AFP Features

TAIPEI (AFP) - "Ghost Month" in Taiwan draws out devotees who prepare food offerings, burn incense sticks and ritual paper money, and set off firecrackers to honour their ancestors as well as wandering spirits.

BEIJING (AFP) - China's record-breaking athletes have more than adoring fans driving them onto Olympic glory, they also have constant reminders of the nation's glorious imperial history.

SHANGHAI (AFP) - Zhao Xiaojun may not have won a gold medal, but the Shanghai architect who helped create the iconic bubble-clad Water Cube is already reaping the rewards of Olympic glory.

HONG KONG (AFP) - As if show jumpers don't look glamorous enough in their breeches and boots, riders and the officials of the sport are debating whether sex is the key to attracting more fans and money.

LONDON (AFP) - Glasgow was named a UNESCO City of Music on Wednesday in recognition of its musical past and role in present-day music-making and enjoyment.

PARIS (AFP) - Thanks to a popular vote, Canada and China are the most heavily represented nations in a new global edition of Monopoly being released next week that sees 22 cities up for grabs and offers green-friendly utilities and new forms of transport.

BERLIN (AFP) - Europe's biggest games convention marks 30 years since "Space Invaders" this week with a homage to the alien 'shoot-em-up' as well as 500 exhibitors showing how far the industry has come since then.

OTTAWA (AFP) - The Canadian city of London, Ontario on Wednesday halted sales of bottled water at all of its municipal facilities, heralding the return of water fountains, despite beverage industry protests.

SANTIAGO (AFP) - When it comes to attracting tourists to a remote region in central Chile, the town of San Clemente is aiming high -- playing up its reputed connection to visitors from outer space.

GAZA CITY (AFP) - Huda Ghalia, still haunted by the explosion on a Gaza City beach that killed most of her family, has found a place to heal at a new UN-run summer camp along with other war-scarred Palestinian children.

BEIJING (AFP) - For seven years, David Tool has patrolled Beijing's streets hunting for embarrassing signboards, inspecting menus and teaching residents English to help the city prepare for the Olympics.

WASHINGTON (AFP) - Ever since the online auction site eBay sprung up 10 years ago as a hub for selling just about everything imaginable, a handful of Americans has tried to sell votes, even though it is illegal.

SHIMONOSEKI, Japan (AFP) - The double-decker Routemaster bus, a phased-out London icon, is gaining a second life in a Japanese city that believes the red road giant fits right in.

SANTIAGO (AFP) - A band of kissing-crazy, spiky-haired teenagers known as the Pokemons, who have a penchant for alcohol-free afternoon raves, is sending shockwaves through conservative Chile.

KURSEONG, India (AFP) - Touring tea gardens in India's famous Darjeeling hills and tasting several varieties of the gold-coloured brew has got Audrey Dreyer thinking about a career in the trade.

KOFINOU, Cyprus (AFP) - The island of Cyprus is now on the immigration frontline, since joining the European Union in 2004, it has the highest intake per capita of population of asylum seekers.

BAGHDAD (AFP) - Shahryar has recovered his hand and Abu Nuwas will soon be clutching his wine goblet again -- statues damaged during the US-led invasion are being restored to their former glory across Baghdad.

BEIJING (AFP) - From scantily-clad, gyrating go-go dancers at the beach volleyball to Germany's finest hockey player baring all for a steamy photo-shoot, sex sells at the Olympics.

BEIJING (AFP) - Mark Rowswell, Team Canada's cultural attache, is virtually unknown outside China, but a mastery of Mandarin street talk has made him China's best-known foreigner and a valuable asset for his native country.

LOS ANGELES (AFP) - Doctors in California may not discriminate against gay patients on the basis of their religious beliefs, the state's supreme court ruled on Monday.

HONG KONG (AFP) - Leopoldo Palacios and Steve Stephens have been designing show jumping courses together for 20 years, but it was here in Hong Kong that they met their biggest challenge.

MELBOURNE, Australia (AFP) - A windswept pitch overshadowed by grim blocks of flats in inner city Melbourne is about as far from Europe's football stadiums as you can get, both in terms of geography and glamour.

CAPE TOWN (AFP) - From avant-garde couture to wispy romantic ready-to-wear, South Africa's growing viability as a new fashion frontier was paraded on the ramps at Cape Town's Fashion Week this weekend.

NEW YORK (AFP) - A US publisher has cancelled the publication of a novel about the youngest wife of the Muslim prophet Mohammed amid a growing controversy over the book.