The World

Ousted Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his younger brother were sentenced to death in absentia by a Damascus court today, nearly two years after rebels forced them to seek exile in Russia. Also, at least 179 people have been killed and thousands more remain missing after a massive earthquake in Colombia. And, Europe’s new biometric border system has been causing chaos at some airports across the continent this summer. Plus, a roundup of food stories to celebrate summertime.

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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu bluntly rejected a US-backed 15-point peace plan for Gaza this weekend. Also, how Shenzhen, China, became the electric car capital of the world. And, a look at why the Czech capital has voted to reinstate the statue of a 19th century military commander. Plus, cars resembling quirky objects are part of a public health intervention in India.

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The Indian government has declared heat waves to be official natural disasters. Also, with more than 4,000 cases reported in Democratic Republic of Congo, the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say responders need to shift their focus to door-to-door disease tracking. And, just over a week since around 72,000 migrants crossed into the Spanish enclave of Ceuta, roughly 2,000 minors, most of them Moroccan children, remain there, exposed and unprotected. Plus, this week marked a chord change in one of the world's longest concerts — lasting hundreds of years.

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Iran's deputy foreign minister said today that his country and Oman are close to finalizing an agreement with the US to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Also, an ongoing NATO study tries to figure out why operators of high-speed rescue boats are at risk of chronic brain injuries. And, on the 81st anniversary of the US dropping a nuclear bomb on Hiroshima, we discuss a recently unearthed memoir that offers a firsthand account of what one man witnessed that day. Plus, capybaras become frequent visitors at a state legislature in Brazil.

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Hundreds of people have been arrested across the Amazon this month in a sweeping five-country law enforcement operation going after a host of crimes in the world’s largest rainforest. Also, the Indian capital finds a creative way to beat the heat. And, France's first “House of Diversity” opens in Lyon. Plus, a century of Persian music in Iran.

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