Essay: A writer tries to imagine the mentality inside the Egyptian interior ministry, after a new crackdown has reasserted some control of the state’s security apparatus. That protesters again paid the ultimate price may be of secondary concern i
Month: January 2012
Following the lead from a 2010 Harvard course on urban inequality, a French university is turning to the gritty television show “The Wire” as a unique tool for dissecting what is wrong in American society.
Atchoo! Swiss researchers have identified a new species of snub-nosed monkey living in the forests of northern Burma. It’s upside-down nostrils seem to cause it to sneeze its way through the entire rainy season
A video showing what appear to be American forces urinating on dead Taliban fighters has prompted anger in Afghanistan and promises of a U.S. investigation, but the insurgent group has said it would not harm nascent efforts to broker peace talks.
North Korea has announced it will enshrine Kim Jong Il’s body in the palace housing his father, the national founder, deepening its veneration of the Kim dynasty as the country transfers power to a third generation of the family.
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Myanmar signs cease-fire with ethnic rebels
Myanmar’s government has signed a cease-fire agreement with ethnic Karen rebels in a major step toward ending one of the world’s longest-running insurgencies and meeting a key condition for better ties with the West.
A R A B I C A ارابيكا EGYPTIAN JUSTICE Despite a revolution that culminated on February 11, 2011 when President Hosni Mubarak was ousted from power, Egypt’s unresolved past continues to haunt the present. Deposed dictator Hosni Mubarak returned to court as the prosecution presented its case against him. A group of lawyers have […]
Argentine-born Lionel Messi has just been named FIFA’s player of the year for the third year running, further proof that the 24-year-old Barcelona striker is already a living legend. But who was the soccer world’s worst player in 2011?
A sit-down with the legendary director-producer who has lately spent most of his time back behind the camera. Spielberg says he has more free time now that his kids have left him a virtual empty nester. His latest release is War Horse, an epic World War I
Volkswagen sales in the U.S. are surging, led by the new Jetta line, which wasn’t much of a hit back in Germany. With its new popular designs and longstanding reputation for durability, VW is notching its best American results in a decade.
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Shanghai’s Tale Of Three Towers
In the early 1990s, planners in Shanghai envisioned a trio of mammoth skyscrapers that would symbolize the Chinese city’s rebirth. Nearly 20 years later, two of those towers are built. The third is 109 stories to go. Our writer strolls through this 21st c
Spanish airline Iberia says it has canceled 104 flights during a one-day strike by pilots protesting the company’s planned new budget carrier.
With 284 of 301 precincts reporting, Romney wins 40 percent of the vote, followed by Paul with 23 percent and Huntsman with 17 percent. They are followed by Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum. Texas Gov. Rick Perry garnered just 1 percent.
An Iranian nuclear scientist has been killed by a bomb placed on his car by a motorcyclist in Tehran. A city official has blamed Israel for the attack, similar to attacks on nuclear scientists just over a year ago.
In Italy, an otherwise happy 13-year-old Ethiopian boy set out last week from his adoptive home with perilous plans to journey by land and sea back to Africa. He headed south, adrift for five days in southern Italy, but ultimately didn’t get too
Dirk Nowitzki has earned himself some Facebook flack over a television commercial he did in his native Germany. Vegetarians are up in arms over the ad, in which the NBA all star makes an open plug for a national delicacy… sausage!
Essay: Jin Xing, one of China’s greatest modern dancers, has divided public opinion after she was barred from being a television show judge because censors thought she was a bad influence on teenagers. A close-up look at a unique role model in mo
Though proud of their food and wine, French don’t have a reputation for flag waving on the industrial front. But a movement to label all products “Made in France” – complete with a tiny tri-color flag – has begun to catch on. Will it have the sam
Questions about controversial foreign exchange transactions cost Philipp Hildebrand his job as president of the Swiss National Bank. Swiss leaders are eager to put the affair behind them. But the damage to the country’s financial credibility may already b
The candidates hoping to take on President Obama in November’s US presidential election fight it out in New Hampshire, in part two of the battle for the Republican nomination.
A bomb has killed at least 29 people and wounded 37 after it exploded near a bus terminal in Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber region, one of the restive tribal areas where insurgents are battling government forces
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Syria’s president says he won’t leave power
In his first speech since June, Syrian President Bashar Assad has refused to step down, insisting he still has his people’s support. He continues to claim that a foreign conspiracy and terrorists are behind the country’s unrest.
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A New Threat Of Civil War In Nigeria
Op-ed: Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country, is also one of the continent’s most promising. But it has become synonymous with danger. The oil giant, which has already proven its ability to sink into terrible ethnic and religious wars, appears once agai
Considered by many to be the greatest long-distance solo sailor, Giovanni Soldini now leads an Italian crew in a quest to break the speed record for crossing the Atlantic. The challenge coincides with the 100th anniversary of the Titanic sinking in the sa
Analysis: In some way, one full year after the Jan. 25 revolution began, the same standoff is at play between a military-led establishment and a grassroots popular movement. And controlling the message, and the media, is as central as ever to each camp.
By all accounts, Carina Lämmle is the youngest college lecturer in Germany. She also happens to teach a discipline so advanced, few have ever heard of it, and most can barely pronounce it. Still, she may study something else when it’s time to ret
Security breach by ‘hacktivists’ reveals email addresses of 221 British military staff and 242 Nato officials.
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Iran sentences American to death in spy case
Iran’s Revolutionary Court has convicted American Mirzaei Hekmati of working for the CIA and sentenced him to death.
A court has acquitted Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim on sodomy charges, signaling a new era for conservative Malaysia.
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Do Old Dads Make For Unhealthy Kids?
As more older men become fathers, researchers are focusing on potential health effects of their children. Initial studies show a link between older fathers and children with various genetic defects. But some caution that more research is needed before dra
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How To Catch A Chinese Millionaire
In Beijing, women take classes to learn how to charm wealthy men. Millionaires go crazy for participants, who pay over 2,000 euros for the course. A worthwhile investment all around?
Recent vows by Beijing to eliminate child begging by next year show that though Chinese may care about society’s most vulnerable, they don’t yet know how to really help them.
Essay: The small tragedies of the economic crisis have begun to creep into the daily headlines. Reading about a business owner’s suicide, an Italian columnist learns it’s not always easy to find the right way to speak — and write — abo
Located near Zurich, the upscale Küsnacht Practice has two goals: to treat their clients’ alcohol and drug problems, and make sure the experience is as comfortable as humanly possible. For those with the money to afford it, the establishment can arrange “
Rising foreign investment and steady growth have created a real need in Brazil for qualified executives. Foreigners – even those with less-than-stellar Portuguese skills – are encouraged to apply.
A civilian court orders the arrest of Turkey’s former head of the army, the highest-ranking officer so far to be charged with leadership of an illegal network accused of seeking to overthrow the government.
Ahead of the New Hampshire primary, the nearby Boston Globe endorses the former US ambassador to China Jon Huntsman, a slap to former Massachusetts Governor Romney.
A presumed terrorist explosion strikes a neighborhood in Damascus, state media said Friday, killing and injuring dozens.
Since its invention, photography has helped researchers understand clouds. Now, Switzerland’s Fotomuseum Winterthur explores the link between the science and symphony of clouds.
On the stump, the Republican candidate says what America needs is tax reform, spending cuts and fewer bureaucratic regulations. When talking to a European reporter he says one thing it doesn’t need to do is bail out the struggling euro zone.