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From Agence France-Presse
Vietnam to tighten two-child rule Officials in Communist Vietnam alarmed by a new baby boom are to crack down on couples having more than two children, family planning chiefs said on Thursday.
20 November 2008 - 12:41 p.m. EST
Japan's fishermen feel pain from economic crisis The open-air fish market in Kuji on Japan's Pacific coast is its usual hive of activity, but the fishermen here are watching nervously as the global financial crisis batters their industry.
20 November 2008 - 10:54 p.m. EST
Sonia Rykiel: 40 years a fashion pioneer "Sonia Rykiel was Japanese before the Japanese, Belgian before the Belgians. She is a pioneer of conceptual fashion, one of the first modernizers," says Olivier Saillard, curator of the first retrospective of the French designer's work.
21 November 2008 - 1:41 a.m. EST
Dutch "coffee shop" debate: will closing only shift drug traffic? Drawing deeply on a joint in his favorite Dutch coffee shop, Belgian student Jonathan shrugs at plans to close four of the establishments selling legal cannabis in this border town.
21 November 2008 - 1:56 p.m. EST
Aussie mayor wins sexist 'award' for inviting ugly women to town An Australian mayor who invited ugly women to move to his outback mining town, saying even they would find a man there, has won the top "award" for the most sexist public comment of the year.
21 November 2008 - 7:06 a.m. EST
Danes happiest, Bulgarians most miserable: EU lifestyle study Nordic people are the happiest Europeans, while their least-happy counterparts can be found in the Balkans, a European Union lifestyle survey released Wednesday suggests.
19 November 2008 - 4:33 p.m. EST
Malaysian island may lose heritage status over building row: report Malaysia's Penang island, world-renowned for its architecture and culture, could lose its UNESCO world heritage listing if four new high-rise hotels are built in its capital, reports said Thursday.
19 November 2008 - 10:59 p.m. EST
Massive EU online library looks to compete with Google The EU launches Thursday its Europeana digital library, an online digest of Europe's cultural heritage that aims to draw together millions of books and other items.
20 November 2008 - 12:58 a.m. EST
Hedge fund fighters deal with market pounding in the boxing ring Is it more painful to see the value of your fund disappear as the global economy crumbles, or for another man to punch you as hard as he can in the face?
20 November 2008 - 3:21 a.m. EST
Holy Land excavation digs into Mideast rifts Sprawled across a hemispherical mound where the Judaean Hills meet the desert, ancient Herodium lies deep inside the occupied West Bank but has borne up a treasure trove of finds for Israeli archaeologists.
20 November 2008 - 1:28 a.m. EST
Displaced for decades, San 'Bushmen' return home in Namibia Some 9,000 members of the Haikom ethnic group, among the San "Bushmen" people who were the first occupants of southern Africa, have just been allowed to return the region where their ancestors lived.
19 November 2008 - 1:02 a.m. EST
World Toilet Day no laughing matter, group says A Singapore-based non-profit organisation proclaimed World Toilet Day on Wednesday, but said it was no laughing matter.
19 November 2008 - 1:58 a.m. EST
Endeavour astronaut loses tools in space An astronaut from the space shuttle Endeavour let slip her tool bag during a spacewalk and watched helplessly as it floated off into space, NASA said.
19 November 2008 - 12:59 a.m. EST
Dutch state steps up fight against illegal smoking in bars The Dutch health ministry announced plans Tuesday to impose tougher fines and heavier punishments on restaurants and pubs that continue infringing a new smoking ban.
18 November 2008 - 3:08 p.m. EST
US has Sun King's stolen gem, say French experts French experts said on Tuesday they had proof that the Hope Diamond, a star exhibit in Washington's Smithsonian Institution, is a legendary gem once owned by King Louis XIV that was looted in the French Revolution.
18 November 2008 - 1:51 p.m. EST
Schoolgirl knuckleballer headed to Japan pro league A 16-year-old schoolgirl with a mean knuckleball has been selected as the first woman ever to play alongside the men in Japanese professional baseball.
