AFP Features

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

TOKYO (AFP) - Japan's native people, the Ainu, once hunted bears and fished for salmon in the wild forests of the country's far north, but today they are an ethnic minority fighting for their cultural survival.

SYDNEY (AFP) - An Australian schoolgirl bidding to become the youngest solo round-the-world sailor crossed the equator on Thursday, in what her supporters dubbed a "significant landmark" in her record attempt.

MUMBAI (AFP) - No one would ever call Radha Jagarya fortunate. The 45-year-old widow and her four children live on the pavement in an upmarket south Mumbai suburb, scraping a living by selling flowers to passing motorists.

WASHINGTON (AFP) - A growing number of US businesses, eager to hang on to top talent, are throwing their most valued employees a bone by offering them a new kind of benefit: health care for their pets.

PARIS (AFP) - Fearful of seeing Paris fading on the night sky, Paris town hall on Wednesday launched a major campaign to promote the city's night life, including a first-ever website and a free guide.

TOKYO (AFP) - Tokyo has overtaken Paris as the city with the most Michelin three-star restaurants, cementing its status as the "world capital of gastronomy", the publisher of the culinary guide has announced.

PARIS (AFP) - A sale of belongings from the posh homes of Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Berge so far has fetched four million euros (six million dollars), including costs, with two days of auction yet to go, Christie's said Wednesday.

KANO, Nigeria (AFP) - Plastic bowls in hand, often chanting religious texts, growing numbers of child beggars are roaming Nigeria's second city Kano in a trend that is worrying authorities and residents.

PARIS (AFP) - Petrus, Romanee-Conti, Chateau d'Yquem -- wines coveted by connoisseurs, and targeted by counterfeiters.

HONG KONG (AFP) - Nicknamed "spiders" for their gravity-defying skills in web-like constructions, Hong Kong's bamboo scaffolders have risen above predictions that their trade would disappear.

NEW YORK (AFP) - A rhinestone-studded leather glove worn by pop icon Michael Jackson on his maiden Moonwalk in 1983, was on display Tuesday in New York before it rocks on to the auction block.

SANAA (AFP) - With rhinoceros horns under a world preservation order, increased use of plastic from China and lack of interest from young men, Yemen's prided "jambia" curved dagger is under threat.

VIENNA (AFP) - Austria's government agreed a new law Tuesday allowing civil partnerships for homosexual couples, although ceremonies at the civil registry's office will still be banned.

PARIS (AFP) - From pots and pans to antique chandeliers, the last belongings from the homes of Yves Saint Laurent and his partner Pierre Berge went on sale Tuesday, as the late fashion icon's bulldog sleepily looked on.

LOGRONO, Spain (AFP) - With the Copenhagen climate change summit looming, the world of wine convened on Spain's Rioja region for a conference in which global warming emerged as the industry's top concern.

BALAN, Haiti (AFP) - More than 250 students have gathered in the two rooms of a small public school here, some 30 kilometers (20 miles) from the country's capital Port-au-Prince, waiting for a meal prepared by the World Food Program.

LUANDA (AFP) - With a good climate, expansive deserted beaches, striking Portuguese architecture and excellent bird watching, fishing and surfing, Angola has plenty to offer tourists.

PARIS (AFP) - The outlook for lavish French couture house Christian Lacroix looked increasingly bleak Tuesday as a French tribunal adjourned bankruptcy hearings with no fresh news of a buyer.