In the Hague, a church has held a seven-week-long continuous service to stop a family from being deported. According to Dutch law, police cannot enter places of worship during an ongoing religious service. In July, Tham Luang Nang Non cave was anxiously watched by the world as rescuers worked to save 12 soccer team members and their coach from a flooded underground passage.

Thu, 13 Dec 2018 06:00:01 -0500

Young Andrés Watle has only been around for about three decades – and yet that’s long enough to have known the economic ups and downs of Argentina’s legendary populist governance. “It seems great when you’re living the good times of el populismo, with services practically given away and a feeling that we’re a wealthy country,” says Mr. Watle, a Buenos Aires travel agent. Breaking the pattern of the boom-and-bust economic cycles that have defined Argentina’s economy for decades was a central objective of Argentine President Mauricio Macri when he took office in 2015.

Wed, 12 Dec 2018 16:32:00 -0500

A country still dealing with potential election interference by foreign agents is now facing a home-grown scandal: credible and bipartisan allegations that a small-town operator in rural North Carolina used illicit means to swing a 905-vote win for a Republican House candidate. A bipartisan elections board in North Carolina unanimously declined to certify the Ninth District election last week after “unfortunate activities,” in the words of the board’s vice chair – apparent mass-manipulation of absentee ballots – came to light. Affidavits suggest that Republican officials shared early voting data with partisans while withholding that information from Democrats.

Wed, 12 Dec 2018 16:29:31 -0500

An object of investigation in the West for spreading fake news, Vladimir Putin paid tribute on Tuesday to a man known for truth-telling. The Russian president praised the late Alexander Solzhenitsyn on the centennial of his birth and unveiled a statue honoring the Nobel Prize-winning author. For decades, Solzhenitsyn was a fierce critic of his country.

Wed, 12 Dec 2018 15:15:51 -0500