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A woman takes part in a stiletto race in Paris. Dozens of shoe ...

(AFP) — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 16:11:56 GMT

(AFP) - A woman takes part in a stiletto race in Paris. Dozens of shoe addicts took part in the National Stiletto Championship on an indoor track in the old stock exchange building in central Paris. The only rule is to be perched on heels at least eight centimetres (three inches) high -- the prize is boxes and boxes of shoes.(AFP/Miguel Medina)

A trio of women called "Les Cocottes Codec" or "The ...

(AFPTV) — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 16:11:56 GMT

(AFPTV) - A trio of women called "Les Cocottes Codec" or "The Darling Chicks" swept to the finish line in France's high-heeled relay race. The prizes for the winners were, perhaps unsurprisingly, gift certificates for shoes. Duration: 00:51.(AFPTV)

A view of the Marigny theater in Paris on the first of four ...

(AFP/File) — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 17:29:06 GMT

(AFP/File) - A view of the Marigny theater in Paris on the first of four auction days led by Christie's of Yves Saint-Laurent and Pierre Berge collection, which profit will fund campaigns against HIV-AIDS. A humble if eye-pleasing umbrella stand once owned by YSL fetched an amazing 134,000 dollars Friday at the close of a sale of the last belongings of the late couturier and his partner Pierre Berge.(AFP/File/Jacques Demarthon)

This undated illustration shows the DNA double helix. Suspect ...

(AFP/HO/File) — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 17:11:14 GMT

(AFP/HO/File) - This undated illustration shows the DNA double helix. Suspect your significant other might be cheating on you? In Mexico, numerous laboratories are now offering a way to find out for sure -- DNA tests.(AFP/HO/File)

Nepal's former king Gyanendra Shah, pictured in 2008, has ...

(AFP/File) — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 17:07:56 GMT

(AFP/File) - Nepal's former king Gyanendra Shah, pictured in 2008, has been given his first passport aged 63, a year-and-a-half after stepping down from the throne, the government said Friday.(AFP/File/Prakash Mathema)

A basket of garlic at a market. Moldovan soldiers has been issued ...

(AFP/File) — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 01:42:54 GMT

(AFP/File) - A basket of garlic at a market. Moldovan soldiers has been issued with an extra ration of onions and garlic to ward off swine flu, the defence ministry's chief doctor said Thursday.(AFP/File/Saul Loeb)

A spa outside Tokyo celebrates the arrival of Beaujolais Nouveau ...

(AFPTV) — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 17:12:09 GMT

(AFPTV) - A spa outside Tokyo celebrates the arrival of Beaujolais Nouveau wine by pouring red wine into outdoor pools and inviting the adventurous in for an invigorating bath. Duration: 01:56.(AFPTV)

Sommelier Masahiko Mori (left) serves the new 2009 Beaujolais ...

(AFP) — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 17:12:09 GMT

(AFP) - Sommelier Masahiko Mori (left) serves the new 2009 Beaujolais Nouveau wine to visitors in the wine spa at the Hakone Yunessun spa resort facilities in Hakone town, Kanagawa prefecture, some 100 kilometres west of Tokyo, November 19. Japan's craze for Beaujolais nouveau has beaten the global recession, with tourists taking a dip Thursday in a hot mountain spring coloured red with the fruity wine.(AFP/Toshifumi Kitamura)

Women competing in a high-heel race in January 2009. A total ...

(AFP/File) — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 17:02:52 GMT

(AFP/File) - Women competing in a high-heel race in January 2009. A total 96 shoe addicts, a common condition with fashionistas, have signed up for Friday evening's National Stiletto Championship, taking place after office hours on an indoor track in the old stock exchange building in central Paris.(AFP/File/Jose Cabezas)

Gold necklaces are seen at a jewellery shop. A worker at a South ...

(AFP/File) — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 08:59:47 GMT

(AFP/File) - Gold necklaces are seen at a jewellery shop. A worker at a South African jewellery retailer was arrested this week for trying to smuggle gold from his workplace by stuffing it into a cooked chicken, according to local media.(AFP/File/Roslan Rahman)

"To keep your hair tidy and simple... is a very important ...

(AFP/File) — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 08:14:54 GMT

(AFP/File) - "To keep your hair tidy and simple... is a very important matter for setting the ethos of a sound lifestyle in the country," Rodong Sinmun, the ruling-party newspaper, reportedly said in its Saturday edition(AFP/File/Mark Ralston)

A German police van. After a life of crime stretching back 53 ...

