Culture
Latest stories
French Man Faces Court over 'Consensual Sex' with 11-Year-Old

A French court was set to hear the case of a 28-year-old man who avoided rape charges after having sex with an 11-year-old after prosecutors judged that the intercourse was consensual.

W140 Full Story
Tickled Pink: Japan Lovers Taste New Chocs on Valentine's Day

It is a marriage made in Heaven for cute-obsessed Japan: this Valentine's Day, lovers can present the object of their affection with a world first -- naturally bright pink chocolate.

W140 Full Story
Couples Make Valentine's Day Deposit in 'Love Bank'

In a small medieval Slovak town, couples are getting ready on Valentine's Day to make a "deposit" about their romance in a place dedicated to love stories.

W140 Full Story
France Hands Back Nazi Looted Art to Jewish Family

France will return three paintings by the Flemish master Joachim Patinir Monday to the descendants of a Jewish family who were forced to sell them as they fled the Nazis.

W140 Full Story
'Defanged' Saudi Religious Police Bring Relief, Foreboding

A veiled Saudi woman and an unrelated man jig and twirl on a busy street, stirring a furious debate about the waning influence of the once-feared religious police, notorious for enforcing sex segregation.

W140 Full Story
Iran's Hijab Protests Cap Years of Evolution

A spate of unprecedented protests against Iran's mandatory headscarves for women have been tiny in number, but have still reignited a debate that has preoccupied the Islamic republic since its founding.

W140 Full Story
Baghdad Mayor Has Ambitious Plans for Her City

The mayor of Baghdad wants to revive her war-torn city, fix its decrepit infrastructure and twin it with Paris -- another female-led metropolis.

Thikra Alwash, a 60-year-old civil engineer and only woman mayor of a Middle East capital, faces a mountainous task.

W140 Full Story
Main Line-Up at Berlin Film Festival

The 68th Berlinale, Europe's first major film festival of the year, opens February 15 with 24 new movies from around the world screening in the main showcase.

W140 Full Story
Berlin Filmfest to Spotlight #MeToo Moment

This month's Berlin film festival, Europe's first major cinema showcase in the wake of the Harvey Weinstein revelations, will shine a light on sexual misconduct in the industry, its director said Tuesday.

W140 Full Story
Decriminalize Pot, Says German Police Union

A German police union on Monday called for the "complete decriminalization" of marijuana use in the country, saying current policy was neither "intelligent nor productive" for society.

W140 Full Story