THE STRAITS TIMES / CHANNEL NEWS ASIA (Singapore) SINGAPORE – “Since January, there have been nine fatalities, compared to four cases in 2011 and eight in 2012,” reports the Straits Times. Is the newspaper talking about car accidents or bird flu? No, that’s the number of maids that have died from falling out of a […]
Month: June 2012
Named one of the world’s richest and most powerful women by Forbes in 2005, Former Prime Ukrainian Minister Yulia Tymshenko sits in jail as her country is set to co-host the European Soccer Championship.
More than a quarter million people have already signed a petition asking for the show to apologize for the way it bullies its contestants.
LIBERATION, AFP (France) PARIS – Damascus has declared as “personae non gratae” top diplomats of the US, UK, France and several other Western nations, French-language newspaper Libération reports. The move comes a week after governments around the world expelled their Syrian diplomats in the wake of the Houla massacre in late May. The ambassadors of […]
AP, CNTV (China) BEIJING – Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in Beijing on his first visit to his country’s vast neighbor since resuming the Russian presidency earlier this month. He later sat down for talks with Chinese President Hu Jintao that are expected to touch on the crisis in Syria as well as on Iran, […]
A women’s right to an abortion is rapidly vanishing in Turkey, as Prime Minister Erdogan recently called it “murder.”
LE PARISIEN, LE MONDE (France) NICE – In the French Riviera city of Nice, couples must now marry in silence. Or at least, not so noisily. Nice Mayor Christian Estrosi pushed through a controversial decree last week forbidding married couples to celebrate their wedding too loudly within the walls of the city. Since June 1, […]
STERN (Germany) BERLIN – Luka Rocco Magnotta , the Canadian porn actor wanted for the murder and dismemberment of his lover, is to appear in court in Berlin the day after being arrested in the German capital following an international manhunt. “The suspect will be presented today Tuesday to the judge who will confirm his […]
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Why Harvard Is Ruining Our Youth
Op-Ed: French Philosophy Professor Emmanuel Jaffelin tells us why we shouldn’t be “Harvardizing” the world’s universities, and reminds us that knowledge is not about securing a return on student debt.
In the Democratic Republic of Congo, tobacco powder is a common cure for colds, headaches and many other ailments.
Authorities in Shenzen, China are offering a slew of free services such as shoe shining and haircuts. But this is not most citizens’ idea of urgent public reform.
BBC ARABIC (UK), AL-MASRY AL-YOUM (Egypt) CAIRO – Protests are continuing in Egypt following the verdict in the trial of former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, his former Interior Minister Habib al-Adly, Mubarak’s two sons and six security officials. Though the former president and interior minister receieved 25-year sentences, Alaa and Gamal Mubarak and the six […]
LEADERSHIP/THE NIGERIAN TRIBUNE (Nigeria) LAGOS – Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan has declared three days of mourning following Sunday’s plane crash. The Dana Airline plane crashed in a densely populated district of Lagos on Sunday afternoon, killing all 153 passengers. Only 60 bodies have been recovered so far. The number of victims on the ground is […]
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Look What’s Not Rotten In Denmark
Using the same “toxic” assets that led to the subprime crisis, Denmark has created what they believe to be the best home mortgage system in the world. It’s been 200 years since someone defaulted on payment.
Scientists have been trying for centuries to understand why some people sleepwalk. Things like stress, alcohol and genetics seem to play a role. But what actually takes place in the body and brain of a sleepwalker remains an enigma.
Gunmen have killed 11 people and wounded at least eight others in an attack on a drug rehabilitation centre in the north of Mexico.
The Tokyo market slumps to a 28-year low as Asian shares dive on fears of a nightmare scenario of euro-zone breakup, U.S. economic relapse and a sharp slowdown in China.
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US drone strike kills 15 in Pakistan
A US drone strike targeting a militant compound in Pakistan’s northwestern tribal area has killed 15 insurgents in a pre-dawn attack.
