There is not only a continuing belief in some quarters that markets should set wages, but strenuous efforts to make deep cuts to food-stamp funding and slash other programs that help low-income workers—condemned as “takers.”

. We now have a body of research by top-flight economists showing that an increase in the minimum wage does not reduce employment or significantly hinder the economy.

A second is that no one with a family working full-time at the minimum wage can possibly survive without major assistance. Keep in mind that if one works 40 hours a week, 52 weeks a year at $7.25 an hour, that means an annual income of $15,080—assuming no time off and no sick days.

It is a fact that our economic system continues to have big gaps

Liberal cant notwithstanding, there is a culture of dependency that can discourage work among many. But the fact is most people out of work want to work—it defines their self-worth.

Let’s try to alter the incentive structure to make work pay, while maintaining devices like EITC, rent subsidies, and the health-insurance subsidies under the Affordable Care Act so that those who are working can support their families and live decent lives. As Jared Bernstein has written, let’s provide a tax credit when two people in a family want to work so that their work pays. Let’s do more robust job training instead of cutting funding, and experiment with innovations like the German apprenticeship program and their work-sharing policy.

female candidates are running in tough places, red states Mitt Romney won, or against entrenched incumbents. They aren't favored to win—and many may end up on the 2014 political scrap heap—but party operatives believe they give Democrats the best shot in such hostile political territory.

It's a deep problem for the Republicans," said Ilyse Hogue, president of NARAL Pro-Choice America.

Democrats have made plain that the "war on women" playbook will be key to their efforts to unseat McConnell.

"Kentucky's first female United States senator."

They need to have legislation that has a positive [message] that will help female voters in an attempt to soften their image going into the elections," he said.

Factors such as central heating systems dependent on coal mean that northern China experiences frequent bouts of toxic air, the latest episode of serious pollution in eastern China is a reminder that the rest of the country is not immune to the dangers.

Environmental officials blamed the poor conditions on the lack of strong winds to flush out bad air and the growing number of vehicles pumping out pollutants, according to the Shanghai-based Oriental Morning Post. The newspaper said more favorable weather conditions that could help reduce pollution are expected to begin Sunday.

“What European leaders understand now is they are dealing with a person who cheats them and who lies,” Evgenia Tymoshenko said in an interview on Thursday. “There can be no negotiation with a person who cheats and lies.”

In her remarks, Ms. Nuland did not rule out the calls by some Ukrainian officials, including the speaker of Parliament, Volodymyr Rybak, for so-called round-table talks —the same phrase for negotiations that helped resolve the Orange Revolution nine years ago.

At the same time, participants in the meeting said they understood her message to mean protest leaders might have to accept the prospect of Mr. Yanukovich remaining in power, unless he should decide to resign voluntarily

The possibility that he would quit is regarded as extremely unlikely, and from a practical standpoint there seem to be few legal ways to oust him, as the protesters have demanded.

“The highly corrupt political class is more interested in its own pockets than in the public interest,” said Thomas Gomart of the French Institute of International Relations. “And it cannot give a political answer to the demonstrations. The real issue is not deciding to go to Brussels or Moscow, but popular exasperation with this political system.”

“There should be no doubt about where the United States stands on this,” she said. “We stand with the people of Ukraine who see their future in Europe and want to bring their country back to economic health and unity.”

His successors, even those he personally supported, have, sadly, not been his equals. South Africa today faces many challenging problems. Scandalous mismanagement of the H.I.V./AIDS epidemic by Thabo Mbeki brought widespread, unnecessary suffering.

It will be up to a new generation of South African leaders to resolve these problems. All of them will owe a historic debt to Nelson Mandela.

People arrived at the rally, on European Square, with families and children, many holding banners with slogans like "I want to live in Europe" or "Ukraine is part of Europe".

Ukraine depends on imports of Russian gas, but recently the supplier, Gazprom, complained that Ukraine had fallen behind in payments. Pipelines transiting Ukraine pump Russian gas to many EU member states.

It had been planned for the run-up to the key "Eastern Partnership" summit between the EU and several ex-Soviet states, which will be held in Vilnius, Lithuania, on 28 and 29 November.

Even then, a single weapon would do Iran little good next to Israel’s 100 or more and the United States’ thousands, as Mr. Zarif, the foreign minister, often points out.

After all, his stated goal has always been to prevent Iran from getting a bomb, not to prevent it from getting the capability to do so. He knows he cannot destroy, by bombs or deals, whatever knowledge Iran has gained of how to build a weapon. It is too late for that.

Such warnings are part of the expected theater of these negotiations, in which the United States must look simultaneously accommodating enough to a new Iranian leadership to keep fragile talks

Lengthening that period, so that the United States and its allies would have time to react, is the ultimate goal of President Obama’s negotiating team.

“Rollback may be a step too far for the Iranians,”

“because he can’t been seen at home giving up such a huge investment or abandoning national security.”

The North Korean example has become Exhibit No. 1 in Israel’s argument that the deal struck on Sunday gives a false sense of security. “There are two models for a deal: Libya and North Korea,” Israel’s minister of strategic affairs and intelligence, Yuval Steinitz, said in an interview during a recent trip to Washington. “We need Libya.”

“There are still many places that are not accessible yet,”

The $301 million appeal is to meet projected needs over six months, but disaster relief experts estimate the damage to the Philippine economy at between $12 billion and $15 billion, equivalent to about 5 percent of its gross domestic product.

