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Spice Girls Musical to Close in June

The much-anticipated Spice Girls musical "Viva Forever" will close June 29 after a disappointing six-month run in London.

Producer Judy Craymer said Thursday that despite improvements to the show "we just can't make it work."

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Greek Police Prevents 'Greeks Only' Food Handout

Police have stopped members of a far-right party in Greece from staging a free food handout aimed only at Greeks in the capital's main square.

Golden Dawn had said it would give food to needy Greeks in Syntagma Square Thursday, ahead of Sunday's Orthodox Easter. Athens Mayor Giorgos Kaminis had vowed the handout would not be allowed.

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Scholars Find Cannibalism at Jamestown Settlement

Scientists revealed Wednesday that they have found the first solid archaeological evidence that some of the earliest American colonists at Jamestown, Virginia, survived harsh conditions by turning to cannibalism.

For years, there have been tales of people in the first permanent English settlement in America eating dogs, cats, rats, mice, snakes and shoe leather to stave off starvation. There were also written accounts of settlers eating their own dead, but archaeologists had been skeptical of those stories.

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Mexico City Subway Baby to Ride Free for Life

Who says there's no such thing as a free ride?

Mexico City's mayor says a baby boy born in one of the city's subway stations will be allowed to ride the trains free for life.

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Pink Floyd Poser Arrested for Theft by Swindle

A man is accused of pretending to be a member of British rock band Pink Floyd at a U.S. hospital — and racking up as much as $100,000 in unpaid medical bills.

Police say the 53-year-old man went for treatment April 20 and claimed he was Pink Floyd singer-guitarist David Gilmour and that he didn't have health insurance. He was treated and released, but not before signing an autograph.

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South Korea to Aid Companies Shut Out of Kaesong

South Korea's government will provide more than $270 million in emergency loans to help companies affected by the shutdown of a jointly-run factory park in North Korea.

The finance ministry said Thursday the 300 billion won ($273 million) in relief funds will help cover debts and operating costs of around 120 South Korean companies that were forced early last month to halt production at factories in the Kaesong industrial complex amid high tensions on the Korean peninsula.

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North Korea Sentences American to 15 Years' Labor

An American detained for nearly six months in North Korea has been sentenced to 15 years of labor for crimes against the state, the North's state media said Thursday, a development that further complicates already strained ties between Pyongyang and Washington.

The sentencing of Kenneth Bae, described by friends as a devout Christian and a tour operator, comes amid signs of tentative diplomacy following weeks of rising tensions in the region. North Korea had been warning of nuclear war and missile strikes, an angry response to U.N. sanctions for conducting a long-range rocket launch in December and a nuclear test in February, as well as U.S.-South Korean military drills in South Korea.

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Scholars Find Cannibalism at Jamestown Settlement

Scientists revealed Wednesday that they have found the first solid archaeological evidence that some of the earliest American colonists at Jamestown, Virginia, survived harsh conditions by turning to cannibalism.

For years, there have been tales of people in the first permanent English settlement in America eating dogs, cats, rats, mice, snakes and shoe leather to stave off starvation. There were also written accounts of settlers eating their own dead, but archaeologists had been skeptical of those stories.

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Ireland Publishes Bill on Life-Saving Abortions

Ireland's government has published a long-awaited bill explaining the law on when life-saving abortions can be performed in a country that officially bans the practice.

The Protection of Life During Pregnancy Bill is dividing the government of Prime Minister Enda Kenny. Some Catholic conservatives within Kenny's party have vowed to reject the bill because it authorizes hospitals to perform abortions on suicidal women, so long as three doctors certify the suicide threat as credible.

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Shoppers Face Hurdles in Finding Ethical Clothing

The building collapse in Bangladesh that killed hundreds of clothing factory workers last week put a spotlight on the sobering fact that people in poor countries often risk their lives working in unsafe conditions to make the cheap T-shirts and underwear that Westerners covet.

The disaster, which comes after a fire in another Bangladesh factory killed 112 people in November, also highlights something troubling for socially conscious shoppers: It's nearly impossible to make sure clothes come from factories with safe working conditions.

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