Bad Mergentheim, Germany - Whether a dish tastes good depends not only on its ingredients and preparation, but also on other external factors.

"If the dish is too warm for the person eating it or if it has an aroma that he can't stand, it tastes different," said Juergen Dollase of Germany's culinary academy in Bad Mergentheim near Wuerzburg.

Whether the food tastes good also depends on its aroma, consistency and how it looks.

"If its appearance isn't pleasing or the food smells badly, it's difficult," said Dollase. The taste of the various ingredients of a dish intermingle in the mouth. "We perceive as pleasant things that are similar in texture and aroma," Dollase said.

Washington - It was an especially bloody July weekend in Washington DC, the US capital.

Alfonso Robinson sat with his mother outside his grandparents' home in one of the city's troubled neighbourhoods when he was killed instantly in a drive-by shooting. The 
13-year-old was not the only victim that night. Six other people were either killed or injured in gun battles.

The ensuing sadness after such tragedies is felt across the city, near the place where the victim fell, often a memorial crops up. At a street sign near the spot where Robinson died, colourful teddy bears, plush stuffed hearts and toys soon marked the spot after his demise. All the items were gently attached to the metal pole.

Offenbach, Germany - High fashion is the watchword for women's footwear this autumn and winter. Literally. The heels of boots, half boots, ankle boots, and pumps are generally a few centimetres higher than in previous seasons.

But apart from higher heels, personal style rules supreme. The models on shoe shop shelves fit every occasion and taste, from overknees to ballerinas, from clean looks to folklore style, and from felt to patent leather.

Sydney - Bashings, verbal abuse, taunts and mockery - such is the harsh reality for gays and lesbians in Sydney, Australia's gay capital and the venue for the world's biggest gay pride street parade.

The travails of homosexuals have changed little in the past decade, according to a study of homophobia released by the New South Wales Attorney-General.

A spokesman, Steven Drew, said over half the 600 homosexuals interviewed for the study reported some form of abuse.

In response to complaints about personal safety, city councillors plan to create what they call "homophobia-free zones" they believe will accord more protection.

Sydney - Surprise, surprise: rather than a giddy rush of gals, an avalanche of outrage greeted Mount Isa Mayor John Malony's declaration that even "beauty-disadvantaged" women could find a bloke in his dusty Queensland mining town because of its five-to-one ratio of males to females.

"I've been cooked and roasted and carved up," a chastened Malony said, adding, "I don't have a hair left on my body."

As Malony himself might now admit, male chauvinism is perhaps among the reasons young women with a yearning to get on in life leave Outback towns like Mount Isa for Australia's big cities.

Berlin - The new autumn and winter fashion collections highlight the tension between technology and the environment, luxury and ecology, consumption and conservation.

In the designers' view, these large and at first glance irreconcilable contradictions constitute the spirit of our times. Their fashions this season test the harmonious combination of contrasts.

"The environment may be attracting a lot of attention, but technology is indispensable today," remarked Elke Giese, who is on the staff of the Berlin-based German Fashion Institute. For many people, the dichotomy between environmental protection and technological progress poses lifestyle questions.