17 November 2008 - 10:43 a.m. EST
Milk scandal leaves Chinese hungry for information In China's supermarkets, an apparent shift is taking place that suggests one of the legacies of the nation's contaminated milk scandal is that consumers are caring more about what goes into the food they buy.
17 November 2008 - 10:18 a.m. EST
Quake threat to Karachi exposes cracks in system Legend has it that seven revered Islamic saints whose shrines are located across Karachi have for centuries protected the southwestern Pakistani city from disaster.
17 November 2008 - 10:02 p.m. EST
Number of SKorean believers on rise The number of South Koreans with religious beliefs has risen steadily over the past decade, with Catholicism growing the fastest, a report showed Tuesday.
18 November 2008 - 2:14 a.m. EST
'Yes We Can' — traders, comics, towns cash in on Obama-mania From publishers in nearly every country in the world to Japanese comedians and African t-shirt sellers, the audacity of hope knows no bounds when it comes to cashing in on Barack Obama's name.
17 November 2008 - 10:16 a.m. EST
Drop: reviled by outsiders, Dutch delicacy stands the test of time A black and chewy, often salty candy that turns most foreigners' stomachs, drop is savoured in near daily handfuls by the Dutch who hardly leave home soil without it.
16 November 2008 - 1:49 a.m. EST
Bollywood lights still sparkle for small town boys and girls In the cut-throat Indian film industry, all roads to fame and fortune lead to Mumbai, prompting thousands of would-be movie stars to leave their small towns and villages in search of success.
16 November 2008 - 1:31 a.m. EST
No home comforts for India's construction site kids It's not unusual in cities across India to see giggling children chasing each other around piles of sand or playing with shovels as their mothers keep an eye on them from nearby.
17 November 2008 - 2:33 a.m. EST
Cars throttle Algerian capital, locals dream of trams and metro Early morning and the capital of Algeria, once known as Algiers the White, begins to choke under the pressure of hundreds of thousands of vehicles, many times more than it can handle.
17 November 2008 - 12:57 a.m. EST
Japanese whalers set sail: Greenpeace Japan's whaling fleet set sail Monday, environmentalists said, apparently on an annual Antarctic hunt likely to provoke fresh friction with anti-whaling countries such as Australia.
17 November 2008 - 6:37 a.m. EST
Rush hour rescheduled, flights changed for crucial SKorea exam Rush hour was rescheduled, aircraft landings were delayed and even the stock market opened late as more than half a million South Korean children sat a crucial examination on Thursday.
13 November 2008 - 12:23 p.m. EST
Dutch mushroom ban leaves grower bitter Freddy Schaap, a grower of hallucinogenic mushrooms, is bitter about having to lay off half his staff on account of a Dutch government ban on his psychedelic produce.
14 November 2008 - 12:50 a.m. EST
Oldest Armenian daily celebrates centenary in Istanbul The oldest Armenian-language newspaper is celebrating its 100th anniversary in Turkey, surviving a century of tumult in a place where Armenians were massacred and reduced to a tiny community.
14 November 2008 - 2:10 a.m. EST
Hoop-star Obama could have basketball court built at White House Richard Nixon had a bowling alley installed at the White House; Gerald Ford, a swimming pool; and now, the residence of US presidents could house a basketball court to cater to the sporting talents of president-elect Barack Obama.
14 November 2008 - 2:25 a.m. EST
Bangladeshi artists under attack from Muslim hardliners Rashed Ahmed paints the fiery eyes of a python on to a giant piece of white cloth in the grounds of Dhaka University, as a huge crowd of painters, actors and writers cheer the fine arts student on.
12 November 2008 - 9:54 p.m. EST
Netherlands to ban 'magic' mushrooms The Netherlands is to ban the selling and growing of so-called magic mushrooms, which have a hallucinogenic effect on users, from December 1, the Dutch health ministry said Wednesday.
12 November 2008 - 1:53 p.m. EST
Music returns to Baghdad as vice squad enforcers retreat After years on the run from Shiite and Sunni militias and morality police, Iraqi musicians are slowly returning to the streets of Baghdad, looking to fill the silence left by the fading civil war.
