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More details on Trump lawyer Cohen's testimony to Congress on controversial activities during the election campaign and his role.

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A look at the history of the Kashmir conflict spanning the period 1947 to 2019 over 6 decades in the South Asian region.

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The India Pakistan conflict escalates as Pakistan retaliates for an Indian air attack on a terrorist camp deep inside Pakistan. Pakistan sends planes to attack Indian positions in Kashmir. One Indian plane is downed in Indian air strikes inside Pakistan. This follows a terrorist attack that killed 40 Indian soldiers in a convoy in Pulwama, Kashmir. In 2016 India attacked Pakistan targets across the border after a terrorist attack.

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Nigeria's president Buhari is reelected with a margin of 4 million votes. Delays, accusations of fraud and bits of violence marred the election but not to the extent of previous elections. Despite the accusations of manipulation independent observers say the problems were not so frequent that they would affect the outcome. The 76 year old president won with a large margin even though Nigeria faced a deep recession which increased unemployment and the northeast faced insurgency of Islamic militants. 

Buhari campaigned on spending for large infrastructure projects, social welfare programs and fight against corruption. The 2015 election provided a peaceful transition from president Goodfellow to Mr. Buhari from a different party. The competing candidate Mr. Abubakar was a wealthy businessman in the logistics sector. Voters preferred the continuity and Mr. Buhari mobilized effectively with the governing All Progressives Party.

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In an escalation of hostilities Pakistan sends fighter jets to attack Indian positions in Kashmir.

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Efforts in Ghana to use locally available materials such as clay, laterite and granite chippings to build affordable housing. Ghan needs 2 million new houses per year. A prototype one room house would cost $5000. Solar pumps developed by German engineers are used to cool the home and make it eco-friendly. 

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Germany's traditional parties the SPD and the CDU get a lift in the polls with new leaders who move the parties to the left and the right after years of grand coalitions between the SPD that led to both parties moving to the centre. This created an opening for new parties at the extreme right and extreme left. Kramp-Karrenbauer the CDU leader has taken a hard line on immigration and the SPD leaders are returning to support Germans on issues such as wages, and guaranteed income for pensioners. 74% of Germans think that this is the right thing to do to rebuild the identities the parties had in the past. The SPD is back up to 18% after hitting a low of 14% support in polls. Many SPD rank and file supporters were never comfortable with the SPD's move to join Merkel CDU in coalitions that undermined the message the SPD sent out to the German public. This has hurt the SPD. Merkel's preference for centrist positions not only undermined the SPD party of Willy Brandt, it also undermined the CDU when it comes to immigration and the acceptance of large numbers of refugees. All this is now changing as the Merkel era ends.   ...

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Efforts by Venezuelan members of parliament to open up aid supplies at the Colombian border as Venezuela's humanitarian crisis grows with 3 million refugees and hyperinflation of 1 million percent.

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Learning new languages increases the flexibility and adaptability to understand other cultures. Just one hour a day over the course of a year can help one learn a new language. It opens a different way of thinking and feeling.

The increase in intercultural competence is particularly useful in adapting to new cultures in today's world of global interactions.

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A group of 7 blind climbers and 4 sighted companions climb up to the top of Mount Kilimanjaro at 18800 feet in Tanzania. It took 9 hours facing high winds and freezing temperatures to climb the last 3000 feet.

The group was selected from hundreds of volunteers from Tanzania, Uganda and Kenya and went through 2 weeks of training.  This is a project of John Wilson of Britain's Sightsavers designed to "help create a new image of of blindness in Africa." Geoffrey Salisbury of the Royal Commonwealth Society for the Blind describes the difficult trek and conditions. Three pairs of worn boots of the hikers can be seen in the Ugandan National Museum. See pictures of the hikers and trek in the high altitude of Mount Kilimanjaro.