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DJANET, Algeria (AP) — In one hand, the dancers hold swords symbolizing battle. In the other, a piece of cloth symbolizing peace. They dance a shuffling “step-step” to the beat of drums and chanting from the women encircling them, all adorned in their finest traditional garments and jewelry.They’re performing the rituals of the 3,000-year-old annual Sebeiba festival of Djanet, a southeastern Algerian oasis town deep in the Sahara, just over 200 kilometers (about 125 miles) from the Libyan border.Sebeiba is a core tradition of the Tuareg people, native to the Sahara and parts of West Africa. The Tuareg are Muslim,…

HAVANA (AP) — Despite Cuba’s economic crisis, many women are embracing elaborate nail art as a bold fashion statement. Manicurists like Marisel Darias Valdés treat it as an art form, creating intricate designs that can take hours and cost up to $40 — more than triple the average monthly salary. ___ This is a photo gallery curated by AP photo editors. Manicurist Dayana Roche works on a client’s nails at her home-run nail salon in Havana, Cuba, Thursday, June 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa) Manicurist Dayana Roche works on a client’s nails at her home-run nail salon in Havana, Cuba,…

HAVANA (AP) — Cuban women are embracing extravagant nail art with many willing to spend the money to have extremely long and intricate nails despite the economic obstacles.While over-the-top nail designs have long been common elsewhere, in Cuba they stand out because most Cubans have little disposable income and procuring the embellishments isn’t easy.A deepening economic crisis makes almost every aspect of life in Cuba challenging for the population; long lines for buses, power outages and shortages are part of everyday life on the island.For those who have mastered the work, whether from online video tutorials or visiting manicurists from…

A record 125 foreign-born U.S. citizens are billionaires living in the United States. They hail from 43 countries but became rich in America. By Matt Durot, Forbes Staff “When you live in an oppressed, totalitarian country like I did, and you have no money, there’s no sense of having a future or that life will get better, so you wonder if there’s any hope left,” says billionaire Steven Udvar-Hazy, 79, who immigrated to New York from Hungary as a child, packed boxes in a Manhattan warehouse for 30 cents an hour at age 14, and went on to create the…

NEW YORK (AP) — When Claire Paré was a classroom teacher, working in a setting where every minute, down to the bathroom breaks, was scheduled, she brought granola bars, fruit and protein shakes to school so she’d be prepared when hunger hits. Then she transitioned to a job at education publisher McGraw Hill. Working remotely at home in New Hampshire, her children’s cheddar bunny crackers and Fruit Roll-Ups lured her to the pantry, confounding her commitment to healthy snacking.“I have the opportunity to be judicious, but I choose not to most of the time,” Paré said. “I really do enjoy…

Americans overwhelmingly view the cost of child care as a significant issue, and most support initiatives to offer free or low-cost day care and to require employers to provide paid family leave for parents of babies, according to a new poll.But they’re divided over how to solve the problem and what role the government should have in that solution.About three-quarters of U.S. adults see child care costs as a “major problem,” but only about half say helping working families pay for child care should be a “high priority” for the federal government, according to the June poll from The Associated…

PARIS (AP) — Sketched out on an airplane vomit sack, it became fashion’s must-have accessory.The original Birkin bag, named after the actor, singer and fashion icon that Hermès created it for — the late Jane Birkin — is up for auction in Paris on Thursday.The so-called Original Birkin is expected to fetch hundreds of thousands of euros (dollars) at the sale by auction house Sotheby’s.Created for the London-born star by the Paris fashion house in 1984, the commercialized version of Birkin’s bag went on to become one of the world’s most exclusive luxury items, with its extravagant price tag and…

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Dozens of Brazilian yoga aficionados saluted the sun in unison in a Rio de Janeiro favela for the inaugural class of a free course allowing residents of the low-income community to qualify as yoga teachers.Krishna Das, a renowned American vocalist born Jeffrey Kagel and known for his performances of Hindu devotional music known as kirtan, led a spiritual practice and attendees prayed, sang, clapped and even danced.“I felt like I was in another world,” Luciene Costa Gonzaga de Andrade said at the event Wednesday. “The mantras transcend the souls and transform sadness into joy. It…

Not all of the record 125 American immigrants on Forbes’ ranking of the world’s wealthiest people feel the same way about their president’s crackdown on immigrants. “If it were up to today’s administration, my family’s hopes for living in a land of freedom and opportunity would have been significantly challenged,” says billionaire real estate developer Jorge Perez, referring to the government of his former friend and business partner, president Donald Trump. “My family – and countless other Cuban families trying to escape the Castro regime – would have never been allowed to enter this country…and I wouldn’t have been able…

PARIS (AP) — Franck Sorbier, the Paris couturier officially inducted into the haute couture fold in 2005, delivered a regal, Inca-inspired spectacle on Wednesday that fused theater and artistry with the cosmopolitan codes of couture.The show’s standout image was a model crowned in gold, wielding a giant sun-topped staff—a visual exclamation point for a collection steeped in pageantry and myth. Sorbier’s silhouettes had a historic weight, with loose, voluminous skirts swirling beneath strict, structured bodices, conjuring a sense of ceremony. Gilded chainmail and coin-like embellishments suggested a protective armor, but rendered in delicate, sleeveless forms.A poncho, fringed in sumptuous gold,…