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One lesbian couple’s winding path to marriage leads to a historic first in Bolivia
SANTA CRUZ, Bolivia | Like many newlyweds, Fabiana Justiniano and Scarlett Rocha grow misty-eyed when they reminisce about their wedding day: racing from the civil registry to get their hair and makeup done, dancing in their white dresses late into the night with more than a hundred friends and relatives. “We didn’t expect it to […]
Inside one of the world’s few crash courses in conserving and caring for ancient papyrus manuscripts
ANN ARBOR, Mich. | Shijin Jiang pulled the precision binocular headband magnifier over her eyes and hunched down within a few inches of the ancient text resting on a light board. Using a pair of hand tools, Shijin carefully inspected the sheet made from the papyrus plant, proceeding with the utmost care. After all, it […]
Togo detains French filmmakers over alleged immigration violations, advocacy group says
LOMÉ, Togo | Two French documentary filmmakers and their Togolese fixer have been jailed in Togo after more than three weeks in custody in the West African nation, an advocacy group said Thursday, amid strained relations between the government and French media. Reporters Without Borders said that filmmakers Gaël Mocaër and Sebastian Perez Pezzani and […]
Swiss tourist sentenced to a year in jail for insulting Bali’s sacred Day of Silence
DENPASAR, Indonesia | A court on the Indonesian resort island of Bali sentenced a Swiss tourist on Thursday to one year in prison for insulting a sacred Balinese Hindu observance. Luzian Andrin Zgraggen, 26, was found guilty of violating Indonesia’s new criminal code by posting social media messages about the Day of Silence, when people […]
Movie Review: Gen Z gets a moody, existential horror in ‘It Ends’
Every generation deserves its own postgrad malaise movie. Not every attempt is going to be “The Graduate” or “Frances Ha,” but even when they’re mediocre, they’re also often a pure expression from a young filmmaker about what their contemporaries are feeling at that exact moment. Though the details may change — the clothes, the hairstyles, […]
Read our big scoop: Ice-cream cones, the ingenious invention of American immigrants
DETROIT | Read this quickly, before it melts. Ice cream was a rare and expensive treat for centuries because of the difficulty of storing ice. In the summer of 1790, President George Washington spent $200 on ice cream, the equivalent of $7,259 today, according to the International Dairy Foods Association. By the 1800s, inventions like […]
Chinese Valentine’s Day is rooted in legend and tradition, not just romance
BEIJING | Chinese Valentine’s Day is not all about flowers and chocolates. Beyond the romance embraced by some contemporary couples, Qixi is an ancient tradition rooted in legend, prayer and cultural activities that survive to this day. The festival is observed on the seventh day of the seventh month of the Chinese calendar, which fell […]
ICC slams US decision to sanction the court’s president and a senior prosecution lawyer
THE HAGUE, Netherlands | The International Criminal Court on Wednesday slammed the latest U.S. sanctions targeting senior ICC staff, including its president, as a “flagrant attack” on the global tribunal’s independence and vowed to continue seeking justice for atrocities around the world. The State Department announced Tuesday that it had hit ICC president Tomoko Akane, […]
Judge will consider new trial for Karmelo Anthony in Texas track meet killing
McKINNEY, Texas | A judge on Thursday will consider whether to grant Texas teenager Karmelo Anthony a new trial following his murder conviction earlier this summer in the stabbing death of a 17-year-old athlete at a high school track meet. In a legal victory for Anthony, the judge who presided over his trial was removed […]
Chinese court sentences founder of troubled property developer Evergrande to life in prison
HONG KONG | A Chinese court sentenced Chinese property tycoon Hui Ka Yan to life in prison for financial crimes linked to the collapse of his Evergrande real estate group, once the world’s most heavily indebted developer. The decision marks a milestone in Evergrande’s saga after it defaulted on more than $300 billion in liabilities […]