Mount Everest is many things. It’s called Chomolungma in Tibetan, and Sagarmatha in Nepali. It’s an iconic part of Earth’s topography, a potentially lethal climbing challenge and a geologic marvel. It’s also staggeringly tall — and, with a peak 29,032 feet above sea level, it easily achieves the status of …

It has been one year since federal student loan payments resumed after a 42-month pandemic-related pause, but borrowers have been receiving one benefit: Missed payments didn’t damage their credit standing. That’s about to change. The Biden administration provided borrowers with a yearlong “on-ramp” to help them ease back into the …

Life is grand in the Bentley Suite at the St. Regis Istanbul, with its marble floors and walk-in closet, its 24-hour butler service, and its views stretching all the way to the blue waters of the Bosporus. The light sculpture suspended above the vast bed, where New York Mayor Eric …

Raymond Sewer said he had good reason to believe that the California Institute of Technology would be deeply involved in the cloud computing “boot camp.” Caltech’s website touted the online program, and the school’s orange logo appeared on the promised certificates of completion. “I was just like, ‘Ah, man, this …

In 2016, Tracy Jennings received shocking news: A lifelong friend, a woman who had a farm with animals great and small, had died suddenly in an accident. A circle of grieving friends hastily arranged new homes for the woman’s beloved animals, including three older horses. But just two weeks after …

The young boy couldn’t resist the dance moves he saw being performed around him: the rapid foot taps, the ligament-spraining knee twists, the torso shimmies, all coming together in what some might describe as a sort of urban tap dance. Growing up in an impoverished Black township near Johannesburg in …

Baobabs are arboreal icons that have punctuated Africa’s landscapes for around 12 million years. With crowns that can grow as large as three tennis courts, they are important for more than their role in ecosystems. The trees are featured in cultural traditions across Africa, and they also support the livelihoods …

My friends and I use a website for tabletop role-playing games (think Dungeons & Dragons). When making a character for a ‘‘Lord of the Rings’’ game, I found what looked to be the perfect piece online: a Celtic-looking warrior in the style of Alphonse Mucha. We attempt to attribute art …

When the South Korean spy met with Kim Jong-il, he declined the late North Korean leader’s offer of a toast, citing a promise to his mother that he would never drink. But the undercover agent, masquerading as a businessman, vowed to break his abstinence when the two Koreas reunified, until …

Few signs of life can be seen along the highway in the Bekaa Valley of eastern Lebanon. Nearly every shop lining the road is shuttered and the sidewalks empty. The red-and-white painted barriers of some Lebanese army checkpoints are vacant, abandoned by the soldiers guarding them. Even the road is …