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Tea harvest in the rain in Assam
India

Spotlight: The Cult Of Amma

-Farewell-

Foreigners who visit Tamil Nadu, a southern state in India that's home to stunning Hindu temples and a robust economy, would often puzzle over the matronly woman draped in a sari watching over them from posters and billboards seemingly splashed on every street. There's even a statue of her in blood. She was born with the name Jayalalithaa, although it's unlikely anyone would have called her that to her face. The state's House speaker even ruled earlier this year, unlawfully, that she couldn't be referred to by her name in the legislative assembly. (Here's a list of epithets that can be used instead. Think "Great Revolutionary Leader.") Supporters, of whom there are millions, would just call her Amma, meaning Mother, a term in keeping with her extraordinary power.

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Maduro at Fidel Castro's 90th birthday celebration
Cuba

Fidel Castro Dead At 90, Cuban Leader Defied U.S. For A Half-Century

HAVANA — Fidel Castro, leader of Cuba's Communist revolution who ruled over the island nation in defiance of the United States for a half-century, died late Friday at the age of 90. Havana announced that the remains of the retired Líder Máximo would be cremated Saturday.

This was a tweet from the Cuban embassy in Washington, which recently reopened after the restoration of diplomatic relations between the U.S. and Cuba, orchestrated by Castro's brother and successor Raul Castro and President Barack Obama.

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