Forget Disneyland and dinosaurs exhibits. Here’s a new way to try to engage the kids that can also help secure their future: the world’s first ever Savings and Finance Museum opens in Turin next month. The mascot is an industrious little
Month: April 2012
Analysis: François Hollande is well-positioned after Sunday’s first round of voting to take the presidency from Nicolas Sarkozy. But the strong showing by far-right candidate Marine Le Pen confirms that the French Republic is a deeply divided pla
Zimmerman, the man who killed 17-year-old Trayvon Martin in February, posted $150,000 bail and left the Sanford jail fitted with an electronic monitoring device that the Sheriff’s Office and Seminole County Probation officials will use to keep tr
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Egypt cancels Israeli gas contract
Egypt has cancelled a 20-year contract to supply Israel with natural gas in a move interpreted as a sign of increasingly fragile relations between the allies.
With all votes counted on Monday, Socialist candidate François Hollande came in first with 28.63% support, beating Nicolas Sarkozy by just over a percentage point (27.18%), while National Front candidate Marine Le Pen posted the best result ever for a far
Ahu Aysel, owner of a hotel chain and ex-wife of the owner of Istanbul’s most popular soccer team, has paid big bucks for the chance at becoming the first Turkish citizen to go into space. She must be chosen in a lottery to board a commercial fli
A handful of top German companies recently participated in a government pilot project designed to test the effect that personal details – things like age, sex and appearance – have on hiring practices.
Inga Engh landed the case of a lifetime when she was chosen to prosecute confessed mass murderer Anders Breivik. Cool and collected in the courtroom, this mother of two boys has admitted that there is inevitably a personal relationship to this case.
In the Czech Republic, where corruption is rampant, some have decided to make an honest buck out of the dirty dealings: Corruption Tours, or the “Prague Cronies Safari,” shows the spots around Prague where bribes have been passed and fav
Rather than bury your loved ones in a coffin or scatter their ashes in the wind, there is a new way in France to be at one — forever — with nature. Might you consider spending eternity in a “Memory Garden”?
Analysis: As China, in a show of force, “leaks” pictures of its new J-22 fighter jet, one wonders if the future of tomorrow’s skies will be ruled by stealth jets or rather by unmanned combat drones.
France must not give in to the trap of democratic disillusionment, writes Le Monde’s editor-in-chief. Though the campaign has lacked honest debate about the country’s challenges, French voters on Sunday must exercise their ballot with maximum attention.
It’s Record Shop Day in France, with gigs and exclusive tunes available at music stores, hoping to get people off their computers to do some bona fide ‘social’ shopping. Similar initiatives have been launched elsewhere, but can
A Die Welt reporter spends a week receiving the royal treatment aboard “The Indian Maharaja,” a five-star train that runs from New Delhi to Mumbai. Stops along the way include Udaipur, city of temples and lakes, the caves at Ellora, and of course the Taj
Russia is wary of plans by NATO to build missile defense bases in Poland and Romania. The military alliance insists Moscow has nothing to fear, that Russia and NATO are not “enemies.” Why then, Russia would like to know, is NATO unwilling to build a joint
A Russian punk-feminist band called Pussy Riot has spent the past two months in jail after singing “Dear God, Chase Out Putin” in a Moscow cathedral. This week Russian police arrested some of their fans too.
One of the Secret Service supervisors ousted from the agency this week for their involvement in the Colombia prostitution scandal made light of his official protective work on his Facebook page, making a joke about Sarah Palin.
Vietnam has asked international health experts to help investigate a mystery illness that has killed 19 people and sickened 171 others in an impoverished district in central Vietnam.
Last year’s race in Bahrain was canceled twice because of the unrest, but the sport’s governing body said Friday the race would go ahead as planned, despite tension on the country’s streets.
A new exhibition in Paris aims to show the fundamental link between Art and Anthropology, the connection between artist and shaman, both conquering chaos through rituals and cathartic masterpieces.
Analysis: An Egyptian scholar delves into the recent history of Latin America, where countries found the tough leaders necessary to move away from military juntas. With the way Egypt is limping toward its first presidential election, such a scenario looks
At the World Economic Forum on Latin America in Mexico, AméricaEconomía tries to get a handle on Cristina Kirchner’s nationalization of gas and oil company YPF – and Spain’s fierce reaction. But getting an Argentine to speak frankly on the matter is no si
Fine Art and Antique Fairs all around the world are adapting their catalogues to appeal to a new generation of Chinese art collectors. Deep pockets and an appetite for expensive antiques make them the ideal client.
Sex-symbol turned actress and animal rights activist Brigitte Bardot has endorsed right-wing party candidate Marine Le Pen for France’s presidential elections. A critic of immigration, the former beauty has been cited five times for “inciting ra
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Explosions rock Baghdad, killing dozens
A series of bombs exploded in Baghdad, killing at least 31 people and leaving more than 50 others injured, in the first major attacks in Iraq in nearly a month.
India has successfully launched a long-range missile able to carry a nuclear warhead; it gives the country, for the first time, the capability of striking the major Chinese cities of Beijing and Shanghai.
Spain managed to sell 2.5 billion euros ($3.3 billion) of bonds at auction –as much as it wanted– but at a cost of rising yields as the country struggles to tame its deficit.
Op-Ed: Switzerland is the only European country where girls are allowed to work as prostitutes beginning at age 16. That’s a reasonable age of sexual consent. But for sex workers, Switzerland lives in sin until it raises the minimum age for prostitution t
If you believe recent headlines, Spain is going the way of Greece. But maybe things aren’t really as bad as all that. One Zurich-based economist sees reasons for cautious optimism and thinks a little help from the European Central Bank could go a
Dmitri and Elena Rybolovlev are fighting a brutal battle over the Russian oligarch’s fortune. Tracking down and dividing the epic assets of one of the richest men on the planet is an endless task.
A renowned French sexologist has followed up an in-depth study on men and sex with a survey of female sexuality. Heterosexual women of all ages were asked about their desires, fulfilled or otherwise. For their partners, there’s good news and bad.
Mélenchon’s candidacy has turned the French election upside-down, with his passionate defense of the underclass and mobilization of labor unions. His growing support could cause trouble for Francois Hollande, who had otherwise seemed sure to unseat Sarkoz
A clash between Sudan and South Sudan troops kills 22 soldiers as combat spreads into a new area along the nations’ tense border.
The motto for the London Olympics has been revealed as “Inspire a generation” as events are held to mark the 100-day countdown to the opening ceremony.
Nobel Peace Prize laureate and newly elected lawmaker Aung San Suu Kyi will travel outside Myanmar for the first time in 24 years after accepting invitations to visit Norway and Britain in June.
Analysis: As bidding opens to foreign firms to build new nuclear facilities in Turkey, authorities in Ankara see immediate economic advantages to turning the projects over to Chinese firms. But blatant bypassing of more experienced European firms is also
Thanks to their thick walls, Zurich’s historic buildings are in some cases more energy efficient than their more modern counterparts. That’s certainly the case if you compare them to 1960s-era constructions like the building that houses
As Gorgonzola exports begin to boom, formaggio fraudsters try to get a cut of the action with fake versions of the cheese. One trick is to give the imitation variety a name that has a familiar ring.
In China, nothing says sexy like Maggie Cheung in a tight-fitting mandarin gown. But few people know the real story behind this dress, and how it became so popular in 1920s Shanghai, before disappearing after the revolution — and finding new life today.
Ever wonder why rogue nations don’t have nuclear capabilities yet? Because building atomic weapons has remained an enormously complicated and expensive process. A new laser-based enrichment technique could change all that.