World

Candomblé, an Afro-Brazilian religion, has been widely practiced by people of African descent in Brazil but mostly in secret — until now. After centuries of slavery and discrimination, Brazil's Afro-Brazilian community is proudly celebrating its African roots.

President Obama cancelled a planned trip to Asia this week to deal with the political crisis at home. That's disappointed — even worried — some of America's friends in the region who are counting on the United States to stand up to an increasingly assertive China.

A lot of the grass-fed beef sold in the U.S. now comes from Australia because it's cheaper and available year-round. But U.S. producers say they still have an advantage over the imported meat: a homegrown story.

New York University's new Shanghai campus is the first Sino-U.S. joint-venture university. Chinese students get a Western education without leaving home. American students get to live and study in China, with many enjoying big breaks on tuition and other costs.

Sales in commercial real estate in the U.S. have soared over the past year. Asian nations, particularly China, are scooping up trophy properties and investing in some large, long-term development projects at a record pace.

From furry handcuffs to a toy bunny that a couple once shared, the Museum of Broken Relationships is filled with artifacts of romances that didn't quite work out.

The U.S. has provided more than $1.5 billion to Syria since the war began more than two years ago. Virtually all of it is has been spent on humanitarian aid and social programs, though that gets much less attention than the relatively small amount that goes to the Syrian rebels.

As people around the world live longer, many nations are having to find new ways to care for their aging populations. In China, a new law requires adult offspring to visit and look after their elderly parents. China's one-child policy complicates the issue further, and some dismiss the law as another attempt to legislate morality by a government that is riddled with corruption.

It's been 20 years since the Battle of Mogadishu, a mission gone wrong that cost 18 American lives. The operation and its aftermath left an opening for extremists, says journalist Mark Bowden, and made the U.S. more cautious about sending troops into foreign conflicts. Would the operation go differently today?

Single moms have faced a tough time in Mexico for generations. But as in the U.S., the number of households headed by a woman has been rising, and now accounts for a quarter of all families in Mexico.