Month: April 2023

Emily in Paris: Parisians face influx of Netflix hero’s fans

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Read time : 3 mins

Level : Intermediate

People walk past the “Modern bakery”, Place de d’Estrapade, in Paris, Wednesday, April 19, 2023. The immense success of the Netflix series “Emily in Paris” has transformed a quiet, untouched square in the French capital into a tourist magnet. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)

By JEFFREY SCHAEFFER Associated Press

PARIS (AP) — The immense success of the Netflix series “Emily in Paris” has transformed a quiet, untouched square in the French capital into a tourist magnet.

In the historic Latin Quarter and just a short walk from the magnificent, domed Pantheon, tucked so deeply away that you could easily miss it, lies the Place de l’Estrapade. For diehard, beret-wearing fans of the show, this sliver of a neighborhood has become a landmark of its own.

That’s because this is where the fictional character Emily Cooper, a 20-something American portrayed by Lily Collins, lives, dines and savors French pastries from the local bakery.

The newfound attention can be disruptive for the real people who live and work here, but the show is also igniting a new passion for Paris — and even anti-Emily graffiti has become part of the attraction.

The romantic comedy, whose third season was released in December, traces Emily’s adventures and misadventures in her Parisian career and love life. Continue reading

Cities reviving downtowns by converting offices to housing

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Read time : 4 mins

Level : Advanced

A pedestrian is silhouetted against a high rise at 160 Water Street in Manhattan’s financial district, as the building is undergoing a conversion to residential apartments, Tuesday, April 11, 2023, in New York. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews)

By MAE ANDERSON, ASHRAF KHALIL and MICHAEL CASEY Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) — On the 31st floor of what was once a towering office building in downtown Manhattan, construction workers lay down steel bracing for what will soon anchor a host of residential amenities: a catering station, lounge, fire pit and gas grills.

The building, empty since 2021, is being converted to 588 market-rate rental apartments that will house about 1,000 people. “We’re taking a vacant building and pouring life not only into this building, but this entire neighborhood,” said Joey Chilelli, managing director of real estate firm Vanbarton Group, which is doing the conversion.

Across the country, office-to-housing conversions are being pursued as a potential lifeline for struggling downtown business districts that emptied out during the coronavirus pandemic and may never fully recover. The conversion push is marked by an emphasis on affordability. Multiple cities are offering serious tax breaks for developers to incentivize office-to-housing conversions — provided that a certain percentage of apartments are offered at affordable below-market prices. Continue reading

Delta loses $363 million but says travel demand still strong

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Read time : 3 mins

Level : Intermediate

FILE – A Delta airplane takes off from Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport in Atlanta, Tuesday, Nov. 22, 2022. Delta reports earnings on Thursday, April 13, 2023. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson, File)

By DAVID KOENIG AP Airlines Writer

Delta Air Lines reported a $363 million loss for the first quarter on Thursday, with higher spending on labor and fuel overshadowing a sharp rise in revenue.

But the airline predicted it will make a bigger-than-expected profit in the current second quarter, which includes the start of the key summer travel season.

Airlines are getting a tailwind from the combination of strong demand and limited flights, which has pushed fares higher. But investors were spooked this week when industry analysts warned that growth in airline bookings has slowed down compared with this time last year.

Delta’s CEO said it is unfair to compare current ticket sales with those from a year ago, when travel was just starting to boom as pandemic-related restrictions were lifted. Continue reading

New India-born World Bank chief: Real change or rebranding?

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Read time : 5 mins

Level : Advanced

FILE – Ajay Banga, then-president and CEO of MasterCard, speaks during the U.S. Africa Business Forum during the U.S. Africa Leaders Summit in Washington, Aug. 5, 2014. The incoming president of the World Bank was born in India and forged his early business success there, a fact supporters say gives Banga valuable insight into the challenges faced by the developing countries the bank is supposed to help. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File)

By SIBI ARASU Associated Press

BENGALURU, India (AP) — The incoming president of the World Bank was born in India and forged his early business success there, a fact supporters say gives Ajay Banga valuable insight into the challenges faced by the developing countries the bank is supposed to help.

But not everyone is sure that Banga, who has spent most of the last two decades in the U.S. corporate world, can be counted on to shake up the bank in the way some think it should be.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen talked up Banga’s credentials this week on the sidelines of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund’s spring meetings in Washington. Banga, currently vice chairman at private equity firm General Atlantic, has more than 30 years of business experience, including as CEO of Mastercard and on the boards of the American Red Cross, Kraft Foods and Dow Inc.

“He has the right leadership and management skills, background, and financial expertise to lead the World Bank at a critical moment in its history,” Yellen said. Continue reading

In final speech, Ardern reflects on leading New Zealand

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Read time : 2 mins

Level : Intermediate

Jacinda Ardern makes her final speech to New Zealand’s Parliament in Wellington, on Wednesday, April 5, 2023, after her five-year tenure as prime minister. A global icon of the left and an inspiration to women around the world, Ardern stepped down as prime minister in January, saying “I know what this job takes, and I know that I no longer have enough in the tank to do it justice. It is that simple.” (Mark Mitchell/New Zealand Herald via AP)

By NICK PERRY Associated Press

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — In her final speech to New Zealand’s Parliament on Wednesday, Jacinda Ardern described in emotional terms how she’d navigated a pandemic and a mass-shooting during her tumultuous five-year tenure as prime minister.

She also told humorous anecdotes like how a European leader so admired the striking hair of Ardern’s chief-of-staff that he fluffed it like a hairdresser — which she joked had helped secure a free-trade deal — and how her mother once sent her a uplifting, if somewhat grandiose, message: “Remember, even Jesus had people who didn’t like him.”

On a more serious note, she urged lawmakers to take the politics out of climate change. Continue reading