| As World Cup kicks off, Russia aims to prove a world-class host again Posted: 13 Jun 2018 12:59 PM PDT ![As World Cup kicks off, Russia aims to prove a world-class host again]( "As World Cup kicks off, Russia aims to prove a world-class host again") The latest of the Vladimir Putin-era mammoth global events – and possibly the last such to be hosted by Russia in the foreseeable future – is about to kick off in Moscow. On Thursday, the FIFA 2018 soccer World Cup gets underway with a long-awaited match between Russia and Saudi Arabia in Moscow's newly renovated Luzhniki Stadium. At least half a million visitors from all over the world will visit Russia to attend the quadrennial event, the globe's foremost professional sporting competition.
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| Why Russians may bare their teeth at the World Cup Posted: 13 Jun 2018 12:34 PM PDT ![Why Russians may bare their teeth at the World Cup]( "Why Russians may bare their teeth at the World Cup") In Russia, which is hosting the World Cup starting Thursday, public transport workers have been trained to smile at the estimated 1.5 million foreign spectators attending the 31-day, 11-city soccer tournament. This behavioral modification in cheerfulness – smiling in public is often frowned upon in Russia – is just one way the country is using the mega sports event to not only improve its tarnished image but teach Russians to act differently. Russians in the 11 cities are being asked to be courteous to the guests and also pick up litter.
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| A campaign for impeachment that’s downright Trumpian Posted: 13 Jun 2018 12:00 PM PDT ![A campaign for impeachment that's downright Trumpian]( "A campaign for impeachment that's downright Trumpian") Tom Steyer takes the stage to the strains of Bob Dylan's "The Times They are a-Changin' " – surely an intentional choice, as we are in Minnesota – Dylan country. Mr. Steyer, a San Francisco billionaire, is in the middle of a 30-city, self-funded "Need To Impeach" tour aimed at activating anti-Trump forces. Such talk divides the country even further, and risks dividing Democrats.
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| Gay Kenyans hope for legal win, eyeing broader shift in Africa Posted: 13 Jun 2018 10:23 AM PDT ![Gay Kenyans hope for legal win, eyeing broader shift in Africa]( "Gay Kenyans hope for legal win, eyeing broader shift in Africa") When Kenyan feminist blogger Peps was growing up in Nairobi in the first years of the 2000s, lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people didn't exist. Now, however, Peps, who asked that she be identified by her nickname, lives in a different world. In February, Kenya's high court heard arguments in a case challenging the country's colonial-era anti-homosexuality law, which prohibits "carnal knowledge of any person against the order of nature" – or put more simply, gay sex – as a felony punishable with up to 14 years in prison.
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