The ceremony itself was a fitting expression of the spin with which American officials have at least managed to persuade some of their friends, and perhaps even themselves, that all is well in Iraq. Officials at the CPA’s Office of Strategic Communications relentlessly depicted the event as proof that the new Iraqi government was doing so well that it was ready for sovereignty two days ahead of schedule. Nonsense: things are going so badly that the American administration felt compelled to mark the historic event with a ceremony that was brief, held in secret, and timed to trick the insurgents into not attacking and marring the television imagery....

TikTok user chelsea_loves_plants revealed in a viral video posted on Sunday that the room in her home in Ontario was buried in several inches of snow, including all of the furniture. Frost clung to the windows and walls. Snow draped on holiday decorations and weighing down a Christmas tree still strung with working colorful lights made the room look like it was straight out of a snow globe. The TikTok user explained how the snow ended up in the room, saying: “The wind from the snowstorm forced the snow through the screens....

It can improve your posture, flexibility and strength, as well as working to ease arthritis and back pain. The discipline, which originated in India, can also help with stress, and increase your mood and energy levels. But you don’t have to tell the dog in this viral video all that; they already practice yoga alongside their owner. In the clip, which was shared on video site Rumble, the sweet French Bulldog can be seen next to a woman on a carpet....

In a battle between close friends who displayed incredible shot-making throughout, it was Federer, at 37 making his first appearance at Roland Garros since 2015, who won the rain-interrupted encounter to set up a mouthwatering semifinal against longtime rival and 11-time French Open champion Rafael Nadal. In the process, the world No. 3 became the oldest man to reach the last four in Paris in the Open era since Pancho Gonzales did it at 40 in 1968....

To try and help everyone get through this freaky Friday, Newsweek has compiled the best memes and quotes to bring some cheer to this unlucky (for some) day. Friday the 13th memes Let someone know they’re special today by sharing the modern-day equivalent of a box of chocolates—a meme. Fancy sharing something generic? Maybe you need to be professional for your colleagues? Maybe you have some fond memories of Friday the 13th?...

Ahren Belisle from Ontario is mute, and he shared footage of his friend and his brother Garrett mimicking his “moans” to communicate with his 5-year-old golden Labrador Al. With over 8 million views on TikTok, the video has made viewers around the world laugh. In the video, the text overlay reads: “I’m mute so my friends mimic my moans so my dog understands.” “I have cerebral palsy which has left me nonverbal,” Belisle told Newsweek: “Being disabled can be hard, and being mute can make communication more difficult and slow, but I’ve spent a lot of time learning to accept everything....

Sixteen years later, this gray mouse is set to take over from Vladimir Putin as his anointed successor to the presidency of Russia. [Read Anna Nemtsova’s story on Medvedev’s meeting with business leaders.] Medvedev will have no serious opponent in the March 2 vote—a striking testament to the efficiency of the “managed democracy” that Putin created by closing independent media and cracking down on opposition parties. And, on the surface at least, it seems that the dynamic of the two men’s political partnership hasn’t changed much since those days in St....

Described as an “epic, Viking revenge drama,” set in 10th century Iceland, The Northman follows a prince who seeks revenge for his murdered father. Robert Eggers directs and co-wrote the movie with writer and musician Sjón. It’s just the third film created by Eggers but his first two, The With and The Lighthouse, were met with great critical acclaim. The Northman is currently scheduled for release in movie theaters on Friday April 22, 2022....

Let’s leave the legal and political issues regarding this decision aside for a moment. Monday night, after the buildings were eradicated, the Minister of Security, Gilad Erdan, posted multiple videos proudly showing off how the houses were being blown up. To further darken the picture, a video clip of Israeli soldiers celebrating the successful implosion of the largest building was widely shared. Those demolished buildings were constructed to house people; people who spent their hard-earned money to build new homes for their families....

DURBIN TO BLOG AFTER STATE OF THE UNION [WASHINGTON, DC] - In his role as Assistant Democratic Leader, U.S. Senator Dick Durbin will be called upon to respond to the President’s State of the Union address tonight. But he won’t be standing in front of a TV camera, holding a press conference or talking to newspaper reporters. Instead, Durbin will be blogging on DailyKos.com from his Capitol office after the State of the Union....

