Lifestyle

Poland restricts gambling outside casinos  Fri, 20 Nov 2009 15:49 EST

Poland's parliament on Friday adopted a law that confines gambling to casinos and phases out the slot machines currently in many Polish cafes, clubs, shops and service stations.

 

Strong Asia presence at Saint Laurent auction  Fri, 20 Nov 2009 14:47 EST

Buyers from Asia purchased all but one of the top 10 priciest items at the sale of the last belongings of late couturier Yves Saint Laurent and his partner Pierre Berge, Christie's said Friday.

 

Actress Audrey Hepburn's wardrobe up for auction  Fri, 20 Nov 2009 14:42 EST

NEW YORK (Reuters Life!) - Audrey Hepburn once declared her look was "attainable" and an upcoming auction of some of the fashionable film star's wardrobe will make that possible.

 

Sun shines on golf's growth in China's Hainan  Fri, 20 Nov 2009 14:24 EST

It's chilly and wet back home in Sichuan province, but Chen Ming cheerfully tees off in shorts on a sunny palm-lined golf course on China's southern Hainan island.

 

Albanian town plans statue of Bush  Fri, 20 Nov 2009 14:06 EST

TIRANA (Reuters) - The small Albanian town of Fushe-Kruje plans to erect a statue of former U.S. President George W. Bush to commemorate his June 2007 visit, when he was feted as a hero in an outpouring of love for America.

 

Montreux unveils 2010 poster by Brazil's Britto  Fri, 20 Nov 2009 12:41 EST

ZURICH (Reuters Life!) - Brazilian Romero Britto has created the 2010 edition of the Montreux Jazz Festival's poster, adding to a long list of striking images by famous artists that have made the posters desirable objects among collectors.

 

Briton to induce epileptic seizure as performance  Fri, 20 Nov 2009 12:35 EST

LONDON (Reuters Life!) - An epilepsy sufferer has courted controversy in Britain by creating a public performance in which she will attempt to bring on a seizure and allow the audience to film it on their mobile phones.

 

Uganda's gays: from advocates to outlaws  Fri, 20 Nov 2009 12:13 EST

If Uganda?s recently tabled Anti-Homosexuality Bill becomes law, Frank Mugisha and other individuals found campaigning for gay rights will face the choice of going to jail or leaving the country.

 

US singles on PlayDate search for soul mate  Fri, 20 Nov 2009 11:59 EST

Forget singles bars and the mad dash through the speed-dating circuit: Americans in search of love now can find that special someone across a Scrabble or Monopoly board.

 

African women remain undervalued: UN report  Fri, 20 Nov 2009 11:57 EST

Women in Africa have yet to receive the financial recognition they deserve for the time and effort put into domestic and reproductive work, a UN report launched Friday concluded.

 

No reply this Christmas as US blocks Santa mail  Fri, 20 Nov 2009 11:31 EST

No matter if children are naughty or nice, they won't get a reply from Santa this year, as the US Postal Service has blocked mail to a tiny Alaska town that answered Christmas letters for decades.

 

Return to spender: lost mail on sale Downunder  Fri, 20 Nov 2009 11:17 EST

CANBERRA (Reuters Life!) - Six wedding dresses, a didgeridoo, a toupee and a massage table are among thousands of items lost in Australia's mail system in the past year and now being sold for charity after nobody claimed them.

 

US singles on PlayDate search for soul mate  Fri, 20 Nov 2009 11:04 EST

Forget singles bars and the mad dash through the speed-dating circuit: Americans in search of love now can find that special someone across a Scrabble or Monopoly board.

 

Treasure lectures hot tickets at British Museum  Fri, 20 Nov 2009 10:39 EST

LONDON (Reuters Life!) - The most important treasure trove found in Britain for decades is on display at the British museum in London and will be the subject of two hot-ticket lectures and a drop-in talk by experts in the coming weeks.

 

Feisty architect Hadid challenges Rome skyline  Fri, 20 Nov 2009 06:23 EST

ROME (Reuters Life!) - Iraq's Zaha Hadid, one of the world's most acclaimed architects, has given this ancient city that normally shuns modern intrusions another controversial building -- a new museum dedicated to contemporary design.

 

Mexican Revolution revived in Asia art exhibit  Fri, 20 Nov 2009 04:26 EST

SINGAPORE (Reuters Life!) - It's been nearly a century since Mexico was ravaged by revolution but the social, political and religious ramifications of the conflict have been brought to life at an art exhibition thousands of miles away.

 

Sun shines on golf's growth in China's Hainan  Fri, 20 Nov 2009 02:55 EST

It's chilly and wet back home in Sichuan province, but Chen Ming cheerfully tees off in shorts on a sunny palm-lined golf course on China's southern Hainan island.