(AFP/DDP/File) — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 17:53:21 GMT

(AFP/DDP/File) - A German police van. After a life of crime stretching back 53 years, a 70-year-old German woman was finally behind bars on Wednesday after pickpocketing a woman 10 years her senior at the bus stop, police said.(AFP/DDP/File/Clemens Bilan)

A view of the Melbourne skyline with the Westgate Bridge in ...

(AFP/File) — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 17:09:32 GMT

(AFP/File) - A view of the Melbourne skyline with the Westgate Bridge in the foreground. An 81-year-old Australian man became lost on an early morning drive from a town near Sydney to the shops and ended up almost 600 kilometres (370 miles) away to end up in Melbourne. He told police he failed to stop because he "liked to drive".(AFP/File/Mark Smith)

A prostitute in a German brothel. A German orchestra announced ...

(AFP/DDP/File) — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 18:07:48 GMT

(AFP/DDP/File) - A prostitute in a German brothel. A German orchestra announced plans on Tuesday to play a concert in a brothel in a novel effort to bring classical music "out of the concert hall and to where people are."(AFP/DDP/File/Axel Schmidt)

Bamboo scaffolding students developing their skills at the Construction ...

(AFP) — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 17:24:11 GMT

(AFP) - Bamboo scaffolding students developing their skills at the Construction Industry Council (CIC) training academy in Hong Kong. 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.(AFP/Ed Jones)

Nicknamed "spiders" for their gravity-defying skills ...

(afp.com) — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 17:24:11 GMT

(afp.com) - 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. They remain a common sight high above the streets of the city, scaling the sides of towering, ultra-modern steel and glass buildings on traditional bamboo poles linked through ancient design concepts. Duration: 02:14(afp.com)

Fact file on Hong Kong's bamboo scaffolding trade.(AFP/Graphic) ...

(AFP/Graphic) — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 17:24:11 GMT

(AFP/Graphic) - Fact file on Hong Kong's bamboo scaffolding trade.(AFP/Graphic)

Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi, seen here in Rome on November ...

(AFP/POOL/File) — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 17:19:05 GMT

(AFP/POOL/File) - Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi, seen here in Rome on November 16, has hired 200 young Italian women for another evening of political and religious discussion on the margins of the UN food summit, reports said Tuesday.(AFP/POOL/File/Alessandro Di Meo)

Santa Claus riding his Reindeer and sled in Rovaniemi, Finland, ...

(AFP/File) — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 17:16:05 GMT

(AFP/File) - Santa Claus riding his Reindeer and sled in Rovaniemi, Finland, in 2008. Santa promised children on Tuesday he would travel around the world to bring them Christmas presents despite the global swine flu pandemic.(AFP/File/Olivier Morin)

Indian children watch a Hindi film on television in New Delhi. ...

(AFP/File) — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 15:50:54 GMT

(AFP/File) - Indian children watch a Hindi film on television in New Delhi. An Indian woman has successfully divorced her husband after he refused to allow her to watch television soap operas, a report says.(AFP/File/Manpreet Romana)

Bamboo scaffolding students develop their skills at the Construction ...

(AFP/File) — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 15:43:59 GMT

(AFP/File) - Bamboo scaffolding students develop their skills at the Construction Industry Council (CIC) training academy in Hong Kong. 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.(AFP/File/Ed Jones)

Fact file on Hong Kong's bamboo scaffolding trade. Nicknamed ...

(AFP) — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 15:43:59 GMT

(AFP) - Fact file on Hong Kong's bamboo scaffolding trade. 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.(AFP/Ernie Au/Js/Gal)

Santa Claus with his Reindeer and sledge in Rovaniemi's ...

(AFP/File) — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 15:31:40 GMT

(AFP/File) - Santa Claus with his Reindeer and sledge in Rovaniemi's Christmas theme park in Finnish Lapland. Santa has promised children he would travel around the world to bring them Christmas presents despite the global swine flu pandemic.(AFP/File/Olivier Morin)

A judge's gavel rests on top of a desk in a courtroom. A ...

(AFP/Getty Images/File) — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 17:02:50 GMT

(AFP/Getty Images/File) - A judge's gavel rests on top of a desk in a courtroom. A 12-year-old Aboriginal boy appeared in a Western Australian court on Monday charged with receiving a stolen chocolate frog worth about 70 cents (65 US cents), reports said.(AFP/Getty Images/File)

Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi addresses the World Summit on Food ...

(AFP/File) — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 14:58:16 GMT

(AFP/File) - Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi addresses the World Summit on Food Security in Rome. Kadhafi gave a speech to 100 young Italian women recruited by a model agency and urged them to convert to Islam, according to the Corriere della Sera.(AFP/File/Filippo Monteforte)

An Australian couple were caught drink driving three times in ...

