NEW YORK — Labor Day is right around the corner, along with the big sales and barbecues that come with it. But the activist roots of the holiday are especially visible this year as unions challenge how workers are treated — from Hollywood to the auto production lines of Detroit. The early-September tribute to workers has been an official holiday for almost 130 years —…

LONDON — Mohamed Al Fayed, the flamboyant Egypt-born businessman whose son was killed in a car crash with Princess Diana, died this week, his family said Friday. He was 94. Al Fayed, the longtime owner of Harrods department store and the Fulham Football Club, was devastated by the death of son Dodi Fayed in the car crash in Paris with Diana 26 years ago. He…

KYIV, Ukraine — Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Sunday that defense minister Oleksii Reznikov will be replaced this week with Rustem Umerov, a Crimean Tatar lawmaker. Zelenskyy made the announcement on his official Telegram account, writing that new leadership was needed after Reznikov went through “more than 550 days of full-scale war.” Later in his nightly address, Zelenskyy said he believes “that the Ministry needs…

CHIBA, Japan — Hatsune Miku has always been 16 years old and worn long aqua ponytails. She is Japan‘s most famous Vocaloid — a computer-synthesized singing voice software that, in her case, comes with a virtual avatar. Legions of fans are celebrating the 16th anniversary of Miku’s Aug. 31, 2007, release with events including a virtual exhibition and songwriting to showcase her standard high-pitched, cutesy…

NEW YORK — For small businesses that rely on summer tourism to keep afloat, extreme weather is replacing the pandemic as the determining factor in how well a summer will go. The pandemic had its ups and downs for tourism, with a total shutdown followed by a rush of vacations due to pent-up demand. This year, small businesses say vacation cadences are returning to normal….

NEW YORK — From $300 studded headboards and $100 coffee table books to custom-made cabinets to disguise your mini-fridge, students are spending big bucks to decorate their dorm rooms, adding yet another layer to the soaring costs of college. Some are even going so far as to hire interior designers to beautify their 12 feet by 20 feet of space. Lesley Lachman, 18, planned her…

Tunisia’s opposition Islamist party Ennahdha says one of its senior officials has been placed under house arrest by authorities in what it called an illegal decision ByThe Associated Press September 3, 2023, 12:02 PM PARIS — Tunisia’s opposition Islamist party Ennahdha said that one of its senior officials has been placed under house arrest by authorities in what it called an illegal decision. Ennahdha condemned…

NEW YORK — For small businesses that rely on summer tourism to keep afloat, extreme weather is replacing the pandemic as the determining factor in how well a summer will go. The pandemic had its ups and downs for tourism, with a total shutdown followed by a rush of vacations due to pent-up demand. This year, small businesses say vacation cadences are returning to normal….

PHILADELPHIA — President Joe Biden, who often says he’s the most pro-union president in history, touted the importance of organized labor and applauded American workers in building the economy during a Labor Day appearance in Philadelphia on Monday. The Democratic president spoke about how the economy is recovering from the crippling coronavirus pandemic and about what his administration has done to pay for infrastructure improvements,…

NAIROBI, Kenya — The first African Climate Summit opened Monday with heads of state and others asserting a stronger voice on a worldwide issue that affects their continent the most even though its 1.3 billion people contribute to global warming the least. Kenyan President William Ruto’s government and the African Union launched a ministerial session as more than a dozen heads of state began to…