Arts, Culture & Books

The entertainment capital of India may be reeling under the coronavirus onslaught, but its celebrity inhabitants are being roiled by troubles of another kind. The suicide last month of a young and popular movie actor in Mumbai has fueled a reckoning over the privileges of the Bollywood elite, laying bare the simmering fault lines between […]

Joshua Claybourn is leaning toward sending his kindergarten daughter to in-person classes at a private school next month. Holly Davis´ sixth-grade daughter will learn online, though the family has not yet decided what to do for school for a teenage daughter who requires special accommodations for hearing problems and dyslexia and another who´s starting college. […]

After a particularly painful break-up it may be difficult to understand the logic behind Alfred Lord Tennyson’s famous affirmation: “It is better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all”. Now scientists have confirmed you’re right to question the famous poet’s wisdom as they’ve uncovered some flaws in his age-old theory. […]

Australia’s Victoria state recorded an increase in new coronavirus cases on Saturday as officials laid out new directives to protect people in retirement homes and help contain a second wave of infections. Victoria, Australia’s second most populous state, recorded 357 new cases overnight, and five deaths, up from 300 on Friday when it saw its […]

Sao Paulo, the biggest city in coronavirus hotspot Brazil, said Friday it was indefinitely postponing its 2021 carnival because of the pandemic. “Both the samba schools and the carnival ‘blocos’ (street parties) understand it’s not viable to organize carnival for February next year,” Mayor Bruno Covas told a news conference. Rio de Janeiro, home to […]

Germany may introduce compulsory coronavirus testing for holidaymakers returning from high-risk destinations after the number of new infections in the country hit a two-month high, the health minister said on Saturday. Health Minister Jens Spahn told Deutschlandfunk radio the government wanted to do everything possible to stem the spread of the virus while also respecting […]

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani urged people on Saturday to observe health protocols and practice social distancing during upcoming Muslim festivities, as a health official said there had been a surge in coronavirus infections in a major holy city. Muslims around the world mark the Eid al-Adha feast, due to start at the end of the […]

The National Zoo in Washington partially reopened to visitors on Friday for the first time in more than four months, despite the capital’s mayor expanding public health measures to fight the coronavirus this week. For some parents, taking their kids to see animals was a relief after being cooped up at home in lockdown for […]

French police will start hitting users of illicit drugs, especially cannabis, with on-the-spot fines starting in September, Prime Minister Jean Castex said. Spot fines of 200 euros ($233) have been tested in several French cities in recent weeks and will now be applied nationwide, he said on Saturday. A French law dating back to 1970 […]