(AFP/File) — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 12:25:32 GMT

(AFP/File) - An Australian couple were caught drink driving three times in just three hours on Sunday -- each time a little further along the same street, according to police.(AFP/File/Joel Saget)

A big wheel at Berlin's Schlossplatz Square. Fourteen people ...

(AFP/File) — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 12:22:28 GMT

(AFP/File) - A big wheel at Berlin's Schlossplatz Square. Fourteen people rescued by the fire brigade after being left dangling upside down from a fairground ride in Germany for nearly an hour have been slapped with a hefty bill, a spokesman has said.(AFP/File/Barbara Sax)

US President Barack Obama's first visit to China will undoubtedly ...

(AFP) — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 10:12:34 GMT

(AFP) - US President Barack Obama's first visit to China will undoubtedly be marked by difficult talks on trade and climate change, but another thorny issue has emerged: how to write "Obama" in Mandarin.(AFP/Mandel Ngan)

"I Love Obama'" poster is seen in Obama city, ...

(AFP/File) — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 05:49:21 GMT

(AFP/File) - "I Love Obama'" poster is seen in Obama city, western Japan. The ancient fishing town of 30,000, about 400 kilometres (250 miles) from Tokyo, has long supported its White House namesake, and some of its residents even went to Tokyo to steal a glimpse of the president.(AFP/File/Toru Yamanaka)

Brigitte Bardot, one-time French screen goddess turned animal ...

(AFP) — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 18:56:33 GMT

(AFP) - Brigitte Bardot, one-time French screen goddess turned animal rights activist seen here in 2007, wants the European Union to institute a "Vegetarian Day" as part of the battle against global warming.(AFP/Eric Feferberg)

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, seen here on November ...

(AFP/File) — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 17:36:48 GMT

(AFP/File) - Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, seen here on November 6, took his man-of-the-people act to the hip-hop dancefloor Friday, where he used a rap music competition to deliver an anti-drugs message(AFP/File/Alexey Druzhinin)

Viagra pills. A group of young Colombian student chefs have ...

(AFP/HO/File) — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 17:20:59 GMT

(AFP/HO/File) - Viagra pills. A group of young Colombian student chefs have unveiled a new dessert made from passion fruit and Viagra, claiming it had aphrodisiac effects on everybody who has tried it.(AFP/HO/File)

South Korean mothers with their chidren in Seoul. Seoul's ...

(AFP/File) — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 17:18:43 GMT

(AFP/File) - South Korean mothers with their chidren in Seoul. Seoul's Gangnam district government, which already provides cash incentives for couples to have more babies, is arranging mass blind dates for singles.(AFP/File/Hong Jin-Hwan)

Brussels mayor Karine Lalieux cuts the ribbon during the inauguration ...

(AFP) — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 17:18:17 GMT

(AFP) - Brussels mayor Karine Lalieux cuts the ribbon during the inauguration of the first public toilet opened in the centre of the Belgian and European capital. The inauguration follows pressure from residents fed up with drinkers relieving themselves in the street.(AFP/Georges Gobet)

A Ryanair airplane landing. An 82-year-old German woman living ...

(AFP/File) — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 17:17:33 GMT

(AFP/File) - A Ryanair airplane landing. An 82-year-old German woman living near Hamburg-Luebeck airport got a shock this week when a Ryanair plane coming in to land sent several roof tiles crashing into her garden, police said Friday.(AFP/File/Paul Ellis)

Hula dancers performing in Honolulu in 2004. To welcome US President ...

(AFP/Getty Images/File) — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 17:17:06 GMT

(AFP/Getty Images/File) - Hula dancers performing in Honolulu in 2004. To welcome US President Barack Obama, who spent part of his youth in Hawaii, and whose father was Kenyan, the Japanese town of Obama dispatched its team of hula dancers to perform a dance outside the embassy of the African country.(AFP/Getty Images/File/Marco Garcia)

An Australian scientist has paid an unusual tribute to late ...

(AFP/Getty Images/File) — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 17:16:36 GMT

(AFP/Getty Images/File) - An Australian scientist has paid an unusual tribute to late conservation star Steve Irwin, seen here in 2006, by naming a rare species of snail "crikey steveirwini".(AFP/Getty Images/File/Michael Buckner)

Baskets of golf balls at a driving range. A man who dived by ...

(AFP/Getty Images/File) — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 17:14:12 GMT

(AFP/Getty Images/File) - Baskets of golf balls at a driving range. A man who dived by night into water hazards at dozens of South Korean golf courses to collect lost balls has been arrested for theft, police said Friday.(AFP/Getty Images/File/Sam Greenwood)

Residents of the Israeli town of Shfaram cut ingredients as ...

