Author: Verena Dobnik
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Teen activist sails across Atlantic to go to climate meeting
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NEW YORK • Swedish teen climate activist Greta Thunberg arrived in New York City to chants and cheers Wednesday after a trans-Atlantic trip on a sailboat to attend a global warming conference. Thunberg, 16, and her crew were escorted into a lower Manhattan marina about 4 p.m., concluding a two-week crossing from Plymouth, England. As…
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Met opera suspends ties to conductor following sex charges
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NEW YORK— New York’s Metropolitan Opera on Sunday said it was suspending its relationship with longtime conductor James Levine pending an investigation into multiple allegations of sexual misconduct against him. “Mr. Levine will not be involved in any Met activities, including conducting scheduled performances at the Met this season,” the Met said in a statement.…
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No dump here: Posh public bathroom pops up, with music, art
NEW YORK — In a park amid skyscrapers, a gem has emerged: a posh public bathroom that cost nearly $300,000, complete with freshly delivered flowers, imported tiles, classical music and artwork. The free-of-charge, air-conditioned splendor, inspired by visits to the city’s priciest hotels, is open to everyone. More than 1 million people a year are…
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46 dogs, saved from slaughter, arrive in NY from South Korea
NEW YORK — Forty-six dogs were flown to New York from South Korea after being rescued at a farm where they were to be slaughtered for human consumption, animal advocates said Sunday. The Humane Society International is responsible for saving the dogs that were fed barely enough to survive. The animals arrived at Kennedy International…
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New York court to determine if chimp is legally a person
NEW YORK — Should a chimpanzee be treated as a person with legal rights? That’s what attorney Steven Wise tried to convince a state appeals court in Manhattan on Thursday. Wise, who represents the Florida-based Nonhuman Rights Project animal advocacy group, argued that two chimps named Tommy and Kiko should be freed from cages to…
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Elie Wiesel, Holocaust survivor and Nobel laureate, dead at 87
NEW YORK — Nobel laureate Elie Wiesel, the Romanian-born Holocaust survivor whose classic “Night” became a landmark testament to the Nazis’ crimes and launched Wiesel’s long career as one of the world’s foremost witnesses and humanitarians, has died at age 87. His death was announced Saturday by Israel’s Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial. No other details…
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Officials: Wildlife products may finance terrorism
NEW YORK (AP) — The U.S. government is stepping up its crackdown on the illegal trafficking of wild animal products across the nation’s borders, saying some may be linked to terrorists, federal officials said Monday. “Poaching in Africa is funding terrorist groups,” U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman told a news conference at Kennedy International Airport.…
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Nation, world go green for St. Patrick’s Day
NEW YORK — All the world from the Sydney Opera House to the Empire State Building turned Irish, or at least Irish for the day, as revelers marked St. Patrick’s Day with bagpipes, dancing, emerald lights and green body paint in a flurry of celebration. New Yorkers and visitors from all over the globe lined…
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Liberty’s crown, closed since 9/11, to open July 4
NEW YORK – The Statue of Liberty’s crown, with its exhilarating view of New York’s skyscrapers, bridges and seaport, is reopening on Independence Day for the first time since terrorists leveled the World Trade Center just across the harbor.Safety and security issues have been addressed and 50,000 people, 10 at a time, will get to…
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US group re-creates Nazi death camp orchestra
NEW YORK – When Gustav Mahler’s niece greeted new arrivals at a Nazi death camp, she knew that any woman who stepped off the train with a musical instrument had a chance to live. Women in Alma Rose’s orchestra were forced to entertain SS officers at the Birkenau concentration camp.All the women survived – except…