12 November 2008 - 10:36 a.m. EST
Nordic countries are tops for gender equality; China, US lag: WEF Nordic countries retained their top rankings for gender equality while economic giants China and the United States still lag far behind despite some progress, the World Economic Forum said Wednesday.
12 November 2008 - 12:09 a.m. EST
'Obabies' abound in US maternity wards In another sign of America's glee at the election of Barack Obama to the White House, newborns all over the United States are being named after the president-elect.
12 November 2008 - 10:47 a.m. EST
EU to allow 'wonky' fruit and veg on supermarket shelves EU nations on Wednesday gave the green light Monday for bent cucumbers and other "wonky" fruit and vegetables to be sold in supermarkets and elsewhere, as part of a drive to cut red tape.
12 November 2008 - 7:37 a.m. EST
Jewish heritage in Poland jeopardized by lack of funds Too poor and too few, Poland's several thousand Jews lack the resources to preserve their heritage, still in jeopardy after the destruction wrought by the Nazis and decades of communism.
12 November 2008 - 12:48 a.m. EST
Contemporary art stars plunge to Earth in auction Sotheby's on Tuesday bowed to economic realities and slashed prices for much-hyped contemporary art works at an auction where almost a third of lots failed to sell.
12 November 2008 - 12:56 a.m. EST
India's anti-smoking drive meets with peculiar problems At the busy New Delhi railway station, anti-smoking officials zero in on a young eunuch puffing on a cigarette, but hesitate before demanding a fine.
11 November 2008 - 9:13 p.m. EST
Your favorite music = happy heart: study Listening to your favorite music may be helpful to maintaining a healthy heart, according to a study.
11 November 2008 - 8:59 p.m. EST
World marks 90th anniversary of Great War Europe on Tuesday marked the 90th anniversary of the end of World War I, with the handful of surviving veterans at the vanguard of commemorations for the fallen of the "War to End All Wars".
11 November 2008 - 8:14 a.m. EST
Phoenix probe mission on Mars ends: NASA NASA scientists have said the Phoenix Mars lander has gone silent because of a lack of sunlight needed to power its batteries, after a five-month mission that produced a mother lode of scientific data from the red planet.
10 November 2008 - 11:39 p.m. EST
The great tripe challenge: can recession save offal? If restaurant owner Jean-Claude Lefevre puts both spaghetti bolognese and kidneys on the day's menu, he knows he will get twice as many takers for the spaghetti.
10 November 2008 - 9:33 a.m. EST
Precious saffron returns to the hills of Tuscany Purple crocuses, the source of the precious spice saffron, are abloom once again in Italy's Tuscan hills, centuries after they vanished.
11 November 2008 - 3:42 a.m. EST
Ancient village at heart of China's quake tourism plans Zeng Yuyin points up to a narrow crack that runs from the fourth to the sixth story of a 1,000 year-old stone fortress in Taoping village, home to China's ethnic Qiang minority.
11 November 2008 - 3:03 a.m. EST
Germany marks shameful history and golden hour on single date The anniversary of one of the most shameful chapters of Germany's turbulent history and one of its most euphoric both fall on Sunday, prompting commemorations and celebrations throughout the country.
8 November 2008 - 9:56 p.m. EST
Argentina's head-in-the-clouds tourism With the global slowdown threatening tourism, Argentina is banking not only on its budget status to woo visitors, but also a newly reopened attraction that it can bill, quite literally, as breathtaking.
8 November 2008 - 2:10 p.m. EST
Ivory Coast women defy taboos, move into cocoa farming Once it was the exclusive preserve of men but not any more: hundreds of women in Ivory Coast are ignoring patriarchal tradition and turning to the growing of cocoa.
7 November 2008 - 12:11 p.m. EST
Cambodians rely on magic against modern Thai weapons A couple of weeks after their deadly border shootout, a Cambodian infantryman admits Thai troops have better weapons, but he's confident his pink "magic scarf" will ward off bullets.
10 November 2008 - 3:47 a.m. EST
North Korea tour is trip back in time The North Korean city of Kaesong is only 30 minutes by tourist bus from the heavily fortified border, but for South Korean day-trippers it is more like a journey back in time.
