Thursday, August 4, 2011 - Last Update: 6:17 PM ET (22:17 GMT)

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Stocks Down Over 4% in Global Sell-Off

Investors Cite Slow U.S. Recovery and Europe’s Debt Crisis

By GRAHAM BOWLEY 4:45 PM ET

American indexes suffered their largest one-day percentage drop since February 2009, as new data heightened fears of a further slowdown in the global economy.

E.C.B. Fails in Bid to Quell Debt Crisis

By JACK EWING AND JULIA WERDIGIER 4:58 PM ET

FRANKFURT — The European Central Bank and the Bank of England also kept their benchmark interest rates steady.

TimesCast: Stocks Fall Sharply

Stocks fall on economic worries; Tiger Woods returns to competitive golf; and happy 50th birthday, Mr. President.

Japan and Switzerland Fight Back on Currency
By HIROKO TABUCHI 1:44 PM ET

TOKYO — The strength of the Japanese yen and Swiss franc against the dollar and euro has compelled their governments to intervene to protect exporters.

Death Toll Is Said to Double in Center of Syrian Revolt

By NADA BAKRI 1:37 PM ET

BEIRUT — The military forces that occupied the central square of Hama have killed more than 100 people over the past 24 hours and a total of 200 since the weekend, rights activists say.

Japan Sacks Three Nuclear Officials

By MARTIN FACKLER 2:39 PM ET

TOKYO — Prime Minister Naoto Kan on Thursday sought to take aim at cozy ties between regulators and the power industry that were exposed after the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant accident.

Pakistan Officers Face Court Martial Over Base Attack

By SALMAN MASOOD 2:50 PM ET

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — The officers are facing charges of negligence in connection with the May 22 attack by Islamist insurgents on a naval base.

Scientists Find Signs Water Is Flowing on Mars
By KENNETH CHANG 5 minutes ago

The possible presence of liquid water could revive speculation that Mars is full of microbial organisms.

A Soccer Player’s Tragic Death
By ROB HUGHES 1:58 PM ET
Naoki Matsuda playing for Japan during the 2002 World Cup.

Naoki Matsuda, one of Japan’s most noted players, died Thursday after collapsing during training.

Shell Gets Tentative Approval to Drill in Arctic
By JOHN M. BRODER and CLIFFORD KRAUSS 14 minutes ago

WASHINGTON — The move is another sign that the Obama administration is easing the clampdown on offshore oil drilling.

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Taliban fighters on Sunday surrendering their weapons as part of a reconciliation ceremony in Jalalabad, east of Kabul.
Taliban Hint at Interest in Settlement
By ALISSA J. RUBIN

KABUL, Afghanistan — Two recent statements suggest that the Taliban would be willing to engage in talks.

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Christine Lagarde, the International Monetary Fund's managing director, spoke in New York last month.
New I.M.F. Chief to Face French Inquiry
By LIZ ALDERMAN 4:28 PM ET

PARIS — A commission at the Court of Justice decided that Christine Lagarde’s role in a $580 million arbitration decision should be examined.

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An American soldier on patrol in the city of Kirkuk on July 27.
Iraq to Discuss U.S. Troops After 2011
By MICHAEL S. SCHMIDT

BAGHDAD — The Iraqi government has announced it wants to talk with the United States about keeping a limited training force of American troops in the country after the end of the year.

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MORE FROM THE MIDDLE EAST »
“The liberals will escape or be killed,” Seif el-Islam el-Qaddafi said in an interview in Tripoli on Wednesday.
Libya Forges Pact With Islamists, Qaddafi Son Says
By DAVID D. KIRKPATRICK

TRIPOLI, Libya — Seif al-Islam el-Qaddafi said that he was forging a secret alliance to drive out the liberal-minded Libyan rebels.

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Lissette Gutierrez chose a pair of $1,495 Christian Louboutin shoes at Bergdorf Goodman in Manhattan.
Even Marked Up, Luxury Goods Fly Off Shelves
By STEPHANIE CLIFFORD

While retailers selling to average Americans are holding near fire sales, a recovery at the top is helping high-end retailers to sell out of their most expensive items.

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Largely unknown in the English-speaking world, the Brazilian comedian Rafinha Bastos appears on two popular television shows, has just issued a hit DVD, and recently was named the most influential person on Twitter.
Arts & Leisure
A Brazilian’s Comic Mania: Social Media
By LARRY ROHTER 12:10 PM ET

SÃO PAULO — The comedian Rafinha Bastos, a popular pioneer of Brazil’s burgeoning stand-up scene, has propelled his success with an enthusiastic embrace of the Internet and social media.

Movie Review | 'The Whistleblower'
The Horrors of Human Trafficking
By STEPHEN HOLDEN
 Rachel Weisz as a United Nations peacekeeping officer in Bosnia in “The Whistleblower.”

Rachel Weisz plunges into the dark world of human trafficking in postwar Bosnia in “The Whistleblower.”

Movie Review | 'The Mouth of the Wolf'
A Study of Time, Love and Decay in Genoa
By STEPHEN HOLDEN
Vincenzo Motta in Pietro Marcello's documentary “The Mouth of the Wolf.”

“The Mouth of the Wolf,” filmed in Genoa, Italy, tells the story of a man and his transsexual partner who met in prison.

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