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Parisians Flock to U.S.-Style Food Trucks

In the latest American food craze to catch on in France, Parisians are flocking to U.S.-style food trucks for gourmet burgers, artisanal tacos and other decidedly non-French street foods.

Usually uber-traditionalists when it comes to dining, Parisians have fallen hard for the food trucks, with some queuing for up to two hours at lunch time to sample their wares.

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Guinness Says Philippine Croc World's Largest

A saltwater crocodile weighing more than a ton and suspected of killing two people in the Philippines has been declared the largest such reptile in captivity by the Guinness Book of World Records.

The 6.17-metre (20.24-foot) male, nicknamed "Lolong", was captured in the Agusan marsh on the southern island of Mindanao last September after a two-year search following the killing of a girl and the disappearance of a fisherman.

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Air India Pilot Refuses to Fly Without Sick Mum

The pilot of an Air India passenger plane seated his mother in the cockpit for a domestic flight, refusing to take off without her after he could not get her a free ticket, a report said Sunday.

The pilot allegedly demanded that his mother be issued a "dummy boarding card" at Pune airport in western India and placed her in a jump seat reserved for the crew for the two-hour flight to the capital New Delhi.

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Stolen Salvador Dali Painting Mailed Back to NYC

The U.S. Postal Inspection Service says a stolen Salvador Dali painting has been mailed back to New York from Europe and intercepted at Kennedy International Airport.

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Strauss-Kahn, Wife to Sue Celeb Mag over Separation Claim

Former IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn and his wife Anne Sinclair said Friday they would sue French celebrity magazine Closer for invading their privacy with a story claiming they had separated.

"Having taken note of the cover and content of celebrity magazine Closer, Dominique Strauss-Kahn and Anne Sinclair have decided to sue this publication for invasion of privacy," their lawyers said in a brief statement.

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American Man Critical After Chimpanzee Mauling in S.Africa

An American research student was in a critical condition in a South African hospital on Friday after he was dragged by chimpanzees into an enclosure at a primate sanctuary and attacked.

The mauled body of the student, identified in local media as Andrew Oberle, was retrieved from the enclosure by paramedics under armed guard at the Jane Goodall Institute Chimp Eden near the eastern town of Nelspruit.

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New Feel-Good Website Aims to Cheer Up Crisis-Hit Greeks

Greeks fed up with stories of austerity and gloom can now turn to a new website aptly named Everything is OK (ola kala, OK in Greek) which aims to bring only happy news stories to the population.

Describing itself as an "online health wellbeing portal", the site www.olakala.gr tells users: "If you want to change your life, come with us."

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Indian Doc Removes 13cm Live Worm from Man's Eye

When an elderly Indian patient came to Dr V. Seetharaman with persistent pain in his eye, what the surgeon found was reminiscent of a far-fetched alien movie plot: a live, 13 centimeter-long worm.

On examining the 75-year-old at Mumbai's Fortis Hospital this week, the eye expert was shocked by the highly unusual sight of the writhing parasite and had to operate speedily to remove it before serious damage was caused.

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Estonian Nurse Slammed For Facebook Posts of Dying Baby

A nurse came under media fire in Estonia Thursday after she posted a photo of a dying three-month-old baby on her Facebook profile along with the child's confidential medical data.

"I had no idea I can't post the photos I take at the hospital and my comments about my work on Facebook," the woman told Estonia's leading Eesti Paevaleht newspaper.

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U.N. Declares a Day of Universal Joy

The United Nations on Thursday declared that March 20 each year will be the International Day of Happiness -- and it wants everyone to join in the fun.

The U.N. General Assembly passed a resolution proclaiming the new commemoration that adds to an already packed U.N. calendar of international days -- from world poetry day to world migratory bird day.

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