AFP
AFP Features

File photo of models posing for a self-tanning brand in London. A British court ruling that it is legal to ogle a man's chest but not a woman's breasts has triggered a lively online debate about censorship. The case emerged after a court last year found Kevin Bassett, 44, guilty under the 2003 Sexual Offences Act after he secretly filmed a man in his swimming trunks at a swimming pool.(AFP/File/Carl de Souza)

Boobs v moobs: British court ruling sparks censorship debate

Fri May 16, 10:03 AM ET

LONDON (AFP) - A British court ruling that it is legal to ogle a man's chest but not a woman's breasts triggered a lively online debate about censorship on Friday.

  • Tibetan exiles in an anti-Chinese 'blind silent march' in Kathmandu(AFP/Prakash Mathema)
    Chinese turn to rumour, superstition to explain disasters Fri May 16, 3:55 AM ET

    HONG KONG (AFP) - In a culture where numbers have their own significance, emperors ruled by heavenly mandate and natural disasters have foretold the end of dynasties, China's massive earthquake has given way to rumour and superstition.

  • Gay men exchanging rings at their wedding. California's supreme court ruled that a ban on gay marriage was unlawful Thursday, effectively leaving same-sex couples in America's most populous state free to tie the knot in a landmark ruling.(AFP/File/Philippe Desmazes)
    California Supreme Court overturns gay marriage ban Fri May 16, 4:21 AM ET

    SAN FRANCISCO (AFP) - California's Supreme Court has quashed a ban on gay marriage in a historic ruling, effectively leaving same-sex couples in America's most populous state free to tie the knot.

  • Children outside the Jamia Masjid in Srinagar. As violence ebbs in the Muslim-majority state wracked by insurgency since 1989, Kashmiris are queuing in front of the two liquor shops open in the summer capital Srinagar(AFP/File/Irshad Khan)
    Kashmiris uncork old habits as violence ebbs Thu May 15, 11:23 PM ET

    SRINAGAR, India (AFP) - As violence ebbs in the Muslim-majority state wracked by insurgency since 1989, Kashmiris are queuing in front of the two liquor shops open in the summer capital Srinagar.

  • Two foreign laborers clear a drainage at a newly built office building in Singapore, on April 29. Singapore's Ministry of Manpower says about 145,000 foreigners are employed in the construction sector, where two multi-billion-dollar casino developments, subway lines, residential and other projects have generated high demand for labourers.(AFP/File/Roslan Rahman)
    Booming Singapore luring SAsia, Thai construction workers Thu May 15, 2:13 AM ET

    SINGAPORE (AFP) - T. Junardhan is helping to install the plumbing at a luxury shopping and residential tower rising in Singapore's prime Orchard Road tourist belt. He can also balance your books if the need arises.

  • People queueing to get free food and clothesat Veikko and Lahja Hursti's Acts of Charity in Helsinki on May 09, 2008. According to Statistics Finland, around 11 percent of Finland's 5.3 million inhabitants and 12 percent of families with children are considered poor, meaning their annual income amounts to less than 60 percent of the median income.(AFP/File/Cedric Galbe)
    As prices soar, even wealthy Finland sees food queues flourish Thu May 15, 11:19 AM ET

    HELSINKI (AFP) - Reijo Miettinen, 62, never used to worry about going hungry, but as global food prices swell he has joined a growing number of Finns forced to turn to charity to fill their bellies.

  • A view of the welcome sign on Las Vegas Boulevard seen in the Nevada city in early November 2006. Las Vegas' reputation as a recession-proof oasis in the American economy is being challenged by the latest financial figures(AFP/File/Gabriel Bouys)
    'Recession-proof' Las Vegas hit by US economic downturn Thu May 15, 2:55 AM ET

    LAS VEGAS, Nevada (AFP) - For almost any other tourist hotspot, greeting nearly 10 million visitors and earning 2.9 billion dollars from convention business in three months would be a cause for cheer.

  • A "liquid lunch" might be a healthy way to lose weight, according to a scientists from food giant Unilever. In a study presented at the European Congress on Obesity in Geneva, scientists from Unilever's research laboratories tested on 24 people a full milkshake-like meal, and a half-sized version bulked up with gas similar to that used in aerosol whipped cream.(AFP/OFF)
    Want to lose weight? Study suggests a liquid lunch Thu May 15, 12:07 PM ET

    GENEVA (AFP) - A "liquid lunch" could no longer mean a few pints down the pub, but instead a healthy way to lose weight, according to a study presented Thursday by scientists from food giant Unilever.

