Tag: wrestling

WWE-style wrestling hits Bangkok – with a Thai twist

BANGKOK, Thailand (AFP) — A fighter bursts through a flimsy tarpaulin curtain and bounds into the ring wearing a helmet and the unmistakable bright orange jacket of a Bangkok motorbike-taxi rider — it’s Thailand’s take on WWE wrestling. The 25-year-old wrestler with the stage name “P’Suchart” was one of almost 20 individuals slapping, slamming and smacking one another at SETUP Thailand Pro Wrestling. The part-sport, part-show has been slowly gaining popularity in the country and […]

Sumo wrestlers meet match in larger-than-life Trump

by Sebastian Smith The big men of Japanese sumo met their match Sunday in the form of an even bigger star: Donald Trump. Trump was the first US president to attend a tournament in sumo’s hallowed Ryogoku Kokugikan arena and when he entered, the crowd of more than 10,000 cheered and whistled. The president, on a feel-good visit to Japan that peaks Monday when he becomes the first foreign leader to meet with newly enthroned […]

North, South Korea join hands to win UNESCO status for wrestling

UNESCO (AFP)- North and South Korea marked a new step in their reconciliation efforts Monday as UNESCO accepted a joint bid for Korean wrestling to be recognized as one of the world’s most treasured cultural practices. The two Koreas had originally filed separate applications for their traditional form of wrestling to be recognized on the UN agency’s Intangible Cultural Heritage list. “The fact that both Koreas accepted to join their respective applications is unprecedented,” UNESCO […]

Five things to know about Iceland, a Nordic island country

REYKJAVIK, Iceland (AFP) — From its unique history to its passion for chess, books and football, here are five things to know about Iceland, which votes in legislative elections on Saturday: – Crime – Contrary to the dark goings-on in Nordic noir literature, Iceland is a tranquil North Atlantic island of 335,000 people, where police patrol unarmed and homicides are extremely rare. The country has on average only 1.8 homicides a year. As a result, […]