Reuters Life!

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Southwest Airlines Co topped the list of the 50 best U.S. places to work, based upon employee opinions, according to research released on Wednesday.

DUBAI (Reuters Life!) - When Sepideh Farsi faced government restrictions over shooting a film in Tehran during election season this year, she turned to her mobile phone.

STRATFORD-UPON-AVON, England (Reuters Life!) - They may look as if they were plucked straight from a sepia-toned photograph of your great-grandfather's years as a student at Cambridge, but vintage bicycles are all the rage at the moment.

NEW YORK (Reuters Life!) - Twins who share a classroom will do just as well academically as twins placed in separate classes, new research shows, helping resolve a dilemma many parents of multiple children face.

BEIJING (Reuters Life!) - China's iconic national stadium, rarely used since the Olympics, has found a new purpose: hosting a snowy winter wonderland in the heart of Beijing.

TAIPEI (Reuters Life!) - Swimwear, evening wear and polished lines will decide the winner of an international beauty pageant in Taiwan this weekend, but dresses, eyeshadow and long hair are out -- this contest is only for men.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Al Gore's pitch for saving the planet from global warming appears to be falling on increasingly deaf ears, a Zogby Interactive survey shows.

NEW YORK (Reuters Life!) - New Yorkers use some 1.5 billion gallons (3.78 billion liters) of water a day.

LONDON (Reuters Life!) - The love affair has lasted more than a century and began with the woman in question having her way -- entirely.

MEMPHIS (Reuters) - On December 14, FedEx Corp's busiest day this year, when the shipper handled almost double its normal number of packages, the entire system stretched to accommodate the global gift-giving frenzy that culminates nearly two weeks later around Christmas.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - In a bid to tackle rising youth obesity, U.S. companies would be prohibited from advertising to children foods that contain large amounts of sugar or salt, or even low levels of trans fats, under a proposal released on Tuesday by a working group from several U.S. agencies.

SINGAPORE (Reuters Life!) - Bestselling author Bryce Courtenay says he's an old man, but he still has lots of stories to tell and his latest tale is particularly relevant during the economic turmoil of our times.

WELLINGTON (Reuters Life!) - Marriage really is good for you, with a major international study finding it reduces the risks of depression and anxiety, but these disorders are more likely to plague people once the relationship is over.

PARIS (Reuters Life!) - Many people love horses and traditionally, many French people have loved them even more with a side of salad.

NEW YORK (Reuters Life!) - Chef Tal Ronnen plays up the virtues of meatless, dairy-free eating and busts the misconception of vegan cuisine in his book, "The Conscious Cook."

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Washington City Council voted on Tuesday to approve same-sex marriage, putting the U.S. capital on course to become the sixth state or region in the United States to allow gay marriage.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - More U.S. consumers have turned to the great American pastime of watching television as the recession strained household budgets, a survey set to be released on Tuesday shows.

TOKYO (Reuters Life!) - Fancy some good luck in the new year? It'll cost you about $132,000 and comes in the form of a pure gold, diminutive replica of Japan's iconic Mount Fuji.

TOULOUSE, France (Reuters) - A French court has split the jackpot from a casino slot machine between the woman who put in the money and the man who pulled the lever, ending months of argument between the two.

DUBAI (Reuters Life!) - When De Gaulle Eid confronts his mother's killer on a quiet street in a village of north Lebanon, he finally achieves a closure of sorts for a trauma which has haunted him for nearly three decades.

LONDON (Reuters Life!) - Women escaping their pasts and the Arab-Israeli conflict are among the themes tackled by six books shortlisted on Tuesday for the annual International Prize for Arabic Fiction.

SYDNEY (Reuters Life!) - Australian scientists have discovery an octopus species that carries around coconut shells to hide in when threatened, behavior the researchers said was the first example of sophisticated tool use in an invertebrate.

PARIS (Reuters Life!) - A local wine trader has started a website to promote and sell the wines of France's Loire Valley which lack the international appeal of the better-known Bordeaux, Burgundy or Rhone Valley areas.

PARIS (Reuters Life!) - In a stylishly decorated restaurant in the heart of Paris, tucked between Bastille and Place de la Nation, Sophia Tabet is perusing a typical French menu, including foie gras, beef fillet and duck confit.

SINGAPORE (Reuters Life!) - In the heart of heavily urbanized Singapore, amid the high-rise towers and traffic, banana trees are blooming, chillis and bell peppers are ripening and parsley, basil and coriander are turning hotels green.

NEW YORK (Reuters Life!) - "Aiden" and "Madeline" may have been the top baby names this year, but it's celebrities who have had the most influence on new parents, boosting the popularity of monikers such as "Miley," "Rihanna" and "Kingston."

(Reuters) - Southwest Airlines topped the list of the 50 best U.S. places to work, based on employee opinions, according to research released on Wednesday.

LONDON (Reuters Life!) - Britain's biggest retailer Tesco apologized on Tuesday after complaints that a Christmas card it sold was offensive to people with ginger hair.