HONG KONG (AP) — Every Wednesday, retiree Zhang Zhili travels an hour by bus to an education center, drawn by the pulsing rhythms of the African drum she plays there in a classroom filled with fellow retirees whose hands move in unison, every beat lifting her spirits. Zhang, 71, has found joy and new friends…
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Coffee drinkers can sip their beverages and view a quiet North Korean mountain village from a new Starbucks at a South Korean border observatory. Customers have to pass a military checkpoint before entering the observatory at Aegibong Peace Ecopark, which is less than a mile from North Korean territory and…
NEW YORK (AP) — It’s show time. After weeks of pushing early deals, retailers in the United States and some other countries are promising bigger discounts on Black Friday, the sales event that still reigns as the unofficial kickoff of the holiday shopping season even if it’s lost some luster. Department stores, shopping malls and…
JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Hitam, a lively black-and-white stray cat has been spayed and returned to the loving arms of Alvin, a parking attendant in a bustling street in Indonesia’s capital. “I feed her rice and fish every day,” Alvin said. The nimble feline is part of an estimated whopping 700,000 stray cats that roam…
VIENNA (AP) — The Vienna sausage stand is a place where the street sweeper, the manager, the tourist and the celebrity converge for the same tasty snack. Now it also has the official stamp of approval as part of Austria’s heritage. The culture of the humble “Würstelstand” became this week one of the latest additions…
NEW YORK (AP) — It’s time for the holidays, which means robust family conversations and seemingly never-ending courses of food. But for the more tech-savvy among us, the journey home could also mean we’ll be called on to provide a backlog of tech support to parents, grandparents and other family members. And with generative AI…
NEW YORK (AP) — There’s no easy way to bridge the political divides that have created rifts in communities, families and friendships. But workplace morale and productivity can take a hit when ideological differences are left to fester, affecting teamwork and feelings of mutual respect. Finding a safe space to process emotions while remaining civil…
NEW YORK (AP) — After weeks of plugging increasingly inviting discounts, retailers in the United States and several other countries are preparing for prime time: Black Friday, the bargain bonanza that still reigns as the unofficial kickoff of the holiday shopping season even if it’s lost some luster. Department stores, shopping malls and merchants —…
MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — A social media ban for children under 16 passed the Australian Senate Thursday and will soon become a world-first law. The law will make platforms including TikTok, Facebook, Snapchat, Reddit, X and Instagram liable for fines of up to 50 million Australian dollars ($33 million) for systemic failures to prevent children…
PARIS (AP) — The bells of Notre Dame are chiming again, but scaffolding still clinging to the cathedral’s exterior is puzzling some Parisians, who question whether its grand post-blaze reopening is more symbolic than substantive. When French President Emmanuel Macron inspects the rebuilding work on Friday, in his final tour of the construction site, he’ll…