(AFP) — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 16:04:06 GMT

(AFP) - Residents of the Israeli town of Shfaram cut ingredients as they seek to make the world's largest Tabouleh salad, hoping to bring reconciliation after violent Christian-Druze clashes.(AFP/Jack Guez)

An Indian Air Force Sukhoi-30 fighter jet takes off at Bareilly ...

(AFP/File) — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 14:04:21 GMT

(AFP/File) - An Indian Air Force Sukhoi-30 fighter jet takes off at Bareilly Air Force Station in Bareilly, 2005. India's 74-year-old president has been passed fit to fly in a supersonic Sukhoi-30 fighter jet later this month after undergoing a series of medical tests.(AFP/File/Manan Vatsyayana)

People in eastern India are flocking to a temple to worship ...

(AFP/File) — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 13:57:18 GMT

(AFP/File) - People in eastern India are flocking to a temple to worship a turtle with natural markings on its shell resembling the eyes of a Hindu deity.(AFP/File/Cor)

People walk under Christmas light decorations set up in front ...

(AFP/File) — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 23:06:47 GMT

(AFP/File) - People walk under Christmas light decorations set up in front of a store in New York in 2007. Officials in an Ohio town canceled their Christmas parade this year to avoid huge legal fees in defending the tradition from possible lawsuits by religious groups.(AFP/File/Emmanuel Dunand)

A Briton has been arrested in Rio de Janeiro airport after security ...

(AFP/Illustration) — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 19:21:26 GMT

(AFP/Illustration) - A Briton has been arrested in Rio de Janeiro airport after security X-rays discovered he was trying to smuggle 1,000 live spiders out in his luggage, reports said Thursday.(AFP/Illustration)

Men read newspaper cuttings in Seoul in May 2009. A South Korean ...

(AFP/File) — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 17:01:29 GMT

(AFP/File) - Men read newspaper cuttings in Seoul in May 2009. A South Korean television viewer Thursday filed a complaint with a media watchdog against the country's largest broadcaster over comments that he said humiliated short men.(AFP/File/Philippe Lopez)

A New York teenager narrowly avoided a 25-year jail term for ...

(AFP/File) — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 16:58:56 GMT

(AFP/File) - A New York teenager narrowly avoided a 25-year jail term for armed robbery thanks to a Facebook status update he posted about pancakes, his lawyer has told AFP.(AFP/File/Loic Venance)

Former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher is seen here ...

(AFP/File) — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 16:32:02 GMT

(AFP/File) - Former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher is seen here in June. "Thatcher has died," read the short text message that kicked off a brief diplomatic flurry among members of Canada's parliament and their advisors at a black tie dinner this week, said local media.(AFP/File/Shaun Curry)

Outside the Sydney Opera House, 235 people stripped down to ...

(AFP) — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 16:24:36 GMT

(AFP) - Outside the Sydney Opera House, 235 people stripped down to their bikinis and swimming trunks, but alas were 47 people short of setting a new swimwear parade record. Stripping down to bikinis, cuddling strangers in railway stations and dragging buses with their hair, thousands of people across the globe attempted to break curious world records.(AFP/Greg Wood)

Indian-born British Ironman Manjit Singh, 59, set a record by ...

(AFP) — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 16:24:36 GMT

(AFP) - Indian-born British Ironman Manjit Singh, 59, set a record by dragging an 8.5-tonne bus some 21.2 metres (69 feet six inches) -- with his hair in London. Stripping down to bikinis, cuddling strangers in railway stations and dragging buses with their hair, thousands of people across the globe attempted to break curious world records.(AFP/Carl de Souza)

This handout picture shows Nabil Karam posing with a Lebanese ...

(AFP/Nabil Karam Press Office) — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 16:24:36 GMT

(AFP/Nabil Karam Press Office) - This handout picture shows Nabil Karam posing with a Lebanese flag and a Guinness World Record certificate at his office in Zouk Mosbeh, north of Beirut. Karam broke the record for the largest collection of model cars, instructing the witnesses to stop counting at 22,222.(AFP/Nabil Karam Press Office/Sarkis Yeretsian)

A policeman stands by his bike as he watches cyclists go by ...

(AFP/File) — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 15:34:06 GMT

(AFP/File) - A policeman stands by his bike as he watches cyclists go by in central London. British police chiefs have come under fire over a 93-page guide telling officers how to ride their bikes, including how to brake and how to balance to avoid falling off.(AFP/File/Andrew Stuart)