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Rocket attack kills 13 in Syria’s Aleppo

By WTOP Staff

BASSEM MROUE
Associated Press

BEIRUT (AP) — Rebels fired a rocket that struck a government-held neighborhood Friday in the northern Syrian city of Aleppo, killing 13 people, Syria’s state news agency reported.

The battle for Syria’s largest city has taken on new urgency as President Bashar Assad’s forces have seized the momentum with the fall of Homs and other areas around the capital, Damascus. Aleppo has been carved up into opposition- and government-held areas since the rebels launched an offensive there in July 2012, capturing territory along Syria’s northern border with Turkey.

State news agency SANA said the rocket attack in the northern neighborhood of Achrafieh also wounded 17 people.

The agency said the attack was carried out by “terrorists,” the term the government uses to refer to rebels. It said the shells also damaged two houses in the area.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which has a network of activists around the country, said the Achrafieh attack killed 10 people including three children.

The attack came a day after similar shelling on the neighborhood killed three people and wounded 20.

Rocket attacks are common on residential neighborhood around Syria. The rockets can be wildly inaccurate.

The rocket attack came shortly before a car bomb exploded outside a mosque in the northwestern town of Binnish, killing at least eight people, the Observatory reported. It also said the death toll is likely to rise because of several of the dozens wounded are in critical conditions. The Observatory has been documenting the war by relying on information from activists on the ground

An activist in the area who goes by the name of Mohammed Kanaan said the blast occurred as worshippers attended Friday prayers at the Grand Mosque. The Local Coordination Committees, another opposition group, said the car bomb killed several people and wounded dozens more.

An amateur video posted online by activists showed several vehicles on fire just outside a mosque. Black smoke billowed from the area as people rushed to help.

The video appeared genuine and matched Associated Press reporting of the event.

Meanwhile, government forces continued to pound opposition areas around the capital, Damascus, including the town of Daraya southwest of the city, and Mleiha and Babila to the east. Videos posted online showed a massive barrel bomb slamming near a mosque in Daraya, sending a huge cloud of smoke billowing into the sky.

For weeks, government helicopters have conducted a brutal barrel bomb campaign to a devastating effect, pounding the capital’s sprawling suburbs with large containers packed with fuel, explosives and scraps of metal.

Activists say Syria’s 3-year-old conflict has killed more than 150,000 people. More than 2.5 million people have fled Syria to neighboring countries, while millions more are displaced within the war-ravaged country.

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Associated Press writer Barbara Surk in Beirut contributed to this report.

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Don’t Settle for Student Loans to Pay for Online Education

By WTOP Staff
Online college programs are becoming a more popular choice for prospective students, with one study finding that more than 6 million students enrolled in at least one online course in fall 2015. The popularity of these courses can be attributed in part to their flexibility with working adults' schedules, students' ability to progress more quickly through online programs and, oftentimes, cheaper tuition. [See 10 low-cost online bachelor's programs for out-of-state students.]Online degrees can be beneficial to many college students, but some studies have shown online learners complete their programs at lower rates than students at traditional brick-and-mortar campuses. Individuals with student loans but no degree comprise two-thirds of defaulted borrowers. Though these numbers are not encouraging, just like for traditional programs, there are ways to reduce how much you'll need to borrow for an online program to ensure you won't become one of these statistics. Don't just settle on borrowing student loans to cover the whole cost of your program and living expenses. Instead, start thinking about how to cut costs and cover your balance in different ways, such as the following. -- Grants and scholarships: Even though you are taking an online course, you can still apply and receive grants and scholarships. But your first step should be to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, commonly referred to as the FAFSA, which will allow you to receive a Pell Grant if your expected family contribution is low enough. The EFC criteria and award amounts are adjusted annually, but the 2017-2018 academic year awards range from $606 to $5,920, which could significantly lower the amount you borrow annually. Your next step is to apply for scholarships. You can start by checking online scholarship search engines, such as the Salt Scholarship Search, College Board's BigFuture and Peterson's. But don't forget to take advantage of local organizations and your school's financial aid office. Both may offer scholarships that you can't find with a national scholarship search. [Review these 10 sites to kick off your scholarship search.]For instance, organizations like the Elks Club, Knights of Columbus or the Rotary Club typically offer scholarships annually to local students. Just because you're going to school online doesn't mean you're ineligible. Visit your local library for scholarship listings, and ask around town. You might be surprised how many local organizations offer scholarships. While these scholarships typically aren't large, every little bit counts. Each dollar you receive in a scholarship is a dollar you don't have to borrow and pay interest on. -- Work-study: Another option for online students may be work-study awards. Not all students enrolled in online programs are eligible, but students at some schools -- including, for example, SUNY Empire State College and Liberty University -- are. Work-study awards are not given upfront like scholarships and grants. In most cases, they are an offer to earn up to the awarded amount if you secure an eligible work-study job. While there is a misconception that all work-study jobs must be on campus, students can work for off-campus, nonprofit or public employers as long as the work is in the public's interest. You may be able to work for a for-profit employer if the job is relevant to your course of study. No matter who the outside employer is, it will need to have an established agreement with your college for you to receive work-study funds. Remember, to be eligible for federal financial aid, you must be enrolled and pursuing a degree or certificate. If you're not working toward a credential, Pell Grants and work-study won't be option, but you may still be able to take advantage of private scholarships -- just be sure to read the eligibility criteria carefully. [Explore what to know about financial aid in online programs.]-- Pay as you go: One of the great benefits to enrolling online is the flexible schedule, which can allow you to complete your college coursework around your responsibilities. But prospective students often overlook using their part- or full-time job earnings as an option for paying for college. Almost 80 percent of college students in 2015 worked at least part time while attending classes, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. By budgeting and thinking strategically about your college costs, you can likely reduce your dependence on student loans by paying a portion out of pocket. Many -- but not all -- online programs are less expensive than traditional programs and often have shorter payment periods. Six, eight or 10 weeks are common course durations. Because of the frequency of payments in an online setting, you may be well-placed to pay as you go and possibly avoid borrowing altogether. Attending college online and avoiding student loans may be challenging, but if you are willing to put in the effort, you can limit the amount you need to borrow. More from U.S. News Q&A: Understanding Student Loan Discharge Eligibility Student Loan Refinancing Isn't Right for All Borrowers
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