 

Anglican head challenges Vatican over women clergy  Fri, 20 Nov 2009 02:10 EST

ROME (Reuters) - Roman Catholics should look beyond the divisive issue of ordaining women to see how much they share with the world's Anglicans and work toward greater Christian unity, the head of the Anglican Communion said on Thursday.

 

Indian husbands want protection from nagging wives  Fri, 20 Nov 2009 02:08 EST

LUCKNOW, India (Reuters Life!) - Shrews, beware: a group of Indian husbands tired of being harassed by their wives are demanding the local government create a male protection society to address their grievances.

 

Communist cars now rare treasures for nostalgics  Fri, 20 Nov 2009 02:04 EST

BUDAPEST (Reuters Life!) - Their spluttering engines, bone-rattling suspensions and outdated designs once ruled the streets behind the Iron Curtain. But now the Trabant and its communist cousins have become rare cars for collectors. Soviet-made Ladas, the classic rear-engine Czech Skodas, Romanian Dacias, Polish Fiats, or the most famous of them all, East German Trabants are now few and far between. "Production stopped almost immediately once the Wall fell," said Gabor Muczan, president of the Trabant Club in Hungary. "That means the newest of these cars are 20 years old, a venerable age even for a good quality Western model."

 

Taiwan tropical isle going green with vehicle ban  Fri, 20 Nov 2009 01:59 EST

TAIPEI (Reuters Life!) - Travelers to a tiny tropical island off Taiwan can soon expect the air quality to match the pristine marine attractions under an initiative to replace gasoline-powered vehicles with electric ones.

 

Travel Postcard: Hiking around Jade Mountain, Taiwan  Fri, 20 Nov 2009 01:45 EST

TAIPEI (Reuters Life!) - Jade Mountain, northeast Asia's highest peak and Taiwan's sole finalist for a "New 7 Wonders of the World" award, remains an alluring mystery due to its remoteness and tough permitting rules.

 

Travel Picks: World's top 10 ugliest buildings  Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:41 EST

SYDNEY (Reuters Life!) - From the merely unpleasant to the borderline criminal, ugly buildings somehow manage to pop up even in the prettiest cities.

 

Bardot urges end to animal sacrifice in Nepal  Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:35 EST

The legendary French movie star turned animal rights campaigner Brigitte Bardot has written to Nepal's president urging him to stop a mass animal sacrifice from going ahead next week.

 

Movie popcorn plus soda can equal 3 McDonald's burgers  Thu, 19 Nov 2009 23:33 EST

LOS ANGELES (Reuters Life!) - Moviergoers who tuck into a medium popcorn and a soft drink could be eating the equivalent of three McDonald's quarter-pounder burgers topped with a dozen scoops of butter, according to a U.S. study.

 

Ethiopian Jews in Israel still await Promised Land  Thu, 19 Nov 2009 22:33 EST

The ancient hymns brought tears to the eyes of Solomon Ayeli, as well as memories of his native Ethiopia which he left two decades ago for Israel -- a country he loves but where he often feels rejected.

 

'Passport please': new fences for a border town  Thu, 19 Nov 2009 21:28 EST

Canadians in Stanstead and Americans across the border in Derby Line, Vermont once lived in harmony as one community, mostly ignoring the imaginary line that separates them.

 

'Un-Indian' Bollywood promo sparks protests  Thu, 19 Nov 2009 20:39 EST

Promotional posters for a new Bollywood thriller, showing leading actress Kareena Kapoor from behind and apparently naked from the waist up, have got some people's backs up in India.

 

Women giving birth at home without midwives  Thu, 19 Nov 2009 16:20 EST

When Jennifer Margulis went into labor with her fourth child, she sent her husband off to take the kids to school, then waited at home for her body to do what she felt confident it had evolved over millions of years to do on its own.

 

Brazil wood maze and nudes top Latam art sale  Thu, 19 Nov 2009 13:52 EST

NEW YORK (Reuters Life!) - A volcanic landscape of lifeless nudes and a Brazilian jumble of whitewashed wood topped a sizzling sale of Latin American art that was reminiscent of the heady bidding in better economic times.

 

Average UK woman wears 515 chemicals a day  Thu, 19 Nov 2009 10:46 EST

LONDON (Reuters Life!) - The average British woman "hosts" 515 chemicals on her body every day, according to a new study.

 

NY Philharmonic marries great music with fine food  Thu, 19 Nov 2009 10:39 EST

NEW YORK (Reuters Life!) - If you want to hear one of the world's leading orchestras and taste a menu created by a renowned chef, the New York Philharmonic may have the answer.

 

Aging Santa gets $100,000 facelift for Christmas  Thu, 19 Nov 2009 08:14 EST

WELLINGTON (Reuters Life!) - A Santa in New Zealand with a droopy eye has received a NZ$100,000 ($74,000) face-lift in the run-up to Christmas so that his aging face does not scare children.