9 November 2008 - 10:42 p.m. EST
Michelle Obama sparks fashion debate with red and black victory dress Barack Obama's victory speech may have electrified the nation, but the dress worn by his wife, Michelle, has attracted almost as much feedback in Internet chatrooms and among fashion aficionados.
6 November 2008 - 9:52 a.m. EST
Crimes by elderly hit record high in Japan Crimes by the elderly in Japan have surged to a record high, with many committed because of money worries, loneliness and difficulty caring for sick relatives, a government report said Friday.
7 November 2008 - 1:14 a.m. EST
Spuds you like? UN dons chef's hat to mark Potato Year The potato has been a mainstay of home cooking the world over for centuries but a new cookbook launched by the United Nations shows there's more to the humble spud than just chips, crisps or mash.
6 November 2008 - 1:13 p.m. EST
US comedians sharpen claws for Obama presidency They love him now, but America's razor-tongued, left-leaning comedians say president-elect Barack Obama will soon be the butt of jokes.
6 November 2008 - 1:22 p.m. EST
Art masterpieces flop at auction A major auction of masterpieces found few buyers, confirming that the global financial crisis is wreaking havoc on the art market.
7 November 2008 - 12:52 a.m. EST
The writing on the wall is West Bank restaurant menu The Bahamas Seafood Restaurant's menu hovers between a giant black camel and a roller-skating donkey, adding a splash of color to the bleak concrete wall that slices through the West Bank.
6 November 2008 - 2:35 a.m. EST
Sweden could allow gay church weddings by May 2009: PM Sweden may allow homosexuals to wed in the Lutheran Church as of May 2009 if parliament adopts legislation due to be presented shortly, Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt said on Wednesday.
5 November 2008 - 3:45 p.m. EST
Mega mall opens in Dubai despite global economic gloom A mega shopping center opened for business in the bustling Gulf emirate of Dubai on Tuesday amid doubts about the success of the venture at a time of worldwide economic turmoil.
4 November 2008 - 1:56 p.m. EST
Berlin Wall shadow fading fast for German youth Nineteen years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, its historical shadow is fading fast for Germany's youth -- many of whom do not even know who built it.
6 November 2008 - 1:05 a.m. EST
70 years on, family traces road from Nazi terror to reconciliation For Steffi Pinkus the first memory of the Nazi pogrom Kristallnacht, 70 years ago this week, is her uncle's panicked voice as he learned the noose was tightening around the necks of Germany's Jews.
6 November 2008 - 1:25 a.m. EST
Spaniards consuming less alcohol, tobacco and narcotics: study Consumption of alcohol, tobacco and illegal drugs was noticeably lower in Spain, a main entry point in Europe for cannabis and cocaine, during 2007-08, according to a government study released Tuesday.
4 November 2008 - 3:17 p.m. EST
Financial crisis chills holiday sentiments at ultra-rich St Moritz At the suite-only Carlton Hotel, which charges up to 7,900 Swiss francs (6,800 dollars) per room during the winter peak season, the reservations department is getting disturbing news daily.
4 November 2008 - 12:08 p.m. EST
Strong yen brings Japanese shoppers flocking to SKorea apanese tourists armed with a strong yen are flocking to South Korea for shopping sprees, according to data Tuesday.
4 November 2008 - 12:15 p.m. EST
China car industry may be shifting into slow lane China's car manufacturing sector has been used to racing ahead at sometimes dangerous-looking speeds but now it may have to get used to life in the slow lane, at least for a while.
5 November 2008 - 12:10 a.m. EST
CNN 'beams up' virtual correspondent CNN viewers saw double Tuesday when the cable news giant used a hologram to "beam up" a reporter from Chicago to New York for election analysis.
5 November 2008 - 6:16 a.m. EST
Japanese clone mouse from frozen cell, aim for mammoths Japanese scientists said Tuesday they had created a mouse from a dead cell frozen for 16 years, taking a step in the long impossible dream of bringing back extinct animals such as mammoths.
4 November 2008 - 3:31 a.m. EST
Sri Lankan batik waxing lyrical in face of tough times The cobalt blues, watermelon reds, sheer fabrics and slinky cuts of Sri Lankan batiks are vying for a spot on the world's catwalks amid a global credit crunch that may hit designer brands.
