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☆ Venezuela Holds a Key Vote. Here’s What You Need to Know.
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-22 | by ( Genevieve Glatsky | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Mr. Maduro came to power in 2013, after the death of Hugo Chávez, the founder of the country’s socialist-inspired revolution. Under Mr. Maduro, Venezuela, once among the richest countries in Latin America, has undergone an extraordinary economic collapse, leading to a humanitarian crisis that has sent more than seven million people fleeing. But the Maduro government and the opposition signed an agreement on Tuesday meant to move toward free and fair elections, including allowing the opposition to choose a candidate for next year’s presidential contest. Sunday’s election, however, will take place with no official government support. Instead, the vote is being organized by civil society, with polling stations in homes, parks and the offices of opposition parties.

Persons: Nicolás Maduro, Maduro, Hugo Chávez Locations: Maduro, Venezuela, Latin America

As the volleyball game neared its end, thousands of fans watching on giant screens in an Istanbul park rose to their feet and fell silent. The ball soared, a Turkish player set it up near the net, and her teammate spiked it. Her Italian opponents blocked the shot but knocked the ball out of bounds, handing victory to the Turks and causing the crowd to erupt into chants of “Turkey! Turkey!”The nail-biter victory on Friday by Turkey’s national women’s volleyball team in the Women’s European Volleyball Championship was the most recent conquest by the country’s most successful major sports team, a record that has turned it into a rare source of national pride that holds appeal across the country’s social divides. Affectionately referred to as “the Sultans of the Net,” the team won the Volleyball Nations League championship in July in Arlington, Texas, and became the world’s top rated women’s national team, according to FIVB, the sport’s international governing body.

Persons: laud Organizations: Turkey’s, volleyball, Volleyball, Volleyball Nations League, FIVB Locations: Istanbul, Turkish, Turkey, Arlington , Texas, Serbia, Brussels

☆ Opinion | America’s Shift Away From Religion
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-03 | by ( ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

To the Editor:Re “Americans Are Losing Their Religious Faith,” by Nicholas Kristof (column, Aug. 24):Mr. Kristof writes that Americans’ loss of faith results from religious scandals and the bad behavior of “charlatans” such as Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson. The trend is a problem, he argues, because religion is central to our country’s social capital. First, Americans are also becoming less religious because there is zero evidence to support any of the central claims religious institutions make about God and the supernatural. And second, what worries me is not that people are less religious, but that they transfer their blind faith in religion and religious leaders to charismatic politicians like Donald Trump. But Americans aren’t losing their underlying spiritual and religious beliefs; they are defining and seeking connections to “higher powers” in other ways.

Persons: ”, Nicholas Kristof, Mr, Kristof, Jerry Falwell, Pat Robertson, Donald Trump, Mark K, Cassell Washington, aren’t Organizations: charlatans, Cassell, Kent State University

☆ Guatemala elections: Troubled vote looms
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-12 | by ( Tara John | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Torres won 16% of the first-round vote in June with Arévalo coming in with 11.8% of the votes cast. “Guatemalans wanted an option on the ballot where they can vote to reject the current political system. Moises Castillo/APThis is the third presidential cycle Torres has competed in, losing in 2019 to current President Alejandro Giammattei. Guatemala currently recognizes Taiwan, and Arévalo has said he would like Guatemala to have relations with both Taipei and Beijing. Congress is set to be largely controlled by establishment parties following this year’s elections, including the outgoing president’s Vamos party and Torres’ UNE.

Persons: CNN —, Sandra Torres, Bernardo Arévalo –, Torres, Arévalo, “ Guatemalans, ” Will Freeman, backsliding, Arevalo, Cristina Chiquin, Reuters Arévalo, Rafael Curruchiche, ” Curruchiche, “, ” Freeman, Bukele, Alvaro Colom, Moises Castillo, Alejandro Giammattei, Juan José Arévalo, Freeman, Thelma Aldana, Aldana, Luis Von Ahn, Torres ’ Organizations: CNN, Council, Foreign Relations, United, Public Ministry, Reuters, Movimiento Semilla, US State Department, US, European, Unidad Nacional de la Esperanza, Getty, Duolingo, Torres ’ UNE Locations: backsliding, Guatemala, America, United Nations, Guatemala City, Spain, European Union, United Kingdom, Canada, El Salvador, Taiwan, Taipei, Beijing

☆ White people meals? The story behind China’s ‘coldest’ food trend
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-02 | by ( Maggie Hiufu Wong | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +12 min

CNN —In China – the land of hot noodles, steaming rice and warm soups – a new and unlikely food trend has swept across the country’s social media platforms in recent weeks. “I feel it’s important to recognize that perception is an evolving concept,” says British Chinese chef Andrew Wong, the third-generation owner of London’s two-Michelin-star Chinese restaurant, A. Wong. The only ceremonial effort was putting them in a lunchbox,” wrote one user on Xiaohongshu, a popular Chinese social media site. I found out today that on Chinese social media, there’s a trending hashtag that translates to white people meals lol“I was so tired I ate a white people meal today”One of hashtags is also “white people meals are still meals” pic.twitter.com/VGdedgrV2F — Yan Fan 📍Tokyo - we’re hiring! “I don’t like the term ‘white people meals,’ even when it’s used in a joking manner,” says Voon.

