AL MADINA (Saudi Arabia), AFP (France) , LIBERTÉ ALGERIE (Algeria) Worldcrunch A Lebanese man was sentenced to a year in jail and 200 lashes in Saudi Arabia for having secretly drawn tattoos on women’s bodies, according to a report that first appeared in the Saudi newspaper Al Madina. According to the report cited by the […]
Month: July 2012
They are the children of the poor masses in a nation marked by a stark gap between rich and poor. Now the so-called ‘C’ Class is the bulging target of Brazil’s consumer-driven economy. See how they live — and what they want.
North Korea’s young new leader Kim Jong-un was believed to rely on the counsel of top general Ri Yong-ho, 69, who was suddenly removed Monday for “health” problems. Few believe that line, and see his departure as a sign of a maj
Analysis: China and Japan have little room for compromise as tensions rise over the disputed Senkaku islands. Still, it is part of a broader dance between the region’s two biggest powers that is short-wired — at least for now — to try and avoid
CLARIN, ADNMUNDO (Argentina) HAARETZ (Israel) JEWISH CHRONICLE (UK) Worldcrunch On July 18, 1994, 85 people were killed and hundreds wounded in the bombing of the main Jewish association in Buenos Aires, an attack that Israelis and Argentinian prosecutors have long suspected Iran of masterminding. Exactly 18 years later, on the same day, six Israeli tourists […]
A new exhibit surveys the career of the master sculptor, who captured in physical form the 20th century’s fascination for the toughest existential questions.
EGYPT INDEPENDENT, FOREIGN POLICY, TWITTER Worldcrunch Omar Suleiman, former Egyptian Vice President and reviled chief of intelligence for ex-president Hosni Mubarak, died in an American hospital on Thursday. The Egypt Independent reports that 76-year-old Suleiman suffered from lung and cardiac problems, and that he’d flown to Cleveland, Ohio three weeks ago to undergo treatment. On […]
For the so-called “Skywalkers” of the world, understanding why they cross massive chasms is difficult — it’s no easier to explain how they feel suspended in the void.
THE GUARDIAN, REUTERS, AFP Worldcrunch Heavy fighting continues between Syrian rebels and government security forces in Damascus on Thursday, as the country reels from yesterday’s bombing that killed three top regime military officials, including President Bashar al-Assad’s brother-in-law. The attack has plunged Syria into perhaps its deepest state of uncertainty since the uprising began last […]
BBC (UK) , NEW YORK TIMES (US), YEDIOTH AHRONOTH (Israel) Worldcrunch BURGAS – The deadly terrorist attack on an Israeli tourist bus in Bulgaria was carried out by a male suicide bomber with fake US identification, the BBC reported Thursday. At least seven people have been confirmed dead following the blast on Wednesday, including six […]
The unemployment rate on Montana’s Fort Peck Indian reservation can reach 70%, with scant signs of ways to turn around the local economy. Still, the recent reintroduction of the pure breed of bison can, in tangible ways and otherwise, means somet
LIBERO (Italy), DIE WELT (Germany), HEUTE, KLEINE ZEITUNG (Austria) The tiny Greek island of Icaria is considering a referendum to break away from debt-saddled Greece, and become part of Austria, according to several European press reports. Icaria, which has a population of 8,000, could decide to become independent after its 100-year treaty with Athens expires […]
EL DIA, INFORME 21 (Argentina) Worldcrunch BUENOS AIRES – We know that the news never waits, neither do trains nor time itself. But a good ol” fashioned book…well, we used to think that it could just sit up there forever on the bookshelf, gazing down, waiting until whenever to crack it open and devour what’s […]
In Congo, too often aid gets diverted from those most needy to those best connected. The devastating rains this spring were a tragic case in point.
REUTERS, BBC, AL ARABIYA, THE GUARDIAN Worldcrunch DAMASCUS – Syrian State television is reporting that Syria’s Defense Minister Gen. Dawoud Rajha and intelligence chief Assef Shawkat were killed in a bombing at the National Security Bureau in Damascus on Thursday. Other ministers and officials were hurt and were brought to the capital’s al-Shami hospital, including […]
BLOOMBERG, KCNA (North Korea) Worldcrunch Two days after the surprise departure of the army chief, North Korea’s Supreme leader Kim Jong-un is furthering his grip on the military by adding a new title to an already long list of honors. A statement by state-run news agency KCNA announced that “”A decision was made to award […]
AP, AFP Worldcrunch BUDAPEST – Hungarian prosecutors say they have taken into custody one of the world’s last living senior-level Nazi-era criminals on Wednesday and have charged him with war crimes, the Associated Press reports. Ninety-seven year-old Laszlo Csatary was located earlier this week by reporters from British newspaper The Sun through information from the […]
FOHLA DE S.PAULO (Brazil) Worldcrunch SÃO PAULO – “Enjoy “ze flight!” One of the secret pleasures of international flying is checking out the fantastic range of accents of pilots and flight crews. Across all languages. But for security reasons, a very solid grasp of English is mandatory for all pilots on international flights. Passengers on […]
Essay: Europe and the West are considered the “developed” world, while countries such as China are said to be “developing.” But such mentalities don’t really match the respective realities of wealth, in all its
MEHR NEWS AGENCY, KALEME (Iran), LE MONDE (France) Worldcrunch As a last resort to fight soaring food prices, a top Iranian official has proposed a ban on images of people eating chicken on television. National Police Chief Esma’il Ahmadi Moghadam suggested that images of chicken should be banned from state television, fearing that they may […]
THE GUARDIAN, REUTERS, BBC, ZAMAT Worldcrunch DAMASCUS – Violent clashes between government forces and rebels continued in the Syrian capital for the third day on Tuesday, as U.N. special envoy Kofi Annan visits Moscow to promote a peace plan. Heavy clashes taking place in new areas right in the middle of #Damascus. The city is […]
CBC NEWS, THE TORONTO STAR (Canada), Worldcrunch TORONTO – A shooting at a barbecue street party in Toronto’s residential east end left two dead and 19 injured, in what the Canadian police called “the worst incident of gun violence” the city has ever seen. A teenage girl and a man believed to be in his […]
Salafi sheik Abou Islam Abdallah had a dream: a television channel run only by women wearing the full-face veil. He would have to wait years, and the fall of the Mubarak regime, to see the all-niqab network launch this week for the first time.
