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2 years after Taliban seized power in Afghanistan, women and girls pay the price

The are entrenched in Afghanistan after of rule. Women and girls pay the price

The Taliban have settled in as rulers of Afghanistan, two years after they seized power as U.S. and NATO forces withdrew from the country following two decades of war.

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Musk says cage fight with Zuckerberg will be in Italy

Elon Musk has said that his much-hyped cage fight with Mark Zuckerberg would take place in Italy, as authorities there confirmed talks about hosting a "great charity event."

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Lebanon moves to ban 'Barbie' film as anti-LGBTQ sentiment rages

Lebanon's culture minister said he has asked authorities to ban hit movie "Barbie" for purportedly "promoting homosexuality," as anti-LGBTQ rhetoric soars in one of the Arab world's more liberal countries.

"It was decided... to send a request to Lebanon's General Security agency... to take all necessary measures to ban showing this movie in Lebanon," caretaker Culture Minister Mohammed Mortada said in a statement.

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'Stigmatized': Sex workers join criticism of UK banks

London-based sex worker Marin Scarlett and right-wing populist Nigel Farage might initially appear unlikely campaigning allies, but when it comes to the pitfalls of banking in Britain they share a common cause.

"It's ridiculous that financial institutions can act like moral arbiters," Scarlett told AFP, echoing Farage's exact same criticism last month after a scandal erupted around his treatment by British banks.

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Brazil has 1.7 million Indigenous people, near double the count from prior census

The diminutive woman with a white feather headdress stood on the stage of the majestic colonial theater in Brazil's Amazon on Monday and addressed the crowd.

The woman, Minister of Indigenous People Sonia Guajajara, declared the day "the milestone of Indigenous participation," then cited the national statistics institute's freshly released census data that revealed the full scope of the nation's Indigenous population: 1,693,535 people.

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'Disobedient' deftly paints inspiring story of artist Artemisia Gentileschi

Artemisia Gentileschi's painting skills quickly surpass her father's, but society dictates that as a woman, she must stay home and protect her virtue. Art — with its unsavory types and naked models — isn't exactly fit for a good Roman Catholic girl. And when her painting tutor attacks her, it sets off a cascade of seemingly insurmountable problems and impossible choices.

Author Elizabeth Fremantle deftly paints Artemisia's painful but inspiring story in her latest biographical fiction, "Disobedient." Having already established herself as a writer who champions powerful female leads, Fremantle fleshes out the 17th-century artist who defied the limits placed upon her and became one of the best painters of the Baroque period.

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India allows survey to see if 17th-century mosque was built over a Hindu temple

An Indian court on Thursday ruled that officials can conduct a scientific survey to determine if a 17th-century mosque in the country's north was built over a Hindu temple.

The Gyanvapi mosque in the holy Hindu city of Varanasi, an area Prime Minister Narendra Modi represents in India's parliament, is one of several mosques in northern Uttar Pradesh state that some Hindus believe was built on top of demolished Hindu temples.

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Pope urges students in Portugal to fight economic injustice, protect environment

From a university campus to a seaside town, Pope Francis challenged young people on Thursday to make the world a more just and inclusive place, as he focused the second day of his Portugal trip on inspiring students to use their privilege to combat global warming and economic inequalities.

Francis received a warm welcome first at the Catholic University in Lisbon, one of Portugal's top institutions of higher learning. He then had a more intimate, informal encounter with young people in the former fishing village of Cascais, where he was serenaded with a mournful performance of the traditional Portuguese fado, meaning fate or destiny.

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Pope urges students in Portugal to fight economic injustice, protect environment

From a university campus to a seaside town, Pope Francis challenged young people on Thursday to make the world a more just and inclusive place, as he focused the second day of his Portugal trip on inspiring students to use their privilege to combat global warming and economic inequalities.

Francis received a warm welcome first at the Catholic University in Lisbon, one of Portugal's top institutions of higher learning. He then had a more intimate, informal encounter with young people in the former fishing village of Cascais, where he was serenaded with a mournful performance of the traditional Portuguese fado, meaning fate or destiny.

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Russian shelling hits landmark church in Ukrainian city of Kherson

Russian shelling on Thursday damaged a landmark church in the southern city of Kherson that once held the remains of a renowned 18th-century Russian commander.

Ukraine's emergency service said four of its workers were wounded in a second round of shelling as they fought the fire at St. Catherine's Cathedral. Four other people were wounded in the first shelling attack, which also hit a trolleybus, the prosecutor general's office said.

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