Palestinian leader calls for urgent aid to Gaza

The Palestinian president urged that more humanitarian aid be sent urgently to Gaza, saying Saturday that aid shipments were meeting only one-fifth of the actual need.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said the three-week Israeli offensive targeting Hamas militants based in Gaza had left the people desperate. Turkey has complained, meanwhile, that Israeli surveillance was preventing its aid shipments from reaching Palestinians quickly.

"The Palestinian people suffered from the most ruthless and barbaric onslaught for three weeks," Abbas told a joint news conference with Turkish counterpart Abdullah Gul. "We want aid shipments to speedily …

Black pharmacy student fired

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Brazilian Candidates Trade Barbs

SAO PAULO, Brazil - Brazil's president and the former governor trying to deny him a second term attacked each other Wednesday on the nation's economic future in their final campaign appearances before a runoff vote.

Speaking from a stage mounted on a closed-off street in a low-income Sao Paulo suburb that strongly supports his leftist Workers' Party, President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said that his challenger would sell out Brazil by privatizing state industries and enacting policies benefiting the rich and virtually enslaving the poor.

But candidate Geraldo Alckmin reiterated the corruption allegations that have hit the Workers' Party hard during the campaign, and said …

Police: At least 6 dead in Iraq suicide blast

A suicide bomber struck a funeral Monday in western Iraq, killing at least six mourners for a member of a prominent tribe with ties to security forces, a police official said.

The bomber detonated an explosive belt inside a funeral tent in the mostly Sunni area of Haditha, about 140 miles (220 kilometers) northwest of Baghdad. At least 15 people were injured, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to media.

The funeral was for a member of the al-Daghaytha tribe, which includes members of the police and army.

Haditha is located in Anbar Province, which was once a stronghold for the Sunni …

Sand gives patio a firm foundation

Q. We want to put in a brick patio this summer and we want to doit ourselves. I have heard this can be done without mortar. Couldyou give us a little help getting started?

A. There are several steps involved but it's fairly simple tomake a great patio or walk. Choose the site and mark it off withstakes. Figure out at what level you want the finished patio to beand mark the stakes closest to the house with this mark. Make surethe finished patio slopes away from your foundation.

Excavate the area to the depth of your bricks plus about twoextra inches for a layer of well-tamped sand. Before installing thebricks, you might want to add a border of wood or bricks …

Family Affair

Three things prompted Andrew Calvanese to leave Suffield Country Club in 2003 and take over the food operation at Storrowton Tavern in West Springfield with his sons Vincent and Donald, after operating the Connecticut club's restaurant and pub for 18 years.

"First, there was the challenge of revitalizing an incredible establishment. Second, it was a great opportunity for my two sons. And third, there are the memories at the Tavern, not only that I have, but that many other people had," he told Business West. "I love this place because of the personal feelings I have attached to it. And I love people, and I wanted to bring it back for them."

The historic tavern that is a …

China weathering global slump better than expected, World Bank says as it raises GDP forecast

China's economy is weathering the global slowdown better than expected, the World Bank said Thursday as it raised its growth forecast for the Asian giant to 9.8 percent from 9.4 percent.

The World Bank cited the country's strong domestic demand and sustained competitiveness in exports as key strengths.

"Amid weaker and uncertain global prospects, China's growth will be supported by strong international competitiveness and a robust domestic economy," David Dollar, the bank's country director for China, told reporters in Beijing.

Just two months earlier, the World Bank had lowered its growth estimate for China to 9.4 percent from 9.6 …