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Curses! Romania's Witches Forced to Pay Income Tax

Everyone curses the tax man, but Romanian witches angry about having to pay up for the first time are planning to use cat excrement and dead dogs to cast spells on the president and government.

Also among Romania's newest taxpayers are fortune tellers — but they probably should have seen it coming.

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Russian Says Boney M Singer Died of Heart Disease

Russian investigators say Boney M singer Bobby Farrell died of heart disease.

Farrell, a 61-year-old native of Aruba, was found dead Dec. 30 in his hotel room in St. Petersburg, where the group had come for a performance.

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Bodyguard Expected to Testify Against Jackson Doc

A bodyguard who prosecutors say was ordered by the doctor charged in Michael Jackson's death to conceal syringes and other items before calling 911 is expected to shed light on the chaotic efforts that failed to revive the King of Pop.

Alberto Alvarez will testify Wednesday at a preliminary hearing against Dr. Conrad Murray about the doctor's attempts to revive the singer on June 25, 2009, his attorney said.

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Cuba's Tobacco Company Sues U.S. Shop Owned by Lebanese over Name

A cigar lounge in suburban Detroit is decorated with paintings and photos of famous people with a stogie: John F. Kennedy, Winston Churchill, even the 1950s Cuban revolutionary Che Guevara.

"We have only one thing in common," said owner Ismail Houmani, a U.S. war veteran, who immigrated to Toledo, Ohio, from Lebanon when he was 18, pointing at a cigar in the fingers of Guevara, a Marxist rebel.

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Iran Confirms Tour Invitation to Nuclear Sites

The Tehran government confirmed on Tuesday that it has invited world powers and its allies in the Arab and developing world to tour Iranian nuclear sites before a high-profile meeting late January on its disputed nuclear program.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast said the invitation went to "the EU, the non-aligned movement and representatives from 5+1 countries."

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Cretan Tools Point to 130,000-Year-Old Sea Travel

Archaeologists on the island of Crete have discovered what may be evidence of one of the world's first sea voyages by human ancestors, the Greek Culture Ministry said Monday. A ministry statement said experts from Greece and the U.S. have found rough axes and other tools thought to be between 130,000 and 700,000 years old close to shelters on the island's south coast.

Crete has been separated from the mainland for about five million years, so whoever made the tools must have traveled there by sea (a distance of at least 40 miles). That would upset the current view that human ancestors migrated to Europe from Africa by land alone.

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Insurers Sue Toyota

Seven insurance companies have sued Toyota Motor Corp. in an attempt to recover money paid to cover crashes they blame on sudden acceleration.

The insurers cite data that blames 725 crashes on the problem and fault the Japanese automaker for failing to equip its cars with an override system that would cause a car to idle if the brake and gas were deployed simultaneously. They are seeking damages in excess of $230,000 from 14 crashes throughout the United States.

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Relief Flights Help Flood-affected Australian City as Toll Rises

Military flights rushed Monday to restock the Australian city of Brisbane before it is cut off by floodwaters that have turned a huge swath of the Outback into a lake, while police confirmed two more deaths in the crisis.

The death toll from some of Australia's worst flooding in a decade is three since Saturday, though police in Queensland state say several other people have drowned in separate incidents involving swollen rivers and water accidents since tropical deluges began in late November. In total, 10 people have died, police said Monday.

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Lennon's Suit Sells for $46,000

The white two-piece suit John Lennon wore on the cover of the Beatles' "Abbey Road" album has been sold at auction in Connecticut for $46,000.

The suit and other Beatles memorabilia were sold Saturday at the Braswell Galleries' annual New Year's Day auction to an online bidder who wished to remain anonymous.

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Kaka Back in Real Madrid

Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho has included Kaka in his squad for the first time this season, selecting the Brazil playmaker in his squad for the Spanish league derby against Getafe.

Kaka has not played for the Spanish club since undergoing surgery on his left knee on Aug. 5.

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