With an eye on the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Olympics, both to take place in Brazil, Rio de Janeiro plans to improve its image with an extreme makeover of its notorious hillside slums.
Month: June 2011
Europe was thrown into turmoil after Germany falsely accused Spanish cucumbers of carrying the deadly E. coli bacteria. A true test of EU solidarity.
Jeff Danzigeris an American cartoonist, whose work appears in newspapers around the world.https://www.danzigercartoons.com/
A R A B I C A ارابيكا ARAB SPRING, STALLED*Prime Minister Beji a-Sabsi announced the postponement of parliamentary elections. Originally scheduled to take place on July 24th, the elections were pushed back to October 23rd. The country’s electory commission requested the postponement, saying more time was needed to organize transparent elections. ARAB SPRING, SUPRESSED*A […]
Former Turkish leader Kenan Evren, 93, defiantly tells a special prosecutor he had no choice but to oust the civilian government in 1980. He dismisses accusations about post-coup repression as pure “political rhetoric.”
Former army officer Ollanta Humala squeezed past Keiko Fujimori in last Sunday’s presidential runoff in Peru. His biggest challenge may be yet to come: aiding the country’s rural poor while at the same time placating jittery investors.
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And If Yemen Is Lost?
Editorial: Even before reaching the brink of civil war, Yemen was plagued by a long list of woes, from dire poverty to Islamist terrorists. If Yemen’s neighbors don’t step in to help, the country could slip into a Somalia-like state of chaos that can dest
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The Night They Served E. Coli For Dinner
In May, 17 people were infected with E. Coli while dining at the Kartoffelkeller restaurant in the the German city of Lübeck. Fresh salad is no longer served there, as owners and diners try to stay calm – and maintain their appetites.
A R A B I C A ارابيكا SYRIA OPPOSITION*Al Jazeera reports that members of the Syrian opposition told the network that “Syrian security agents were killed by soldiers because they refused to fire on unarmed civilians in Jisr al-Shughour.” The town, located off the highway between the northern city of Aleppo and the port […]
A popular tourist destination before the North African uprisings, Djerba Island off the coast of Tunisia is now teeming with “five-star” refugees, Gaddafi spies and exiled Libyan revolutionaries.
Good news for people who like hiking – in their birthday suits! A nude-friendly trail in central Germany is now open for the season. Could Switzerland, a hiker’s paradise, open its natural spaces to naturists as well?
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Are The Smurfs Crypto-Fascists?
A French academic takes a critical look at the classic blue characters, suggesting there may be more than meets the eye when it comes to “Smurfology.”
Polish authorities are giving an enthusiastic thumbs-up to shale gas, a controversial yet potentially lucrative source of fuel that could free the country from relying on historical rival Russia for its gas needs.
A R A B I C A ارابيكا Syria: Controlling The Message *A video clip is circulating of two funeral processions in the eastern Syrian desert town of Deir Azour one day after security forces fired on protesters and killed two people, a 16-year-old and 17-year-old boys. The group broke out into chants of “the […]
Editorial: A German commentator says enough to corruption and gerontocracy at FIFA: we’re in the 21st Century, and this is the beautiful game we’re talking about.
A Chinese analysis of why Kim Jong II has provoked a new impasse with his southern neighbor. The North Korean leader has a special knack for provoking crises as a means to obtain concessions.
The French Ministry of Defense plans to follow the example of the United States and house all of its various departments and offices under a single roof. The winning design for the French “Pentagon” – which will actually be a hexagon – was made public thi
Editorial: Brazil, China and the other so-called BRICS countries are demanding a political role proportional to their economic importance. Is a global power shift forthcoming? Not necessarily says Le Monde’s Alain Frachon, who says the BRICS bloc is still
Convicted last month for their involvement in a massacre of civilians during World War II, two former Nazi soldiers lead a peaceful life in Germany. And they don’t want to be disturbed.
Lobsang Sangay will soon replace the Dalai Lama as the head of the Tibetan Government-in-Exile. In an exclusive interview with Le Temps, the Harvard-educated legal scholar talks about China, Tibet, the Internet and the power of trust.
A Swiss writer takes (Switzerland-based) Nestle’ to town for inventing a machine — and marketing campaign — that she says turns the simple preparation of baby formula into a status symbol. And sign of our wasteful times.
Following the Spanish “Indignados,” a Portuguese protest movement wants civil society to be at the center of politics. But the country’s financial solvency may have last say in Sunday’s vote.
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In France, Barbers Are Back
Once a dying institution, barbershops are staging a comeback in France, where men are turning to the classic coiffeurs for everything from oh-so perfect stubble to some much needed guy time.
A R A B I C A ارابيكا YEMENI ATTACK*As Yemeni state television aired a photo montage of President Ali Abdullah Saleh accompanied by background music, the crawl beneath reads: “President Saleh, may God protect him, is in good health and reports of his death are untrue.” Al Arabiya and other news outlets reported that […]
A veteran Turkish reporter travels to a Kurd stronghold to gauge reaction to Erdogan’s recent anti-Kurdish rhetoric ahead of the Prime Minister’s expected victory for a third term on June 12.
An astronomical price for a work by Chinese painter Qi Baishi offers clues to where China’s art market – and other sectors of the economy – may be heading.
Editorial: Without offering any hard details, Ex-Education Minister Luc Ferry went on television to say that a former cabinet minister took part in an orgy with young boys. Le Monde says Ferry is the one who’s guilty here – either of not reportin
It’s anyone’s guess who will come out victorious when Peruvians go to the polls Sunday to elect their 94th president. Each of the two closely matched candidates – Keiko Fujimori and Ollanta Humala – brings some baggage from the past.
A R A B I C A ارابيكا A CHILD IN SYRIA*With more than 70,000 members, the facebook group “We are all the hero-martyr Hamza Ali al-Khatib,” named for the 13-year-old boy who participated in a protest on April 29th outside Daraa. His tortured, mutilated body was returned to his family by Syrian intelligence last […]
The desperate search to find the source of what is a particularly virulent new strain of the bacteria has begun again from square one, and a sense of panic is beginning to spread.
Changes are afoot along the Champs-Elysées, where big-name clothing brands like Abercrombie & Fitch and Marks & Spencer are occupying more and more commercial space. Critics say soaring rents and new business regulations threaten to turn t
The Shouwang Church and other Protestant Christian groups have a potentially powerful mix of Calvinist ideology, social activism and influence among China’s educated elite — even members of the ruling Communist party.
Algerian journalist Khaled Sid Mohand spent 25 days last month locked up in one of Syrian President Bachar Al-Assad’s prisons. Questioned, threatened and beaten, here is his story.
Nepal’s major parties have hammered out a last-minute deal to save the Constituent Assembly. But six years after the end of a bitter civil war, the country’s divisions still remain raw.
Editorial: As concerns about the economy deepen, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s government has blocked publication of the IMF’s latest report on Turkey. It’s the latest sign of a lack of professionalism.