  • Scale model of the skyscraper designed by acclaimed US architect Daniel Libeskind. Work has begun on the landmark futuristic residential tower in Poland's capital Warsaw, the Orco Property Group announced Thursday.(AFP/File/Valery Hache)
    Landmark Libeskind tower under construction in Poland Thu May 15, 3:56 PM ET

    WARSAW (AFP) - Work has begun on a landmark futuristic residential skyscraper designed by acclaimed US architect Daniel Libeskind in Poland's capital Warsaw, the Orco Property Group announced Thursday.

  • Zarny Shibuya, a 23-year-old Myanmar-born fashion designer shows his creation at a shop in Tokyo, on April 22. More than a decade after fleeing Myanmar for Japan, 23-year-old Zarny has become a rising fashion designer and model whose face has graced Tokyo's most-seen billboards, challenging the country's notorious reluctance to accept immigrants.(AFP/File/Toshifumi Kitamura)
    Myanmar designer weaves hope for Japan's immigrants Thu May 15, 1:58 AM ET

    TOKYO (AFP) - More than a decade after fleeing Myanmar for Japan, Zarny Shibuya, 23, has become a rising fashion star whose face has graced Tokyo's most-seen billboards, testing the country's notorious reluctance to accept immigrants.

  • A woman wears a pro same-sex marriage sticker on her shirt during a news conference after a California Supreme Court decision to overturn the ban on same-sex marriage at the California Supreme Court in San Francisco, California.(AFP/Getty Images/Justin Sullivan)
    Gays celebrate California ruling, conservative critics Thu May 15, 5:07 PM ET

    LOS ANGELES (AFP) - Joy and anger greeted California's decision to overturn a ban on gay marriage Thursday, with supporters hailing a historic victory as critics railed against the ruling as an attack on the institution of marriage.

  • Chef Didier Durand poses with a duck in front of his restaraunt Cyrano's Bistro in Chicago on May 14. For nearly two years Chicago foie gras fans have been slipping into "duckeasies" to indulge in the banned delicacy but the city's council has now repealed a prohibition on the sale of the fatty duck and goose liver dish(AFP/Mira Oberman)
    Chicago lifts ban on foie gras, ending era of 'duckeasies' Wed May 14, 10:34 PM ET

    CHICAGO (AFP) - For nearly two years, foie gras fans in Hogtown slipped into "duckeasies" to indulge in a banned delight.

  • A woman walks past a painting entitled 'Triptych' by British artist Francis Bacon at Sotheby's auction house in London on April 14. Bacon's three-panel work has been sold in New York for a record US$86.2 million(AFP/File/Shaun Curry)
    Bacon work sells for record 86.2 million dollars Thu May 15, 12:01 AM ET

    NEW YORK (AFP) - A three-panel work by Francis Bacon was sold at auction in New York late Wednesday for 86.2 million dollars, setting a new record for a painting by the Irish artist.

  • San Francisco City Attorney Dennis Herrera (C) and Therese Stewart, Deputy City Attorney answer questions in front of the California Supreme court building March 4, 2008 in San Francisco, California. California's highest court will give its ruling on the legality of the state's ban on gay marriages on Thursday, a long-awaited milestone that could have a nationwide impact on the issue.(AFP/Getty Images/File/David Paul Morris)
    California Supreme Court to decide on gay marriage ban Wed May 14, 5:39 PM ET

    SAN FRANCISCO (AFP) - California's highest court will give its ruling on the legality of the state's ban on gay marriages on Thursday, a long-awaited milestone that could have a nationwide impact on the issue.

  • A vendor holds a foie gras at a market. The city of Chicago on Wednesday lifted a two-year ban on the sale of the French delicacy foie gras.(AFP/File/Muriel Bortoluzzi)
    Chicago lifts ban on foie gras Wed May 14, 5:48 PM ET

    CHICAGO (AFP) - For nearly two years, foie gras fans in Hogtown slipped into "duckeasies" to indulge in a banned delight.

