Showing 1 - 10 of 81
Skeleton saint Santa Muerte attracts devotees among US Latinos
AFP, Published on 18/08/2023
» NEW YORK - Standing before an elaborate altar in her living room in New York, Arely Vazquez explains the pledge she made to Santa Muerte -- or Saint Death -- after surviving pancreas surgery 17 years ago: that she would honor her "little skeleton" by throwing a festival of thanksgiving each year.
'Woke' fried chicken? Fast food chain at center of US culture wars
AFP, Published on 04/06/2023
» WASHINGTON - The "Lord's chicken" no more: US fast food chain Chick-fil-A -- beloved among Americans for its sandwiches, nuggets and milkshakes -- found itself on the receiving end of right-wing ire this week, accused of succumbing to "woke" ideology.
Spooks and kooks on a Japanese island
Sunday Spotlight, Published on 07/05/2023
» Most Japanese schoolchildren know the kappa as a trickster who looks like a cross between a frog and a turtle with an indented head. If you're not careful, it could drag you into the river to drown. The tengu, identifiable by its bright red face and long nose, lurks in the woods. Beware of the tanuki, a supernatural variation of a raccoon dog, for it may make a fool of you when it crosses your path.
Spurred by TikTok, some Americans return to cash to curb spending
AFP, Published on 20/03/2023
» WASHINGTON - Manicured fingers meticulously place cash in transparent envelopes marked "food," "gas" and other categories, demonstrating in a TikTok video a retro technique for controlling what you spend that is newly popular with some money-conscious Americans.
They even mummified crocodiles
Sunday Spotlight, Published on 05/02/2023
» At first glance, you may think the picture is of living crocodiles moving stealthily through mud. But the animals are mummies, possibly dead for more than 2,500 years and preserved in a ritual that likely honoured Sobek, a fertility deity worshipped in ancient Egypt.
Fireworks, flowers in Wuhan for Lunar New Year but grief lingers
AFP, Published on 22/01/2023
» WUHAN (CHINA) - Three years after a once-mysterious virus plunged the Chinese city of Wuhan into a terrifying lockdown, residents are celebrating the arrival of the Year of the Rabbit with fireworks, flowers and offerings to the loved ones they have lost to Covid-19.
'Can't keep up': pandemic cooking boom sharpens Japan knife sales
AFP, Published on 09/01/2023
» SEKI (JAPAN) - In a Japanese city once famous for forging samurai swords, craftsmen sharpen and polish kitchen knives, but even at full tilt their small factory can't keep up with global demand.
Jeffrey Epstein's other fiddle
Sunday Spotlight, Published on 08/05/2022
» When Jeffrey Epstein died in prison in 2019, he took many secrets with him. One was how a sexual predator and college dropout managed to forge bonds with an astonishing number of the world's richest and most powerful men, like Britain's Prince Andrew and the crown prince of Saudi Arabia.
Ketamine clinics go beyond therapy
Sunday Spotlight, Published on 03/04/2022
» The decor of the Nushama Psychedelic Wellness Clinic was designed to look like bliss. "It doesn't feel like a hospital or a clinic, but more like a journey," said Jay Godfrey, the former fashion designer who co-founded the space with Richard Meloff, a lawyer turned cannabis entrepreneur.
Sex in the sky, for a price
Sunday Spotlight, Published on 21/02/2022
» For US$995 (32,700 baht), Love Cloud will fly you and a partner in a private airplane for 45 minutes so that you can have sex.