With 2.5 million expected for the beloved Pope’s beatification, hotel prices start to soar and the Vatican warns against price gouging the pilgrims. Papal keepsakes (Radio Nederland) VATICAN CITY – As Rome braces for a massive influx of pilgrims for the May 1 beatification of the late Pope John Paul II, hotels in the Eternal […]
Month: January 2011
The Egyptian army has so far acted with restraint, but has also yet to choose a side in the battle between the country’s protesters and President Hosni Mubarak. Until they do, chaos and uncertainty will persist. Cairo (Al Jazeera, via flickr) There has been much speculation about whether the riots in Tunisia and Egypt have […]
The Islamic organization’s new chairman Dr. Badie, and another top Brotherhood official, tell La Stampa that Mubarak’s ouster must be followed by a government finally chosen by the people. And if they choose an Islamic state? Paolo Mastrolilli CAIRO – “My husband would have been very happy to speak to you, but he’s in jail.” […]
The Islamic organization’s new chairman Dr. Badie, and another top Brotherhood official, tell La Stampa that after Mubarak is forced out the government will finally be chosen by the people. And if they choose an Islamic state? CAIRO – “My husband would have been very happy to speak to you, but he’s in jail.” The […]
Leading opposition figure says the Obama administration must decide if it’s with Mubarak or the Egyptian people ElBaradei (justicentric) CAIRO – This time the call goes through, and after a few rings, the voice that picks up on the other end is that of Ali ElBaradei. “You want to talk to my brother? Hold on […]
Radical Muslims have not been driving the protests in Tunisia, Algeria, and Egypt. For many young people in the region, Islamism no longer offers a solution to their problems. What the “Arab Street” wants (Al Jazeera, via Flickr) TUNIS – The “al-Amanzar” restaurant, located on a small side street off Bourghiba Avenue, is divided in […]
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The Davos Contradiction
World leaders can agree on the same ambitious goals for encouraging a more global economy, but not the means for arriving there Russian President Medvedev DAVOS – There is true consensus at Davos: it can no longer be business as usual. Heads of state, corporate leaders and intellectuals gathered here share the belief that we […]
Founded in 1946, the U.S. company now counts half its business in emerging countries (rageZ) PARIS – When you hear Tupperware, you think door-to-door sales, plastic boxes and part-time jobs for 1960’s housewives. Here in Paris, the brand is looked at with sarcastic nostalgia. But on Wall Street, Tupperware is a serious brand. Its share […]
Analysis: To help hold on to power, the Egyptian leader can count on the army and fear of the vacuum his departure would bring.
Specialists are divided over a French government plan to introduce the language of Shakespeare to three-year-old children
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The Dilemma Of A Middle-Aged Prostitute
What does a prostitute do when she’s ready for a career change? An ageing prostitute in Zurich’s crowded sex industry considers her options. walking the streets (Francesco Di Fazio) ZURICH – In most professions, the longer you practice the more your wages rise. It’s an economic rule of thumb. But in brothels and on the […]
With a more austere approach, Dilma Rousseff has already criticized the same Iranian government that her predecessor was eager to reach out to. img_assist|nid=380|title=Dilma Rousseff|desc=|link=none|align=left|width=640|height=427 EYES INSIDE – BRAZIL Anointed by her wildly popular predecessor, Dilma Rousseff’s victory in November as Brazil’s first female president promised near perfect continuity from the policies of the past […]
With a more austere approach, Dilma Rousseff has already criticized the same Iranian government that her predecessor was eager to reach out to. img_assist|nid=380|title=Dilma Rousseff|desc=|link=none|align=left|width=640|height=427 EYES INSIDE – BRAZIL Anointed by her wildly popular predecessor, Dilma Rousseff’s victory in November as Brazil’s first female president promised near perfect continuity from the policies of the past […]
Nicolas Sarkozy’s call for a “new Bretton Woods’ is ripe. The only problem is how to make it happen. yuan coin Ivan Walsh In 2008, at the height of the global financial crisis, French President Nicholas Sarkozy famously banged his fist on the table in a plea for the establishment of a new Bretton Woods […]