The 1-0 defeat to an Albion side destined for the Championship showcased the exact opposite to last week’s triumph and underlined exactly why United have been cut further and further adrift of City since October. This may have been the first time United have been beaten at Old Trafford by a side other than City during Jose Mourinho’s two-year reign but their lifeless performance was nothing new. Too many matches over the last few seasons, under both Mourinho and his predecessor Louis van Gaal, have followed the same storyline as this one....

Aged 21, Davinder Singh from Patiala is not your average undergrad who plays football after college hours. Sure, he is pursuing B.A from Punjabi University but he is also going to be playing for the Indian National football team in a few weeks’ time. Davinder’s journey towards the Constantine-led Indian team has been truly awe-inspiring. Mohun Bagan sign Yuta Kinowaki Davinder started his career as a defender and he has had the knack for keeping wingers under control ever since his primary days at Dalbir Football Academy in Patiala....

Don’t bother asking that question to Florida State coach Jimbo Fisher. The Seminoles are all-but in after a 37-35 win against Georgia Tech in the ACC Championship game. There is no way the committee won’t put a 13-0 defending national champion that just became the ninth school in the AP Poll era to win 29 straight games in this playoff. What about the seeding? “I ain’t worried about No. 1,” Fisher said....

The embattled former head of the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance, now an internationally wanted fugitive, spoke to Newsweek from his home in Lebanon last week while promoting his new book, “Broken Alliances: Inside the Rise and Fall of a Global Automotive Empire.” The book is an account of his extraordinarily successful career–and the “conspiracy” that ended it, leading to his arrest by Japanese authorities on November 19, 2018. As he had done hundreds of times before, the then-CEO of Nissan Motor Co....

It should come as no surprise that Coors Field is tied for most run per game this season, according to our ballpark statistics . The Rockies and their opponents are scoring an average of 9.8 runs every time they open the gates in Colorado, and as you might expect, it's heavy-hitters Michael Cuddyer (.350/.410/.596) and Troy Tulowitzki (.350/.422/.574) leading the way for the home team. Of course, the downside to that many runs being scored is the havoc it wreaks on pitching stats....

News of the cease-fire broke shortly before Biden spoke. The 11-day conflict, which pitted Israel against Hamas and other groups in Gaza, claimed the lives of at least 230 Palestinians and 12 people in Israel, according to the Associated Press. There were 65 children among the Palestinian dead, along with two children killed in Israel. Biden reiterated that the U.S. “fully supports Israel’s right to defend itself against indiscriminate rocket attacks from Hamas and other Gaza-based terrorist groups” during his speech, while insisting that he believes “the Palestinians and Israelis equally deserve to live safely and securely and to enjoy equal measures of freedom, prosperity and democracy....

People took to Twitter to share their anger after receiving April Fools messages from beer subscription site Bier Company that said they were “this month’s winner of free beer for life.” The email, which came with the subject line “URGENT,” read: “We’re thrilled to share some exciting news with you: Out of all our entrants this month, you are our fourth Black Card winner!” The email instructed the customer to follow a link and use a promotional code to claim the prize—but when customers followed these instructions, they not only found they had not won free beer but that they had also been signed up for a monthly subscription costing £22....

In a Reddit post, the grandmother, who is in her seventies, explained that this was the last of her four grandchildren to get married. With all their other grandchildren, both she and her husband chose the cheapest gift option on the list before privately gifting them a cheque for $40,000 the day before the wedding. That’s about enough to enable someone to get a mortgage on a home in America....

Man Utd need Belotti more than Griezmann With eight Bundesliga goals in 28 games, the midfielder has been key to the promoted side’s rise to second in the table, having already secured their place in next season’s Champions League. The 22-year-old has attracted interest from Bayern Munich and Liverpool, while Arsenal are also said to have scouted him. Keita joined Leipzig from Austrian side Red Bull Salzburg ahead of the current campaign and is contracted until June 2020, but staying put is no guarantee....

Andrew Torba, who founded the platform in 2016 and has pitched it as a “free speech” alternative to Facebook and Twitter, said the company was “thrilled” to have West in the community, claiming “liberal subversives” had “invaded” the Republican Party of Texas. West’s profile, verified with a blue tick, had attracted more than 17,000 followers by Thursday morning. It had five posts and was following 12 accounts, including Torba, conservative host Dave Rubin and journalist Tim Pool....