CHINA TIMES (Taiwan) BEIJING – Sina Weibo, one of China’s most popular microblogging websites, announced last week the launch of the Sina Microblogging Community Convention in order “to defend the order of microblogging.” That was the claim, at least, the reality is that it was just a ploy for giving the administrator the right to […]
Countless products are manufactured in China and then sold in the West under European or U.S. brand names. A new clothing venture is looking to turn that model inside out, hiring Italian tailors to make top-end suits for sale in China – under a Chinese br
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Madonna v. Marine Le Pen
LE NOUVEL OBSERVATEUR (France) TEL AVIV – Madonna has danced herself right into the center of French politics. And the show may not be over yet. During the first stop of her “MDNA” tour in Israel last week, the American pop star melded images of right-wing French leader Marine Le Pen with Nazi imagery. During […]
CHALLENGES (France) PARIS – His name is André Santini. André, with an “é”, not Andre. A French member of parliament and mayor of Issy-les-Moulineaux in the southwestern suburbs of Paris, André Santini prides himself on being the first French politician whose website features an accented letter (www.andré-santini.fr), the French weekly financial magazine Challenges reports. Bonne […]
Even as diplomatic pressure grows on the Assad regime, inhabitants of the Djebel Akrad mountains are doubtful that anything less than are a military intervention can make the difference.
Paul Ricard was a visionary: in the early 1920s, he was already dreaming of selling his aniseed liquor around the world. Eighty years later, his vision has become reality, and what was a little liquor from the South of France is today one of the world&
Feng Shui is making a come back in China – and its experts are more than happy to cash in on the boom.
THE MAINICHI / KYODO (Japan) TOKYO – Japan’s low cost carrier Skymark Airlines has found a new and unusual way to cut costs. Since May, passengers have been advised not to complain or to ask for help on board, and crew members have been told not to be helpful or nice. The airline hopes to […]
As cities in Rwanda are urbanizing and gentrifying, the poor are forced to move to the countryside, where land prices are rising nearly as fast.
Bernd Ruffing, 38, lives with a large group of people, but they’re all men, and they’re all old. His mother is appalled by the situation. But the soon-to-be monk is sure he’s doing the right thing in the right place.
ROMANDIE.COM, LE TEMPS (Switzerland) BERN – Switzerland seems to know its priorities. While economic storm clouds continue to gather over Europe, lawmakers in the landlocked country were busy this week negotiating what to do about marine mammals. The western world is undergoing one of its worst crises ever, but Switzerland “is taking all the time […]
Many countries have sent Syria’s ambassadors packing in recent days. France did the same – sort of. This week the government officially expelled Ambassador Lamia Chakkour. She plans to stay on in Paris regardless.
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Hugo Chávez, Latin America’s Twitter King
MILENIO (Mexico) Latin America’s longest serving leader, Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez, is also the region’s most popular head of state – at least as far as Twitter is concerned. The ailing president recently became the first of the 12 Latin American leaders with active Twitter accounts to pass the 3 million followers mark, Milenio reports. […]
The growing political movement for Internet freedom, the Pirate Party, has shocked many with recent electoral success in Germany. The next objective is establishing a beachhead in France in the upcoming Parliamentary elections.
A Chinese state security official has been arrested on suspicion of spying for the United States, a case both countries have kept quiet for several months as they strive to prevent a fresh crisis in relations.
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Irish voters back EU fiscal pact
Early indications suggest voters in the Republic of Ireland have approved the EU fiscal pact aimed at ensuring fiscal discipline in Europe, as it struggles to overcome a debt crisis.
Activists have released a video which they say shows another mass killing of civilians by a pro-government militia in Syria – the third in a week.
You can be live to 122, AND smoke, drink and devour chocolate. You can also do all those things and die young. Researchers try to unlock the secret to hyper-longevity.
EUROPE 1 (France) “May contain egg protein” or “contains traces of milk.” Not exactly what you’d expect to read on the label of a wine bottle. But starting July 1, wine sold in Europe will come marked with exactly this kind of information. The move follows a European directive aimed at informing consumers of the […]
AL-AHRAM, AL-MASRY AL-YOUM (Egypt) CAIRO – Muslim Brotherhood presidential candidate Mohamed Mursi expressed confidence that he would be elected in the upcoming runoff and sought to assuage Christians’ fears about Islamist rule, Egypt’s Al-Ahram reported on Friday. Egyptians, particularly those who supported the Arab spring revolution, will not accept a Mubarak-style regime again, Mursi told […]
ECONOMIC OBSERVER/SHANGHAI ONLINE NEWS (China) Song Wenchao has become an unlikely hero in China. The 50-year-old man lives in the only remaining house on a building site in Hunan Province. All the others have been torn down by the Changsha City Government. Song’s home is still standing — but only because he refuses to leave. […]