The auteur behind such acclaimed documentaries as "Lou Reed: Rock and Roll Heart, " "Thinking XXX" and "The Black List" series became inspired to do the project after a chance encounter.

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They include attractions as diverse as the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park, the Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park (which includes Ayers Rock) in the arid red heart of Australia, and the temperate Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage area.

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Rock-drill operators, who were at the heart of the strike, got more than 11, 000 rand a month: not quite the 12, 500 they had been demanding, but close enough.

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Garage-rock eccentric King Khan may be from Montreal, but his heart is almost a thousand miles away, throbbing from Atlanta to Castle City, Mont.

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