Reuters: Lifestyle

First edition of 'Great Gatsby' to be sold at auction

Thu, 23 May 2013 21:58:58 GMT

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A first edition copy of F. Scott Fitzgerald's masterpiece, "The Great Gatsby," will be up for sale next month and could fetch up to $150,000, Sotheby's said on Thursday.

In Indonesia, soccer is kicked around by political parties

Thu, 23 May 2013 21:16:31 GMT

JAKARTA (Reuters) - As monsoon rains swept the stadium, the chanting grew louder. "Indonesia! Indonesia!"

Norway crime novelist talks his way to live interview record

Thu, 23 May 2013 17:41:56 GMT

OSLO (Reuters) - Defying the stereotype of the tight-lipped Scandinavian, popular Norwegian crime writer Hans Olav Lahlum set the world record for the longest interview on Thursday after spending...

Ukrainian court bars gay pride event, citing security concerns

Thu, 23 May 2013 17:16:17 GMT

KIEV (Reuters) - A Kiev court on Thursday banned what would have been Ukraine's first gay pride event after city authorities raised security concerns.

Churchill and Stalin in all-night wartime drinking session

Thu, 23 May 2013 16:56:17 GMT

LONDON (Reuters) - Soviet dictator Josef Stalin and Britain's wartime Prime Minister Winston Churchill enjoyed an alcohol-fuelled all-nighter in Moscow as World War Two was in full swing, previously...

Crisis forces Italy's La Scala to cut back on productions

Thu, 23 May 2013 16:37:22 GMT

MILAN (Reuters) - Italy's opera house La Scala will scale back on productions in the 2013-2014 season because of the economic crisis and lower state support, its general manager said on Thursday.

Spreading the word that Latin lives, a monk comes to New York

Thu, 23 May 2013 16:07:30 GMT

NEW YORK (Reuters) - "Quomodo dicis latine life-jacket?" quipped one of the Latin-speaking passengers on a tour boat circumnavigating Manhattan on a rainy Sunday morning in May, just after the...

Micro-breweries give cheer to British beer drinkers

Thu, 23 May 2013 13:59:43 GMT

BRENTWOOD, England (Reuters) - Britain's love affair with quirkily named real ales and their demand for locally produced goods has led to a growing trend in micro-breweries that cater to the more...

German brewers warn fracking could hurt beer industry

Thu, 23 May 2013 13:55:08 GMT

BERLIN (Reuters) - German brewers have warned Chancellor Angela Merkel's government that any law allowing the controversial drilling technique known as fracking could damage the country's cherished...

Egypt to issue smart cards to fuel stations next month

Thu, 23 May 2013 13:25:10 GMT

CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt will begin using smart cards in the next few weeks to distribute gasoline and diesel, Oil Minister Sherif Haddara said on Thursday, in a step towards meeting IMF terms for a...

Pope, Salvador president, discuss beatification of slain archbishop

Thu, 23 May 2013 13:15:05 GMT

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - The president of El Salvador met Pope Francis on Thursday to urge his fellow Latin American to put Archbishop Oscar Romero, who was murdered by a right-wing death squad in...

"Promiscuous minds" gather for Britain's Hay Festival

Thu, 23 May 2013 13:11:08 GMT

LONDON (Reuters) - Some of the biggest names in literature, science and politics will pitch up to a small British town over the next week for a clan gathering of the world's most "promiscuous minds".

Japanese octogenarian becomes oldest to reach Everest summit

Thu, 23 May 2013 08:34:22 GMT

KATHMANDU (Reuters) - An 80-year-old Japanese mountain climber who has had four heart surgeries reached the top of Mount Everest on Thursday becoming the oldest person to conquer the world's highest...

Activists rally ahead of Boy Scouts vote on gay youth ban

Thu, 23 May 2013 03:37:28 GMT

GRAPEVINE, Texas (Reuters) - Gay rights activists and members of conservative groups gathered in the Texas town of Grapevine on Wednesday where Boy Scouts of America delegates were expected to vote...

Los Angeles' new mayor: hipster, Rhodes Scholar, budget fixer?

Thu, 23 May 2013 03:21:12 GMT

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A Rhodes Scholar and urban planning wonk in a city that generally prefers its politicians to be less eclectic, Los Angeles mayor-elect Eric Garcetti will take the reins as the...

Turkey presents Prophet's sayings for the 21st Century

Wed, 22 May 2013 16:56:43 GMT

ANKARA (Reuters) - Scholars around the Muslim world were alarmed five years ago by news reports that Turkey planned a new, possibly heretical compilation of the Prophet Mohammad's sayings that might...

French split over English at universities

Wed, 22 May 2013 16:25:46 GMT

PARIS (Reuters) - Defenders of the French language are furious at plans to introduce courses taught in English at public universities, arguing that France must protect itself against linguistic...

Young faces enliven Kuwait's faded art scene

Wed, 22 May 2013 15:47:37 GMT

KUWAIT (Reuters) - After two lackluster decades, Kuwait is experiencing a quiet revival of an arts scene once known as the most avant garde in the Gulf, thanks to a new generation eager to tackle...

Dubai authorities seize shipment of 259 elephant tusks

Wed, 22 May 2013 14:34:08 GMT

DUBAI (Reuters) - Customs officials in United Arab Emirates have seized hundreds of elephant tusks shipped from Africa marked as furniture, the Ministry of Environment and Water said.

With even toilet paper scarce, Venezuelan president warms to business

Wed, 22 May 2013 14:23:37 GMT

CARACAS (Reuters) - A Venezuelan supermarket puts a stack of toilet paper on its shop floor, and desperate consumers snatch it up within five minutes. A woman's voice over the loudspeaker reminds...

Silver coffee pot could set $6 million record at auction

Wed, 22 May 2013 13:11:49 GMT

LONDON (Reuters) - An 18th century silver Rococo coffee pot is expected to become the most valuable piece of English silver ever sold at auction when it goes up for sale in July, auction house...

Pope Francis urges China's Catholics to stay loyal to Rome

Wed, 22 May 2013 12:25:55 GMT

ROME (Reuters) - Pope Francis on Wednesday urged Catholics in China to remain loyal to the Vatican, whose authority is challenged by China's Communist rulers.

Mercedes dealer review opens home front in luxury war

Wed, 22 May 2013 09:54:58 GMT

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - How many Mercedes staff does it take to sell a car? The answer, in the luxury carmaker's German showrooms, is more than it takes to shift an Audi - just part of the cost gap...

Rare "Harry Potter" first edition fetches record auction price

Wed, 22 May 2013 02:20:35 GMT

(Reuters) - A unique first edition of "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone" annotated by author J.K. Rowling has sold for a record 150,000 pounds ($227,421) at a London charity auction,...

In the Hamptons, catering to the rich (and their dogs) is good business

Tue, 21 May 2013 18:51:39 GMT

EAST HAMPTON, New York (Reuters) - Judging by early demand for everything from doggie daycare to Ferrari rentals and fine art, rich Americans are going to make this a strong summer in one of their...