  • Music can influence the taste of wine, according to a new study which suggests which songs go well with which types of wine.(AFP/File/Martin Bernetti)
    Some Rolling Stones with your wine, Sir? Wed May 14, 7:34 AM ET

    LONDON (AFP) - Music can influence the taste of wine, according to a new study Wednesday which suggests which songs go well with which types of wine.

  • Kim Choong-Hwan (L), a 40-year-old South Korean truck driver, posing with his 21-year-old Vietnamese wife Ngo Ngoc Quy Hong by their wedding photo in Osan, South Korea. South Korea will launch a crackdown on matchmaking agencies which use racial stereotypes or distorted information to help Koreans find foreign brides.(AFP/File/Jung Yeon-Je)
    SKorea's interracial matchmakers face crackdown Wed May 14, 12:12 PM ET

    SEOUL (AFP) - South Korea will launch a crackdown on matchmaking agencies which use racial stereotypes or distorted information to help Koreans find foreign brides, officials said Wednesday.

  • Robin Ruizendaal, director of the Lin Liu-Hsin Puppet Theatre Museum, stands next to a puppet effigy on display at the museum in Taipei, on April 11. Taipei-based Dutch puppet master Ruizendaal draws his inspiration from Taiwanese folklore and Western fairy tales in his bid to promote the island's traditional are of glove puppetry.(AFP/File/Sam Yeh)
    Dutch Sinologist works to keep Taiwan puppetry alive Wed May 14, 3:22 AM ET

    TAIPEI (AFP) - Taipei-based Dutch puppet master Robin Ruizendaal draws his inspiration from Taiwanese folklore and Western fairy tales in his bid to promote the island's traditional are of glove puppetry.

  • A boy rides on a colourfully decorated bicycle along a street in downtown Hanoi, on May 2. An exotic and colourful new urban species has invaded Vietnam's crowded city streets, turning heads, slowing traffic and making a lot of noise -- the feather-boa bicycle bandit.(AFP/File/Frank Zeller)
    Feather-boa bicycle bandits invade Vietnam's city streets Wed May 14, 3:45 AM ET

    HANOI (AFP) - An exotic and colourful new urban species has invaded Vietnam's crowded city streets, turning heads, slowing traffic and making a lot of noise -- the feather-boa bicycle bandit.

  • French hardcore DJ Daisy Rinaldi poses for a photo at her home, on May 6, in Paris. Daisy is the queen of French hardcore techno DJs, and the only woman in this testosterone-driven milieu to specialise in this toughest and darkest form of electronic music.(AFP/File/Thomas Coex)
    On the difficulty of being a woman hardcore techno DJ Tue May 13, 11:38 PM ET

    PARIS (AFP) - Looking at Daisy Rinaldi, one would have a hard time guessing what she does for a living.

  • Peter Chou, president and chief executive officer of Taiwan's High Tech Computer Corp. (HTC), holds up the company's new flagship phone during a press conference in Taipei. Taiwan's High Tech Computer Corp. has unveiled a mobile phone it said was designed make web-browsing as easy as making phone calls, with the device seen as a rival to Apple's upcoming iPhone2.(AFP/File/Patrick Lin)
    Taiwanese firm debuts potential rival to Apple's iPhone2 Tue May 13, 12:19 PM ET

    TAIPEI (AFP) - Taiwan's High Tech Computer Corp. unveiled Tuesday a mobile phone it said was designed make web-browsing as easy as making phone calls, with the device seen as a rival to Apple's upcoming iPhone2.

  • A female labourer carries bricks at a construction site for residential buildings in Indirapuram, Ghaziabad, some 20 km east of New Delhi(AFP/File/Prakash Singh)
    A suburban nightmare grows on ruins of India's housing shortage Tue May 13, 1:31 AM ET

    NEW DELHI (AFP) - Steel, marble and granite are high on the list of materials needed to build homes in well-to-do suburbs on the outskirts of India's sprawling capital -- but so are plastic sheets, cardboard and reeds.

  • A stone wall at the Alila Cha-Am resort in Hua Hin south of Bangkok, as well as the wall of thousands of loose stones the resort boasts a reflecting poo(AFP/File/Pornchai Kittiwongsakul)
    High-end hip hotels fuel design innovation in Thailand Mon May 12, 11:54 PM ET

    CHA-AM, Thailand (AFP) - While other Asian metropolises such as Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Hong Kong and Beijing all boast cutting-edge new buildings recognisable around the world, one would be pushed to name a famous modern building in Bangkok.