Life

By Chris Lau, CNN (CNN) — A Russian travel agency is advertising what appears to be the first tour to North Korea since the isolated country closed its borders due to Covid, promising a “family friendly” ski trip to a luxury resort outside the capital Pyongyang. Like many other countries, North Korea imposed strict anti-epidemic

By Jessie Yeung and Yeoul Jo, CNN Seoul, South Korea (CNN) — Caged behind glass, a plump raccoon runs for a few seconds on an exercise wheel before flopping back down on the floor. In the next enclosure, a pair of prairie dogs perch on logs under the glaring artificial light of an overhead lamp.

By Harmeet Kaur, CNN (CNN) — With her signature megawatt smile and timeless style, Julia Roberts might be a beauty icon, but she doesn’t take herself too seriously. When asked in a new interview with British Vogue what keeps her looking youthful at 56, the actor responded with a wry wit. “Pickling. I put my

By Zamira Rahim, CNN (CNN) — Roya Shariat doesn’t think of her cookbook “Maman and Me” as a Middle Eastern book. She co-wrote it with her mother, Gita Sadeh, and each page unfolds an Iranian-American recipe with gentle, firm affection. Some of the dishes are classically Iranian, such as the tahdigs that helped the pair

By Jacqui Palumbo, CNN (CNN) — In the city center of Tirana, Albania, residents and visitors can climb a monumental pyramid that was once the shining symbol of an oppressive dictatorship — their treading feet a triumph over the past. Reimagined by Dutch architecture studio MVRDV, the Pyramid of Tirana has been transformed from a

By Christy Choi, CNN (CNN) — There was not a stitch of Barbie’s signature color to be seen on America Ferrera at the Governors Awards on Tuesday. The actor forwent pink for a black custom Moschino tuxedo with sleek grosgrain peak lapels, matching pants, cummerbund and bow tie. An apparent foil to her “Barbie” co-star

By AJ Willingham, CNN (CNN) — Everyone has seen the videos of people — presumably normal, functional members of society — inciting desperate mosh pits in Target or acting up in Starbucks over limited edition Stanley 1913 cups. On social media, Stanley collectors show off shelves of their rainbow-hued, stainless steel treasures or gush over

By Jack Guy and Jacqui Palumbo, CNN (CNN) — The iconic tulle tutu worn by Sarah Jessica Parker in the opening credits of “Sex and the City” proved a star lot in an auction of “iconic” fashion pieces from film, TV and celebrity wardrobes on Thursday, selling for $52,000, more than four times its high

By Forrest Brown and Marnie Hunter, CNN (CNN) — The Alaska Airlines incident on January 5 that left a hole in the fuselage of a Boeing 737 Max 9 aircraft shortly after takeoff from Portland, Oregon, raised important safety questions, prompted investigations – and left some air travelers on edge. After the incident that caused

By Lilit Marcus and Veronica Lin, CNN (CNN) — For years, Americans interested in visiting China had to endure a thorough visa process, which required pre-booking hotels and flights and handing their passports over to an embassy or consulate for an undetermined period. But as of January 1, 2024, some of those restrictions have dropped

By Nicole Mowbray, CNN (CNN) — At Sunday night’s Golden Globe Awards, Gillian Anderson’s ivory, strapless, floor-grazing gown made not one but two statements. While upon first inspection, the chic wool and silk cady Gabriela Hearst creation epitomizes old Hollywood glamour, a closer look reveals a more subversive twist: The addition of tens of embroidered

By Jack Guy and Maya Szaniecki, CNN (CNN) — A Parisian road has been named after David Bowie, with the official inauguration taking place on Monday on what would have been the musician’s 77th birthday. Rue David Bowie is located next to Austerlitz Station in the 13th arrondissement in the southeast of the French capital,

By Jack Guy, CNN (CNN) — The planned demolition of a Paris laboratory used by pioneering scientist Marie Curie has been suspended after an intervention from France’s minister of culture. The Pavillon des Sources, in central Paris, was set to be bulldozed as part of a development project by the Institut Curie, which is responsible

By Eve Brennan, CNN (CNN) — Rescuers successfully freed five people from a cave in Slovenia on Monday, two days after the group went missing. Two guides and three tourists entered the cave, named Križna Jama (or “Cross Cave”), in southern Slovenia on Saturday morning, after a period of heavy rain, and failed to return later that

By Oscar Holland and Christy Choi, CNN. Photo editor: Jennifer Arnow, CNN (CNN) — After a succession of eerily quiet (or postponed) red carpets last year during the months-long actors’ and writers’ strikes, Sunday evening’s Golden Globe Awards offered stars a chance to re-emerge into the fashion limelight. The ceremony traditionally serves as a bellwether

By Christina Zdanowicz, CNN (CNN) — All the moments Vallie Collins hadn’t yet lived flashed before her eyes as she texted her husband her flight was going down. Her youngest son’s first homerun. Planning her kids’ birthday parties. Beaming as mother of the bride. “I’m not a perfect mother, but I’m their mother,” the mom

CNN By Lilit Marcus, CNN (CNN) — This week in travel news: a 30-hour train trip has become a hot ticket, a “time traveling” flight didn’t work out as planned and one of Africa’s coolest countries just got easier to visit. We start our 2024 journey … Welcome to 2024! The world rang in the

By Chris Lau and CNN’s Beijing Bureau, CNN Hong Kong (CNN) — You don’t need to be an acrobat, have supernatural powers, or even the ability to ride on clouds. You just need to be a fan of the Chinese legend of the Monkey King – and be able to stomach plenty of free bananas

By Oscar Holland, CNN (CNN) — Scenes of buildings reduced to rubble were beamed around the world this week following a 7.5 magnitude earthquake that struck Ishikawa prefecture on Japan’s western coast on Monday. The full extent of the damage is still unknown. At least 270 homes in the region were destroyed, authorities said, though

By Gareth Harris (CNN) — The artist originally selected to represent Poland at the 2024 Venice Biennale last year has said a decision by the new Polish government to cancel his project at the world’s most prestigious exhibition is an act of “censorship.” Ignacy Czwartos was selected by the previous administration, led by the right-wing

Julia Buckley, CNN (CNN) — This is the time when we start thinking of travels for 2024. Will we go back to our old favorites? Try somewhere new? Or strike out towards somewhere we’d never imagined going, purely to stay in a new hotel we like the look of? This list tries to do just

By Christy Choi, CNN (CNN) — Mary Ellen Mark couldn’t forget Falkland Road. The late American photographer was known for her ability to put subjects at ease, but connecting with people in the notorious red-light district on the fringes of Mumbai society proved elusive at first. “For 10 years I tried to take photographs on

By Leah Dolan, CNN (CNN) — Whether it be thanks to his big screen projects, breathless paparazzi photos — like those of him pounding the pavement in barely-there shorts, or spending a wholesome afternoon at the farmer’s market — or tabloid headlines, the appetite for actor Jeremy Allen White is, at present, seemingly unquenchable. While