South Korea extended its travel ban imposed on six countries, including Iraq and Syria, along with some parts of the Philippines in consideration of the still high threat from political instability and terrorism, the foreign ministry said Monday.   The six countries also included Yemen, Libya, Somalia and Afghanistan, where the ban will remain in place for six more months until Jan. 31 of next year, according to the ministry.    The decision was made at a meeting of relevant ministries and agenc

ISTANBUL (AFP) - The U.N.’s cultural agency on Wednesday added Mali’s legendary earthen buildings to its heritage-in-danger list, saying a lack of security was preventing conservation of the site, and also expressed concern over the impact of tourism on monuments in Uzbekistan.Mali’s old towns of Djenne, 570 kilometers northeast of the capital Bamako, have been inhabited since 250 B.C. and are characterized by the extraordinary use of earth in their architecture.The houses, roughly 2,000 of whic

SAO PAULO (AFP) -- Designers Humberto and Fernando Campana improvise and explore in their quest for strange new creations. But their biggest inspiration is on their doorstep: everyday, discarded objects in their colorful and chaotic homeland, Brazil.Armchairs made from rag dolls, stuffed toy crocodiles or hundreds of yards of woven rope are among the offbeat creations that have made the brothers renowned in the design world.In their sun-flooded Sao Paulo studio, a team of artisans sews leather a

TIANJIN, China (AFP) -- Chinese university tutor Xie Shu's core subject is Communist ideology, but he has diversified from the dry annals of political doctrine for a more hands-on subject: seduction.His “Theory and Practice of Romantic Relations” course at Tianjin University includes lectures on pick-up techniques, self-presentation and how to entice the opposite sex.“How should you react when you’ve been rejected?” Xie asked his young charges at one lecture, in a cafe on the campus in the north