Allergies are not to be sneezed at

WIESBADEN, Germany: Hay fever sufferers are getting hit even earlier. In Germany, pollen was already in the air in January, and February was worse.

IN BRIEF (Page 19)

Life Style

Clothes speak volumes

HAMBURG: "Clothes maketh the man" - goes the old adage, and it's still valid the world over. Many people believe clothing choices will say much about character as well as social ties.

Runway rags reveal a battle of the sexes

PARIS: Jean-Paul Gaultier fits like a glove at the luxury-led house of Hermes, as he demonstrated yet again with his impeccable collection for next autumn-winter on Saturday in Paris.

Crochet converts show a knack for knitting

HAMBURG: Some knitters spend time searching the Internet for lost edge stitches while others seek instructions for unique creations such as an elephant sweater that has arms that look like the trunk of an elephant. Others watch a DVD to learn how to knit a sock.

Decide for yourself if conflict is compatible

HAMBURG: Eye make-up this spring is both a glimpse of the past and the future - tender reserve on one hand and the courage to use shrill tones on the other.

Life Expat

Linguist left speechless

Anyone who has been in Beijing for a while knows how the taxi drivers behave - they talk a lot about everything. Hence the other day, Brendan O'Kane, an Irish American who has been living in Beijing for the past four years, was not surprised that the cabbie started chatting even before he'd gotten comfortable in his seat.

Your say

More than just a factory town

Modern nation that floats on top of a rich black sea

Wedged among the Middle Eastern powerhouses of Saudi Arabia, Iran and Iraq on the northwestern tip of the Persian Gulf is Kuwait - one of the world's smallest countries and one of its biggest oil giants.

Life Travel