Worldcrunch
Over the past 10 years, Colombia has enjoyed a huge change in fortunes. The economy is humming, drug-related violence is down and security forces have corralled the rebel FARC guerillas. From infrastructure to corruption, however, some serious problems pe
Italian retailer Benetton is again pushing the boundaries of advertising with a provocative campaign. The ads portray global figures, including President Obama, shown kissing their nemeses. But the prickliest of the pics has the Pope smooching an Egyptian
Rudolf Elmer, former employee of Swiss bank Julius Baer, appeals his conviction of violating confidentiality. Elmer turned over private documents he says show the bank helping wealthy clients avoid taxes. Not surprisingly, Elmer’s new best pal is
Ruslan Akhtakhanov, a well-known Chechen poet and activist, was gunned down Wednesday night in Moscow. Police suspect the writer may have been the target of a contract killing ordered by Chechen nationalists.
The architect of Cologne’s not-quite-completed new mosque has been fired, accused among other things of having hidden Christian symbolism in various places in the new structure. At the very least, we have the first Da Vinci Code conspiracy plot with a mod
The Bejing Olympics was an occasion for China to show off its new architectural gems. One of the most original was the China TV building, a curious rectangular vertical loop designed by the German architect, Ole Scheeren, who has chosen to plant roots in
A German court has ruled in favor of a mineral water company hocking their H2O as “bio,” or organic. Next to come: organic air?
Essay: The exit of Silvio Berlusconi and the arrival of Mario Monti marks a watershed for a nation still crucial for both Europe and the world. But Italy has lost both economic and political influence, which can only be regained by rallying all the forces
Both sides of the Atlantic have been buzzing since a hacker busted into Siri, the new voice-recognition software on the iPhone 4S. Meet the man who cracked Apple’s latest secret gem. But is it legal?
Russian developers run by local politicians have spent the last decade replacing historic buildings with luxury apartments and shopping malls. Preservationists have long cried foul, but say there’s still time to save some of the city’s endangered landmark
Fueled by income inequality, gender imbalances and repressive laws, China is experiencing a barely-hidden sexual crisis. The government criminalizes Internet porn and sex toys, but offers no better solution for the urban lonely and millions of men unable
Amazon is using free labor: unemployed Germans receiving state benefits. The German trade union Ver.di smells scandal while the American e-commerce giant and public job centers insist that the practice is the best way to match the unemployed with the righ
Essay: Channeling her “citizen yogi,” Swiss columnist Anna Lietti takes a couple of deep breaths before launching into a passionate defense of why yoga matters more than ever.
German authorities had plenty of info on a far-right terror group accused of killing immigrations, robbing banks and building bombs. Yet for more than a decade, the neo-Nazis operated freely. People now want to know why investigators were unable to put tw
Feeding pigeons is forbidden by the French law, and can lead to fines of up to 450 euros. But that doesn’t stop the army of feeders in Paris from risking it all with their bags of illicit bread crumbs. Now the mess has arrived on the Internet.
A R A B I C A ارابيكا By Kristen Gillespie SYRIA ON SYRIASyrian Foreign Minister Walid Mouallem expressed outrage over Syria’s suspension from the Arab League. The decision “should not have been issued because of the facts on the ground,” Mouallem said. The minister did admit that there is a “crisis in Syria,” but […]
When it comes to public perceptions, Latin America still trails other regions. But there are changes afoot. In its annual “Country Brand” ranking, U.S. firm FutureBrand found Brazil’s reputation soaring. That’s not the case for Paraguay, a booming but eas
The new Super rich of China are indulging in another world classic: Caviar from wild sturgeon in the Caspian sea comes in at hundreds of dollars a spoonful. But China has also quietly become a new source of farmed caviar, which experts say can compete wit
Silvio Berlusconi’s departure in Italy, and the arrival of the economic technocrat Mario Monti, is just the latest sign that market forces may weigh even more than popular will on who is governing in Europe.
After the regime fell, the security vacuum has posed a new set of problems in some hospitals, where doctors and medical workers describe chaotic encounters with enraged – and sometimes armed – patients.