Three years after Alitalia’s international fleet was shifted south to Rome, the Milan area airport tries to remake itself. Malpensa (ComunicaTi) MILAN – It did not become a desert as some had feared, but Malpensa is simply no longer a major airport. Still, three years after Rome’s Fiumicino was re-designated as Alitalia’s global hub, and […]
A decade after opening the military to women, Bundeswehr officials face reports of sexual harassment aboard a German navy ship, and study the U.S. model for integration. (Bundeswehr) Ten years ago, the Bundeswehr was destined to become much more feminine. On January 2, 2001, with fewer than 250 female soldiers then enlisted in the German […]
Language tests begin after new Italian law requiring “proof of integration.” Immigrants in Rome (Gianni Dominici) MILAN – Italy has introduced a language test for all immigrants seeking a long-term residency permit, questioning the candidates on their knowledge of a few hundred every-day words. A group of 170 immigrants in Florence and another 10 in […]
Did deposed Tunisian President Ben Ali realize his departure was for good? Would the “Jasmine Revolution” have triumphed if the army had not sided with the people? An exclusive account of a dictator’s demise.
No analogy is perfect, but understanding events unfolding in Tunisia requires a look at the past. And present. Does Tunisia have someone to play the role King Juan Carlos played? (Spain archive) Ten days after the fall of President Ben Ali, the historical comparisons are being trotted out to explain the “Tunisian revolution” and its […]
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ASIA: A Bridge Called Confucius
Revered again in Mainland China, the allure of the ancient philosopher is a cause for connections – and healthy competition – with rival Taiwan. Confucius temple, Kongzi (Ivan Walsh) EYES INSIDE – ASIA Geopolitics aside, there is still plenty that unites the Chinese-speaking people in Mainland China and Taiwan. High on that list is the […]
Prosecutors and Silvio Berlusconi’s defense attorneys are building their cases in a tawdry prostitution scandal that may be the gravest threat ever to the Italian Prime Minister’s political survival Berlusconi last March in Brussels (courtesy of European People’s Party) MILAN – The prostitution scandal engulfing Silvio Berlusconi started with a phone call in May, and […]
Internet hackers sabotage French President Nicolas Sarkozy’s Facebook page, falsely announcing he will not run for a second term in office in 2012
There are some 50 hotels in Switzerland with explicitly Christian affiliations, thriving in tough economic (and spiritual) times. The Ländli Center in Oberägeri, Switzerland is a large, well-furnished complex in an ideal location. It boasts a spa, conference center, holiday resort, and spacious wellness center. From the hotel restaurant’s dining room, you can gaze out […]
A rare encounter in West Africa with the supreme leader of the global animist faith, which mixes prophecy and ancient tribal rites with a modern quest for religious tolerance Voodoo festival, Ouidah (Tracy Longacre) OUIDAH – “In 2011, don’t dress in red,” says Daagbo Hounon Houn II, considered the supreme leader of voodoo. “Whoever does […]
Twenty-five years of “doi moi” reforms have unleashed Vietnam’s economy and solidified one-party rule. Yet in Hanoi, a rare few offer the first signs of rebellion.
After praise from Obama, the reality of the “Indian miracle” shows a country still submerged in widespread poverty and underdevelopment “India is not simply emerging, India has already emerged.” When he uttered these words before the Indian Parliament last November, U.S. President Barack Obama generated a wave of euphoria. The next day, The Times of […]
A suspected Mexican drug trafficker is charged with last year’s barroom shooting of Cabañas, one of Latin American soccer’s top strikers. Mexican police (Scazon) EYES INSIDE – LATIN AMERICA When soccer star was shot in the head at a Mexico City nightclub last year, it seemed the whole of Latin America gasped in collective horror. […]
Arranged marriages usually conjure up the image of young girls coerced into unwanted unions. From immigrants in Berlin, a rare glimpse of how the practice also damages men. BERLIN – As Ahmet Celik rolls over in bed this morning, the thought returns to him again. What would it be like to be free? He could […]
On the fourth anniversary of the death of the journalist and peace activist, thousands gather in Istanbul to demand justice.
