The aristocrats of the Habsburg royal court who danced in the first of Vienna 's famed balls in the 18th century could never have imagined how the hallmark of the Austrian capital's social and cultural scene would evolve.

Today, teenagers learn to waltz by watching YouTube videos while ladies shed their elbow-length gloves to better swipe on smartphones.

American Jews who fled their Syrian homeland decades ago went to the White House this week to appeal to the Trump administration to lift sanctions on Syria that they say are blocking them from restoring some of the world's oldest synagogues and rebuilding the country's decimated Jewish community.

For Henry Hamra, who fled Damascus as a teenager with his family in the 1990s, the 30 years since have been shadowed by worry for what they left behind.

Columbia University senior Maryam Alwan was visiting family in Jordan over winter break when she received an email from the school accusing her of discriminatory harassment. Her supposed top offense: writing an op-ed in the student newspaper calling for divestment from Israel.

The probe is part of a flurry of recent cases brought by a new university disciplinary committee — the Office of Institutional Equity — against Columbia students who have expressed criticism of Israel, according to records shared with The Associated Press.

Thirty years after world leaders adopted a historic blueprint to achieve gender equality, a new United Nations report says women's and girls' rights are under attack and gender discrimination remains deeply embedded in economies and societies.

The report released Thursday by the U.N. agency focused on women's rights and gender equality found that nearly one-quarter of governments worldwide reported a backlash to women's rights last year.

Essays and early short stories by "To Kill a Mockingbird" author Harper Lee will be published this fall.

"The Land of Sweet Forever" compiles short fiction Lee wrote in the years before the 1960 release of her classic novel and includes essays completed between 1961 and 2006. Harper, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers, will release the book Oct. 21. "The Land of Sweet Forever" will include an introduction by Lee's authorized biographer, Casey Cep.

Pope Francis stabilized enough Tuesday after two respiratory crises to resume using a nasal tube for oxygen, rather than a ventilation mask, as he continued to fight pneumonia, the Vatican said.

The 88-year-old pope, who has chronic lung disease and had part of one lung removed as a young man, woke up after sleeping through the night, the Vatican said. The fact that Francis no longer needed the mask by Tuesday morning was a sign of some improvement after crises that required doctors to extract "copious" amounts of mucus from his lungs.

Some restaurants and coffee shops in Syria were closed during the day Saturday while others opened as usual as observant Muslims began fasting during the holy month of Ramadan, the first since the fall of Assad family rule in the war-torn country.

Syria's interim Ministry of Religious Endowments reportedly called for all restaurants, coffee shops and street food stands be closed during the day and that people must not eat or drink in public or face punishment. Those who violate the rule could get up to three months in jail. However, it did not appear that any official order had been issued by the government to that effect.

Pope Francis had a good night's rest early Monday after apparently overcoming a setback in his recovery from pneumonia: He is stable, off mechanical ventilation and shows no sign of new infection following a respiratory crisis late last week.

"The pope rested well all night," the Vatican said in its update from Gemelli hospital, where Francis has been hospitalized since Feb. 14.

Observant Muslims the world over will soon be united in a ritual of daily fasting from dawn to sunset as the Islamic holy month of Ramadan starts. For Muslims, it's a time of increased worship, religious reflection, charity and good deeds. Socially, it often brings families and friends together in festive gatherings around meals to break their fast.

Ramadan is followed by the Islamic holiday of Eid al-Fitr.

Pope Francis was sitting upright and receiving therapy for double pneumonia Wednesday, the Vatican said, as Argentines, Romans and others kept up the steady stream of prayers for his recovery. Francis remained in critical condition but the Holy See machinery ground on, with the announcement of new bishops and a new church fundraising initiative.

The Vatican said that it hoped to have information later in the day about the results of a CT scan taken Tuesday evening to check on the status of the complex lung infection that has kept the 88-year-old pope hospitalized since Feb. 14. Francis has chronic lung disease and was admitted to Rome's Gemelli hospital after a bout of bronchitis worsened.