The Voices of the Afghanistan Papers

According to an investigative reporter from the Washington *Post*, the failures of the war in Afghanistan were consistently followed by dishonesty from policymakers and military leaders.
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Six-man football is a thing ... and may find a place in California

Six-man football was developed for small-town schools. But with football participation falling nationwide, the sport could be on its way to California.
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Russia deploys hypersonic missile system

President Putin says the nuclear-capable Avangard missiles put Russia in a class of its own.
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The horrific reality of a psychiatric hospital in Venezuela

It's one of the most devastating aspects of Venezuela's political and economic turmoil: the collapse of the public health system. Venezuela suffers from a severe shortage of medication, while many do…
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‘People aren’t disabled, their city is’: inside Europe’s most accessible city

From flattened cobbles to threshold ramps, the Dutch city of Breda has much to teach its neighbours
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The Town That Lost Its Walmart

For a small town in Texas, the three-decade presence of the world’s largest retailer was a point of civic pride. Then, 18 months ago, all that changed.
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There Are No Children Here. Just Lots of Life-Size Dolls.

As Japan’s population shrinks and ages, rural areas are emptying out. In one childless village, two dozen adults compensate for the absence with the company of hundreds of giant handmade dolls.
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Here's How I Left Behind My Old Life At 14 And Became A Teenage Travel Blogger

My mom taught me that I didn't have to follow the script if I didn't want to.
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The origin of the world’s first travel blog

Twenty-five years ago, an intrepid traveller circumnavigated the globe with a battery-powered laptop, and forever changed how the world travels.
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Breathtaking Find Unearths 3,500-Year-Old Ancient Greek Tombs, Once Lined With Gold

We don't know their names, but two people who lived and died in Bronze Age Greece 3,500 years ago were obviously hugely important to the people around them. Archaeologists have just found their tombs, so opulent they were once lined with gold leaf, a
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In wake of Shutterstock’s Chinese censorship, American companies need to relearn American values

It’s among the most iconic images of the last few decades — a picture of an unknown man standing before a line of tanks during the protests in 1989 in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square. In just one shot, the photographer, Jeff Widener, managed to convey a society struggling between the freedoms of individ…
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Australia has its hottest day on record as Sydney residents brace for heat, fires and smoke

Australia's heat wave poses grave health risks as it moves into regions with active wildfires.
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There are now traffic cameras that can spot you using your phone while driving

Australia will start implementing AI-powered mobile phone detection cameras this month.
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Lawrence Hargrave walked on water in these shoes

These shoes were designed by Lawrence Hargrave who was one of Australia's great scientists. He produced and tested his original shoes at 20 years of age on the calm waters of Rushcutters Bay. At the time, Hargrave was working as an apprentice with the Australasian Steam Navigation Company (ASN Co). ...
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Double trouble as feral horse numbers gallop past 25,000 in the Australian Alps

Rapid action is needed to reduce feral horse numbers before they cause more damage to native species.
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When Does a Boyfriend or Girlfriend Become Part of the Family?

The social changes of the past few generations have made the question of when (or whether) to include a significant other in a holiday celebration a particularly fraught one—for everyone involved.
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The World Relies on China's Surveillance Technology

China supplies AI surveillance to most of the world, positioning the country to have control over the growing $60 billion industry.
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Why India Is Making Progress in Slowing Its Population Growth

India is soon projected to become the world’s most populous nation, with nearly 1.5 billion people. But behind that statistic lies a more complex reality: Population growth is leveling off in most areas due to rising affluence and advances in women’s education and family planning.
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AI genome scanner says Denisovans could live until 38 years old

Artificial intelligence may be able to work out the maximum lifespans of extinct species and early humans. The technique relies on analysing specific regions of DNA that are linked to ageing
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Brazil's Amazon deforestation this year nearly size of Puerto Rico, says agency

Destruction of the world’s largest tropical rainforest in November more than doubled the same period last year
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20 travel trends for 2020

From micro-stays in rustic off-grid cabins to alpine hiking in Piedmont and feasts of soft feta and local olives on small Greek islands, these are the 20 travel trends we predict for 2020
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New NYC Law Would Require New Buildings to Have Bird-Friendly Windows

Today, the New York City Council passed one of the country’s most comprehensive bird-safe glass laws yet.
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For Sale: The Only Bar in a 14-Person Montana Town

You could own the busiest watering hole for miles.
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The Kremlin’s Creative Director

How the television producer Konstantin Ernst went from discerning auteur to Putin’s unofficial minister of propaganda.
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Fire fighting at night on the NSW South Coast

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Chinese worry about rise of facial recognition

A study by a Beijing-based body indicates many are worried about their biometric data being hacked.
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China gene-edited baby experiment 'may have created unintended mutations'

