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U.S. Terrorism Probe, Marine Le Pen Exclusive, Climate Art

CALIFORNIA SHOOTING MAY BE TERRORISM FBI officials investigating the Wednesday San Bernardino shooting that left 14 people dead and 21 wounded are probing a potential terrorist motive, though that connection has yet to be substantiated, the Los Angeles Times reports. Police officers told reporters that the level of planning and the arsenal used by killers […]

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How Much For A Hong Kong Wedding?

HONG KONG — Couples planning to walk down the aisle in Hong Kong better have some deep pockets. Even as consumer prices generally have dropped on the Chinese island, the average cost for a wedding is up to 314,000 Hong Kong dollars (about $40,000), according to the China Daily News. Retail sales in Hong Kong […]

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South Africa Paper Reacts To Pistorius Verdict

“Justice at last” writes Johannesburg-based daily The Citizen, one day after Paralympic athlete Oscar Pistorius was found guilty of murder as a South African appeals court overturned an earlier manslaughter verdict. Pistorius could now face a 15-year prison term, after the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) overturned his earlier conviction of culpable homicide to murder […]

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The Lord’s Way

This Orthodox bishop in the Greek city of Patras was on his way to St Andrew’s Cathedral, the largest church in the country.

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On This Day – December 4

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Geopolitics Ideas

The Real Risk That Maduro Would Defy Election Defeat

As Venezuela’s government becomes nervous about possible defeat in parliamentary elections Sunday, its threatening rhetoric shows signs it might refuse to acknowledge a loss at the polls. Then, all bets are off.

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Future Smarter Cities Society

Smart Cities International: Wearable Berlin, Underwater Future, Open Montreal

Here is a preview of our exclusive newsletter to keep up-to-date and stay inspired by Smart City innovations from around the world.

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Old Bridge, Old Picture

This picture of the 14th-century Valentré stone arch bridge in southwestern France (one of the oldest in the country) is one of the very first photographs I took with my Exakta Varex camera. Though the German Ihagee brand is now defunct, the slides held pretty well — and are now digitized for all eternity with […]

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Eyes on the U.S. Society Terror in Europe

An American In Paris, Terrorized By San Bernardino

PARIS — Two nights ago, there were sounds outside our apartment window that I was convinced were gunfire. It was 9 p.m., and my husband was 30 minutes late getting home. I sent a breathless text message right away, imagining him on the sidewalk with bullet holes through his chest. He was on the Metro. […]

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LA Times: Latest Details On San Bernardino Killers

Police have identified a couple as the two shooters in the latest mass killing in the United States that left at least 14 people dead and 17 injured Wednesday, in the southern Californian city of San Bernardino. Syed Rizwan Farook, 28, and Tashfeen Malik, 27, who relatives later confirmed were married and were the parents […]

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California Shooting, Pistorius Verdict, Ozzy Birthday

CALIFORNIA SHOOTING: 14 DEAD, COUPLE SUSPECTED Photo: David Bauman/Press-Enterprise/ZUMA Police have identified a couple in their late 20s as the two shooters in the latest mass killing in the United States that left at least 14 people dead and 17 injured Wednesday in the southern Californian city of San Bernardino. UK BEGINS SYRIA STRIKES Britain’s […]

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Ideas Society

Lessons For The World From A Dramatically Aging Japan

China’s GDP has overtaken that of Japan. If there’s one key area where Japan can still teach the Chinese, it is Japan’s demographic crisis.

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Brazil’s Dilma Rousseff Targeted By Impeachment

The speaker of Brazil’s lowest house of Parliament, Eduardo Cunha, has initiated impeachment proceedings against President Dilma Rousseff. The political showdown between two leaders described as “arch enemies” was put in stark terms on the Thursday edition of Portuguese-language Brazilian daily Correio, which used the English word “Impeachment” on the front page. Rousseff is facing […]

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On This Day – December 3

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Geopolitics Terror in Europe

Jihadism As Nihilism, An X-Ray Of Homegrown Terror In France

-Analysis- France is at war! Perhaps. But at war against whom, or what? The Islamic State (ISIS) isn’t sending Syrians to commit attacks in France in order to dissuade the French government from bombing it. ISIS instead is tapping into a pool of young radicalized French who, whatever happens in the Middle East, are already […]

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Future Green Or Gone

Climate Change, Earthquake Spell Double Trouble For Nepalese Farmers

NAUBISE — In the village of Naubise, about 90-minute drive from the capital Kathmandu, farmer Nirbhaya Sapkota is experimenting with crop rotation, mixed cropping and even intercropping — anything to maintain soil fertility and moisture. Sapkota, 45, and others this area are contending first-hand with the effects of climate change, which is particularly hard-hitting in Nepal because of its high poverty rates and low adaptive capacity. The major earthquake that struck in April has complicated matters even more. But in this community, at least, Sapkota and other smallholder farmers refuse to go down without a fight. With the help of […]

