Syria Fest debuted in Washington on Sept. 3, bringing to the nation’s capital an immersive outdoor cultural experience promoting Syrian food, music, art, dance, history and culture. … From: MeNeedIt

As a parade of motorists rolled down their windows on the edges of a Houston Home Depot parking lot offering cash, the crowd of day laborers had slowly thinned to about a dozen by mid-morning.   The workers who were already gone were off to tear out soggy carpeting, carry ruined sofas to the curb and saw apart mold-infested drywall. Those who still remained knew they were hot commodities and weren’t going to settle for low offers.   The owner of a car dealership shook his head and drove off …

The man who inspired the ice bucket challenge that has raised millions for ALS research is being honored at Boston City Hall. Mayor Martin Walsh is hosting a rally Tuesday for Pete Frates at City Hall Plaza. The event coincides with the release of a new book on Frates. “The Ice Bucket Challenge: Pete Frates and the Fight against ALS” was written by Casey Sherman and Dave Wedge. Half of its proceeds benefit the Frates family. Walsh will declare Sept. 5 as Pete Frates Day in Boston. Frates, his family, …

The world’s poorest continent continued to grow more generous according to a yearly index of charitable giving released on Tuesday, bucking the trend of otherwise declining signs of charity worldwide. Africa was in a 2016 survey the only continent to report a continent-wide increase of its index generosity score when compared to its five-year average. The score is a combined measure of respondents in 139 countries who were asked whether they had given money to a good cause, volunteered their time and helped a stranger. “Despite the many challenges our …

Chinese millennials with a dim view of their career and marriage prospects can wallow in despair with a range of teas such as “achieved-absolutely-nothing black tea,” and “my-ex’s-life-is-better-than-mine fruit tea.” While the drink names at the Sung chain of tea stalls are tongue-in-cheek, the sentiment they reflect is serious: A significant number of young Chinese with high expectations have become discouraged and embrace an attitude known on social media as “sang,” after a Chinese character associated with the word “funeral” that describes being dispirited. “Sang” culture, which revels in often-ironic …