Somali-born activist and former supermodel Waris Dirie on Wednesday opens a centre in Germany to treat victims of female genital mutilation, which she was subjected to as a child. About 8,000 young girls are circumcised every day in Africa and the Middle East, and the Desert Flower Medical Center,...
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Ex-supermodel opens help center for female genital mutilation victims
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New HIV outbreak leaves the porn industry divided over condoms
Derrick Burts was a newly minted porn actor in Los Angeles, using the screen names Derrick Cameron and Cameron Reid in a handful of productions, when he learned he was infected with HIV. “I was desperately shocked. You hear about it but you don’t think it will actually happen to you. It...
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French navy intercepts Syrian ship carrying 20 tons of marijuana
The French navy said Thursday it had made a record cannabis seizure in the Mediterranean sea after intercepting a ship carrying 20 tonnes of cannabis worth up to 50 million euros. “To the best of our knowledge it is the biggest seizure by the French state in the Mediterranean,”...
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Republican senator on journalists who publish leaks: ‘Historically, spies have been shot’
In a contentious Senate panel hearing about what protections should be available to journalists who receive government secrets, Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions (R) said that “historically, spies have been shot for revealing information,” and that the thinking on a shield law for journalists...
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Reid rips tea party on the Senate floor: ‘Anarchists have taken over’ Congress
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) on Thursday said that efforts by tea party-backed Republicans in the Senate to use an energy efficiency bill to defund Obamacare was evidence that “anarchist have taken over” Congress. In a speech on the Senate floor, Reid said that some senators...
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You Shouldn’t Have To Endure Bible-Thumping To Eat
With the dramatic increase as of late of people needing financial assistance for everything from health care to food to shelter, I’m beginning to see an uptick in conservative attempts to tie assistance to moralizing, conformist demands that you listen to and obey the edicts of right wing...
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15 girls under investigation after 12-year-old commits suicide
A group of 15 teenage girls is reportedly under investigation in connection with the suicide of a 12-year-old former classmate, the Lakeland Ledger reported on Thursday. Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said at a press conference Thursday that Rebecca Ann Sedwick had been “absolutely terrorized...
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NSA chief Clapper praises Snowden: Data spying debate ‘probably needed to happen’
Leaks from former US intelligence contractor Edward Snowden have generated a much needed debate about surveillance even though his disclosures have jeopardized national security, America’s spy chief said Thursday. “As loathe as I am to give any credit for what’s happened here,...
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African population expected to double by 2050
Africa’s baby-boom: Population to double by mid-century (via The Christian Science Monitor) Women and children sit on the stoop of a produce shop in a township outside Johannesburg, South Africa, in this file photo. (Melanie Stetson Freeman/Staff/File) Africa’s population is predicted to more...
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Twitter confirms plans for much-anticipated stock offering
Twitter announced Thursday, in a tweet, that it has submitted papers for a stock offering, the most hotly anticipated in the tech sector since Facebook’s last year. “We’ve confidentially submitted an S-1 to the SEC for a planned IPO. This Tweet does not constitute an offer of any...
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Renault teams up with electric car-share service
French automaker Renault and the Bollore family group that runs a successful pay-as-you go electric car network in Paris, are teaming up to develop technology. In a statement, the groups said they had agreed to develop car sharing systems for electric cars and cooperate on the manufacturing of the...
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Chris Hayes declares Francis to be ‘the best pope ever’
Chris Hayes of the MSNBC show “All In with Chris Hayes” said on Thursday that he thinks Pope Francis, who has only been in office for a few months, is the “best pope ever.” Francis has been calling and talking to individuals personally by phone. He has declared that atheists...
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W. Kamau Bell: ‘Bill O’Reilly, go eat your own d**k’
W. Kamau Bell on Thursday night attacked Fox News host Bill O’Reilly for sending a clueless correspondent to a “Muslim convention.” The correspondent accosted convention-goers, asking them whether they could name a “Christian terrorist.” Bell noted that the Muslims in...
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California approves drivers’ licenses for undocumented immigrants
California is expected to offer drivers’ and law licenses to undocumented immigrants following a vote by state lawmakers late Thursday night. The Los Angeles Times reported that AB60 will introduce special drivers’ licenses bearing the marking “DP,” for “driver’s...
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Heavy rain and floods expected as Tropical Storm Ingrid forms in Gulf of Mexico
Tropical Storm Ingrid formed off Mexico’s eastern coast on Friday, threatening to trigger floods and landslides in mountain regions, forecasters said. Ingrid was producing maximum sustained winds of 75 kilometers per hour (45 miles per hour) as it churned over the Gulf of Mexico, some 95...
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Greece axes vacation bonus for civil workers using computers
Recession-wracked Greece plans to scrap a perk for its civil servants who enjoy an extra six days of holiday per year — if they use a computer at work. Administrative Reform Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said Athens wanted to axe the bonus that he dismissed as an “aberration.”...
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Christian radio host: Thinking humans influence climate change is ‘stupid, stupid, stupid’
Christian radio host Bryan Fischer sounded off in a round of denial of climate change on his show on Friday, arguing that the only thing mankind can do to influence the weather is to pray. “It is dumb, dumb, dumb,” Fischer ranted. “It is stupid, stupid, stupid. It is ignorant,...
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Hawaiian woman wins right to have 35-letter last name on ID
A Hawaiian woman with a 35-letter surname has persuaded the Pacific island US state’s authorities to change their official ID card format, because her king-sized name won’t fit. Janice Keihanaikukauakahihuliheekahaunaele, whose traditional Hawaiian name comes from her late husband, said...
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United Airlines honors $5 and $10 flights booked during online glitch
Human error blamed for period in which only airport and security fees were charged and customers rushed to purchase United Airlines will honour plane tickets it mistakenly sold online for between $5 and $10, the company said on Friday. Customers using the airline’s website were able to book...
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Argentina nabs 19-year-old ‘super hacker’
A 19-year-old Argentine has been arrested on charges of hacking into online gambling pages and international money transfer sites, authorities said Friday. The Buenos Aires man is said to have been making $50,000 a month as leader of a hacking gang that included seven other people, who remain under...
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