Rui Xu

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Unspoken subway connections: Why I will always buy street newspapers from the homeless

Should I give him some change? What if he is not asking for money, but selling that paper? How much does he want? I wasn’t sure what to do or if I should speak to him. I felt guilty for not knowing what to do.

Berlin bars still smoking, despite bans

Laws enacted in 2007 and 2008 have made smoking illegal in most German bars and restaurants, but – in typical fashion – Berliners have creative ways to skirt the justice system and indulge in their favorite habit. At night, dozens of bars in each of the city’s 12 districts have named themselves “smoking bars.” After 9 p.m., the bars close their curtains, stop serving food and allow customers to smoke inside the bar.

Lin Ye smokes a cigarette in Sofia. He comes to Sofia because it's one of Berlin's bars that still allows smoking. 

Sofia, a bar in Berlin, Germany, is one of many bars throughout the city's 12 districts that has found a way to skirt around smoking bans.