Showing 1 - 10 of 112
'Punk wellness': China's stressed youth mix traditional medicine and cocktails
AFP, Published on 13/02/2026
» SHANGHAI — In a softly lit Shanghai bar, graduate student Helen Zhao stretched out both wrists to have her pulse taken -- the first step to ordering the house special, a bespoke "health" cocktail based on traditional Chinese medicine.
Former sex worker records Tokyo's red-light history
AFP, Published on 14/03/2025
» TOKYO — It is late morning and steam is rising from water tanks atop the colourful but opaque-windowed "soapland" sex parlours in a historic Tokyo red-light district.
All-women marching band livens up Taiwanese funerals
AFP, Published on 13/03/2025
» CHANGHUA — At a funeral in rural Taiwan, musicians wearing pleated mini-skirts and go-go boots march around a coffin to the beat of the 1980s hit "I Hate Myself for Loving You".
Taiwan bounty hunters kill invading iguanas as numbers soar
AFP, Published on 17/02/2025
» TAIWAN - Armed with a slingshot, Taiwanese bounty hunter Wu Cheng-hua bends sideways and aims his lethal weapon up at a green iguana, one of tens of thousands in the crosshairs of a government cull.
Ecuador's wild west shows limits of Noboa's 'iron fist'
AFP, Published on 14/02/2025
» PUERTO BOLIVAR (ECUADOR) - On Ecuador's lawless southwest coast, drug gangs operate with impunity and terrified residents ask if their president's "iron fist" security policies are just words.
Myanmar overtakes Afghanistan as top opium producer
AFP, Published on 12/12/2023
» Myanmar became the world's biggest producer of opium in 2023, overtaking Afghanistan after the Taliban government's crackdown on the trade, according to a United Nations report released on Tuesday.
Amsterdam sex workers protest planned 'erotic centre'
AFP, Published on 20/10/2023
» AMSTERDAM - Amsterdam's sex workers Thursday protested against the transfer of their famed red light district to an out-of-town "erotic centre", in what is seen as part of a battle for the city's soul.
Amsterdam bans cannabis on red light district streets
AFP, Published on 11/02/2023
» THE HAGUE - Amsterdam city authorities said Friday they are banning cannabis smoking in the streets of the red light district from mid-May as part of efforts to curb criminality and anti-social behaviour.
Hong Kong's largest national security trial begins
AFP, Published on 06/02/2023
» HONG KONG: Hong Kong's largest national security trial opened Monday with dozens of pro-democracy figures accused of trying to topple the government in a case critics say reflects the criminalisation of dissent in the Chinese territory.
Hong Kong's largest national security trial to begin with 47 in dock
AFP, Published on 06/02/2023
» HONG KONG - The trial of 47 of Hong Kong's most prominent pro-democracy figures begins Monday, in the largest prosecution under a national security law that has crushed dissent in the city.