The Four Nations Ensemble programmed an unusual assortment of baroque and rococo chamber music by composers largely unfamiliar to most audiences on Thursday at the Freer Gallery. Two were Italian missionaries: Teodorico Pedrini (in China) and Domenico Zipoli (in South America). Jean-Marie Leclair, Jean Philippe Rameau and Francois Couperin dazzled the musical scene at French courts. Raynor Taylor and Benjamin Carr were part of Philadelphia’s rich cultural life in the late 18th century. All of Thursday’s music was intended not for today’s public concert hall but for the intimate spheres of the royal apartment, the aristocratic salon, or a cardinal’s parlor. Much was sheer entertainment music geared to delight the senses. Read full article > >

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Going for baroque at the Freer

America’s global rank in college completion among young adults is slipping, according to a report released Tuesday, signaling that the higher education ambitions of other nations are progressing at a swifter pace. The analysis comes two years after President Obama sought to stir the nation’s competitive spirit with a pledge to retake the lead by 2020. Read full article > >

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U.S. falls in global ranking of young adults who finish college

Germany’s highest court rejects a challenge to the country bailing out other nations in the eurozone.

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Germany rejects bailout challenge

The end may be near for Gaddafi. At least that’s what the nations intervening in Libya are thinking as they pledge $1 billion to the rebels in an attempt to prepare them to fill the power vacuum. Senior NATO officials meeting in Abu Dhabi acknowledged…

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$1 Billion Pledged to Rebels

The end may be near for Gaddafi. At least that’s what the nations intervening in Libya are thinking as they pledge $1 billion to the rebels in an attempt to prepare them to fill the power vacuum. Senior NATO officials meeting in Abu Dhabi acknowledged…

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$1 Billion Pledged to Rebels

Fearing an E. coli outbreak, four nations on Monday banned some imported fresh vegetables from Germany and Spain. At least 14 people have died in Germany after eating tainted vegetables, dubbed “killer cucumbers,” which are believed to have come from…

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E. Coli Panic Spreads

Even as Brazil, Argentina and other nations move to impose limits on farmland purchases by foreigners, the Chinese are seeking to more directly control production themselves.

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China’s Interest in Farmland Makes Brazil Uneasy

The White House on Monday said that the U.S. will work with other nations to make the Internet more secure-and emphatically said that if necessary, the U.S. will use the military to strike back if a cyberattack threatens national security. The global…

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White House: Military Can Be Used in Cyberattack

US Senator John Kerry will travel to Pakistan this week with aim of getting the nations back “on the right track” after the killing of Osama Bin Laden.

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Kerry to meet Pakistani ‘players’

A look at the nations that might offer Libya’s leader exile.

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Dictator seeks second home: A guide to Gaddafi’s exile options

President Obama delivered a broad defense Monday of his decision to intervene in Libya and of his leadership style, arguing that the United States has a strategic interest in preventing the killing of civilians around the world and that it must do so in partnership with other nations.

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Obama: U.S. had responsibility to act in Libya

Who will go hungry as agricultural aid to other nations decreases?

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In Malawi, the toll of U.S. budget-cutting

Ireland destroy England’s Grand Slam hopes but the visitors win the Six Nations after France beat Wales in Paris in the 2011 tournament’s final match.

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Ireland 24-8 England

Two breakaway tries from lock Lionel Nallet help France dash Wales’ slim Six Nations title hopes in the tournament finale.

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France 28-9 Wales

Shaun Edwards has missed Wales’ final 2011 Six Nations trip to France after the defence coach was suspended by his employers the Welsh Rugby Union.

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Wales suspend coach Shaun Edwards