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The ‘Orient Express' Is a Real Train — and Taking a Ride Is Not Cheap
After an 18-month hiatus, the luxurious Venice Simplon-Oriental-Express is back on the rails, with new routes to Amsterdam, Brussels, Geneva, Rome and Florence.
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Biden Vows to Keep Pressing Russia to Release American Prisoners
President Joe Biden said he and Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed the fate of U.S. citizens detained in Russia during the leaders’ summit in Geneva.
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Biden Says “Last Thing” Putin Wants Is a Cold War
Following his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Switzerland on Wednesday, President Joe Biden responded to a question about cybersecurity concerns by saying that “the last thing” Putin wanted was a Cold War.
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Biden and Putin Agree to Resume Nuclear Talks, Return Ambassadors to Posts
President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed to resume stalled nuclear talks and return ambassadors to their foreign posts.
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Biden, Putin Meet in Switzerland As Tensions Reach Historic High
President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin met in Geneva, Switzerland on Wednesday for a high-stakes summit between the two nations.
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Buoyed by Allied Summits, Biden Ready to Take on Putin
Fresh from supportive summits with allies, Joe Biden is declaring himself ready to take on Russia’s Vladimir Putin in far more confrontational talks
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Biden Will Meet Russian Leader Putin on June 16 in Geneva, White House Says
Issues in the meeting are expected to include the ransomware attack on Colonial Pipeline and U.S. sanctions over the Kremlin’s treatment of Alexei Navalny.
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Largest Purple-Pink Diamond Ever to Be Auctioned Sells for Nearly $27 Million
The largest purple-pink diamond ever to be auctioned has been sold in Geneva, Switzerland for 24,393,000 Swiss francs ($26,700,871).
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Supercars Taken From African Leader's Son Auctioned for $27M
Car lovers from around the world splashed out more than $27 million at an auction Sunday for dozens of luxury cars seized from the son of Equatorial Guinea’s president in a Swiss money-laundering probe. The 25 lots sold by auction house Bonhams included a white-and-cream 2014 Lamborghini Veneno roadster that cost the buyer 8.28 million Swiss francs ($8.4 million), comprising...
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Syria Demands Withdrawal of All American, Turkish Forces
Syria’s top diplomat on Saturday demanded the immediate withdrawal of American and Turkish forces from the country and said his government reserves the right to defend its territory in any way necessary if they remain. Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem’s remarks to the United Nations General Assembly were made as Turkey and the United States press ahead with a deal to...
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Teen Girls Strike for Global Action on Climate Change
Fridays for Future school strikes — a movement led largely by teenage girls — has eclipsed the quiet, solitary protests started by its founder, 16-year-old Swede Greta Thunberg, in August 2018. Now upward of 2 million supporters from The Hague to Kampala, Uganda, regularly skip class on Friday and take to the streets to protest government inaction on climate change....
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From Tusks to Tails, Nations Eye Trade in Endangered Species
From guitars to traditional medicines and from tusk to tail, mankind’s exploitation of the planet’s fauna and flora is putting some of them at risk of extinction. Representatives of some 180 nations are meeting in Geneva to agree on protections for vulnerable species, taking up issues including the trade in ivory and the demand for shark fin soup. The World...
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NY Girl, 12, Charged After Allegedly Spray-Painting Swastikas on Church and Other Buildings
A 12-year-old girl has been charged with spray-painting swastikas on the sides of a church and other buildings in New York’s Finger Lakes region
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US Presses WTO to Stop Lenient Trade Treatment of China
President Donald Trump pressed the World Trade Organization on Friday to stop letting China and other economies receive lenient treatment under global trade rules by calling themselves “developing” countries. In a memo, Trump directed U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer to “use all available means” to get the WTO to prevent countries from claiming developing country status if their economic strength...
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Swiss Celebrate Once-in-a-Generation Winegrowers' Festival
Swiss residents and tourists alike are partying like they haven’t since 1999. The town of Vevey has kicked off the 12th “Fete des Vignerons,” or Winemakers Festival, the latest installment in a centuries-old tradition of celebrating vineyard workers — which nowadays takes place only once a generation. Festival organizers have pulled out the stops for the celebration in Vevey, a...
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Ebola Outbreak in Congo Declared a Global Health Emergency
The deadly Ebola outbreak in Congo is now an international health emergency, the World Health Organization announced Wednesday after the virus spread this week to a city of 2 million people. A WHO expert committee had declined on three previous occasions to advise the United Nations health agency to make the declaration for this outbreak, which other experts say has...
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IOC Formally Opens $145M New Headquarters in Switzerland
The International Olympic Committee has formally opened its 145 million Swiss francs ($145 million) new headquarters exactly 125 years after the Olympic Games was revived. “On our 125th anniversary, we clearly see what a great visionary Pierre de Coubertin was,” IOC President Thomas Bach told guests Sunday at the inauguration. “By bringing the entire world together in peaceful competition, the...
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UN: Nearly 71 Million Now Displaced by War, Violence at Home
A record 71 million people have been displaced worldwide by war, persecution and other violence, the U.N. refugee agency said Wednesday, an increase of more than 2 million from a year earlier — and an overall total that would amount to the world’s 20th most populous country. The annual “Global Trends” report released by the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees...
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Facebook Plans Its Own Currency for 2 Billion-Plus Users
Facebook already rules daily communication for more than 2 billion people around the world. Now it wants its own currency, too. The social network unveiled an ambitious plan Tuesday to create a new digital currency similar to Bitcoin for global use, one that could drive more e-commerce on its services and boost ads on its platforms. But the effort, which...
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Congo Pastor Likely Sparked Ebola Outbreak Spread to Uganda
The Congolese pastor who is thought to have caused the Ebola outbreak’s spread into Uganda was unknown to health officials before he died of the disease, the World Health Organization’s emergencies chief said Thursday. That underlines the problems in tracking the virus as a WHO expert panel on Friday discusses whether to declare a global health emergency. As a third...