Families spend half of dinnertime distracted by technology and toys

CHICAGO - When young US families gather for dinner, half the time is spent preoccupied with electronic devices, toys and tasks that take them physically or mentally away from the table, a study posted on the website of the University of Illinois on Monday shows.

UK unveils measures to fight violent youth crime

Professionals in the health and education sector, police service and other walks of life in the United Kingdom will be required to report warning signs help tackle the problem of youth violence.

A US first: NY adopts congestion toll

New York has become the first city in the US to adopt congestion pricing on vehicles that enter its central downtown streets. Most of the anticipated $1 billion in revenue from the toll will be targeted at securing bonds to fix the city's troubled subway system.

Liberal lawyer becomes first female president of Slovakia

A lawyer with little political experience has been named as Slovakia's first female president after winning the election on a second round of voting.

'Edtech' boom transforms learning

MUMBAI - From a multibillion-dollar education startup to wired-up mannequins, technology is helping to revolutionize the way Indian schoolchildren are learning - provided their parents can afford it.

Norway to repatriate Chilean artifacts

Human remains and other artifacts taken from Easter Island, also known as Rapa Nui, by Norwegian explorer Thor Heyderdahl on his legendary Kon Tiki expeditions are to be returned to their homeland after an agreement was signed between Norway and Chile.

Recovered Rubens sketch goes for $1.5M at auction

LILLE, France - A lost sketch by Flemish Baroque master Peter Paul Rubens was sold at auction on Sunday for $1.46 million after being rediscovered in to an inheritance, French auctioneers said.

Arab leaders condemn US Golan decision

Arab leaders strongly rejected the US decision to recognize the Golan Heights as Israeli territory at the 30th Arab League summit in the Tunisian capital Tunis on Sunday, Xinhua News Agency reported.

Vietnamese sentenced over DPRK man's death

SHAH ALAM, Malaysia - Doan Thi Huong, a Vietnamese woman, was on Monday sentenced to three years and four months of imprisonment for her role in the poisoning death of a man from the Democratic People's Republic of Korea at a Malaysian airport in 2017. She pleaded to the lesser charge filed by the prosecutors of "voluntarily causing hurt by dangerous weapons or means." If convicted of the original murder charge, she would have faced mandatory capital punishment.

Foreign aid helps Mozambique fight cholera outbreak in Beira

BEIRA, Mozambique - As Mozambique battles to control a fast-spreading cholera outbreak in the cyclone-hit central city of Beira, international assistance is arriving.

Nepal storm claims at least 28 lives

KATHMANDU, Nepal - Rescuers were struggling on Monday to reach villages in southern Nepal cut off by a wind - and rainstorm that killed at least 28 people and injured hundreds more.

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