New Zealand unveils final four flag designs. Country says: ‘Hmm.’

Four designs in a contest to replace New Zealand's national flag with something that's a little less Union Jack-y were unveiled this week. And now, New Zealanders are pondering a big question: Do you like 1) silver ferns, 2) silver ferns, 3) a Maori symbol based on silver ferns, or 4) silver ferns? Out of […]











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How a Japanese porn star became the face of Taiwan’s metro swipe cards

  Sex sells. Just ask Taiwan’s transit authority officials — or, better yet, any young man on the streets of the capital, Taipei. By this morning, chances are that he was clutching a metro swipe card that featured the sultry visage of Yui Hatano. She’s Japanese. She’s 27. And she’s a porn star. She’s also […]











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The Israeli Jew suspected of trying to join the Islamic State

A young Israeli Jew suspected of planning to join the Islamic State has been found in Turkey and returned to Israel, the Foreign Ministry in Jerusalem told reporters Tuesday. The 21-year-old had been taken in by police in the city of Iskenderun after the Israeli Embassy requested help, Ha'aretz newspaper reports, and family members had flown to Turkey to escort him […]











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Pakistan suspects U.S. illegally cut down trees in its capital

In Pakistan’s capital, government leaders and local residents often boast of living in one of the world’s “greenest” cities. Islamabad, built in the 1960s as a planned paradise for Pakistan’s governing elite, sits at the base of the lush Margalla Hills in the Himalayan foothills. Despite a population of about a half-million residents, nearly every […]











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Indians debate whether religious freedom means being able to starve yourself to death

On Tuesday, a group of worshipers from the Jain faith gathered under the graceful marble arches of the Dada Bari temple in New Delhi to pray, chant and offer fruit and sweets before a silver altar devoted to one of their saints. Although relatively unknown outside India, Jains have been at the center of an […]











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