2:06pm

Tue September 27, 2011
Europe

Greece Approves New Property Tax To Boost Revenue

Greek lawmakers approved a controversial new property tax Tuesday that aims to boost revenue as the country struggles to obtain a critical installment of international bailout loans that will prevent it from default.

The new tax passed 154 votes to 143 against in the 300-member parliament. It was announced earlier this month after international debt inspectors suspended their review of Greek reforms amid talk of missed revenue targets and delayed implementation of austerity measures. The inspectors are expected to return to Athens this week.

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1:45pm

Tue September 27, 2011
The Two-Way

OnStar Hits Reverse: It Won't Keep Collecting Data From Old Customers

Just days after it received intense criticism from Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY), some other lawmakers and privacy advocates, General Motors' OnStar service has agreed that it won't keep its data connections open to customers who have canceled the service.

In a statement, the company says today that:

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1:24pm

Tue September 27, 2011
The Two-Way

Coca-Cola Chief: U.S. Becoming Less Business Friendly Than China

Credit Daniel Berehulak / Getty Images

Muhtar Kent, Coca-Cola's chief executive, is making some waves after what he told The Financial Times in an interview the paper ran this morning.

"I believe the US owes itself to create a 21st century tax policy for individuals as well as businesses," Kent told the paper. He also went on to criticize the complexity of the tax code, as well as the fact that American companies have to pay taxes on income earned abroad. The FT adds:

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1:09pm

Tue September 27, 2011
Asia

Widows Win Legal Victory In Indonesia Massacre Case

Originally published on Wed October 12, 2011 4:09 pm

In Indonesia, many people are celebrating what they see as a long-delayed victory for justice and human rights. Representatives of a village in West Java that was the site of a massacre by Dutch colonial soldiers 64 years ago sued the Dutch government and won.

The Dutch court ruled that the government must now compensate the victims' seven surviving widows. One of them is 84-year-old Cawi Binti Baisan.

She remembers her husband Bitol waking her up before dawn one morning in 1947. Bitol, who went by only one name, had just come in from the rice paddies, carrying his plow.

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1:04pm

Tue September 27, 2011
Afghanistan

Deadly Blasts Strike Two Cities In Afghanistan

Credit Abdul Khaleq / AP

A minivan carrying women and children returning from an engagement party in Afghanistan struck an improvised land mine that killed 16 people, Afghan officials said Tuesday.

Eleven children were among the dead in Herat province's Shindand district. An additional four people in the car were wounded, said Mohammad Salim, the police garrison chief for the district.

Earlier in the day, a suicide car bomb attack targeted a local business that provides bread for the Afghan police in the southern city of Lashkar Gah, the main city in Helmand province.

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1:00pm

Tue September 27, 2011
Around the Nation

Prescription Drug Deaths Major Killer In The U.S.

The Los Angeles Times has found that prescription drugs are responsible for thousands of preventable deaths annually. Reporter Lisa Girion and the American Pain Society's Dr. Roger Chou discuss the findings and what might be done to address the problem.

1:00pm

Tue September 27, 2011
NPR Story

Pro Athletes Have Coaches. Why Not Everyone Else?

Coaches regularly pace the sidelines of football fields and assist in music studios as voice instructors. Surgeon and journalist Atul Gawande argues that professionals in all fields — not just sports and music — could benefit from regular coaching.

1:00pm

Tue September 27, 2011
NPR Story

Letters: Science And Religion, And The Teenage Brain

Host Neal Conan reads a response to a segment about tension among Christian evangelicals over the science of human origins. And, having heard from so many parents after a conversation on the teen brain, Conan follows up with Dr. B.J. Casey for some additional insight into the teen mind.

1:00pm

Tue September 27, 2011
Africa

Exacerbated By Conflict, Somalia Famine Persists

Somalia has been hardest hit by East Africa's worst drought in decades. The United Nations warns that 750,000 Somalis could soon starve to death. Jeffrey Gettleman of The New York Times provides an update on the famine and the ongoing conflict that has made Somalis even more vulnerable.

1:00pm

Tue September 27, 2011
NPR Story

What Happened To The Political Left?

As unemployment and economic malaise persist, many Americans say they're frustrated with Congress and the president. On the right, the Tea Party and other groups give voice to that frustration, but that level of national mobilization is all but unseen on the left.

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