A top figure in the Socialist party, Arnaud Montebourg is putting pressure on party leaders to not support candidates over 67, saying that new challenges require new blood. Not surprisingly, the proposal has sparked some heated debate — and exposed a gen
Op-Ed: Bodies are piling up in Central America’s ‘northern triangle’ of Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras, where drug trafficking and street gangs have made the area nearly ungovernable. The isthmus needs outside help, and it’s time the rest of Latin Am
She worked late hours for meager pay, and suffered constant abuse. But in the end, the case of the Berlin-based Indonesian housekeeper went nowhere – thanks to her alleged tormentor’s diplomatic status. Is it time to change the longstanding practice of di
Researchers at Germany’s Max Planck Institute have calculated the average CO2 emissions per capita by age and have found that the most emissions are produced by people in their early to mid-60s.
As the first baby boomers turn 65 this year, high-tech is gradually making its way into the lives – and homes – of older folks. A look at the tablets, sensors, foot boards and other gadgets seniors can use to get caught up and connected.
A R A B I C A ارابيكا By Kristen Gillespie YEMEN SHELLING*Nine civilians, including at least one child, were killed on Friday in Yemen’s second-largest city after President Ali Abdullah Saleh’s forces shelled the neighborhood where protesters are gathered, Al Jazeera reported. The shelling continued into the early morning, where undeterred demonstrators held a […]
What many considered the planet’s best restaurant, Ferran Adrià’s El Bulli in Spain, recently closed its doors. So where to now for a genuine out-of-this-world meal? North – way north. In Sweden’s Jämtland, a bearded chef named Magnus Nilsson is
Both the American and British coffee chains have big plans for expansion in China. Starbucks, which has opened 500 stores since it first arrived in China in 1999, is giving more autonomy to its Chinese managers to tailor shops to local tastes.
A magazine in France is pushing a new campaign for office benevolence, and even a “Kindness Day” next week. It may sound to some like empty chatter (and not typically French), but it’s part of a larger trend toward finding solut
What do leaked U.S. Embassy documents say about Germany’s original reaction to the developing euro zone crisis? That the German government refused to take the situation seriously, and were all too happy to keep its citizens in the dark.
It is a showdown for the ages: Europe’s top economists (turned impromptu national leaders) and the European Central Bank vs. a panicking global investor pack.
Russia’s strong criticisms of a U.N. report on Iran’s atomic weapons ambitions has baffled observers. Now it emerges that the U.N. nuclear watchdog’s dossier cites a Russian scientist who some suspect may have played a key role in Tehran’s nuclear program
A new study on forced marriages in Germany has some disturbing findings: 30,000 such cases may exist and 30% of the girls were younger than 18. The youngest victim was nine years old.
A new German television series takes a look at some of Adolf Hitler’s lesser transgressions, which included charging royalties to the state for using his image on postage stamps. Before his rise to power, the future Führer racked up more than 400
On a Saturday night in ‘Sin City,’ spectators gather from far and wide to watch two men wrestle, box and karate-chop each other in a metal cage. It’s called Mixed Martial Arts, and a French reporter finds it taking Las Vegas – and the rest of America – by
Despite its huge market share in Peru, Spanish cell phone provider Movistar wanted a free ride on renewing its operating licenses. Peruvian authorities have handed the telecom giant a bill of nearly a billion bucks.
(New York Times)— Stocks steadied Thursday in Europe and were poised for a lift at the opening bell on Wall Street, after Italy managed a successful offering of debt securities.
(Haaretz) – Court says won’t intervene with Tel Aviv District Court’s decision to convict Katsav on two counts of rape, other sexual offenses; Katsav to enter prison on December 7.
(Reuters) – Rescue workers searched for survivors under rubble in eastern Turkey on Thursday after the second earthquake in three weeks killed at least seven people, inflating the death toll of 600 from the previous tremor.
Analysis: Israel has threatened Teheran with a military preemptive strike, but tougher sanctions may be what it is really after.