3 November 2008 - 10:19 p.m. EST
Mumbai gets low-fat meals to trim corporate fat Working long hours and eating takeaway food in his office, Cyrus Driver was like many Indian executives who struggle to eat healthily or take enough exercise.
3 November 2008 - 12:12 p.m. EST
Cut coffee intake for a healthier baby, says study Pregnant women should keep consumption of coffee, tea and cola to a minimum, according to a study published on Monday that sees a link between caffeine intake and low birthweight among babies.
3 November 2008 - 2:25 p.m. EST
Russian abstract painting bucks art gloom An abstract painting by early 20th century Russian artist Kazimir Malevich sold for 60 million dollars in New York, bucking a dismal auction market.
3 November 2008 - 9:20 p.m. EST
NY art auctions under microscope amid financial crisis New York's fall art auctions kick off Monday, and Impressionist and contemporary sales will be under intense scrutiny as the art world digests whether the global financial crisis will severely affect prices.
1 November 2008 - 11:24 a.m. EDT
Economic woes not scaring punters off Australia's big race: bookies The global economic crisis is not preventing Australian punters from having a flutter on the country's biggest horse race, the Melbourne Cup, according to bookmakers.
1 November 2008 - 10:58 p.m. EDT
Mega doubts as Dubai mall to open amid global crisis The vast Dubai Mall shopping centre is finally set to open for business on Tuesday but the success of the 20-billion-dollar project is far from certain amid the global economic crisis.
2 November 2008 - 12:41 p.m. EST
Smelly effluent mars affluent Dubai's beaches Dubai's beautiful beaches have been making headlines because of a couple who allegedly had sex by the sea, but a more pervasive nuisance from washed up sewage threatens to deter tourists.
2 November 2008 - 1:41 p.m. EST
Diet diehards eat less to live longer Inspired by animal experiments showing that underfeeding enhances vitality and prolongs life by 30 percent or more, the US-based Calorie Restriction Society is slashing calorie intake in a bid to beat back the clock and halt the aging process.
3 November 2008 - 3:18 a.m. EST
Olympics curbs Beijingers' spitting, queue-jumping: report Hosting the Olympics has made Beijing's notoriously rough-edged citizens more civil, with social scourges such as spitting and queue-jumping on the decline, state media reported on Friday.
31 October 2008 - 1:07 a.m. EDT
Antarctica feeling the heat too, says study Antarctica, which seemed to have largely escaped the global warming affecting the rest of the planet, is melting too, according to a study.
31 October 2008 - 12:05 a.m. EDT
US dress-up fest Halloween hit by political correctness Politics, as one might expect in an election year, has colored the popular US holiday of Halloween, when Americans don costumes and scarf down sweets collected while trick-or-treating.
30 October 2008 - 5:45 p.m. EDT
Aspiring lunar entrepreneurs contract for help from NASA In a cosmic case of role reversal, aspiring lunar entrepreneurs based on the Isle of Man have hired NASA to build them a robotic rover to send to the moon.
30 October 2008 - 7:31 p.m. EDT
Britons dying for green burials Britons are increasingly choosing "green" burial plots as their final resting place for ecological reasons and as space in more formal cemeteries fills up, experts say.
30 October 2008 - 11:54 p.m. EDT
Market meltdown busts baby-boomers' retirement dreams Dreams of a life of ease and luxury over a long retirement have been shattered for many ageing baby-boomers around the world as the global economic meltdown shrinks their savings.
30 October 2008 - 2:51 a.m. EDT
Malaysia may ban yoga for Muslims: cleric Muslims in Malaysia may be barred from the ancient practice of yoga if they engage in Hindu "religious elements" during the exercise, a top Islamic cleric said Wednesday.
29 October 2008 - 12:25 p.m. EDT
Thai crocs feel bite as financial woes dull taste for luxury goods At the Elite Thai Leather factory in Bangkok, craftsman contort tough Thai crocodile hides into any style of luxury handbag a fashion designer wants.