Manfredi Borsellino still has many questions about how his father, anti-mob magistrate Paolo Borsellino, was allowed to die just three months after his colleague, and fellow crusading hero Giovanni Falcone had been killed. Now you can see it in his eyes.
CORRIERE DELLA SERA (Italy) Worldcrunch Was it the slightly undersized wheels that tipped them off, or maybe the front bumper that looked a bit too square, or something just not quite right in the line of the roof? Unfortunately for this Lithuanian driver, set to cross the Swiss border from Italy with what he was […]
In the West African nation of Mali, the situation is rapidly disintegrating for large swaths of population as Islamist radicals intent on imposing religious law are spreading their power. On the ground in a nation in peril.
AFRISCOOP, INFOPLUS GABON, BUSINESS DAY Worldcrunch For the first time ever, the African Union has a woman president: South Africa’s Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma will lead the continent-wide body, after defeating incumbent Jean Ping following four rounds of voting. Senegalese website AfriScoop reports that Dlamini-Zuma, 53, who had been serving South African Minister of Home Affairs and […]
THE KOREA TIMES (South Korea), THE KOREA HERALD (South Korea), NEW YORK TIMES Worldcrunch SEOUL – North Korea has relieved its army chief Ri Yong Ho of all government posts because of an “illness,” prompting speculation of a possible power struggle within the secretive regime, South Korea’s daily newspaper The Korea Herald reports. The North’s […]
Essay: China is consumed by the ethical rot that seems to pervade society, from official corruption to tainted food. State TV and others in Beijing are quick to blame market forces for this “moral debacle.” But one writer takes a closer
AL-MASRY AL-YOUM (Egypt), HAARETZ (Israel), THE JERUSALEM POST (Israel) Worldcrunch JERUSALEM – On the tail end of a tricky Asian and Middle East tour, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has arrived in Israel for a 24-hour visit that will include talks with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on a thorny array of issues: the stalled […]
EURONEWS, THE WARSAW VOICE Worldcrunch Poland is launching major clean-up operations on Monday after summer tornadoes ripped through the country over the weekend, killing one man and wounding ten others. Weather forecasts point to more storms in the coming days as 1,200 rescue workers work to remove fallen trees. Euronews reports that the Baltic region […]
The eccentric offerings at Baumhaushotel Solling in Uslar, Germany, sleep six people each and come with a toilet and balcony. Others have flat-screen TVs and slate bathtubs. They also happen to be 10 meters off the ground. Check out these tree house hotel
CHINA TIMES (Taiwan), SOHU NEWS (China) Worldcrunch QINGHAI – Some say China is using up all of its innovative energy in inventing new ways of showing off. The latest status symbol has four legs and is open for some geopolitical interpretation: the Tibetan mastiff. The China Times reports that as the numbers of luxurious villas […]
With crime on the rise, youth in the Congolese city of Beni have banded together to protect their neighborhoods. Though some bad guys have been busted, some worry that well-meaning crime-fighters can one day turn into dangerous militias.
Categories
Baltic Amber, The Gold Of The North
Prized for its warm tone, the real value of the ancient gemstone is often what has been trapped inside millennia ago. Traveling to the regions around the North and Baltic Seas, you can find amber both in special gem shops, and if you’re lucky, al
Hillary Clinton’s historic visit this week to Laos highlights the reality on the ground: China’s influence grows bigger with each passing day. There are decidedly mixed opinions about what Beijing will bring.
In São Paulo, from under a bridge to under the spotlight for an act of extreme (good ‘ol fashioned) honesty.
In the conservative West Bank city of Hebron, a special, highly-trained unit of women officers is not just about gender equality, it’s about smart and effective policing.
Categories
Evolution Gave Us The Romantic Kiss
Does it come from breastfeeding? Or ancient Greeks feeding each other mouth-to-mouth? Or, maybe, that a smooch is a biological aid to partner selection — a way of checking a potential partner’s immune system? In any case, kissing is by now locked into hu