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Kyrgyzstan Topples Disliked 'Statue of Liberty'

Kyrgyzstan on Friday dismantled a "Statue of Liberty" in the center of the capital Bishkek, mocked for its apparent resemblance to a widely disliked former First Lady.

Workers in the early hours took down the towering statue, which depicted a female angel sitting on top of a globe and holding aloft the roof of a traditional yurt.

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Cannabis on Busy Vienna Thoroughfare

Vienna police have shut down an unusual cannabis "ring" — hemp growing along the Austrian capital's busy Ring Street encircling the city's center.

Alerted by a news article about the illegal crop, police officers on Friday plucked a 200-meter (yard) stretch of green space along the three-lane street clean of the offending plants.

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Bonnet Hairdryer Saves German Grandmother

A bonnet dryer saved a German grandmother from serious injury or worse when the ceiling of the salon where she was having her hair done collapsed, the Bild daily reported Friday.

"At first I didn't realise what was happening. You can't hear a thing under the bonnet," said Karin Koellner, 72, from Gladbeck in western Germany. "Then bits of the ceiling broke off. But the dryer worked like a protective helmet."

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U.S. Fugitive Taunts Police on Facebook to Catch Him

A fugitive who taunted police on his Facebook page to 'catch me if you can. I'm in Brooklyn' has been arrested.

The Daily News says U.S. marshals and NYPD detectives tracked Victor Burgos down to an apartment in Brooklyn's Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood Monday night, sitting at a computer with his Facebook page open.

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NY State Fair Unveils 1,500-Calorie 'Donut Burger'

Want fries with that ... doughnut?

A food booth in Syracuse will unveil the "Big Kahuna Donut Burger" at this year's New York State Fair.

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Unsuspecting Brazilian Woman Prepares 'Meatballs a La Condom'

A Brazilian woman who ate a dish of savory meatballs with tomato sauce only to discover a condom in the tomato can, will be awarded $5,000 in damage, the Globo news website reported Wednesday.

The southern state of Rio Grande do Sul fined the tomato sauce maker the amount for "moral damages."

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Britain's Vintage May Change Future Festivals

Dandies, punks, teds and mods dusted down their finest threads for London's Vintage Festival, a celebration of British design history which hints at a change in direction for UK festivals.

Brainchild of British designers Wayne and Gerardine Hemmingway, the three-day event at London's iconic Royal Festival Hall kicks off Friday and will honor almost a century of British music, fashion, film, dance and design.

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Russian Teens World Geography Champs

They had to identify countries and regions of the world by economies, politics, latitudes -- even by a type of tortoise.

On Wednesday, the National Geographic world championship between teenagers from Canada, Russia and Chinese Taipei hinged on knowing which island has a population of about 57,000 people, with most settlements on its West coast.

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Crack, The New Nightmare of Rio's Street Kids

Sobbing and playful laughter echo off the walls at Casa Viva, a rehab center in Rio that takes in children who have become addicted to crack, living on the streets like zombies among the trash.

Rio city officials have tallied almost 700 children and adolescents living on the streets who are hooked on alcohol or drugs. Though crack devastated many inner-cities around the world decades ago, it is just starting to do major damage in Brazil.

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Anderson Japanese Gardens Aim for Tranquility

Japanese gardens are about inspiring and soothing the soul. And you don't have to be a gardening expert or Zen Buddhist to appreciate all they have to offer — the beauty, the tranquility, even the Zen.

Anderson Japanese Gardens, a 12-acre (4.8-hectare) wonderland of landscaping and design, is regarded as one of the top Japanese gardens in North America, along with ones in Portland, Oregon, and Delray Beach, Florida.

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