29 October 2008 - 12:14 p.m. EDT
Paris export aims for Mexican tastebuds Foie gras and boeuf bourguignon sit alongside enchiladas and refried beans on the menu of an old-fashioned French brasserie opening in the urban chaos of Mexico City on Thursday.
29 October 2008 - 7:29 p.m. EDT
US space probe completes successful Mercury fly-pass The US space probe MESSENGER made its second successful fly-by of the year of the planet Mercury, revealing like never before 30 percent of the solar system's smallest planet, scientists announced on Thursday.
29 October 2008 - 11:15 p.m. EDT
China's farmers cultivate sport at 'peasant olympics' Two months after China's elite athletes dazzled the world at the Beijing Olympics, the sporting prowess of its 900 million peasant farmers is getting its turn in the spotlight this week at China's 6th National Peasant Games.
28 October 2008 - 11:31 p.m. EDT
Hindu festival brings Indian shoppers back to malls Indians thronged stores for last-minute shopping on Tuesday for the Hindu festival of lights, largely ignoring the global financial crisis that has slowed down the economy.
28 October 2008 - 1:44 p.m. EDT
When men see red, they see hot: study The popular ballad "Lady in Red" is poised to take on a whole new meaning: a study published Tuesday showed that the color red makes men see women as hotter or, more scientifically put, more attractive.
28 October 2008 - 2:41 p.m. EDT
Chocolate takes a walk on the wild side In these troubled times, chocolate-makers are walking on the wild side with weird flavors such as cauliflower and recipes that pander to health concerns to keep the plain chocolate bar ahead of the curve.
29 October 2008 - 3:28 a.m. EDT
World threatened by ecological 'credit crunch': WWF Reckless borrowing against Earth's exhausted bounty is driving the planet toward an ecological "credit crunch", the World Wildlife Fund warned on Wednesday.
28 October 2008 - 9:50 p.m. EDT
Sunset turns into business for Japanese city A small Japanese city with no prominent industries believes it has hit upon a novel resource to boost its fortunes in tough economic times -- the sunset.
27 October 2008 - 11:39 p.m. EDT
Colorado gold mine looking for silver lining A small-scale Colorado gold mine which had been cashing in on the uncertain financial times and the soaring price of the precious metal is now feeling the burn of the credit crunch.
28 October 2008 - 3:59 a.m. EDT
Fancy furs seduce buyers despite crunch Dozens of leopard, panther, mink and other fancy furs sent bids flying at Paris' first major auction this season of vintage couture and furs on Monday.
28 October 2008 - 6:29 a.m. EDT
Tons of ivory up for auction in Namibia Nine tons of ivory went on the block on Tuesday in Namibia, kicking off the first legal sales of elephant tusks in nearly a decade — exclusively for Chinese and Japanese buyers.
28 October 2008 - 6:49 a.m. EDT
British national day plan ditched British Prime Minister Gordon Brown's plans for a national day celebrating Britishness have been dropped, a minister said Monday.
27 October 2008 - 5:24 p.m. EDT
Art market holding steady in Paris though buying frenzy over The years-long frenzy to buy contemporary art appears to be coming to an end as the crunch bites, but the market held steady in Paris last week when top gallery owners gathered for the FIAC art fair.
27 October 2008 - 6:41 a.m. EDT
British sex survey finds a third think monogamy is unnatural One in five Britons find monogamy undesirable and nearly a third think it is unnatural, according to a sex survey out Sunday.
26 October 2008 - 1:55 p.m. EDT
Tourists seek South African nip and tuck, with safari on the side Forget Africa's big game or unspoiled scenery. More and more foreign tourists are coming to South Africa for a little nip and tuck at the country's private hospitals, with safari on the side.
26 October 2008 - 3:21 p.m. EDT
Philippine seafarers buoy economy in a sea of uncertainty Amid dire predictions that trade will slow next year due to the global financial crisis, hundreds of Filipino seamen still gather in downtown Manila everyday to scan the positions vacant notices.
25 October 2008 - 11:18 a.m. EDT
Financial crisis? 'Slow down', says Slow Food founder The best response to the global financial crisis is to "slow down" and return to local economies that offer better food and help protect the environment, said the founder of the Slow Food movement.
