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Coca-Cola Nederland via YouTube This scene, which uses footage from a same-sex union ceremony in Australia, is not in the Irish version of the Coca-Cola ad. Coca-Cola created an uplifting ad to remind people that the good in the world outweighs the bad. However, instead of raising the spirits of some viewers, the version of the advert that aired in ...

Brendan Smialowski/AP Secretary of State John Kerry has started off his visit to the Mideast on a sour note. Secretary of State Kerry’s Mideast visit started on a sour note Thursday when Israel’s leader accused his Palestinian counterpart of glorifying terrorists. Israel freed more than two dozen Arab prisoners this week . RELATED: AMERICAN HELD HOSTAGE BY AL QAEDA BEGS ...

AblaFahita via Facebook Egyptian puppet Abla Fahita has come under fire by controversial blogger Ahmed Spider, who backed ousted President Hosni Mubarak. The Egyptian government has questioned a phone company accused of using a puppet in its commercials to spread coded messages about a terrorist plot. The Vodafone Egypt commercial shows talkative puppet Abla Fahita looking for her dead husband’s ...

Andrew Peacock/AP The ice-trapped Russian ship MV Akademik Shokalskiy, seen last Friday, is currently carrying 74 scientists, tourists and crew. CANBERRA, Australia — Passengers on board a research ship that has been trapped in Antarctic ice for more than a week are expected to be rescued by helicopter on Thursday after three icebreakers failed to reach the paralyzed vessel, officials ...

Uncredited/AP An undated picture of Sanaz Nezami, a native of Tehran, Iran, was the victim of a fatal beating by her husband in early December. A nurse in a Michigan hospital kissed the patient’s forehead. More than 6,000 miles away, Sanaz Nezami’s family in Iran watched the simple act over a laptop computer and wept. Nezami, a vibrant 27-year-old woman ...

FILIPPO MONTEFORTE/AFP/Getty Images Pope Francis waves to the faithful Tuesday before visiting the crib in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican. VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis used his year-end prayer service Tuesday to urge people to ask themselves a tough question: Did they mainly spend 2013 promoting self-interests or helping others? “Let us courageously ask ourselves: How did we live ...

ANBERRA, Australia (AP) — With fireworks, dancing and late-night revelry millions around the globe welcomed 2014 on Tuesday, gathering for huge displays of jubilation and unity as the new year was arriving across the world’s 24 main time zones. In Australia, fireworks sprayed from the sails of the Sydney Opera House and the city’s harbor bridge at midnight. Revelers in ...

Jin Lee/Bloomberg Stocks have been on a tear in 2013, fueled by central bank stimulus and signs an economic rebound is beginning to take hold. 2013 is shaping up to be a blockbuster for the world’s stock investors, and some analysts see reasons for optimism in the year ahead. Japan’s Nikkei 225 stock average wrapped up its final trading day ...

Uncredited/AP Warren Weinstein, 72, was kidnapped in Pakistan by Al Qaeda more than two years ago. A Maryland family wants their beloved patriarch — held captive by Al Qaeda — to know that he is not forgotten. Warren Weinstein, 72, of Rockville, Md., looked dispirited as he begged President Obama to negotiate with the terrorists to end his captivity in ...

Sergei Karpov/Reuters At least 10 people were killed when an explosion ripped through a trolleybus in the second deadly blast in the Russian city of Volgograd in two days. MOSCOW — An explosion on a trolleybus in the city of Volgograd left 10 people dead Monday, a day after a suicide bombing that killed at least 17 at the city’s ...