Nicolas Sarkozy has children from three different women. His challenger for France’s presidency, François Hollande had four kids with a former candidate, but they never wed, then split. Struggling with monogamy, disdaining hypocrisy, reveling in
Month: April 2012
There is a new way to reduce legal costs. Law firms prepare the case and coach their clients, who then defend themselves – without a lawyer – in court.
Red Cross officials in China are in the middle of a scandal, yet again. After being caught paying for restaurant bills and luxury cars with public donations, the latest alleged faux philanthropy employed a bicycle scam to take people for a ride.
The nomadic Tuareg people had hoped for more freedom in what is now a disintegrating situation in the West African nation of Mali. Islamic radicals have taken advantage of a power vacuum to exert their authority. A look up close with Tuareg rebels.
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Spain falls back into recession
Spain confirms it is officially back in recession, as the country’s economy shrank by 0.3 percent in the first quarter compared to the previous three months.
Pressure is mounting on the German government to boycott Euro 2012 matches in Ukraine this summer because of alleged mistreatment of the jailed opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko.
Shokri Ghanem, Libya’s former prime minister and top oil official who defected to the rebels in June, was found dead in the Danube River in Vienna.
In Germany, one-tenth of plastic surgery patients are 20 years old or younger. Right now there’s no minimum age limit, but lawmakers from the conservative Union parties say there should be. All, however, do not agree.
A strictly Muslim-focused social network called Salamworld is set to launch this summer, during Ramadan. The Turkish-based company is thinking big: 50 million users in three years, all interacting in a worldwide – and sex free – “umma.”
Rates of high blood pressure are particularly high for the growing numbers of older Brazilians. More than half of those over 55 suffer from the condition, also referred to as ‘hypertension.’ Among the causes is the high amounts of salt i
A new program in Moscow aims to give incentives for private developers to restore historical buildings that are on the brink of crumbling. The program’s first auction attracted almost 20 bidders, and it looks like the program may be a win for eve
Esther G. fell in love at the tender age of 16. She didn’t want to have sex, however, unless she was married. And she didn’t want to marry until she was much older. And so she waited – for about 10 years. Was it worth the wait?
Muhammad Yunus Nawandish spent 30 years working in anonymity as an energy-sector engineer, until the call came with an offer he couldn’t refuse. Now, leading his ever complicated home city means putting his past experience to work, like lighting
Germany is likely to approve an E.U. mandate allowing troops to fight Somali pirates not just in the Gulf of Aden, but also along the shore. Is Europe setting itself up for another Blackhawk Down?
Op-Ed: The Philippines has overreacted in the ongoing dispute between Manila and Beijing, looking to build a regional coalition against China in claims over territory in the South China Sea. Still, Beijing must learn to manage the “small powers&a
Ronan’s resume is about a mile long already – and he’s only 24. He has a Yale law degree, an undergrad diploma earned at 15, and a day job as an adviser to Hillary Clinton. He’s also the only biological child of Woody Allen and Mia Farrow, though he hasn&
Germany’s economy has not quite come “roaring” back. Slowly but surely, however, Europe’s biggest economy is growing, adding jobs and prompting observers to expect even better days ahead.
Four blasts within minutes rocked the center of the eastern Ukrainian city of Dnipropetrovsk, in what prosecutors believed was a terrorist attack.
A federal court in Switzerland rules that rent should not be based solely on market conditions, but on how much the landlord originally paid for the property.
A Pakistani court had charged bin Laden’s three widows and two of his grown-up daughters with illegal entry and residency in the country.
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China dissident Chen Guangcheng escapes
One of China’s best known dissidents, Chen Guangcheng, has escaped from house arrest. The blind activist has released a video addressed to Premier Wen Jiabao.
Mercedes, BMW, Porsche and other top automakers know that the Chinese market is huge – and the potential is even bigger. All the best wares are on display in Beijing.
A North Korean “cultural center” has opened near Amsterdam. And though neighbors find the curtains a bit off-putting, the food — served in nine courses — is tasty, nicely presented and comes with a dash of live entertainment. A long way indeed
In 2008, the French government set up a unique training program to teach French values, notably the separation of state and religion, to imams and other Muslim leaders. But many have been reluctant to enroll, and some wonder if the program was doomed from
Judges at a war crimes tribunal in the Netherlands give their ruling on the former Liberian president Charles Taylor, accused of arming Sierra Leone’s rebels who paid him in “blood diamonds”.
Congress has moved one step closer to overhauling the cash-strapped U.S. Postal Service by approving sweeping reforms to rebalance the mail agency’s finances and help cut the size of its delivery network.
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Syria: Massive explosion in Hama ‘kills 70’
Up to 70 people have been killed in an attack on a house in the Masha at-Tayyar district in southern Hama, according to Syrian activists.
Essay: Soccer violence is on the rise throughout Latin America. So far, however, leaders have largely ignored the problem. Why? The region’s 70s and 80-era dictatorships may be partly to blame.
Perfect 10, an American magazine and website specializing in “beautiful, natural models,” has a long history of unsuccessful copyright suits. That isn’t stopping it, however, from going after Russian search engine giant Yandex.
Mapping the latest data of surnames in Italy shows that both internal migration and international immigration are changing how this beautiful country calls itself. Rossi has been bumped by Russo, and two Chinese names are in the Top Ten in Milan.
Op-Ed: Greedy landlords and shortsighted politicians are standing in the way of the passage of historic legislation that would better prepare Istanbul and the rest of the country for a major earthquake that experts say is likely to hit.
The University of São Paulo is experimenting with “creative currency,” raising virtual cash that can be converted into Brazilian reais to fund culture projects that are very real indeed.
Twelve sudden deaths have sounded the alarm in the past few weeks for the rare — and 25 million-year-old — freshwater species of porpoise that inhabits the Yangtze River. Referred to as the “Panda of the Water,” the beloved mammal risk
The big surprise in Sunday’s first-round presidential election came from the far right. Marine Le Pen’s National Front won 17.9% of the vote, a record high for the party. President Sarkozy and his Socialist challenger will battle for her voters from both
A sharp rise in the number of deaths in the Syrian uprising is casting fresh doubt on the success of a UN peace plan, and testing a ceasefire deal.
Lebanese terror leader Abdel Ghani Jawhar detonated himself accidentally in Syria, raising questions about the kind of company the rebels are keeping.
The president of South Sudan Salva Kiir says attacks by rival Sudan amount to a declaration of war on his country.
A “walking euro” describes his travels through Manila, the dizzying capital city of the Philippines. Chaotic, corrupt and largely Catholic, the city is also bursting with energy.
Smoking lounges are enjoying a comeback in Switzerland. The sixth-floor smoker’s room at the Bon Génie in Geneva, for example, boasts a Mad Men-style ambience and a state-of-the-art ventilation system. Beats having to puff away in the alley out back.
Exiled in neighboring Mauritania, this 49-year-old exiled firebrand and leader of the Tuareg insurgency calls on the West to accept their demands for independence from Mali, and to get involved in fighting off Islamists in her homeland.