h6th-century token of Christianity found

h6th-century token of Christianity found

JERUSALEM

A tiny, exquisitely made box found on an excavated street in Jerusalem is a token of Christian faith from 1,400 years ago, Israeli archaeologists said Sunday.

The box, carved from the bone of a cow, horse or camel, decorated with a cross on the lid and measuring only 0.8 inches by 0.6 inches, likely was carried by a Christian believer around the end of the 6th century, according to Yana Tchekhanovets of the Israel Antiquities Authority, one of the directors of the dig where the box was found.

When the lid is removed, the remains of two portraits still are visible in paint and gold leaf. The figures, a man and a woman, probably are Christian saints and possibly Jesus and the Virgin Mary.

The box was found in an excavation outside the walls of Jerusalem’s Old City in the remains of a Byzantine-era thoroughfare, she said.

Power outages from storm top 3 million

HARTFORD, Conn.

The number of homes and businesses without power on the East Coast stands at more than 3.1 million after an unusually early snowstorm.

Connecticut Gov. Dannel P. Malloy says the more than 800,000 customers without power there breaks a record set when the remnants of Hurricane Irene hit in August. He says people could be without electricity for a week.

Libya PM: Chemical weapons present

TRIPOLI, Libya

Libya’s interim prime minister confirmed Sunday the presence of chemical weapons in Libya and said foreign inspectors would arrive later this week to deal with the issue.

Prime Minister Mahmoud Jibril said Libya has no interest in keeping such weapons.

“We would like to assure you that the new Libya will be a peaceful Libya and that it is in our interest to have no weapons in Libya,” he said.

World population reaches 7 billion

LOS ANGELES

It took only a dozen years for humanity to add another billion people to the planet, reaching the milestone of 7 billion today — give or take a few months.

Demographers at the United Nations Population Division set Oct. 31, 2011, as the “symbolic” date for hitting 7 billion, while acknowledging that it’s impossible to know for sure the specific time or day. Using slightly different calculations, the U.S. Census Bureau estimates the 7 billion threshold will not be reached until March.

Data, surveys counter GOP plans

WASHINGTON

Key proposals from the Republican presidential candidates might make for good campaign fodder. But independent analyses raise serious questions about those plans and their ability to cure the nation’s ills in two vital areas, the economy and housing.

Consider proposed cuts in taxes and regulation, which nearly every GOP candidate is pushing in the name of creating jobs. The initiatives seem to ignore surveys in which employers cite far bigger impediments to increased hiring, chiefly slack consumer demand.

“Republicans favor tax cuts for the wealthy and corporations, but these had no stimulative effect during the George W. Bush administration, and there is no reason to believe that more of them will have any today,” writes Bruce Bartlett, an economist who worked for Republican congressmen and in the administrations of Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush.

Combined dispatches