TOKYO (AFP) ― Sony Music apologized on Wednesday for the Nazi-style uniforms worn by a Japanese pop band under its management in an MTV broadcast that triggered a protest from a U.S.-based Jewish rights group.The Simon Wiesenthal Center in Los Angeles had voiced its “shock and dismay” at the appearance of the six-member J-Pop band Kishidan in SS-style uniforms with Nazi insignia such as the Iron C

PALO ALTO, California ― Over hundreds of years, and thousands of miles, a collection of rare historic books now on display at America’s Stanford University bristles with an excitement as fresh as yesterday.The collection, “The American Enlightenment: Treasures from the Stanford University Libraries,” offers a glimpse of trans-Atlantic intellectual debates triggered by the discovery of the New Worl

LOS ANGELES ― For the first time in its 25-year history, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame will allow an audience into rehearsals for its star-studded induction ceremony and dinner, which take place this year on March 14 at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in N.Y.Through a new partnership between the Rock Hall and the Gilt City website, which specializes in luxury services and experiences, fans can buy tick

MEXICO CITY (AP) ― The world’s richest man, telecom tycoon Carlos Slim, gave a sneak peak Tuesday at the new museum where he plans to show his vast collection of art and collectibles, including priceless pieces by Mexican muralist Diego Rivera, French sculptor Auguste Rodin and Italian master Leonardo da Vinci.The Soumaya museum ― named after the tycoon’s late wife ― opens to the public on March 2

Yonhap News Agency will hold an international press photo exhibition later this year in an effort to help the United Nations achieve its anti-poverty goals.The exhibition, scheduled for Seoul in August and New York in September, will feature photos selected through a global contest that runs until May 31.Participants should submit their entries at http://www.yippa.net. Prize winners will be notifi

PARIS (AFP) ― Scientists have made a surprising discovery: The more options you have for choosing a lover, the likelier you are to end up with no one.British investigators, in a new study released Wednesday, looked at the strange dynamics of choice in speed-dating, a fashionable way for singles to meet.Speed-daters race through a rota of one-on-one meetings, judging each person for suitability aft

NEW YORK (AP) ― In the two decades since its launch, Allure magazine has tracked an evolution of the American definition of beauty. Surprisingly ― although it really shouldn’t be considering the changing collective face of the country ― is that the public is more accepting of a variety of ideals.There is not the blond bombshell mold that everyone has to fit in to be considered attractive, either b

Ancient practices, beliefs still prevalent among many people across AsiaTAIPEI (AFP) ― From the compatibility of her groom, to the timing of her wedding and the naming of her child, Shen Yi-ching has always turned to fortune tellers for guidance on life’s big decisions.“It’s for good luck and peace of mind. I’d rather be safe than sorry,” said Taiwanese teacher Shen, 38, whose parents consulted a soothsayer to pick a name with an auspicious arrangement of Chinese characters for her.Young and old

A low-fat diet will help you lose weight. Or is it a low-carbohydrate diet? Pore over decades of research and dozens of studies over this debate and you’re likely to be confused about the best way to go about reducing your waistline.“I think lowering carbs is what you should do,” says Heather Straight, a Pleasant Hill, California, mom of three who says she’s tried several diets. “At least, I think

PARIS (AFP) ― Fashion house Dior has suspended John Galliano after police questioned its flamboyant British star designer for allegedly assaulting a couple and using anti-Semitic insults in a Paris bar.Galliano responded by bringing a suit for “defamation,” his lawyer Stephane Zerbib said late Friday, just days before Paris Fashion Week starts.Police briefly detained Galliano on Thursday evening i

MIAMI BEACH, Florida (AP) ― British celebrity chef Jamie Oliver called Sarah Palin a “Froot Loop” for criticizing the Obama administration’s healthy eating initiatives, and said getting healthy foods to kids is a civil rights issue.The U.S. is in a “really dark moment” when it comes to children’s health and needs to make it a priority, said Oliver, who tried to transform the diets of a West Virgin

MILAN (AP) ― Cavalli strayed from the top drawer coutour on many Milan runways, evoking a high-end hippie rocker.Cavalli evoked a lot of duality in his collection previewed during Milan fashion week on Saturday: light and shadow, gold and silver, iron and copper, reptile skin and feathers.For next fall and winter, Cavalli created by his own words “a perfect synthesis” of the Cavalli style.The desi

NEW YORK ― What’s romantic? Taking your sweetheart to New York City.The most exciting metropolis in the world packs a lot of living into every hour.Here, even hicks from the sticks feel like they’re Somebody from Somewhere.It all starts with your hotel.My advice is to cut your stay by a night ― and pay a little more for the room each night. Two of the most romantic hotels in New York are diametric

Vegetable soup hits the trifecta for a perfect winter meal: It’s hearty, healthful and hot.And for those without the time or energy for all that chopping and simmering, the canned soup aisle offers an array of effortless options. But are they delicious?We plucked five veggie soup brands from supermarket shelves and put them to a blind test. Nine tasters rated the soups on look, aroma, texture and,

Read the labels, cook at home to reduce salt intakeHow does this sound for a quick breakfast:A single pancake, topped with 1 tablespoon each of reduced-fat tub margarine and reduced-calorie pancake syrup. Two slices of Canadian bacon. An 8-ounce glass of skim milk. A cup of coffee with 1 tablespoon of half-and-half.Congratulations. You just ate 1,254 milligrams of sodium before you even left the h

ST. LOUIS (AP) ― Dozens of Thomas Jefferson’s books, some including handwritten notes from America’s third president, have been found in the rare books collection at Washington University in St. Louis.Now, historians are poring through the 69 newly discovered books and five others the school already knew about, and librarians are searching the collection for more volumes that may have belonged to

BOSTON (AP) ― As a little girl, Caroline Kennedy hung out at her father’s desk while he worked in the country’s most famous office.Now the library she works with to preserve her father’s memory has introduced a way anyone can sit ― virtually ― at John F. Kennedy’s desk and learn more about his life and administration.On Monday, the Museum at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library in Boston unvei

LONDON (AP) ― A little snowfall is no problem ― even inside ― if you have proper raingear to protect you, so the models at the Burberry Prorsum London Fashion Week show Monday had no complaints about the artificial snow cascading down on the catwalk for the finale.Once again, Burberry design czar Christopher Bailey wowed a celebrity-laden crowd with his dresses, coats, flared pantsuits and other e

LONDON (AFP) ― You could be forgiven for thinking Vivienne Westwood had the royal wedding in mind when she designed her latest collection, themed on Lewis Carroll’s mad queens, accessorized with crowns as hats.But the grande dame of British fashion said her Red Label’s autumn-winter 2011 designs had nothing to do with the forthcoming nuptials of Prince William and Kate Middleton ― and revealed she

PHILADELPHIA (AP) ― “Return of the Mummies” may sound like a horror movie, but in this case there’s a happy ending.The “Secrets of the Silk Road” exhibit reopened Friday at the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology with a pair of show-stopping ancient mummies, now that a mysterious dispute with the Chinese government has been wrapped up.The drama has passed that had mus