New York

Georgi Gospodinov's acclaimed novel, "Time Shelter," has been integrated into the curriculum of New York University's contemporary novels course, confirmed by the Bulgarian Consulate General in New York.

The course, helmed by Margaret Boe Birns, an expert in contemporary world literature and award-winning teaching, focuses on new literary works by emerging and renowned authors.

The foreign ministers of seven prominent regional countries, including Turkish top diplomat Hakan Fidan, will visit the United States and Canada to urge them for an immediate ceasefire and uninterrupted flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza amid the intensified Israeli offensive against Hamas that has already killed more than 16,000 civilians in the enclave.

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan are expected to sign a non-binding declaration of friendship and good neighborly relations during the latter's ongoing visit to Athens on Wednesday.

The United States has returned four antiquities worth $1 million to Nepal, including a pair of gilt copper masks representing a Hindu deity, following anti-trafficking operations, New York authorities said on Dec. 4.

Türkiye's top diplomat Hakan Fidan is scheduled to meet with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken as part of a high-profile visit by a delegation jointly designed by the Organization of the Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and the Arab League.

The delegation dubbed "contact group" comprises foreign ministers from Türkiye, Egypt, Qatar, Palestine, Jordan, Indonesia and Nigeria.

The 49th Pantene Golden Butterfly Awards, the longest-running award ceremony that takes the pulse of the country's cinema, TV and music world, took place in Istanbul's Zorlu PSM on Dec. 3. Winners, selected by the public and jury votes, received their awards in various categories at the ceremony.

Greek actress and singer Tina Alexopoulou brings to life a festive musical show, blending classic hits like "Life Is a Cabaret" and "New York, New York" with seasonal favorites at the Half Note Jazz Club (halfnote.gr). Her repertoire spans from swing and Latin to Greek classics, all performed in her versatile vocal range across eight languages. Tickets range between 10-15 euros.

U.S. photographer Elliott Erwitt, renowned for capturing the lighter side of his subjects, their canine companions and celebrities, has died aged 95, the Magnum agency where he was a mainstay said on Nov. 30.

"He died peacefully at home surrounded by family," the storied agency, founded in 1947, wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

Zurich and Singapore are the most expensive cities in the world ahead of New York amid the ever-rising cost of living, according to rankings published Thursday by The Economist magazine.

The British weekly estimated that prices have increased an average of 7.4 percent over the past year in 173 major cities, a slight slowdown compared to a record 8.1 percent inflation in 2022.

'The Taste of Things,' which hopes to win an Oscar nod in January, is a sumptuous 19th century romance about a cook.

Controversy has simmered around France's entry for the Oscars, "The Taste of Things," a love letter to the country's culinary traditions but filmmaker Tran Anh Hung and star chef Pierre Gagnaire say the art of cooking is worth celebrating.