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Emirati Desert Festival Brings Tradition Back to Life

Women clad in emerald green abayas and men in crisp white gandoura gowns, Emirati folk dancers sway to the steady beat of a Bedouin drum against the desert skyline.

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Trump Threatens Berkeley University as Violent Protests Target Far-Right Firebrand

President Donald Trump threatened Thursday to withdraw federal funds from UC Berkeley after violent campus protests forced the cancellation of a speech by Milo Yiannopoulos, a firebrand editor of right-wing news site Breitbart.

The disturbances were a fiery reminder of the university's history as a cradle of the 1960s anti-war movement -- and a sign of the sharp tensions pitting America's mostly left-wing student body against a far-right minority.

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In Syria's Ravaged Aleppo, Few Answers on How to Rebuild

Aleppo has been scarred beyond recognition: Weeks after fighting stopped, a pall of dust covers its eastern districts, where streets are lined for blocks with buildings smashed to metal and brick rubble in scenes reminiscent of cities devastated in World War II.

The destruction is the worst wreaked on any city in Syria's six-year war. No one has any quick answers on how to rebuild Aleppo, Syria's largest city, much less the rest of a country that has seen appalling desolation.

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Mosque Shooting a Challenge to Canada Pluralism

The Quebec City mosque shooting was a brutal blow to Canada's multicultural, open and tolerant society, revealing cracks in what Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says is the nation's biggest strength.

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Vatican Expresses 'Concern' on Trump's Wall, Travel Ban

The Vatican on Wednesday voiced "concern" over President Donald Trump's executive orders to build a wall on the U.S.-Mexican border and impose a travel ban on nationals from seven Muslim-majority countries.

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Canada 'Trash Radio' under Fire after Quebec Mosque Attack

After a shooting rampage at a Quebec City mosque, the Canadian province's popular conservative talk radio hosts have come under fire for allegedly spreading intolerance and hate.

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Bangladesh Booksellers Warned Not to Offend Muslims

Bangladesh's largest book fair began in Dhaka on Wednesday, with police warning organizers against selling books that hurt "religious sentiment" in the Muslim-majority country.

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Irish Author First Novelist to Win Costa Prize Twice

Irish writer Sebastian Barry on Tuesday became the first novelist to scoop the Costa Book of the Year award twice, with his portrayal of an 1850s gay relationship between US soldiers.

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Harvard Scholars: Travel Ban Deprives US of Best, Brightest

Harvard Medical School professor Thomas Michel was so excited about recruiting Iranian researcher Soheil Saravi, he put Saravi's name on the door of his Boston lab when his new hire got his visa.

Then President Donald Trump's travel ban took effect, blocking Saravi from entering the U.S.

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Trump to Keep Obama LGBT Workplace Protections

President Donald Trump will continue to protect the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in the workplace, the White House said Tuesday.

An executive order signed by then President Barack Obama in 2014, which protects employees "from anti-LGBTQ workplace discrimination while working for federal contractors, will remain intact at the direction of President Donald J. Trump."

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