Lavrov: Ukraine must demilitarize or Russia will do it

Comment on this story Comment KYIV, Ukraine — Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Tuesday warned that Ukraine must meet Moscow’s demand for “demilitarization” and “denazification,” as well as the removal of the military threat to Russia, otherwise “the Russian army (will) solve the issue.” Sergey Lavrov also accused the West of fueling the war […]

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UN rights chief urges Taliban to drop restrictions on women

Comment on this story Comment BERLIN — The United Nations’ human rights chief on Tuesday decried increasing restrictions on women’s rights in Afghanistan, urging the country’s Taliban rulers to reverse them immediately. He pointed to “terrible consequences” of a decision to bar women from working for non-governmental organizations. Last week, Taliban authorities stopped university education […]

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Proxy Voting Was a Game Changer in Congress. It’s Going Away

For more than two years, members of the House of Representatives have enjoyed a privilege unavailable to any of their predecessors: the ability to vote on legislation without being in the Capitol. The practice, put in place in response to the pandemic, has afforded some lawmakers a semblance of work-life balance like never before. One […]

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A Top Auctioneer Explains the Secret to Collecting Whisky

“What time will you be here today?” asks Jonny Fowle via WhatsApp. “I’ve got us about £150K of whisky to drink.” An invitation from Fowle is a precious thing. As the head of rare spirits for auction house Sotheby’s, he is surrounded by some of the world’s most coveted and expensive liquor. Plus he doesn’t […]

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Suspect arrested in killing of UN peacekeeper in Lebanon

Comment on this story Comment BEIRUT — The Lebanese army has arrested a suspect in the killing earlier this month of a U.N. peacekeeper from Ireland who died when his convoy was shot at in southern Lebanon, officials said Tuesday. The area of the Dec. 14 shooting attack, near the southern town of Al-Aqbiya, is […]

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France’s winter advice: Brace for power outages, but please don’t panic

Comment on this story Comment SAINT BRIEUC, France — If France’s power grid were to near its limits in the coming weeks, officials say, the warning signs wouldn’t be subtle. Millions of people would receive phone alerts. On government sites, power consumption charts would switch to red. The final option would be one that until […]

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Serbs put up new roadblocks as tensions soar in Kosovo

Comment on this story Comment BELGRADE, Serbia — Serbs on Tuesday erected more roadblocks in northern Kosovo and defied international demands to remove those placed earlier, a day after Serbia put its troops near the border on a high level of combat readiness. The new barriers, made of laden trucks, were put up overnight in […]

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China scrapping mandatory quarantining for people arriving from abroad

People in China reacted with joy and rushed to plan trips overseas Tuesday after Beijing said it would scrap mandatory COVID quarantining for overseas arrivals, ending almost three years of self-imposed isolation. In a snap move late Monday, China said from January 8 on, inbound travelers would no longer be required to quarantine on arrival — […]

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Lula prepares to preside over a divided Brazil

Comment on this story Comment SAO PAULO — Lulapalooza, the Jan. 1 inauguration of Brazil’s once and future president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, will be a carnival for this country’s progressives. Hundreds of thousands are expected to gather in the capital to see the lion of the Latin American left sworn in, then samba […]

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Femicides in Mexico: Little progress on longstanding issue

Comment on this story Comment ECATEPEC, Mexico — On a November afternoon, Mónica Citlalli Díaz left home in a sprawling suburb of Mexico’s capital and headed to the school where she’d been teaching English for years. It seemed an ordinary day, but on this one, she never arrived at work. Her absence was an immediate […]

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