Showing 1 - 10 of 74
'Empowering': Ireland's first female sumo wrestler blazes a trail
AFP, Published on 01/02/2026
» BELFAST - Sweat darkened the white "dohyo" ring mat as Ireland's first female sumo wrestler shoved and strained, learning a freshly-discovered sport.
Rise of the robots: the promise of physical AI
AFP, Published on 14/11/2025
» TOKYO - A pair of swivelling, human-like robotic arms, built for physical artificial intelligence research, mirror the motions of an operator in a VR headset twirling his hands like a magician.
French colonial legacy fades as Vietnam fetes independence
AFP, Published on 02/09/2025
» HANOI - Crispy banh mi baguettes, grand colonial facades and chattering Francophone schoolchildren are lingering reminders of the French presence that once dominated Vietnam.
Soft power: BTS fans rally behind Korean international adoptees
AFP, Published on 17/06/2025
» SEOUL — Korean pop (K-pop) megaband BTS is back from military service, and their international fandom -- long known for its progressive activism -- is celebrating by rallying behind a cause: adoptees from South Korea.
Computer pioneer Microsoft turns 50 in the age of AI
AFP, Published on 31/03/2025
» SAN FRANCISCO - Microsoft has been at the heart of computing for half a century, becoming a tech stalwart almost taken for granted as lifestyles embraced the internet.
True blue tradition: how Japan's coveted jeans are made
AFP, Published on 18/12/2024
» KOJIMA-AJINO (JAPAN) - Call it an antidote to fast fashion: Japanese jeans hand-dyed with natural indigo and weaved on a clackety vintage loom, then sold at a premium to global denim connoisseurs.
Man in a wooden suit: Finnish craftsman turns bark to art
AFP, Published on 05/12/2023
» ASIKKALA (FINLAND) - In his rustic cabin in the forests of southern Finland, 87-year-old Erkki Pekkarinen carves delicate strips of birch bark with his knife, before intricately weaving them into beautiful objects.
Indonesian dancers keep the beat for ancient drag tradition
AFP, Published on 17/10/2023
» JAKARTA - Indonesian dancer Rianto moves gracefully in front of a crowd of thousands in the capital Jakarta, whipping his orange sash and in full make-up as he performs a centuries-old folk dance frowned upon by conservatives.
Designer Avido puts Kenyan slum on the fashion map
AFP, Published on 15/10/2023
» KIBERA (KENYA) - His creations are made in Kibera, the largest urban slum in Kenya, but have attracted the attention of global stars such as Beyonce and Bruno Mars and featured in Vogue magazine.
Iraq's marshes are dying, and a civilisation with them
AFP, Published on 13/07/2023
» CHIBAYISH (IRAQ) - Mohammed Hamid Nour is only 23, but he is already nostalgic for how Iraq's Mesopotamian marshes once were before drought dried them up, decimating his herd of water buffaloes.