He Jiankui’s original research, published for the first time, could have failed, scientists say
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China Uses DNA to Map Faces, With Help From the West

Beijing’s pursuit of control over a Muslim ethnic group pushes the rules of science and raises questions about consent.
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Infrared images reveal hidden tattoos on Egyptian mummies

Infrared images show a range of markings on seven female mummies, raising questions about ancient Egyptian tattoo traditions.
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Study reveals music's universal patterns across societies worldwide

From love songs to dance tunes to lullabies, music made in disparate cultures wo...
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How a Meteorite Ruined an Alabama Woman's Afternoon 65 Years Ago

Sixty-five years ago, a few days after Thanksgiving, Ann Hodges was snuggled up on the sofa in her Alabama home when a 4.5-billion-year-old meteorite crashed through the ceiling and struck the left side of her body. Not the best interruption to the holiday season.
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Emus once roamed Tasmania, so what happened to them?

The island state was once home to the flightless bird but it was almost extinct within 25 years of European settlement.
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Taiwan is making democracy work again. It's time we paid attention

Social media has opened up vast social divisions and brought democracy to its knees. In Taiwan, the people are fighting back
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9 Most Romantic Places To Visit In Gdańsk (Poland): For Lovers, Couples

You are welcome to my list of the top most romantic places to visit in Gdańsk, a port city on the Baltic coast of Poland. At the center of its Main Town, reconstructed after WWII, are the colorful facades of Long Market, now home to shops and restaurants. Nearby is Neptune Fountain, a 17th-century symbol of the city topped by a bronze statue of the sea god. Gdańsk is also a center for the world’s amber trade; boutiques throughout the city sell the ossified resin.
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We Discovered Toilet Sloths And Found Hell

We have seen the depths of hell, and it is a sloth. A cheerful-faced, slow-moving two-toed sloth, peering out of its comfortable position, snugly ensconced in... a human toilet.
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"Go and make the best game that you possibly can" – How Microsoft is helping to evolve Wasteland 3

What impact will Microsoft have on the renaissance of the cRPG? That's a question that many have been unable – or otherwise unwilling – to confront for some time now. With Wasteland 3 set to launch of May 19, 2020, that question will be answered one way or the other.
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Brazil’s deforestation is exploding—and 2020 will be worse

The Brazilian government acknowledges the spike but says it’s the continuation of a 7-year trend
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Canadians dying at a higher rate in areas with more air pollution

Air pollution—even at levels below national and international air quality guidelines—is associated with an increased risk of deaths in Canada, according to new UBC research.
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The Jungle Prince of Delhi

For 40 years, journalists chronicled the eccentric royal family of Oudh, deposed aristocrats who lived in a ruined palace in the Indian capital. It was a tragic, astonishing story. But was it true?
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This Japanese hotel room costs $1 a night. The catch? You have to livestream your stay

When 27-year-old Tetsuya Inoue began running the Fukuoka, Japan hotel owned by his grandmother, he wondered how he could improve business in the new economy.
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Open water replaces sea ice as the autumn norm in Western Arctic

Open water has become the November norm in the Chukchi Sea northwest of Alaska. Instead of thick, years-old ice, researchers are studying waves and how they may pummel the northern Alaska coastline.
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Case of Australian prisoner sentenced and jailed in secret prompts calls to reconsider law reform

The fluke public discovery of a man imprisoned in secret has prompted a call to revisit reform of secrecy law, almost 10 years since the last major inquiry occurred.
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Did Neanderthals make eagle talon necklaces 120,000 years ago?

The evidence is indirect, but a recent find suggests the answer may be "yes."
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Antarctic tests will prepare this rover for a possible trip to an icy ocean moon

Exploring a distant moon usually means trundling around its uniquely inhospitable surface, but on icy ocean moons like Saturn's Enceladus, it might be better to come at things from the bottom up.
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What America Lost When It Lost the Bison

By migrating in huge herds, bison behave like a force of nature, engineering and intensifying waves of spring greenery that other grazers rely on.
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Ghost ships, crop circles, and soft gold: A GPS mystery in Shanghai

A sophisticated new electronic warfare system is being used at the world’s busiest port. But is it sand thieves or the Chinese state behind it?
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In pictures: A look at Havana at 500

As Cuba's capital celebrates 500 years, we explore the history behind some of its famous buildings.
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Indonesia's food chain turns toxic as plastic waste exports flood in

Study of chicken egg samples reveals presence of dangerous chemical compounds around areas where waste is dumped
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California landfills are belching high levels of climate-warming methane

Airborne remote sensing spots the Golden State’s biggest emitters of the potent greenhouse gas from the sky.
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The Russian vegans cooking up a revolution

Meet the people for whom meatless food is a force for political and social change.
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