When little Elian Gonzalez returned to Cuba in 2000 following a poisonous custody battle and a federal raid on his Miami relatives' home, it was to resume a life far from the glare of the media spotlight. At least that's what Cuban officials and his father said at the time.
If I live to be 100, playing handball against the garage door, staying up until the wee hours, drinking the wine from my own grapes, I will have a nice Midwestern boy named Dan to thank.
In November 2013, 19-year-old Aqsa Mahmood gave her father, Muzaffar, a long hug goodbye. As if it were a normal day, she said "Khuda hafiz," which means "May God be your guardian," and left the family home in an affluent Glasgow, Scotland, neighborhood.
Picture a colossal empire of little houses stacked on top of each other. Visualize them connected by staircases snaking under dangling wires, through corridors so dark even police were rumored to be afraid of them.
A number of Morocco's riads (traditional courtyard houses) have been transformed into incredible boutique hotels in recent years, giving travelers a cultural and luxurious experience that was once off-limits.
Deadly diseases like Ebola are only a plane ride away. In today's interconnected world, linked by transoceanic flights, one infected person can trigger a domino effect that pays no attention to borders.
