lines than ever before, reflecting what's already been going on as female American soldiers fight and die next to their male comrades.
The new rules, affecting thousands of jobs, will break down more of the official barriers that have restricted the military positions women can take. They're being sent to Congress, and if lawmakers take no action after 30 work days the policy will take effect.
The changes still aren't coming fast enough for some in Congress or the military. They noted that the rules still ban women from serving as infantry, armor and special operations forces, which are considered the most dangerous combat jobs.
Instead, they reflect what's been happening for the past 10 years of war in Iraq and Afghanistan. They will allow women to perform many of the jobs they are already doing - but in smaller units, closer to the fighting and once considered too dangerous.
"Unfortunately, the conclusions of this report do not go far enough," said Rep. Loretta Sanchez, a member of the House Armed Services Committee who started a caucus on women in the military. Sanchez said she was "very disappointed" that the Defense Department didn't lift the ban on combat jobs for women.
Euro ministers: Greek cuts don't go far enough
BRUSSELS - Just hours after Greece gave in to painful new job and spending cuts, European ministers declared Thursday that Athens didn't go far enough and demanded more within a week in exchange for a 130 billion Euros bailout to stave off bankruptcy.
The ministers gave the debt-ridden country until the middle of next week to find an extra 325 million Euros in savings, pass the cuts through a divided parliament, and get written guarantees that they will be implemented even after the elections of a new government in April, said Jean-Claude Juncker, the Luxembourg prime minister who chaired Thursday's meeting of finance chiefs of the 17 euro countries.
The new austerity plan, which makes sharp cuts to the minimum wage and thousands of public-sector jobs, ignited fresh criticism from unions and the country's deputy labor minister, who resigned in protest after Greece agreed to the deal. Even debt inspectors conceded that the new measures would keep the country in a recession for a fifth straight year.
But Greece's finance minister warned that the alternative will likely be worse.
Syrian citysuffers amid bombardment
BEIRUT - Between blasts of rockets and mortar fire, Syrians used loudspeakers to call for blood donations and medical supplies Thursday in the stricken city of Homs, where a weeklong government offensive has created a deepening humanitarian crisis.
Government forces are trying to crush pockets of violent resistance in Homs, the epicenter of an 11-month-old uprising that has brought the country ever closer to civil war. The intense shelling in restive neighborhoods such as Baba Amr has made it difficult to get medicine and care to the wounded, and some areas have been without electricity for days, activists say.
Ticking clock, Israeli fears top U.S. worry list
WASHINGTON - The United States and its allies believe the window to stop Iran from building a bomb is quickly closing, pushing conflict with the Islamic republic to the top of the Obama administration's national security worries in the midst of an election year.
After years of diplomatic deadlock, Iran's nuclear program has advanced to the point where experts say work on a bomb could begin within a year. That progress has moved the once far-fetched possibility of a pre-emptive U.S. or Israeli strike on Iran's nuclear sites to the forefront of the urgent debate over how to prevent Tehran from joining the nuclear club.
- The Associated Press