Worldcrunch
A magnitude 8.9 offshore earthquake strikes northern Japan, setting off a massive tsunami that kills hundreds and could lead to radioactive risk from a nuclear power plant. (NASA Goddard) Japan’s strongest recorded earthquake, and the massive tsunami it unleashed, has left hundreds of Japanese dead and hundreds more missing, while residents fled coastlines across the […]
After Gaddafi’s forces attacked Ras Lenuf by land, air and sea, Al Jazeera reports that the rebels are “preparing to return to the city.” A R A B I C A ارابيكا By Kristen Gillespie FRONT LINES *After Gaddafi’s forces attacked Ras Lenuf by land, air and sea, Al Jazeera reports that the rebels are […]
As the price of oil soars, U.S. energy companies are keen to prospect the little-known shale oil deposits beneath the Paris Basin, a 170,000-square-kilometer area surrounding the French capital.
To make sure the chic island getaway offers maximum R&R, Capri wants to limit the use of heavy machinery in summer months. August will be completely silent – except, of course, for all the tourists. Capri (shoobydooby) CAPRI – This island is already known for its breathtaking scenery and VIP parties. Now Capri is offering […]
Japan suffers its worst earthquake in 140 years, followed by a 10-meter high tsunami along its Pacific coast.
Essay: Criticism from European and US officials should remind Turkey’s leaders that press freedom is key to how its democracy is judged in the West
The lead story in Al-Shams newspaper, the official daily of the Libyan Information Ministry: “The Brother Leader of the Libyan Revolution welcomed young members of the Zintan living in Tripoli. A R A B I C A ارابيكا By Kristen Gillespie REGIME DAILY SCOOP *The lead story in Al-Shams newspaper, the official daily of the […]
Virtually unknown to the rest of the world, this former judge was the first senior cabinet minister to abandon Gaddafi and join the revolution. Now Mustafa Abud Al-Jeleil may be the last best hope to take down the old regime. With some help.On the road to Baida (Al Jazeera) BAIDA – The road to Mustafa […]
Following the assassination of two political leaders campaigning to change Pakistan’s Islamic blasphemy law, those who dream of a more open society and an enlightened Islam are trying to fight back.
Last year’s European stress tests were exposed as all but pointless by the Ireland bank crisis. This time, if they are not a real test of credibility, all of Europe will pay the price. Bank of Ireland (Goran) PARIS – This time is for real. The stress tests scheduled to be performed on European banks […]
Jovan Divjak, who led Bosnia’s defense in the 1992-95 siege of Sarajevo, has been arrested in Austria on a Serbian warrant. Top French intellectuals demand his release, calling European policy on the Balkans a continuing “affront to reason.”
Hundreds of armed attackers stormed Tahrir Square in Cairo, trying to drive protesters out, causing mass chaos. A R A B I C A ارابيكا By Kristen Gillespie STORMING FREEDOM SQUARE *Hundreds of armed attackers stormed Tahrir Square in Cairo, trying to drive protesters out, causing mass chaos. Grainy footage of the attackers is here […]
A veteran news editor at Switzerland’s SF television network says apparently dramatic battleground images are being staged by insurgents for the benefit of photographers and cameramen…who are in on the game. By Marc Brupbacher Something like a civil war is raging in Libya as rebel insurgents and Muammar Gaddafi’s troops are engaged in intense battles […]
Editorial: A French daily sees links between Arab uprisings, American founding fathers and China’s hard choices.
Even before protests in Tunisia and Egypt, a quieter women’s revolution was underway that’s challenging traditional Arab society. But resistance from men is bound to be fierce. Cairo woman (al Jazeera) Leila al-Aguizy doesn’t look like a farmer. Female Egyptian farmers in the Nile Delta usually wear long, colorful robes and headscarves wrapped around their […]
A R A B I C A ارابيكا 72 HOURS *Al Jazeera reports that the Libyan Transitional Council has ruled out any sort of dialogue with Muammar Gaddafi, giving the Libyan leader 72 hours to leave the country to avoid being prosecuted in the future. The council told a Gaddafi representative that it “will not […]
France’s top business daily dissects the Republican governors’ challenge to public sector unions. Protesters at capitol in Madison, WI (minasodaboy) NEW YORK – Americans do not take to the streets easily. But when they do, the result can be extraordinary. Take Madison, the capital of Wisconsin, flooded nowadays with colorful banners and angry union supporters. […]
The untold tragedy of mass emigration out of Europe’s poorest country of Moldova is that of the some 10,000 children left behind in orphanages by their migrant worker parents.
