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AUB president says Cyprus campus key to institution's global outreach

Cyprus bested 15 other countries as the most suitable to host the American University of Beirut's first overseas campus, the president of the world-renowned institution said.

It's part of the university's expansion plan that was initiated in 2018 but was expedited following the catastrophic Beirut port explosion in August 2020.

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Vatican court convicts climate activists for damaging statue, fines them over 28K euros

A Vatican court has convicted two environmental activists of aggravated damage and ordered them to pay more than 28,000 euros (US$30,000) in restitution after they glued their hands to the base of an ancient statue in the Vatican Museums in a protest to draw attention to climate change.

The two members of the Last Generation environmental activist group, Guido Viero and Ester Goffi, also received a nine-month suspended sentence and were fined 1,620 euros apiece. A third activist on trial with them, Laura Zorzini, was fined 120 euros.

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UN-backed team scans Ukraine historical sites to preserve them amid war

Under the plaintive painted eyes of the holy, a volunteer team of two United Nations-backed engineers watched as a whirling laser took a million measurements a second inside Kyiv's All Saints Church.

The laser swept quickly across the church, part of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, while taking a series of incredibly high-resolution photographs.

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German curator returns heirlooms Jewish families lost in the Holocaust

Matthias Weniger put on a pair of white cloth gloves and carefully lifted a tarnished silver candleholder, looking for a yellowed sticker on the bottom of it.

The candlestick is one of 111 silver objects at the Bavarian National Museum that the Nazis stole from Jews during the Third Reich in 1939. That's when they ordered all German Jews to bring their personal silver objects to pawn shops across the Reich — one of many laws created to humiliate, punish and exclude Jews.

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Hospitalized Pope Francis walks a bit, follows Mass on TV, lunches with medical personnel and aides

Sticking to doctors' advice, Pope Francis on Sunday skipped his customary weekly public blessing as he convalesces from abdominal surgery in a Rome hospital, but walked a few steps, followed Mass on TV and did some work, the Vatican said.

Francis also ate lunch in his 10th-floor hospital apartment with doctors, nurses, other medical staff and members of his security detail, Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said in a written statement.

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Vatican: Pope sitting up, working from an armchair after abdominal surgery

Pope Francis was "progressively improving" and sitting in an armchair working Friday, following surgery to remove intestinal scar tissue and repair a hernia in his abdominal wall, the Vatican said.

After a restful night, Francis had breakfast and read the newspapers from his armchair, spokesman Matteo Bruni said in a statement. He quoted doctors as saying Francis' condition was "progressively improving and the post-operative course is smooth."

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Tens of thousands join Tel Aviv Pride parade

Tens of thousands of people on Thursday marched in Tel Aviv's Pride parade — an annual celebration that turns the city's seaside promenade into a boisterous festival of rainbow flags, pounding music and colorful costumes.

It was the first time that Tel Aviv has held the parade since Israel's new far-right government, which is stacked with openly anti-LGBTQ+ members, took office.

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Hope despite pain: Retrospective exhibition by Majd Kurdieh starts in Beirut

A retrospective exhibition by Artist Majd Kurdieh has started in Beirut, presented by Fann à Porter in collaboration with Zaat.

On the old walls of Assafir building in Hamra, visitors can follow nine years of the artist's creative journey.

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Pope in good condition after hernia operation

Pope Francis, 86, spent a restful night and was in good condition after a hernia operation, the Vatican said Thursday, as doctors cautioned his age and health issues could affect his recovery time.

"Pope Francis passed a quiet night and managed to have a lengthy rest," the Vatican said.

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Divide between religious and secular Jews heats up under Netanyahu's rule

The sound of children and music echoed down a narrow basement hallway in Israel as they scrambled in a pool of balls, climbed on a jungle gym, munched popcorn and laughed.

The atmosphere changed suddenly on that Saturday last month, as at least a dozen religious men appeared and blocked the entrance, accusing the indoor playground of desecrating the Jewish sabbath by opening for business. Angry parents confronted them, scuffles broke out and in an instant, the center in this mixed city had become a flashpoint symbol of a larger battle between secular and religious Jews in Israel.

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