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UK Vote On Syria, NATO Expansion, Grohl v. Animal

UK TO VOTE ON SYRIA AIRSTRIKES Photo: Andrew Parsons/i-Images/ZUMA British Members of Parliament are set to vote on whether the United Kingdom will join the United States, France and Russia and several other countries in carrying out airstrikes in Syria and Iraq. The vote is expected late Wednesday after a long debate in the House […]

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Economy

Wake Up Brazil, This Is A Once-In-A-Generation Recession

-Editorial- SAO PAULO — We Brazilians have rarely faced an economic downturn of this magnitude. From April 2014 to September 2015, the country’s GDP contracted by 5.8%, and there are no signs that a turnaround is forthcoming. We haven’t seen anything like it since the “lost decade” that began in the early 1980s or, before […]

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Extra! Padre Zuckerberg Gives Birth To Biggest Charity In The World

Clarin, Dec. 2, 2015 “Father, millionaire* and caring,” Argentine daily Clarin joins some North American dailies in giving ample space on the front page Wednesday to news that Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan announced, in the form of an open letter to their newborn daughter Max, that they will donate 99% […]

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Iranian Oil City Hit By Mysterious Polluted Rain

For world leaders in Paris trying to reach a historic deal to protect the environment, it is worth looking at the Iranian city of Ahwaz. For at least three years, this city of 1.4 million has been hit each autumn with spells of polluted rain that have caused breathing difficulties for thousands of residents. Even […]

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A Different Proverb

Here’s a Moroccan version of “like a bull in a china shop.” I must say “like three sheep in a pottery souk” doesn’t have quite the same ring.

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On This Day – December 2

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Society UNCUT: The War Against Female Genital Mutilation

When Migrants Carry Scars, Female Genital Mutilation In Europe

LONDON — According to a new British law, any teacher, doctor, nurse or social care professional who comes across a case of a girl who has undergone genital mutilation has the duty to report it to the police. This law, which took effect on Oct. 31 and applies to any victim under the age of […]

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Society

A New Feminist Argument Against Abortion

Shouldn’t women who believe it’s wrong to abort a girl just because she’s a girl also believe it’s wrong to abort a baby just because she might have a disability? One self-described feminist author argues yes.

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A Rising Suicide Rate Among The Elderly Of Seoul

SEOUL — Poverty among the elderly has been blamed for the growing rate of suicides among senior citizens in South Korea’s capital, where 50 seniors took their own lives last year. According to the Korea Labor Institute, 48.6% of the country’s elderly were living in poverty last year, the Korea Herald reports. The highest suicide […]

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Future Smarter Cities

French Tech Imagines New Cities With 3D Simulations

To both improve cities and conquer markets, companies are turning to urban simulators with the interactive power and graphics of video games.

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Lake Of Diamonds

During this cold night of May, the lake had frozen, and in the morning the banks were sparkling like diamonds … Beautiful, but chilly. Thankfully, at the Lake Louise Inn where we stayed, there was a fireplace in our bedroom.

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German Anti-ISIS News, Europe’s Solar Power, Billboard Shaming

GERMAN CABINET BACKS ANTI-ISIS CAMPAIGN After agreeing last week to send 650 soldiers to Mali to support 1,500 French troops deployed to fight Islamist extremists, Germany could be about to launch a military campaign in Syria. The German cabinet voted today to send reconnaissance aircraft, a naval frigate and a 1,200-strong military force to the […]

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Burkina Faso Elects First New President In 27 Years

Roch Marc Christian Kaboré from the Movement of People for Progress was elected Burkina Faso’s new president, winning more than 53% of the vote in Sunday’s elections, according to an official tally late Monday night. It was the country’s first free election in 27 years, after authoritarian President Blaise Compaoré was toppled a year ago […]

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Geopolitics Ideas

ISIS Forced To Shift Back To Old Al-Qaeda Strategy

As it loses territory in Iraq and Syria, ISIS may pursue the *distant enemy* that Osama bin Laden put at the heart of his own longer-term pursuit of a caliphate.

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blog

On This Day – December 1

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Economy Geopolitics

Venezuelan Health Care System, Now On Life Support

The supply crisis that has plagued supermarkets and consumers for months now has hit the health care sector, with medicines, doctors and even emergency care in short supply. Plummeting oil prices are a major factor, as is the legacy of Hugo Chavez.

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