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Monthly Archives: January 2020

Generations of Exiles Collide in Post-Katrina New Orleans

Suppose that we live in a universe without “ifs.” What appears to be chance, or choice, is actually a peek into the rules of a completely separate universe that we can never access. Here, all our hopes for what might have been or what could be are accounted for; every …

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Lempicka headlines impressionist auction in London

An employee poses as she views a sales catalogue next to ‘Portrait de Marjorie Ferry’ by Tamara de Lempecka ahead of Impressionist, Modernist and Surreal sales at Christie’s auction house, London, Britain, January 30, 2020. REUTERS/Toby Melville LONDON (Reuters) – Tamara de Lempicka’s “Portrait de Marjorie Ferry” is expected to …

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Brexit will strengthen European support for return of Parthenon Marbles, says Greek minister

ATHENS (Reuters) – Greece will step up its campaign for the return of the Parthenon Marbles from Britain and expects to win more support from European peers as Brexit sees British influence wane, the Greek culture minister said. An original sculpture of the frieze of the Parthenon temple is exhibited …

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Pakistan’s First Social Media Star and the Forces That Enabled Her Murder

Feminist. Disgrace. Martyr. Joke. Qandeel Baloch was called “Pakistan’s Kim Kardashian,” the country’s first social media star — a figure of intense fascination and outrage, adored and reviled for posting videos of herself half undressed in bed, mocking mullahs and promising to perform a striptease for her viewers if Pakistan’s …

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The Macabre, the Sinister, the Absurd: Story Time Just Got Weirder

If she’s going for the uncanny, then some of her many, brief plots are too flimsy, not grounded enough in the recognizable, to succeed. A seamstress suddenly “decides to give up people,” making clothes instead for mannequins, a car, a teakettle. There’s no more to the story, and it’s too …

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Venezuela’s PDVSA, in default, says total debt remained unchanged in 2019

FILE PHOTO: The entrace to the Petroleos de Venezuela, S. A. (PDVSA) headquarters is sealed by the police in La Paz, Bolivia, January 9, 2020. Picture taken January 9, 2020. REUTERS/David Mercado CARACAS (Reuters) – Venezuela’s state-run oil company PDVSA said its financial debt fell less than 0.1% in 2019 …

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Blind Bulgarian artist finds a way to keep painting

PLOVDIV, Bulgaria (Reuters) – Stamen Karamfilov bends low over a canvas, adding the finishing touches to a woodland landscape – no mean feat considering the Bulgarian artist is almost totally blind. FILE PHOTO: Artist Stamen Karamfilov works on a painting at his studio in the city of Plovdiv, Bulgaria, January …

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SNB seen on sidelines as virus fears push Swiss franc to near three-year high

ZURICH (Reuters) – The Swiss National Bank appeared to remain on the sidelines as the Swiss franc surged to its highest level in nearly three years on Monday, driven by concerns about the spread of the coronavirus. FILE PHOTO: A Swiss National Bank logo is pictured on the SNB building …

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‘It is our responsibility to prevent and control it’

Health care members make first aid to people as they cover their faces with sanitary masks after the first cases of coronavirus have been confirmed in Hong Kong. Miguel Candela | Getty Images President Xi Jinping on Saturday warned that the spread of the coronavirus presents a “grave situation,” as …

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