In Afghanistan, trust among allies erodes

Hard-earned trust has frayed between Afghan allies and US and NATO troops, eroded by violent incidents after the accidental burning of Korans by American soldiers.

Blog by soldier’s wife chronicled pain of Army life

The wife of Staff Sergeant Robert Bales, the soldier accused of killing 16 Afghan villagers last week, wrote about the travails of life as a military spouse.

http://c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2012/03/17/BostonGlobe.com/Metro/Images/17breakfast_photo4[1]-1516--90x90.jpg Politicians sharpen knives for annual roast

From Lieutenant Governor Timothy P. Murray to US Senate candidate Elizabeth Warren, local politicians are busily working on material for the St. Patrick’s Day breakfast.

NStar to open information center

The center will open Monday at the Boston Public Library to aid customers affected by the Back Bay power outages.

Exclusive Sunday Preview

A sampling of stories from this Sunday's Globe.

 

opinion | Gareth Cook

Why do nations fail?

Lessons from Venice provide cautionary clues to the future of the United States.

Egypt protests

The Internationalist

The lost dream of Egyptian pluralism

With the fall of Mubarak, the country was supposed to be a place where dissent could thrive. But now, that possibility looks increasingly remote, writes Thanassis Cambanis.

explore new england

Old meets new in a changing Southie

Food, it seems, is one of the surest indicators of change and has certainly kicked the “fun’’ level up a notch or two in South Boston.

“I always feel this deep kinship with Irish people in Boston. But I don’t always feel like they have this kinship with me.’’

Kelly Bates,  a mixed-race Irish-American

Globe Insiders

To Grammar’s House

http://c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2012/03/16/BostonGlobe.com/Special/Images/SPRINGCLEANING2.jpg Spring cleaning for grammar rules

Grammar’s House can get a bit cluttered sometimes, often with rules that are capricious, spurious, or flat-out erroneous.

Inside The Boston Globe

After blowing a 2-0 lead, the Bruins rallied on overtime to defeat the Flyers in a shootout.

Bruins 3, Flyers 2

Bruins win in shootout
Rick Santorum in Missouri

Santorum campaigns in Missouri as caucuses begin

St. Patrick’s Day holds mixed emotions for some

Travel | New York

The arts of crafts in Williamsburg

One man’s ‘Mad Men’ mad dash
Quincy Nang (right) waited to enter the Apple Store in Boston today to purchase the new Apple iPad.

In Boston, Apple fans line up for new iPad

Movies

Fans hope ‘The Hunger Games’ will deliver

A battle within cancer fight

New gambling era arrives at Maine casino
Stone tools were found at the Meadowcroft Rockshelter in Pennsylvania that could be 15,000 to 17,000 years old..

Did the Solutreans settle America first?

Can she learn to dig gardening?

Photos

Globe staff photos of the week

Metro

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Inmates push fund to cover funerals

Prisoners want to establish a community fund to pay for funeral expenses, headstones, or assistance for children whose fathers are incarcerated.

Business

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Loc Tran of Salem, N.H., holds his new tablet.

Buyers say new iPad a real eye-opener

Buyers who picked up Apple Inc.’s new iPad raved about its Retina display.

Columnists

Christopher L. Gasper

Throwing a net around the Bruins’ problems

Love Letters

Should they get engaged before the move-in?

Lawrence Harmon

A start-up center for Roxbury?

Adrian Walker

Cooking as rehabilitation

opinion | RENÉE LOTH

Mass. assets aren’t rosy for everyone

Brian McGrory

The powerful and the powerless
A disappointed Corbin Miller walked back to the Harvard bench in the second half.

Bob Ryan

Harvard can be proud of its basketball team

Derrick Z. Jackson

Record equality, unchanged inequalities in NCAA

Boston Capital

Lower investment bar for Mass. pension fund
Bobby Valentine in trying to install a fresh outlook for the Red Sox in his first season as manager.

Tony Massarotti

Are the Red Sox champs or chumps?

Joan Vennochi

Gingrich’s ego is a win for Romney

Kevin Cullen

A crack in Cathy Greig’s hard facade

Nation & World

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John Demjanjuk emerged from a Munich court after a judge sentenced him to 5 years in prison for charges related to the death of thousands in a Nazi death camp.

John Demjanjuk, convicted Nazi guard, dies at 91

The retired US autoworker was convicted on charges related to the killing of thousands.

Syria explosions, Damascus targeted

At least 27 killed in Syria blasts

Twin bombings struck government targets in the Syrian capital early Saturday.

Politics

Illinois primary could be pivotal

Mitt Romney and his allies have significantly increased their advertising and are ramping up the type of negative attacks that have been a hallmark of his narrow wins.

Sports

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NFL notebook

Former St. Louis Rams wide receiver Brandon Lloyd had made no secret of the fact that he wanted to play for the Patriots.

Brandon Lloyd, Patriots agree to terms

The Patriots came to terms with receiver Brandon Lloyd, and also signed defensive end/outside linebacker Trevor Scott and receiver Anthony Gonzalez.

Arts

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Longwood gets its turn with ‘Sidereus’

Questions about the creative process behind “Sidereus’’ — which is on the Longwood Symphony Orchestra’s program — have given rise to either a scandal or a tempest in a teapot.

Spring Style Magazine

SPECIAL MAGAZINE

Spring Style

The season’s freshest fashion feels airy and easy — think fluttery shapes, pretty prints, and nothing too structured or serious.

Magazine

The cover for the March 11 2012 issue

Stoughton’s Lori McKenna is writing her heart out
The cover for the March 4 2012 issue

Putting college degrees to work
The cover for the February 26 2012 issue

24 hours in Kendall Square
The cover for the February 19 2012 issue

Renovated Newport firehouse is calm, cool, and collected

Opinion

“It is health care — our proudest asset and the region’s largest employer — that also poses the greatest threat to the future.”

Renée Loth 

Ideas

“The best-selling board game today is the board game that was the best-selling board game in 1936. That is Monopoly.”

Game publisher Eric Hautemont