25 October 2008 - 4:20 p.m. EDT
Church weighs into abortion debate in Catholic East Timor A move to soften tough abortion laws in mainly Catholic East Timor is stirring opposition from the powerful Church.
23 October 2008 - 12:57 a.m. EDT
Asia's poor toil on oblivious to world economic crisis Oblivious to the global crisis, food vendors, cleaners and gardeners at the Indonesian Stock Exchange struggle to make ends meet on a few dollars a day while brokers gamble millions inside.
23 October 2008 - 4:56 a.m. EDT
Dutch towns close coffee-shops to ward off 'drug tourists' Two Dutch towns said Thursday they planned to close their cannabis smoking coffee-shops after admitting that an influx of up to 25,000 French and Belgian "drug tourists" each week had become too much.
23 October 2008 - 8:22 p.m. EDT
Credit-crunched Brits chill out in 'world's most relaxing room' As the financial crisis kicks in and stress levels surge, one British boffin claims to have invented the world's most relaxing room — just the thing to soothe away the troubles.
24 October 2008 - 3:00 a.m. EDT
For Palestinian football, independence is the goal When thousands of Palestinians gather in a stadium, it is usually for an anti-Israeli demonstration. But on Sunday they'll be turning out to watch their national football team play their first ever home game ... at home.
24 October 2008 - 2:53 a.m. EDT
Carbon project brings sustainable hope to remote tract of Amazon Juma Reserve, in the heart of Brazil's vast Amazon forest, stands as an example of the perils weighing on the world's largest tropical woodland.
22 October 2008 - 1:03 p.m. EDT
The curse of Madagascar's sapphire-hunters After hours with no fresh air in the depths of a three-foot wide pit, two miners emerge, happy to be alive but disappointed not to have struck the sapphire that will buy them a new life.
23 October 2008 - 2:40 a.m. EDT
Gastronomy 'glasnost' brings wild new tastes to the plate Dried flowers, oil-laced fruit juice and spicy honey! Edibles about to hit the shelves being showcased at the world's largest food fair this week are proof in the pudding of a foodie revolution to come.
23 October 2008 - 6:40 a.m. EDT
Worried Japanese parents try to marry off adult children As a growing number of Japanese remain single into their 40s, parents eager to marry off their children so they can retire in peace are giving new life to the old tradition of matchmaking.
23 October 2008 - 12:38 a.m. EDT
Dutch flower exports wilt amid world economic downturn The Netherlands, the world's biggest flower exporter, has seen its bloom trade wilt as luxury items get passed over for essentials amid the global economic downturn.
22 October 2008 - 11:50 p.m. EDT
Malaysian food street's name change sparks uproar Malaysia's best-known destination for street food has been renamed, in a surprise re-branding that has created an uproar among the dozens of traders who sell local delicacies there.
21 October 2008 - 12:59 p.m. EDT
Indian clinics woo "fertility" tourists as medical travel booms "We are actively recruiting egg donors!" reads the advertisement on the website of one of India's top in-vitro fertilization clinics.
22 October 2008 - 12:42 a.m. EDT
Big bucks London art market starts to feel economic chill Just a month after a record-shattering auction of works by Damien Hirst, the economic crisis has suddenly hit the art market with two big London sales in recent days falling short of previous highs.
22 October 2008 - 4:00 a.m. EDT
Lights turn red on Lebanese traffic offenses Something of a revolution is taking place on Lebanon's notoriously dangerous roads. Drivers are beginning to stop at red lights, to wear seat belts and no longer have their cell phones glued to their ears.
22 October 2008 - 3:49 a.m. EDT
India launches first moon mission India successfully launched its first lunar mission Wednesday, marking a major boost for the country's space program and a new step in the fast-developing Asian space race.
22 October 2008 - 5:14 a.m. EDT
Reef could provide clues to evolution: Australian scientists Australian scientists said Monday they had discovered in an outback mountain range a reef that was under water 650 million years ago and could provide fresh insight into early life on earth.
22 September 2008 - 8:56 a.m. EDT