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Airport in China Named After a Drink

A decision to name an airport in southwest China after a local spirits brand has provoked widespread derision online and controversy around the country, reports said Sunday.

Authorities in Yibin, in Sichuan province, said their move to name the new airport "Wuliangye" after a local liquor would have a positive impact on the city and the company.

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Greek Facebook Page Lashing At IMF Chief

Greek web users waged Facebook war against IMF head Christine Lagarde on Sunday after she accused their countrymen of dodging taxes.

The French managing director of the International Monetary Fund received more than 10,000 messages, many of them obscene, on her page on the online social network -- where her postings typically draw a couple of hundred comments.

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Recaptured Penguin Suffering From Pink-Eye

A plucky penguin that was recaptured last week after nearly three months at large in the polluted waters of Tokyo Bay has conjunctivitis, an aquarium official said Monday.

The Humboldt penguin, one of 135 kept at Tokyo Sea Life Park, was taken back into captivity after 82 days of freedom following a breakout that made global headlines and garnered it a following around the world.

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Campaign Ad Tools, Ostrich Riding and Chess

Politicians are famous for tooting their own horns, but not many would offer up riding an ostrich as a qualification to be elected to a congressional seat.

So meet Jeff Barth, bidding to be the Democratic candidate to run against a Republican incumbent to represent South Dakota in the U.S. House of Representatives.

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Thousands of Shellfish Found Dead in Peru

Thousands of crustaceans were found dead off the coast of Lima following the mystery mass death of dolphins and pelicans, the Peruvian Navy said Friday.

The cause of death is under investigation, said Industry and Fishing Minister Gladys Triveno, warning that "it would be premature to give a reason for this phenomenon."

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Elderly spared from taking shoes and belts off in U.S. airport

The U.S. government is easing the airport screening process for travelers 75 and older, beginning to roll out new rules just in time for the long Memorial Day holiday weekend, an official said Friday.

From this weekend the elderly will no longer have to doff shoes, belts and jackets as they pass through security checkpoints at New York's three major airports: John F. Kennedy International, La Guardia, and Newark Liberty.

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Women Ink in Enthusiasm for Tattoos

They may need more work to look like screen beauty Angelina Jolie or pop star Lady Gaga, but growing numbers of women are taking a step toward emulating the stars by having their skin tattooed.

At the annual New York City Tattoo Convention last weekend, tattoo artists from Brazil, Europe, Japan and other spots around the globe unveiled their wares to a mixed crowd, and women were a strong presence.

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Director Defends Nicole Kidman Pee Scene in The Paperboy

U.S. director Lee Daniels had some explaining to do in Cannes Thursday over a scene in his new film "The Paperboy" which sees Nicole Kidman pee on the jellyfish sting of her co-star Zac Efron.

The movie premiered on Thursday casts Kidman as a small-town vamp whose tacky sensuality proves mesmerizing to the fresh-faced youth played by Efron, a world away from his "High School Musical" debut in the Florida-set thriller.

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Mutts Race for Cannes Palm Dog Award

After last year's triumph for a terrier who went on to Oscar glory with "The Artist", the 2012 pack of celluloid canine talent was looking strong Thursday for Cannes' unofficial Palm Dog award.

"A dark dramatic trend has emerged" which "starts with 'Moonrise Kingdom' in which a plucky pooch is pierced by a fatal arrow... to the nasty end for Fanny in 'The Hunt'," said Toby Rose, who announces the winner on Friday.

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Poles Detained Trying To Load Corpse on Train

Two Poles were detained Thursday after a corpse rolled up in a rug fell out of a sofa-bed that they were trying to load on a local commuter train, a police officer said.

"We were informed by railway men that the body fell out of the sofa-bed onto the station platform. At first, I thought they were joking," Robert Czerwinski, a spokesman for the northern Polish city of Slupsk told Agence France Presse.

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