Suitcases rattle against cobblestones. Selfie-snappers jostle for the same shot. Ice cream shops are everywhere. Europe has been called the world's museum, but its record numbers of visitors have also made it ground zero for concerns about overtourism.

Last year, 747 million international travelers visited the continent, far outnumbering any other region in the world, according to the U.N.'s World Tourism Barometer. Southern and Western Europe welcomed more than 70% of them.

What makes a great song of the summer? Is it an up-tempo pop banger? Something with an earworm chorus? Does it need to feature the words "summer," "sunshine," or another synonym — "California" — in the title? How could anyone attempt a song of the summer after the late, great Beach Boy Brian Wilson composed them so expertly, anyway?

It very well may be subject to the eye (well, ear) of the beholder, but The Associated Press views the song of the summer as the one that takes over those warm months between June and August, the kind that blasts out of car speakers and at beach barbecues in equal measure. And that means many different things for many kinds of listeners.

No more elephant and monkey acts. No more death-defying motorbike stunts. No more singing or acting on stage.

Several hundred spectators still clapped constantly when acrobats with Dongchoon Circus Troupe, South Korea's last and 100-year-old circus, twirled on a long suspended fabric, juggled clubs on a large, rotating wheel and rode a unicycle on a tightrope under the big top.

Suga, a rapper and songwriter in the global K-pop sensation BTS, has been discharged from South Korea's mandatory military service, marking the official return of all seven members from their enlistment duties.

The label confirmed that Suga completed his alternative service duties on Wednesday after using up his remaining leave. His official discharge date is Saturday.

Hundreds of people gathered outside a London court Wednesday in a show of support for the provocative Irish rap group Kneecap as one of the singers appeared charged with a terror offense for allegedly promoting Lebanon's Hezbollah.

Liam O'Hanna, 27, known by his stage name Mo Chara, was charged in May after being accused of displaying a Hezbollah flag during a London concert in November.

"How to Train Your Dragon" took flight at the box office this weekend, proving that some remakes still have teeth.

The Louvre, the world's most-visited museum and a global symbol of art, beauty and endurance, has withstood war, terror, and pandemic — but on Monday, it was brought to a halt by its own striking staff, who say the institution is crumbling under the weight of mass tourism.

It was an almost unthinkable sight: the home to works by Leonardo da Vinci and millennia of civilization's greatest treasures — paralyzed by the very people tasked with welcoming the world to its galleries.

Tech billionaire Elon Musk has lost some of his luster with Republicans since his messy public falling-out with President Donald Trump last week, a new survey finds.

Fewer Republicans view Trump's onetime government efficiency bulldog "very favorably" compared with April, according to the poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.

There was bad blood at Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final between the Edmonton Oilers and Florida Panthers.

Not just on the ice.

The Paris Games may be over, but the flame is still rising — just don't call it Olympic.

The helium-powered hot-air balloon that lit up the French capital's skyline during the 2024 Games is making a dramatic comeback to the Tuileries Gardens, reborn as the "Paris Cauldron."