On the fourth anniversary of the death of the journalist and peace activist, thousands gather in Istanbul to demand justice. Hrant Dink (open democracy) By Mustafa Kucuk, Selcuk Yasar, Orhan Saat HURRIYET/Worldcrunch Dink was shot outside the Istanbul offices of the Armenian newspaper Agos, where he was chief editor, after weeks of anonymous death threats […]
On the fourth anniversary of the death of the journalist and peace activist, thousands gather in Istanbul to demand justice. Hrant Dink (open democracy) By Mustafa Kucuk, Selcuk Yasar, Orhan Saat HURRIYET/Worldcrunch Dink was shot outside the Istanbul offices of the Armenian newspaper Agos, where he was chief editor, after weeks of anonymous death threats […]
Fourteen-year-old videotapes her aggressor after seeing TV plea by another victim to turn in abusers. MILAN – First he became the mother’s lover then he started to abuse her daughter, a nine-year-old child who endured his violent advances until she was 14-years-old. It’s an all too common story of pedophilia but for the fact that […]
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The Paradox Of France’s New Baby Boom
The French birth rate is higher than its been in 30 years, defying European trends and France’s own collective pessimism. Portrait of a distrustful society made of individuals betting on the future. Parisian kids (Kathleen Conklin) Demographics are a funny thing! We have before us a France that is booming. The 2010 data released this […]
Diplomatic reports show plans to merge Europe’s Galileo system and the United States’ GPS system: The militaries “should have the same advantage.” GPS logs (Aaron Parecki) Whenever German space scientists have ambitious plans in the works, they seem to always take them first to the American Embassy in Berlin. According to documents furnished by Wikileaks, […]
Whether in Elbląg, Olsztyn or Kaliningrad, city centers throughout East Prussia are being reinvented with modern interpretations of historical architecture. central Olsztyn By 1980, even as post-modernism was just taking root, German architects had already declared it dead. German architectural historian Heinrich Klotz’s “The Belling Stags of Architecture: Kitsch in Modern Building Art” and his […]
After adopting Firefox and Linux, French law enforcement moves their own criminal research laboratory data to open-source software platforms. Will they share their secrets? (Alan Cleaver) PARIS – The Gendarmerie nationale, the French paramilitary police force, is making the surprising move into the world of open-source software. In recent months, as the Gendarmerie’s renowned Institute […]
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The Tunisia Effect
The Arab world wonders if other dominoes will fall in the face of popular discontent Anti-police protesters in Cairo (Justicentric) EYES INSIDE – THE MIDDLE EAST As news of Tunisian President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali’s toppling rippled all the way to Yemen, those Arab regimes choosing to comment were quick to offer their congratulations […]
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USA-China: Détente Or Cold War?
Chinese President Hu Jintao’s state visit to Washington this week could signal a thaw in relations between the United States and China, or proof that a new “Cold War” is around the corner
Italy’s leader digs in amidst troubling silence from allies and the Catholic Church, as a sex scandal involving underage prostitutes may pose the gravest threat to his 15-year hold over Italian public life. Silvio Berlusconi (Elena Torre) The 74-year-old prime minister vehemently denies any wrongdoing after prosecutors allege that he had sex with a “significant” […]
Immigration and energy dependence mean Europe is too close to afford to keep cozying up with autocratic regimes in the face of restless North African and the Middle Eastern youth. One might be tempted to see the ousting of Tunisian leader Zine El Abidine Ben Ali as a case of déjà vu. After all, the […]