Shi Yuzhu is Chairman of Giant Interactive, one of China’s most successful online game companies. One of China’s richest men, he knows tech, understands customers, and is a genius at applying powerful marketing tactics. Still, he is no Steve Jobs
Month: October 2011
Op-Ed: Literally laughed (or at least chuckled) at by Angela Merkel and Nicolas Sarkozy, Italy is at a new low point. Embattled Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi may have to choose between saving his political future, or risking the economic collapse not o
Authorities find a motherlode of coins and bills at the home of a Catholic priest who worried for decades about going broke in his old age. But his own private savings meant that he never had to touch the pilfered donations.
Analysis: Bad news is that the euro zone’s crisis and Greek (and other) debts are even deeper than previously estimated. Good news is that France’s Sarkozy and Germany’s Merkel have begun to face the crisis with the honesty and
David Lynch has seared his vision across both popular and avant-garde culture. While many of his fans continue to wait for something new on big or small screen, the director stays busy in other media, including a “Works on Paper” book an
Latin America fared surprisingly well during the 2008-2009 financial crisis, thanks in part to continued demand from China for the region’s commodities. But as Europe teeters on the edge of collapse, top South American economies are much more exposed now.
As Tunisians head to the polls for the first free vote after the ‘Jasmine Revolution’ and fall of the Ben Ali regime, tribal infighting, strikes and protests are multiplying. The region of Gafsa, the hotbed of a 2008 uprising, is on the verge of chaos.
Months of protest against President Ali Abdullah Saleh have sparked a heated information war in Yemen. State media blames terrorist forces for driving the country toward chaos. But the opposition has a voice too: a television station called Suhail that&am
Once bustling with tourists, the port city of Veracruz has become a new battleground for drug cartels. The arrival of the mysterious Mata-Zetas (Zeta Killers) has left hundreds dead, scared off visitors and raised questions about just how much the local g
Categories
Suburban Sprawl Creeps Across France
France still has its attractive city centers and enchanting small towns. But popping up in between are sprawling suburbs that in some cases are even spawning ‘exurbs.’ Will the French countryside eventually be swallowed up by subdivisions?
Analysis: A violent military demise was fitting for Gaddafi who ruled that way for four decades. But the war to oust him has decimated the nation, and divisions among Gaddafi opponents create uncertainty both for Libya’s new leaders and Western p
The European Commission has drafted a major new bill to ban bankers from accepting fees and commissions on financial products they offer to customers. Investors suffered major losses in the financial crisis from risky investments that quietly earned banks
Like its competitors, the French brand must contend in China with widespread counterfeiting, which can undermine the luxury label’s good standing. Finding the niche customers who spend everything on quality remains Hermès’ long-term strategy.
A R A B I C A ارابيكا By Kristen Gillespie A DEATH IN LIBYA Al Jazeera broadcast footage of what appears to be a deceased Muammar Gaddafi, naked to the waist and lying in his own blood in the middle of a street in Sirte as the mosques issued the call to prayer in […]
Over the past two weeks, the Internet and mainstream media combined to make a mess of the truth on the news France was waiting for: the arrival of the baby of Carla Bruni and French President Nicolas Sarkozy. On Twitter, the ex-supermodel gave birth over
Op-Ed: A series of attacks by banned Kurdish separatist outfit PKK has left 29 Turkish security personnel dead, opening grave questions for Turkey’s future.
Since its independence nearly 50 years ago, Kenya has steered clear of war. That long peace came to an end this past weekend, when Kenyan soldiers crossed into Somalia in pursuit of al-Shabab militia. Somalia’s transitional government has apparently endor
Concerned that skilled tradespeople don’t get the respect they deserve, some in Germany are promoting the idea of a “Professional Bachelor’s” degree. For now, universities and their government allies dismiss the idea as “confusing.”
