Life

By Julia Buckley, CNN (CNN) — If you’ve ever thought that having an empty seat beside you on a flight is the ultimate travel goal, try this for size: an entire plane to yourself. That was the dream scenario for Phil Stringer, who was flying from Oklahoma to North Carolina on Sunday at 6.30 a.m.

By Heather Chen, Junko Fukutome and Emiko Jozuka, CNN (CNN) — Visitors to a beach resort city in southwest Japan got a shock on Tuesday when they woke to discover the usually crystal-clear sea had turned an ominous shade of red – after a local brewery sprung a leak. Photos and videos shared online showed

Marianna Cerinni, CNN (CNN) — Think of 1990s fashion, and supermodels like Kate Moss, Naomi Campbell and Linda Evangelista immediately spring to mind. The decade that popularized velvet suits, low-rise jeans and slip dresses is closely linked to the women who first donned them on runways and in racy ad campaigns (like Calvin Klein’s now-infamous

By Zoe Sottile, CNN (CNN) — Arak might just be one of the most interesting spirits you’ve never heard of – and the Middle Eastern drink is having a revival across the globe. The anise-flavored liquor is one of the oldest spirits in the world. But a new generation of boutique distilleries is hoping to

By Dan Thawley Versaillles (CNN) — “You can’t just rent Versailles, you start a relationship,” said Simon Porte Jacquemus who yesterday joined the rarefied club of fashion designers to have presented a collection on the grounds of the historic French palace near Paris. Entitled “Le Chouchou,” the outing was the result of a year-long negotiation to achieve Jacquemus’ dream scenario: attendees

By Francesca Street, CNN (CNN) — We’ve all been there – frantically tipping suitcase contents onto an airport bench, desperately trying to rearrange items to avoid going over the airline baggage allowance. “Maybe I should just wear all my clothes at once,” you ponder, as you weigh up the inconvenience of layering four sweaters on

By Faye Bradley, CNN (CNN) — More than two decades before anyone knew the term “Barbiecore,” there was one celebrity who epitomized the hot-pink-drenched fashion trend that has dominated runways, red carpets, the street style scene and social media feeds for the past year: Paris Hilton. Director Greta Gerwig may have cast Margot Robbie in

By Greg Clary and Zoe Sottile, CNN (CNN) — Flights to DC-area airports are able to resume after the Federal Aviation Administration lifted a ground stop made earlier Sunday evening due to equipment problems at an air traffic control facility in Virginia. The agency had paused departures to Reagan National, Washington Dulles International and Richmond

By Nick Remsen, CNN Paris, France (CNN) — A generation of flyers will remember the name Air Afrique, the pan-African airline that operated from 1961 to 2002. In its twilight years, the carrier accrued significant debt, and the downtown in air travel after the September 11 attacks in New York City eventually put the company

Blane Bachelor, CNN (CNN) — Justin Albertynas, a travel industry expert based in Vilnius, Lithuania, has some good news for US travelers who might be a bit self-conscious about the “ugly American” stereotype. His opinion: “It’s not true at all.” “Europeans in general, and all the European businesses that I’ve made contact with during my

By Maureen O’Hare, CNN (CNN) — The world’s ceaseless fascination with the Titanic disaster resulted in fresh tragedy this week when five people were killed by the “catastrophic implosion” of a submersible bound for the ship’s final resting place. Titanic is just one of many wrecks lying in the deep and hostile waters of the

By Nicole Mowbray, CNN London (CNN) — When The National Portrait Gallery opened its doors to the public in London on Thursday, it was the first time in three years it has done so. Officially re-opened by its patron, Princess Catherine of Wales, on Tuesday, the flagship gallery — which claims to house “the world’s

By Leah Dolan, CNN (CNN) — The sartorial journey of Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen remains a source of endless public curiosity. From the days of matching dungarees on the set of “Full House” (1987-1995) to pioneering the 2010’s revival of bohemian chic through a well-documented combination of bangles, ballet flats and Balenciaga city bags —

By Chris Lau Hong Kong (CNN) — Dubbed “the world’s hardest dish” – literally – a traditional stir-fry featuring stones as its key ingredient has sparked culinary curiosity on Chinese social media. Patrons are supposed to suck on the small rocks to relish the rich and spicy flavor of the dish, which originated in the

Maggie Hiufu Wong Hong Kong (CNN) — David Bellis first visited Hong Kong as a tourist in 1989. He certainly didn’t expect to find himself living there more than three decades later. “I was supposed to be going to Australia on a working holiday with a friend back home – (but he) fell in love

By Gregory Wallace (CNN) — The Federal Aviation Administration is stepping up air traffic control training after a series of close calls have left the flying public and regulatory bodies rattled. The transportation agency will require the thousands of air traffic controllers it employs to attend new monthly training as part of an effort to

By Samantha Tse, CNN Paris (CNN) — Pharrell Williams’ debut as men’s creative director for Louis Vuitton was nothing short of spectacular, heralding a new era for the storied French fashion house. The American polymath, whose appointment was announced in February, closed down the Pont Neuf bridge in Paris on Tuesday, where the show was

By Forrest Brown, CNN (CNN) — Do you yearn for long days and short nights? Then this could be the best day of the year for you and fellow sunlight seekers. The summer solstice is Wednesday, June 21. It’s the longest day and shortest night in the Northern Hemisphere. It’s also the first official day

By Hilary Whiteman, CNN Brisbane, Australia (CNN) — Li Cunxin, who found international fame for his remarkable rise from rural China to become one of the world’s leading ballet dancers, has announced his retirement as the artistic director of Queensland Ballet due to health issues. Now 62, Li is perhaps better known as “Mao’s Last

By Glory Ngwe, CNN (CNN) — Whether it’s the ripped jeans and studs of 1970s punk or the heavy make-up of 1980s new romantics, the visual politics of alternative (‘alt’) fashion have always been proudly divergent from mainstream culture. Aligned with music scenes and subcultures as far back as the 1950s and 60s, from rockabilly

By Marnie Hunter, CNN (CNN) — When RMS Titanic set sail on April 10, 1912, she was the largest passenger ship in service and considered to be “unsinkable.” Just four days later, Titanic’s maiden voyage was transformed into an international tragedy when the ship struck an iceberg in the North Atlantic at 11:40 p.m. April

By Gawon Bae and Kathleen Magramo, CNN Seoul/ Hong Kong (CNN) — A 19-year-old Korean man who tried to open a plane door mid-flight tested positive for drugs following an investigation by the Incheon Airport police. Police told CNN they conducted a simple drug test with the consent of the man after his “abnormal behavior.”