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Thousands throng dance show in Beirut despite soaring tensions with Israel

As Hezbollah's leader threatened Israel with crushing retaliation for killing their top commander, thousands in Beirut flocked to a dance extravaganza in a stark illustration of Lebanon's deep divisions.

In the capital's southern suburbs -- a Hezbollah stronghold -- tens of thousands of black-clad women and men in military uniform joined Thursday's funeral procession for slain commander Fouad Shukur.

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After Olympics, Erdogan seeks unity with Pope against acts that mock sacred values

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan spoke with Pope Francis on Thursday about the "immoral display" at the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics and called for a unified stance against acts that ridicule sacred values, according to a statement from Erdogan's office.

The Turkish leader told the pontiff in a telephone call that "human dignity was being trampled on, religious and moral values were being mocked, offending Muslims as much as the Christian world," the statement said.

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Drag queen in Olympic opening ceremony has no regrets

As a gay youth growing up in central France, Hugo Bardin never felt he lived in a world that represented who he was — a world in which he had a place.

And that is why Bardin, who performs as the drag queen Paloma, felt it was meaningful and important to be part of a Paris Olympics opening ceremony that presented a multifaceted, multiethnic France with people of different ethnicities and orientations.

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UNRWA Siblin Training Center students achieve high success rates in Bac II, TS exams

Following the release of the Technique Superieur (TS) vocational and technical exam results and the first round of the Baccalaureate II examination results, UNRWA congratulated Tuesday all students who passed. "Their hard work leading to excellent accomplishments is truly commendable," UNRWA said in a statement.

Siblin Training Center students scored a 100 per cent pass rate, with 60 per cent of students passing with distinction, the statement said.

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DJ files legal complaints for online abuse over Olympics 'Last Supper'

A storm of outrage about the Paris Olympics' opening ceremony took a legal turn Tuesday, with a DJ who performed at the show saying her lawyer is filing complaints over a torrent of threats and other abuse that the LGBTQ+ icon has suffered online in the ceremony's wake.

Barbara Butch's lawyer said in a letter posted to the DJ's Instagram that Butch "has been threatened with death, torture and rape, and has also been the target of numerous anti-Semitic, homophobic, sexist and grossophobic insults." Butch's agent confirmed to The Associated Press that the Instagram account is the DJ's.

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How two Syrians in Rome are using hummus to help refugees and migrants

A pair of Syrians have created a community that provides support to migrants and vulnerable people in Rome, by sharing the flavors of a homeland torn by civil war.

Founded in 2018 as a "humanitarian catering service," HummusTown was originally aimed at raising funds for families and friends in Syria.

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