Mechanical elephants replace real ones for ceremonies in South India

From pensions to pastries: Vienna café supports elderly workers

Norwegians are ready to say goodbye to winter

How cremations are helping to heat homes in Denmark

Housing affordability around the world

Surströmming challenge: How Swedes actually eat the world’s worst-smelling food

International adoptions face hurdles, leaving little hope for many orphaned children

First animated feature made by, for and about Muslims hits US and Canadian theaters this weekend

A new path to the top of the world

In search of a Turkish dish that feels like home

Demand for Christmas ornaments hand-crafted in Kashmir drops amid US tariffs

Pan-American climbing competition is a Latin American milestone

Artisans in Paris revive the old art of handpainted signs

Can you ride faster uphill than a cycling legend?

‘Dobre Dobre’: A cookbook that highlights Polish and Jewish baking traditions

New rules aim to safeguard skiers in an inherently dangerous sport

In Antarctica, the impulse to explore clashes with the need to protect 

Specialty jets allow people with pets to ditch the cargo hold and travel in style

A look at the intriguing history of rope

The favela couriers who put their community on the map in Brazil

From San Francisco to a Dutch refugee camp: Why transgender Americans are fleeing home

Sleep remains elusive for people stuck in war zones — from Gaza to Ukraine

After yearslong cleaning efforts, what’s it like to swim in the Seine?

Emily Scarratt to make English history with fifth Rugby World Cup appearance

These YouTube streamers have turned the stress of travel into a game

A soccer league brings locals and refugees together in Madrid

Shinto forest bathing as an antidote to global crises

Evangelical churches flourish among Indigenous communities in Ecuador

In one of the world’s most secular countries, some Gen Z Christians are finding faith again — but not at church

A rapper finds peace and a channel for his activism through hip-hop and Islam

Barbecue recipes — Asian-style

Trump administration cuts funding to Barcelona library over DEI policies

The public and private art of ‘deep listening’

The street call that became Mexico City’s soundtrack

This family in Syria has kept the centuries-old tradition of Sufi whirling dervishes alive

Once marginalized, Mexico City’s sonidero parties draw crowds across social divides

In Damascus, stand-up comedians test the limits under a new government

Uber partners with Chinese firm to launch robotaxis in Middle East

How tequila crossed the Mexican border and won over Americans

Spain tests AI-based speed limit system

Vietnam celebrates 50th anniversary of the fall of Saigon

South Korea says it sent babies abroad for adoption ‘like luggage’

Costa Rican coffee farms struggle with labor shortages because of immigration restrictions

A graphic novel cookbook telling the stories behind some uniquely named Chinese dishes

Construction underway on the world’s longest tunnel immersed underwater

In wartime Ukraine, Jews embrace their Ukrainian-Jewish identity

Mexico’s supreme court rules in favor of Ely, a depressed elephant at a zoo

Many Argentine Catholics pray for long-awaited papal visit 

Inside the race for the world’s fastest train

Salvaging family photos after the Valencia floods 

A century-old British tram gets restored to its former glory

‘It’s like a dream’: Artists and fans connect over the love of comic books at Japan’s biannual Comiket

Japan’s ‘listening lounges’ offer pure music with a side of drinks

North Korea opens for Western tourists 

Brazilian rapper MC Soffia is on a mission to empower Black women

Chile’s pet cemeteries are beloved. But they raise environmental and health concerns.

The Guatemalan health workers funded by ABBA’s ‘Chiquitita’

Former Biden diplomat shares the global impact of Trump targeting LGBTQ rights

This dying Spanish town is turning to books to put it on the literary map

‘People will get hurt’: Cyclists protest after Ontario government passes law to remove bike lanes in Toronto