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Facebook Tweet Email Link Beauty queen Nadeen Ayoub will become the first woman to represent the Palestinian people at the Miss Universe pageant. The Miss Universe Organization (MUO) said in a statement sent to CNN on Sunday that it was “pleased to confirm” that Ayoub would compete in the Miss Universe 2025 competition, which takes place in November. “The Miss Universe Organization proudly welcomes delegates from across the globe, celebrating diversity, cultural exchange, and the empowerment of women,” the statement reads. “Ms. Ayoub, an accomplished advocate and model from Palestine, embodies the resilience and determination that define our platform,” it…

Facebook Tweet Email Link As protestors have taken to the streets across Spain, disrupted a billionaire’s wedding in Venice, and even caused a shutdown of the Louvre in the shape of a staff mutiny about overcrowding, Noel Josephides has been watching with one phrase on his mind: I told you so. “I could have told you that would happen 10 years ago,” he says. “And I said so. I said, ‘This is going to get out of control.’” Josephides is the longstanding chairman of Sunvil, a UK-based tour operator that has been sending comfortably-off Brits on vacation since 1970. He’s…

Facebook Tweet Email Link Democratic Texas state Rep. Nicole Collier spent the night on the Texas House floor in protest after refusing a Republican demand to be placed under the watch of the state Department of Public Safety. When Texas House Democrats returned to the Capitol in Austin on Monday, after having fled the state earlier this month in order to prevent a vote on a controversial Republican redistricting plan, House Speaker Dustin Burrows put constraints on their movements. Burrows announced that the Democrats could only leave the House floor if they received written permission and agreed to be under…

People living in the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, expressed some relief following Monday’s talks between President Volodymyr Zelensky, US President Donald Trump and other European leaders at the White House. None of the residents speaking with CNN went as far as expressing optimism for a peace deal, given Russian President Vladimir Putin’s maximalist war demands. Kyiv resident Ihor Kharchenko said the result of the Oval Office meeting was “better than it could have been,” adding he was heartened by what he viewed as European and US unity against Russia. “No bad decisions have been made, from what we have heard, for…

Facebook Tweet Email Link Texas Republicans now face a clear path to redraw the state’s congressional maps after state House Democrats ended their 15-day walkout and returned to the Capitol on Monday. In California, meanwhile, Democrats on Monday began work on a series of proposals that would counter the GOP’s Texas map with five more Democratic-leaning districts of their own. Here’s a look at where things stand in the redistricting arms race playing out in the nation’s two largest states: The House is set to reconvene Wednesday, and Republicans are expected to move quickly to approve a new map, which…

Facebook Tweet Email Link California Democrats on Friday released their redistricting proposal, aiming to produce up to five additional Democratic seats in the US House in response to Texas Republicans’ mid-decade redrawing of lines at the behest of President Donald Trump. The release comes ahead of the California legislature meeting Monday, with final passage possible later next week. Unlike in Texas, where the GOP can pass new US House maps as soon as enough Democrats return from a nearly two-week absence denying them quorum, Gov. Gavin Newsom and California Democrats will need voters to approve new maps in a November…

Facebook Tweet Email Link Dakar, Senegal AP  —  On a recent evening in Senegal‘s capital of Dakar, an imam named Ibrahima Diane explained to a group of men why they should be more involved in household chores. “The Prophet himself says a man who does not help support his wife and children is not a good Muslim,” the 53-year-old said, as he described bathing his baby and helping his wife with other duties. Some of the 14 men chuckled, not quite sold. Others applauded. Diane was taking part in a “school for husbands,” a United Nations-backed initiative where respected male…

Facebook Tweet Email Link Editor’s Note:  Help is available if you or someone you know is struggling with suicidal thoughts or mental health matters. In the US, call or text 988, the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. Globally, the International Association for Suicide Prevention and Befrienders Worldwide have contact information for crisis centers around the world. Aubrey Plaza is opening up about her life after the death of her husband, Jeff Baena. The “White Lotus” star is a guest on the latest episode of her friend and former “Parks and Recreation” costar Amy Poehler’s podcast, “Good Hang.” Baena, a writer and…

Facebook Tweet Email Link Security guarantees have become a central focus in discussions about a peace deal for Ukraine, with the country’s President Volodymyr Zelensky saying at the White House Monday that they are the “key issue, a starting point for ending the war.” Zelensky knows that in the long run, Russia’s superior numbers and weaponry will grind down Ukrainian resistance. So he has long insisted that any agreement must provide Ukraine with promises that the US and Europe will prevent the Russians from resuming their assault in a year or two. Here’s what to know about this crucial part…

Facebook Tweet Email Link Hollywood filmmaker Quentin Tarantino has revealed which of his movies he thinks is the best – and it’s probably not the one you’d expect. The American director has two Academy Awards to his name: one for the screenplay of “Pulp Fiction” in 1994 and another for the screenplay of “Django Unchained” 18 years later. But neither is what he considers to be his best – or even his favorite – movie. Rather, he says 2009’s “Inglourious Basterds” is his best piece of work, while his favorite is his most recent feature film “Once Upon a Time……