Persons: ”, Andrew Wong, Wong, “, 📍T, witter, –, ake, ong, sian, haring, eason, egan, orth, rbanized, ould, sia, ike Organizations: CNN, ust Locations: China, Europe, bologna, British, ried, ife

☆ UBS and Swiss government sign Credit Suisse loss-sharing deal clearing way for deal to close
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-09 | by ( ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

UBS and the Swiss government have agreed on how they will share losses linked to the bank’s emergency takeover of Credit Suisse, which will create a giant Swiss bank. The agreement announced Friday has been negotiated since the rescue of Credit Suisse (CS) in March. The Swiss government will guarantee up to 9 billion Swiss francs ($9.98 billion) of losses that UBS may incur from the sale of its rival’s assets beyond 5 billion francs, which the lender is due to cover itself. The Swiss government made the cash available to facilitate the emergency takeover of Credit Suisse and avoid a broader banking crisis that a collapse of the lender could provoke. The loss protection agreement will become effective with the completion of the Credit Suisse takeover, expected as early as June 12, UBS said in a separate statement.

Persons: Sergio Ermotti, ” Ermotti, “, Ermotti, Andreas Venditti, ” Organizations: UBS, Swiss, Credit Suisse, Swiss Economic, country’s Social, Credit Suisse’s Locations: Swiss, Switzerland, Interlaken

☆ In India’s Landmark Same-Sex Marriage Case, Arguments Span Equality, Family, Religion
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-29 | by ( Shan Li | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

NEW DELHI—In landmark hearings before India’s Supreme Court, a series of petitioners are arguing for the expansion of marriage rights to millions of LGBTQ people in the world’s most populous nation, but are facing opposition from the country’s socially conservative government. The closely watched proceedings, which began mid-April, come five years after the court decriminalized gay sex. Its other rulings over the past decade have brought rights of gay, lesbian and transgender people to the forefront, including one in 2014 that recognized transgender people as a third gender. In 2017, the court said privacy, including a person’s sexual orientation, is a constitutional right for all.

A ban on protests in the area is in place from Thursday evening until Saturday morning local time. Loic Venance/AFP/Getty ImagesViolence also broke out at Paris’ Place de la Bastille as riot police clashed with angry protestors. Up to 600,000 people were expected to take to the streets across France for the latest protests. Protesters gain entry inside the LVMH headquarters during a demonstration against pension reform in central Paris. Femimist activists dressed as Rosie the Riveter icon perform during a demonstration in Paris on April 13, 2023.

☆ Jiang Zemin: China's Xi calls for unity at former president's memorial service
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-06 | by ( Nectar Gan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Hong Kong CNN —China’s Xi Jinping on Tuesday called on the country to unite around his leadership as he addressed a memorial service for former leader Jiang Zemin, following an unprecedented show of dissent over his zero-Covid policy and authoritarian rule. At the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, Xi led hundreds of China’s political and military elites to pay final tribute to Jiang, who died last Wednesday at the age of 96. Chinese leader Xi Jinping leads other officials to bow during a formal memorial for late former Chinese leader Jiang Zemin in Beijing on December 6, 2022. Coming to power in the aftermath of the 1989 Tiananmen crackdown, Jiang led China out of international isolation and guided its integration into the global market. On Tuesday, in his first public speech since the protests, Xi praised Jiang for ensuring the party’s survival from the “political storms” of his time.

☆ The Supreme Court and Racial Preferences
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-28 | by ( The Editorial Board | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

A great triumph of 20th-century American government was the Civil Rights Act of 1964. It broke the back of Jim Crow and reasserted the principle that no one should be discriminated against for his race. The Supreme Court has a chance to reaffirm that vital American principle on Monday when it hears challenges to the admissions practices at Harvard and the University of North Carolina (Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard College and SFFA v. University of North Carolina). The case is an important moment for American law but even more for the country’s social and political future. Yet rather than assimilate this melting pot with race-neutral principles, many in our political class want to divide America into racial categories, allocating jobs, benefits and even elections based on race.

☆ Chinese Internet Users Lose Access to WeChat App After Beijing Protest
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-14 | by ( Liza Lin | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Chinese censors are crippling access to the country’s do-everything app for some users as part of a campaign to kill discussion of a rare protest in Beijing, an escalation in the Communist Party’s drive to cleanse the country’s internet of even the whiff of dissent. The crackdown came after two banners condemning Chinese leader Xi Jinping were hung from a busy highway bridge in the Chinese capital early Thursday afternoon—a rare act of defiance in the seat of Communist Party power that captivated the country’s social-media users.

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