For graffiti artists, a recent, surprise welcome

Once vilified by the authorities and threatened with jail, Taiwan's graffiti artists are now being encouraged to get out their spray cans to revive urban areas.

Street artists give Kiev colorful makeover

In a mural splashed across a four-story building in central Kiev, a small boy nonchalantly throws paper planes.

Snow the secret ingredient for making wine

At the world's northernmost winery, winter temperatures and the strong spring sun are the wild cards

Near DC, Virginia's Middleburg offers wine country getaway

Virginia is home to more than 250 wineries, from the Blue Ridge Mountains to the Chesapeake Bay. The state's Middleburg area, in Loudoun County, has two dozen wineries alone, and it's so close to Washington that it calls itself "DC's Wine Country".

Wild ice cream

Snow-capped Andean peaks, palm-fringed Caribbean beaches and verdant tropical rainforest may still be Colombia's top attractions for most tourists, but one should not miss this little emerald treasure hidden in its third largest city Cali that used be a center of the drug trade. Founded in 1970, Cali Zoo is intersected by the Cali River and is home to about 1,000 animals distributed across 170 species, 80 percent of which, such as the spectacled bear, are native to Colombia. The zoo has an aquarium with salt and freshwater species, and a butterfly garden with 800 species of butterflies.

EU to provide more funds to aid Middle East refugees

Bloc's leaders agree on $1.1 billion for UN programs while also hiking border controls

President, rebels to set peace deal deadline

Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos and leaders of the country's largest rebel group vowed to end Latin America's longest-running armed conflict in the coming months after reaching a breakthrough in talks that put the country closer to peace that it has been in half a century.

'Golden Bolt' oldest competitive sprinter

Japanese centenarian Hidekichi Miyazaki set a record as the world's oldest competitive sprinter this week, one day after turning 105, but said he was disappointed at falling short of his own personal best.

Drinking, smoking could cut life span of Europeans

"Alarming" rates of smoking, alcohol consumption and obesity in Europe could mean the next generation live shorter lives, the World Health Organization warned on Wednesday.

IN BRIEF (Page 21)

Muslim pilgrims mass in Mecca for hajj

Hundreds of thousands of pilgrims from around the world began moving on Tuesday from the holy city of Mecca to nearby Mina for the start of the hajj.

Emissions-cheating probe spreads to Asia

The scandal engulfing Volkswagen AG, which has admitted cheating diesel vehicle emissions tests in the United States, spread east on Tuesday as South Korea said it would investigate three of the maker's diesel models.