Analysis: Cristina Fernández de Kirchner is heavily favored to win a second term in this Sunday’s presidential election in Argentina. But even though she’ll have a mandate to govern from the left, the recently-widowed president could end up shifting to th
Essay: Last week, in Guangdong Province, a two-year-old girl was hit by a van and a truck. As many as 18 passers-by walked or cycled away from the scene. China asks itself if the “national character” has been sapped of any sense of indiv
“I’ve never worked in my life, I won’t start now,” says Patrizia Reggiani, who has served half of a 26-year sentence for commissioning the murder of her ex-husband Maurizio Gucci. She is now eligible for parole, but would rather stay in jail than join a w
Though the global momentum of the “Occupy” and “Indignados” movement has not hit Russia, a group of self-styled anarchists in St. Petersburg are trying to undermine the establishment in other ways.
Ashes to ashes, dust to dust? Not always. Human remains can also be manufactured into diamonds, drugs and fertilizers. Or, in some very special cases, vinyl discs.
Essay: Why was Rome the only place where the global “Occupy” and “Indignados” protests turned violent? La Stampa editor Mario Calabresi sees Italy’s troubled historical relationship between social protest and v
High waters in the country’s central plains used to protect the Thai people from their attackers. But today, the natural ally has become a scourge, killing more than 330, though poor leadership from new Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra may also be to bl
A new survey of small and medium-sized Chinese enterprises reports that rising costs of labor and raw materials are posing serious challenges as China’s boom shows first signs of backfires.
Charred bones and teeth found in a campfire in a remote part of Nuku Hiva, a French Polynesian island, may be all that’s left of a missing German man. Details of case remain murky, but already some suspect the 40-year-old world traveler was not o
Op-Ed: The “Occupy” protests that took this past weekend across Europe could very well be here to stay – in large part because the David vs. Goliath standoff that is brewing on both sides of the Atlantic is neither typically right-wing nor typically left-
Shock is spreading across Austria where allegations are emerging of systemic violence, sexual abuse and child prostitution dating from the 1970s in Schloss Wilhelminenberg, a Vienna foster home. Some Austrian leaders want to change the statute of limitati
Italian doctors complain that the prevalence of medical information on the Internet has led a large number of people to come down with imaginary illnesses, some of which they attempt to treat themselves prior to arriving at the doctor’s office. B
Weather problems and growing health concerns in the United States about the dangers of high-fructose corn syrup have led to a global sugar shortage. For consumers, the result has been a bitter increase in prices for the classic sweetener.
A R A B I C A ارابيكا By Kristen Gillespie REGIME AND REFORMJordan’s Muslim Brotherhood, the country’s leading opposition movement, cautiously welcomed the appointment of a new prime minister on Monday, Awn al-Khasawneh, a former judge at the International Court of Justice. “The appointment of al-Khasawneh is a positive sign as he is a […]
Essay: The OECD rated China at the bottom of its “How’s Life” survey. Though China is behind in living standards, the findings are questionable. Still, the survey itself is a reminder that Chinese are missing the real means of judging their lives: free el
The winner of the Socialist party primary Sunday will face Nicolas Sarkozy for the French presidency in the 2012 election. Hollande is not only a DSK rival, but also the former companion of Ségolène Royal, who lost to Sarkozy in 2007.
In both Germany and Austria, real-life female farmers pose for a pin-up calendar that has become an annual affair for the local farmer’s association. It may not change the plight or perception of the agricultural lifestyle, as they aim to do, but
Germany has just unveiled the Euro Hawk, a prototype drone that vacuums up data – cell phone conversations, text messages, you name it – and can fly to New Zealand without refuelling. The German military is so excited about the Hawk it now wants five of t
Exiled for the past 11 years in Germany, Syrian-born Sondos Sulaiman is an open critic of the repressive Bashir al-Assad regime. But her activism comes at a price. Sulaiman receives regular threats, and fears constantly – with good reason – for the safet
Welcome to Guangxi Province, a land of karst mountains, rice farmers and – rock climbers. Yes, the famous karst mountains of Guilin in the south of China can now be climbed.
Europe’s financial stability agreement of 2010 is safe for now. But protecting the top credit ratings of the two biggest economies of the euro zone is the only way to ensure common currency’s survival.
Its alumni include Manuel Noriega and a long list of other dictators and strongmen turned drug traffickers. The School Of Americas (SOA) has tried to change its image, but leaders in both North and South America are calling for its demise.