“This is the worst typhoon in the modern history of the Philippines,” said German Velasquez at the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction in Geneva.

Ms. Amos, the United Nations under secretary general for humanitarian affairs and the emergency relief coordinator, released $25 million from a special fund to help pay for immediate assistance and was beginning what aides called a flash fund-raising drive. At least $35 million in additional aid was pledged by other governments on Monday.

The George Washington, which carries 5,000 sailors and more than 80 aircraft, was ordered to depart from a port visit in Hong Kong, and the crew was recalled from shore leave immediately. Mr. Hagel also reiterated the American intent to help the Philippine government determine “what, if any, additional assets may be required.”

“This is an important day for our customers, our people and our financial stakeholders. This agreement allows us to take the final steps in creating the new American Airline

They're young (for politicians), moderate, blue-state Republicans who have worked with Democratic legislators on some issues (while clashing on others). They're both former prosecutors, too. Whether that makes Martinez good vice-presidential material is a somewhat different question.

New Mexico press hasn't failed to notice Martinez's rising star. In fact, the Democrats with whom the governor has supposedly had such a good working relationship unloaded to the Santa Fe New Mexican in a piece Sunday. Their message: She's not the reasonable, pragmatic, moderate figure you might imagine. Now where have we heard that before?

About two-thirds of the budget will go on subsidies for farmers and on development projects in the EU's poorer regions, as in previous years. But the spending on such projects - called the "cohesion" budget - is being cut by about 7bn euros.

He said that "alongside the historic 3.8% reduction which we have secured on the EU's long-term budget, this is further evidence of us bringing genuine discipline to EU spending".

"With the budget to be reduced 6% compared with 2013, the outcome is not only devoid of ambition, it will also lead to a situation again next year where the EU is facing budget shortfalls compared with programmed spending."

The deal, once signed off, should pave the way for the European Parliament to adopt the EU's long-term trillion-euro budget for 2014-2020.

An additional 400.5m euros will also be spent from the EU "solidarity" fund to help areas of Germany, the Czech Republic, Austria and Romania which were hit by flooding this year.

They've offered a measly $100,000. OK, they are locked in a bitter dispute over who owns the Spratley Islands.

At the same time there are some who want their country's ever-growing economic might to be matched with a bigger influence in the world, starting in their own region.

The US aid may not just be motivated by a good heart and a love of liberty - altruism is good diplomacy too.

"We believe from tomorrow the political crisis will start to ease as there are no reasons to maintain the protest," said Pormpong Nopparit.

Critics of the bill, led by the opposition Democrat Party, say it is aimed at facilitating Mr Thaksin's return without him serving a jail sentence, and that it would allow human rights abuses to go unpunished.

But the main opposition Democrat Party has urged its supporters to observe a three-day national strike, beginning on Wednesday, in what correspondents say has turned into a campaign to bring down the government.

The problem is these people were tested positive in competition. What that means is months before you know the date of the test and the approximate time of the test.

So if you fail an in-competition test you haven't only failed a drugs test, you have failed an IQ test.

That funding - with the help of additional money from Wada - would be used to hire more senior executives to run the anti-doping programme and to hire and train additional drug testers.

Our athletes, as confirmed by the IAAF, were the most tested in the world of athletics, so to say your athletes weren't tested is not exactly true.

There is a problem worldwide with the use of supplements," said Fennell. "The whole world is induced to use supplements for one thing or another.

Athletes are no different. This is not with a view to cheating and I would put my head on the block and say our athletes do not set out to cheat.

We do have rigorous testing. If you look at the record for this year you will see our testing record is amazing. Those of our top athletes are on the registered international programmes.

"I understand why people pay more attention to Jamaica," said Carter, who won an individual bronze medal in the 100m in Moscow in August to add to his sprint relay gold from the London Olympics.

"It was the same when the US dominated. People said they were on drugs and should be tested. That's a part of the sport and we have to accept that. It's going to hurt fans and athletes because no-one wants to be associated with what's going on.

“For the first time that Greece is negotiating with its lenders without its back against the wall, you’re pushing for the government to fall,” Mr. Samaras said, describing the leftists as “irresponsible” and “confused.” He said there would be “no more horizontal measures,”

“You have destroyed society and society will no longer allow you to continue this destruction,

“a social holocaust” and noting that “thousands of Greeks are looking through the garbage for food.”

Secretary of State John Kerry said at a news conference in the United Arab Emirates that the Obama administration was not in a “race” to strike a deal.

In the past, the agency has questioned whether the Gachin mine, which produces yellowcake uranium for conversion to nuclear fuel, is linked to Iran’s military. The heavy-water plant at Arak could produce plutonium, which can be used in a weapon, and a key concern is that once the plant is operational, it would be all but impossible to destroy it without running the risk of spreading deadly plutonium. Western officials noted that the agreement gave the atomic agency access to the heavy production plant but not the nuclear reactor, which is under construction there.

lack of in-depth information and inspections of the heavy-water plant have been a particular worry to the West. French officials went further and indicated that they wanted construction halted altogether at the facility, and that Iran’s failure to agree to that was one reason the French were reluctant to endorse a broader deal with Iran this weekend.

The agreement on Monday comprised a four-paragraph statement and six bullet points in an annex of issues to be tackled within the next three months.

“Managed access” is a term used by the United Nations agency to denote the ground rules for inspections that permit host countries to protect information they consider to be proprietary or secret, such as military technology, while still allowing inspectors to garner data they require, officials said.