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Lebanon Censors Films at International Festival

Lebanon has banned the screening of three films at the International Beirut Film Festival opening on Wednesday, organizers said.

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With Colombia Off the Menu, Nobel Peace Prize Anyone's Guess

A veteran Russian rights activist, or the architects of the Iranian nuclear accord? The field of contenders for Friday's Nobel Peace Prize was suddenly thrown wide open after the Colombian people's shock rejection of a peace deal put its negotiators out of the running.

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Rosie, Megyn, Alicia, Hillary: Trump's Women Problem Grows

Insults, personal attacks on Twitter, tirades on television: Donald Trump's behavior toward women, including presidential rival Hillary Clinton, has become a liability that could cost him the election.

The Republican candidate has said, "I cherish women. I want to help women."

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Study Reveals Asian Ancestry of Pacific Islanders

Ancient DNA has revealed the first inhabitants of Vanuatu and Tonga came from Asia, not other Oceanic populations as has long been assumed, a study published Tuesday found.

The study sheds light on the last great human migration into unpopulated lands, when a people called the Lapita fanned out into the South Pacific about 3,000 years ago.

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Pope to Say Joint Prayers with Anglican Chief

Pope Francis and Justin Welby, the Archbishop of Canterbury, will attend a special service in Rome on Wednesday to mark the 50th anniversary of the first joint prayer of a Catholic pontiff and a head of the Church of England.

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French Church where Priest Slain to Reopen

Two months after its priest was murdered by teenage jihadists, parishioners of a Catholic church in northern France will gather on Sunday for a solemn re-opening ceremony to seek solace and solidarity.

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Fear and Faith for Daughters of Pakistani Christian on Death Row

Esham and her sister Esha live largely in seclusion: fears they will be mistreated because they are daughters of the accused in Pakistan's most infamous blasphemy case make them reluctant to venture into the brimming streets of Lahore.

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Orthodox Delegation Stays away from Pope's Mass

Pope Francis' efforts to improve relations with the Georgian Orthodox Church suffered a public setback Saturday after the patriarchate decided not to send an official delegation to his Mass and repeated that Orthodox faithful cannot participate in Catholic services.

In the run-up to Francis' Caucasus visit, the Vatican spokesman had said the Orthodox Patriarchate would send a delegation to the Mass in a Tbilisi sports stadium "in a sign of the rapport between the two churches" — suggesting that the chill that had clouded the 1999 visit of St. John Paul II to Georgia had warmed slightly.

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Egypt MP Ridiculed for Proposing College Virginity Tests

An Egyptian member of parliament is facing ridicule for saying that universities should perform virginity tests on female students.

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Bulgaria Bans Full-Face Islamic Veil

Bulgaria's parliament approved on Friday legislation outlawing face-covering Islamic veils in public, joining a small number of EU countries as debate rages across Europe about religious freedoms.

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