International

Rio preaches peace for the planet in understated Olympic opening ceremony

RIO DE JANEIRO – Ask a guy who makes small, compelling, artsy films to design the opening ceremony for the Olympics and he’s not going to hand you a teeth-rattling, bombs-exploding blockbuster. And so it was that the Games of the XXXI Olympiad officially opened in Rio de Janiero on Friday night, with a presentation […]

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International, Sports & Competitions

Olympic carnival begins as Rio opening ceremonies open with a bang

RIO DE JANEIRO — For at least three hours on a balmy Friday night, Brazilians got a respite from months of bad publicity, a chance to belt out bossa nova, dance the samba, watch supermodel Gisele sashay across Maracana Stadium and be distracted from the political and economic turmoil that have weighed on the nation

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International, Sports & Competitions

In Germany, some cemeteries are being turned into parks, playgrounds and gardens

Burials have gone out of fashion in Berlin. As space started getting tight, cemeteries have started charging rental fees on plots, and people are now choosing cremation instead. With the drop in demand, there are cemeteries being recycled and converted into public parks, playgrounds or gardens. To some, it might sound macabre. But in Germany,

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International

Wasserman Schultz defends actions as DNC chair

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz said Friday she did nothing wrong as chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee, but resigned to avoid becoming a distraction as Hillary Clinton was about to become the party’s presidential nominee. Despite the critical verdicts delivered by cable TV talking heads, supporters of defeated presidential candidate Bernie

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USA

WWII-Era Tunnel Unearths Story of Lithuania’s Jews

The diary of Kazimierz Sakowicz opens with his description of a pleasant summer day in the Ponar forest, outside the Lithuanian capital of Vilnius: “July 11: Quite nice weather, warm, white clouds, windy, some shots from the forest. Probably exercises.” The shots were not exercises, as Sakowicz would very quickly discover. The year was 1941,

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International, Jewish History

‘A Clinton presidency would be terrible for Israel’

Despite pledges early in the primary season to maintain neutrality in dealings with Israel and the Palestinian Authority, Donald Trump has since emphasized his pro-Israel bona fides and hinted at a major deviation from policies supported by presidents of both parties since the 1967 Six Day War, including the two-state solution, Israeli construction in Judea

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Middle East, USA

Gary Johnson’s lawsuit demanding Libertarians be in presidential debates tossed by court

Neither the Libertarian nor Green parties are guaranteed a space in this year’s presidential debates, a federal court ruled Friday, dealing a blow to their candidates, who were counting on being able to get onto the stage in order to boost their long-shot bids. District Judge Rosemary M. Collyer ruled that the commission on presidential

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USA

Israel responds to Obama: Munich Agreement didn’t prevent WWII

Israel’s Defense Ministry on Friday responded to U.S. President Barack Obama’s claims from a day earlier that the nuclear deal signed between Iran and the West had been successful in improving the security situation in the Middle East, and that even Israel acknowledges this fact. “The Israeli defense establishment believes that agreements have value only

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Middle East, USA