NEW YORK (AP) -- Fifteen years after the Sept. 11 attacks, Lower Manhattan has been reborn. The revitalization of the city’s downtown, powered by $30 billion in government and private investments, includes not just the reconstruction of the World Trade Center site, but also two new malls filled with upscale retailers, thousands of new hotel rooms and dozens of eateries ranging from the new Italian marketplace Eataly to a French food hall, Le District. The statistics alone are stunning. There are

Expat-run youth soccer development organization International Football Education is launching a new student-led weekend training program for kids aged 6-13 from this Sunday.The program will organize kids into teams of three, four or five players, depending on age, who will play together for a 13-week season. The season, run in English, will be a mix of training sessions some weeks and matches on others, with coaches observing during matches to give feedback and guide the coaching sessions.Philip

A 27-year-old student won the top award at Herald Design Tech 2016, a design-meets-technology contest organized by Herald Corp., with a customized font design system that reflects the user’s preferences. Pyo Jun-hee, a visual communication design student at Gachon University won the competition with his interactive font system which allows users to easily change fonts by merely tilting an iPad screen. Pyo received a prize of 3 million won ($2,680). “When you tilt an iPad screen equipped with the

“The Fire This Time: A New Generation Speaks about Race” By Jesmyn WardScribner (240 pages, $25)The murder last year of nine people at the Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina, epitomizes the subject of “The Fire This Time.” These African-American churchgoers, including an 87-year-old woman, were murdered by a white racist simply because they were black.Novelist Jesmyn Ward edited this collection of essays and a few poems, which describes the sorrow and unease of being black in Ameri

“Break in Case of Emergency” By Jessica WinterKnopf (288 pages, $25.95)Jessica Winter’s debut novel, “Break in Case of Emergency,” is an interesting study of the 1 percent and those striving to join their ranks.A senior features editor at Slate and former culture editor at Time, Winter shines a harsh light on the world of beautiful people and the people who want to be a part of that world.She’s well acquainted with her subject matter as she populates her book with a double dose of beautiful yet

“Platinum Doll” By Anne GirardMIRA Books (352 pages, $15.99)“Madame Picasso” author Anne Girard takes on another bewitching figure from the past in “Platinum Doll,” a charming fictionalized account of how Jean Harlow became a movie star.Stunning blonde Harlean Carpenter McGrew, only 17, moves to California in 1928 with her handsome young husband, Chuck, who’s rich but troubled after the death of his parents. She’s discovered by studio executives while waiting for a starlet girlfriend. She uses t

NEW YORK (AP) -- After satirizing everything from “radical chic” to 20th century architecture, Tom Wolfe is now mining the mystery of language and the reputation of the most influential linguist of our time, Noam Chomsky.Chomsky, in turn, has some thoughts about Wolfe, the celebrated New Journalist and author of such classics as “The Bonfire of the Vanities” and “The Right Stuff.”In his new book, “The Kingdom of Speech,” Wolfe examines how scholars have attempted to discern the roots of verbal c

“The Darkest Secret”(Penguin Books)By Alex Marwood The disappearance of a child whose body is never found eventually implodes a family as well as a circle of friends. Yet perhaps even more chilling is how this horrid crime appears to have such little effect on the self-centered patriarch in Alex Marwood’s compelling novel. As “The Darkest Secret” poignantly delves into the aftermath of 3-year-old Coco Jackson’s disappearance, Marwood delivers an unexpected story. This isn’t a family forever sty

A yearlong celebration of Korean culture in France came to an end Tuesday with an awards ceremony in Paris that recognized more than 80 French and Korean cultural figures who took part in the cultural exchanges between the two countries. Korean Culture Minister Kim Jong-deok awarded a total of 88 cultural figures, including Didier Deschamps, head of the Chaillot National Theater.Korea organized more than 200 cultural events at 120 cultural institutions in some 60 cities throughout France from Se

Liu Yongyao played many roles as a soldier, professor, and politician of the Republic of China. He helped the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea in Chongqing receive recognition from the Nationalist government of China and actively supported the Korean independence movement in areas such as diplomacy, politics, economy, military and culture. Building skills in the military academyLiu Yongyao, also known by the courtesy name Zhezhi and the pen name Wukun, was born in Yaojiaga Village

New Seoul Donhwamun Traditional Theater opens this week

ROME (AP) -- Within hours of last week’s devastating earthquake in central Italy, members of the national police squad of art experts were already exploring the mounds of rubble in several medieval hill towns.They have photographed hundreds of centuries-old churches with missing roofs, torn-away frescoes or gaping holes where stained glass once filtered sunlight. The quake and several powerful aftershocks dealt the latest blow to Italy’s long-deteriorating abundance of art and architecture.Even

LONDON (AFP) - Hundreds of thousands of revelers took to the streets to celebrate London‘s Notting Hill Carnival on Monday, as police made more than 400 arrests during the festival’s 50th anniversary.Feathered dancers, steel bands and earth-shaking sound systems featured in the vibrant celebration of British Caribbean culture, with many festival-goers sporting glittery face paint and waving Jamaican flags.“It‘s excellent! We are loving the free spirit of everyone and we have all been dancing,” s