Intervention

East Providence's mayor says he is not happy with the state's latest intervention in the struggling city's finances. Mayor Bruce Rogers says city officials have been making progress in eliminating the deficit. He says Gov. Lincoln Chafee's appointment Tuesday of a state budget commission to help the city of 47,000 balance its budget is premature. East Providence faces a $7.2 million deficit. Last week a financial rating agency downgraded the city's bond rating to below investment grade, potentially hurting the city's ability to borrow.

IntegraGen Inc., a French biotechnology company with a small office in Cambridge, is launching its first product for the US market --- a genetic screening tool for autism. The test is designed to assess the risk of autism in children who have older siblings with the disease, the company said in a press release. According to a recent study by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the number of children identified as having an autism spectrum disorder in the United States is roughly 1 in 88. But autism often runs in families, and a boy with an older sibling...

China offered a proposal Sunday to end the violence in Syria, calling for an immediate cease-fire and talks by all parties but standing firm against any intervention by outside forces. The proposal, released by China's Foreign Ministry, comes as U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is calling on Syrian President Bashar Assad's government to allow immediate access to humanitarian workers as Syria presses a military crackdown against anti-government groups. Beijing's plan is part of renewed efforts by Beijing to seize the diplomatic initiative in an increasingly vital part of the...

With a new government report showing a continuing surge in autism rates, parents may be wondering how to spot the signs in their own child and when to seek professional help. Babies can start showing signs of autism as early as 12 months. "At that age, we want to see them initiating social interactions with other people, laughing easily without being tickled, smiling, gesturing, babbling, making eye contact," said Dr. Rebecca Landa, director of the Kennedy Krieger Institute's Center for Autism and Related Disorders in Baltimore.

When Dorothy Cotter of Amesbury was killed by her husband in 2002, Suzanne Dubus took it personally. Cotter had been a client of the Jeanne Geiger Crisis Center in Newburyport, where Dubus was executive director. With the center's help, Cotter, 35, had done everything right to protect herself: She got her husband out of the house with a restraining order and, along with her two daughters, trained in self-protection. But William Cotter pushed his way into the house, shot her in the back, and then killed himself.

China says it will send another envoy to Syria in a bid to convince the Assad regime of the need for a cease-fire, and to emphasize that it remains against outside intervention. The Foreign Ministry said Monday that former ambassador to Syria Li Huaqing would visit Damascus on Tuesday and Wednesday. That announcement followed the release Sunday of a Chinese proposal calling for an immediate cease-fire in Syria and talks by all parties but standing firm against any intervention by outside forces.

For the second year in a row, the Merrimac Fire Department has earned a $10,000 grant through Liberty Mutual Insurance's Be Fire-Smart Safety Pledge program. From Sept. 1 through Oct. 31, about 1,175 residents visited www.befiresmart.com and answered 10 questions to test their fire safety knowledge. Fire Chief Ralph Spencer said the station will use the money to purchase protective clothing for its firefighters and expand public education, juvenile fire intervention, and community outreach.

LONDON -- The Iraq war cannot be justified as an intervention in defense of human rights even though it ended a brutal regime, Human Rights Watch said yesterday, dismissing one of the Bush administration's arguments for the invasion. The advocacy group said in its annual report that while Saddam Hussein had an atrocious record on human rights and life has improved for Iraqis since his ouster, his worst actions occurred long before the war. The group said no mass killing was underway or imminent in Iraq when war began.

TWO FORMER US diplomats, William H. Luers And Thomas R. Pickering, call for "ending the game of chicken" with Iran through innovative diplomatic means (Op-ed, March 10). But, as President Obama clearly understands, a so-called big stick supported by evident willingness to use it is critically required. The regime in Iran has certainly noticed the immense clout that possession of nukes is providing the otherwise weak-sister nation of North Korea. So, for Iran, major sacrifices in the near term would be handsomely repaid by eventual possession of nuclear weapons.

TWO FORMER US diplomats, William H. Luers And Thomas R. Pickering, call for "ending the game of chicken" with Iran through innovative diplomatic means (Op-ed, March 10). But, as President Obama clearly understands, a so-called big stick supported by evident willingness to use it is critically required. The regime in Iran has certainly noticed the immense clout that possession of nukes is providing the otherwise weak-sister nation of North Korea. So, for Iran, major sacrifices in the near term would be handsomely repaid by eventual possession of nuclear weapons.

China says it will send another envoy to Syria in a bid to convince the Assad regime of the need for a cease-fire, and to emphasize that it remains against outside intervention. The Foreign Ministry said Monday that former ambassador to Syria Li Huaqing would visit Damascus on Tuesday and Wednesday. That announcement followed the release Sunday of a Chinese proposal calling for an immediate cease-fire in Syria and talks by all parties but standing firm against any intervention by outside forces.

China offered a proposal Sunday to end the violence in Syria, calling for an immediate cease-fire and talks by all parties but standing firm against any intervention by outside forces. The proposal, released by China's Foreign Ministry, comes as U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is calling on Syrian President Bashar Assad's government to allow immediate access to humanitarian workers as Syria presses a military crackdown against anti-government groups. Beijing's plan is part of renewed efforts by Beijing to seize the diplomatic initiative in an increasingly...

East Providence's mayor says he is not happy with the state's latest intervention in the struggling city's finances. Mayor Bruce Rogers says city officials have been making progress in eliminating the deficit. He says Gov. Lincoln Chafee's appointment Tuesday of a state budget commission to help the city of 47,000 balance its budget is premature. East Providence faces a $7.2 million deficit. Last week a financial rating agency downgraded the city's bond rating to below investment grade, potentially hurting the city's ability to borrow.

BEIRUT - The UN high commissioner for human rights called yesterday for international intervention to protect Syrian civilians from the government's crackdown amid warnings that the country is headed toward civil war. The commissioner, Navi Pillay, estimated that more than 4,000 people, including 307 children, have been killed in the nearly nine months since the uprising erupted against the government of President Bashar Assad. Pillay, who has emerged as a forceful voice on Syria, estimated that at least 14,000 people have been detained.

For the second year in a row, the Merrimac Fire Department has earned a $10,000 grant through Liberty Mutual Insurance's Be Fire-Smart Safety Pledge program. From Sept. 1 through Oct. 31, about 1,175 residents visited www.befiresmart.com and answered 10 questions to test their fire safety knowledge. Each completed quiz secured a credit for the Fire Department, helping it become one of just 10 cities and towns across the United States to win a grant. Fire Chief Ralph Spencer said the station will use the money to purchase protective clothing for its firefighters and continue to...