The Egyptian army, with more than 768,000 “likes,” took to its Facebook page to issue decree no. 27 to order citizens to stop posting classified documents online. A R A B I C A ارابيكا By Kristen Gillespie FACEBOOK CROWD CONTROL *The Egyptian army, with more than 768,000 “likes,” took to its Facebook page to […]
With pro-Mubarak thugs back on the scene and economic uncertainty rampant, the honeymoon of Cairo’s pro-democracy movement may already be ending. Mubarak’s departure have not meant an end to protests in Cairo (Monasosh) Giordano Stabile CAIRO – The baltagiyya are back. The word is spreading among the people in front of the Ministry of the […]
More and more Parisian restaurants are opening up to the explorations of Japanese-French fusion. Sweetbread fusion (jlastras) PARIS – Japanese chefs have been streaming into the French capital for the past ten years. Some remain faithful to the traditional Japanese cuisine, and delight their customers with the immensely rich gastronomy of the land of the […]
Jacques Vergès took on the cases of Klaus Barbie, Carlos the Jackal and Slobodan Milosovic. Now, he makes the case for himself.
Chinese tourists offer European countries a major new source of revenue, but Italians are slow to catch on to the opportunity. Chinese tourists in Rome (Ed Yourdan) Chinese tourists have quietly surpassed their American and Japanese counterparts to become the biggest foreign traveler spenders in Italy. Last year, some one million Chinese came to visit, […]
Researchers have found that chimpanzees use laughter to bond just like we do, vocalizing in ways that are uncannily human. But do they really get the joke?
Conflict across the Arab world means the Tunisian port city of Zarzis is bustling as never before as a point of departure for illegal immigrant crossings to Italy. Tunisian port (Delirante Bestiole) ZARZIS – As his eyes gaze out over the sea, the captain known only as ‘Ress’ informs us that any crossing will have […]
Mexico City judge pulls from theaters a controversial documentary about legal system after a witness featured in the film files a complaint. EYES INSIDE – LATIN AMERICA It is a fitting irony that Nicolás Vale, director of the highly acclaimed documentary “Presumed Guilty,” an account about the flaws of Mexico’s legal system, has wound up […]
A R A B I C A ارابيكا SAUDI RUMBLINGS. CAUGHT ON TAPE *Hundreds of Saudi men gathered outside the Rajehi mosque in Riyadh for a protest. One commenter wrote under the clip, “we don’t want the regime to fall, we only want reform.” Another wrote, “now it’s time for the regime’s thugs to come […]
In a public petition to King Mohammed VI, dissident Moroccan writer Abdelhak Serhane urges the monarch to embrace the revolution — or become its target.
The success of the Audi A1 and Citroën DS3 has sparked automaker appetites, with Fiat and Peugeot set to join the fray. Citroën’s DS3 (cmonville) GENEVA – Competition may already be fierce in the luxury small car sector, but things are only going to get tougher. After last year’s wave of small cars, such as […]
The wearing of full-face veils in public will be against the law in France as of April 11. But will police and property owners be able to enforce it?
To the outside world, Arid U., the German-Kosovan man accused of this week’s deadly shooting at the Frankfurt airport, was well integrated. But clues that something was amiss could be found online. (uggoboy) Florian Flade FRANKFURT – Arid U. wanted a bloodbath. He wanted to kill people he considered infidels, those whom he believed wage […]
A R A B I C A ارابيكا SIGNS AND SLOGANS *This Al Jazeera report looks at the importance of signs and slogans in ongoing Arab revolutions. One placard from Benghazi, Libya shows a chess queen knocking the king, with the head of Gaddafi, off the chessboard. It’s part of what looks like a warehouse […]
Supporters organizing online for Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg, the departed minister adored for rising above the fray, forced out by plagiary scandal. Guttenberg on Feb. 17, before his resignation, in Afghanistan (Bundeswehr fotos) BERLIN – Ousted German Defense Minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg – who resigned this week after revelations that he plagiarized large parts of his […]
The cutting edge Gaîté Lyrique is dedicated to creativity in the digital age, exploring its every angle from e-books to video games, live performance to robots.
In an interview, Saif al-Islam Gaddafi insists his father’s regime is “the target of a propaganda fomented by the foreign media.”
As major media outlets tried piecing together scattered battlefield reports from Libya, and the possibility of a US-led intervention, others were buzzing with satirical and sartorial perspectives…. A R A B I C A ارابيكا By Kristen Gillespie LIBYA LITE As major media outlets tried piecing together scattered battlefield reports from Libya, and the possibility […]
Until now, the designer’s provocations were reserved for the catwalk. Accused of anti-Semitism and dumped by Dior, a profile of fashion’s broken enfant terrible.
The reverberations from Tunis, Cairo and Tripoli can be felt in Beijing, where Party leaders are clamping down and counting on economic growth to prevent any similar Chinese uprising.
Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh’s hold on power may be crumbling faster than his better-known counterpart over in Libya, and the pressure is starting to show. A R A B I C A ارابيكا By Kristen Gillespie YEMEN VIA TWITTER Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh’s hold on power may be crumbling faster than his better-known […]
Two prominent European female politicians make the case for imposing a quota system to ensure more women make it into top management positions. (world economic forum) By Viviane Reding and Françoise Grossetête It is time to shatter the “glass ceiling,” once and for all. Enabling women to realize their full professional potential is not only […]