 

Newcastle named Britain's "greenest" city  Thu, 19 Nov 2009 07:18 EST

LONDON (Reuters Life!) - For decades, Newcastle upon Tyne was blackened by coal dust and known around the world for its clanking shipyards and smoke-belching factories.

 

A Minute With: Adam Lambert "For Your Entertainment"  Thu, 19 Nov 2009 06:08 EST

LOS ANGELES (Reuters Life!) - Adam Lambert may have lost the battle to be crowned "American Idol" but the glam rocker with soaring vocals says he got what he wanted from the TV singing contest -- an album deal, exposure and a chance to make and present music his way.

 

India doubles billionaires; Mukesh Ambani tops list  Thu, 19 Nov 2009 05:48 EST

MUMBAI (Reuters Life!) - A buoyant stock market and a still-robust economy have nearly doubled the number of billionaires in India, according to the Forbes' Rich List.

 

River Plate reflect on the past in new museum  Thu, 19 Nov 2009 03:25 EST

BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) - River Plate, one of the world's greatest soccer clubs, are hoping that the sight of the glories of the past in their new museum will influence the present and spark a recovery from a major slump on the field.

 

Sixty percent of Taiwan youth consider suicide: study  Thu, 19 Nov 2009 03:10 EST

TAIPEI (Reuters Life!) - About 60 percent of Taiwan's youth have considered suicide while more than 30 percent lack direction in life, because of a lack of public role models and weakened family support, a magazine survey found this week.

 

U.S. election, iPhone among decade's top 10 Internet moments  Thu, 19 Nov 2009 02:23 EST

NEW YORK (Reuters Life!) - The launch of Wikipedia, emergence of the iPhone and the election of U.S. President Barack Obama were among the 10 most influential moments on the Internet in the past decade, according to the annual Webby awards.

 

Can't get sugar? Try sweets in your tea  Thu, 19 Nov 2009 00:57 EST

KARACHI (Reuters Life!) - As Pakistanis face an acute shortage of sugar, some families have found an easily available alternative to sweeten their tea: instead of a spoonful of sugar, they dissolve sweets in their tea.

 

Americans run off the recession in record numbers  Thu, 19 Nov 2009 00:06 EST

Obesity begone! Americans are lacing up athletic shoes and signing up to run in 5Ks, 10-milers and even marathons in record numbers.

 

Americans run off the recession in record numbers  Thu, 19 Nov 2009 00:06 EST

Obesity begone! Americans are lacing up athletic shoes and signing up to run in 5Ks, 10-milers and even marathons in record numbers.

 

Indian girls fight back against child marriage  Wed, 18 Nov 2009 22:43 EST

KOLKATA, India (Reuters Life!) - Fourteen-year-old Ahalya Kumar lives on a single daily meal of starched rice and has never been to the movies, but the girl from a dirt-poor Indian village packed enough power to reject her arranged marriage in June.

 

You eat less fat, caffeine, cheese - is salt next?  Wed, 18 Nov 2009 22:01 EST

SYDNEY (Reuters Life!) - You never consume trans fats, have reduced caffeine, and rarely eat cheese. What's next to banish from the menu? Salt, if consumer trend tracker Mintel is right.

 

Global warming, 9/11, Obama top words of the decade  Wed, 18 Nov 2009 21:12 EST

LOS ANGELES (Reuters Life!) - Concerns over the environment and terrorism have not only affected how people lived in the past decade but also their language, with "global warming" and "9/11" topping a list of the most used words of the 2000s.

 

Gay couple hopes wedding sets precedent in Argentina  Wed, 18 Nov 2009 20:18 EST

BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) - Two Argentine men who will soon wed in Latin America's first legal same-sex marriage hope it will pave the way for other homosexual couples in Argentina to marry.

 

Cinema popcorn is nutritional horror show: US study  Wed, 18 Nov 2009 19:00 EST

Forget Freddy Krueger or flesh-eating zombies: the real villain of a night at the movies could be lurking in a bag of popcorn or drinks carton, according to a new US study.

 

China tightens supervision of online games  Wed, 18 Nov 2009 19:00 EST

China has vowed to tighten supervision of its fast-growing online games market, saying some games contained content that was "harmful" to players.

 

Exhibit of China's terracotta warriors in US capital  Wed, 18 Nov 2009 19:00 EST

A group of China's famed terracotta warriors are going on display at the National Geographic Society in Washington, on the last stop of a four-city US tour.

 

Exhibit of China's terracotta warriors in US capital  Wed, 18 Nov 2009 19:00 EST

A group of China's famed terracotta warriors are going on display at the National Geographic Society in Washington, on the last stop of a four-city US tour.