THE GUARDIAN (UK), THE MOSCOW TIMES (Russia) Worldcrunch On Friday, the three members of Russian punk-band Pussy Riot were found guilty of “hooliganism motivated by religious hatred” and sentenced to two years in prison. Judge Marina Syrova said the defendants had “crudely undermined social order” when they staged an impromptu performance in Moscow’s Cathedral of […]
Month: August 2012
ANALYSIS – The announcement by Ecuador’s Foreign Minister Ricardo Patiño at a press conference that Ecuador would grant WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange asylum met with cries of approval and applause from assembled journalists. As always, whenever the government of Ecuador calls an official press conference, mostly only journalists close to the government are invited. The […]
EDITORIAL – You can criticize the president of Brazil, Dilma Rousseff, but you can’t accuse her of lack of integrity. As a young revolutionary she was tortured by Brazil’s military dictatorship in the 1970s, and came out of prison unscathed. When democracy was reestablished, she started a long political career. Her tactics may have changed […]
TUNIS – Dorra Bouzid is elated as she faces the slogan-chanting crowd. “It’s the first time I’ve seen an audience at such a fever pitch,” says this emblematic journalist, who wrote the first feminist column in 1955. She feels validated in her opinion: “I’m from the generation that built independence, I’ve always believed in my […]
AMÉRICA ECONOMÌA, THE SANTIAGO TIMES (Chile) Worldcrunch SANTIAGO – A total of 139 people, most of whom were students, were arrested during the eviction of three schools in the center of Santiago, the local Chief of Police Victor Tapia told América Economìa. The three schools (Darío Salas School, Miguel de Cervantes and Confederación Suiza School) […]
NHK, ASAHI SHIMBUN (Japan), CHINA DAILY (China) Worldcrunch TOKYO – Japan announced on Friday that it will send back the 14 Chinese activists who were arrested after landing on a disputed island, in an attempt to defuse the diplomatic feud between the two countries. The activists were arrested on August 15 after sailing from Hong […]
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South African Mine Clash Kills 35
MAIL & GUARDIAN, SABC (South Africa), BBC NEWS (UK), CNN (USA) Worldcrunch JOHANNESBURG– Thirty-five people were killed Thursday in a shooting between police and miners in Marikana, northwest of Johannesburg, reports the South African Broadcasting Corporation. Minister of Police, Nathi Mthethwa, confirmed this figure, bringing the death toll to 45 since the strike started at […]
KOMMERSANT (Russia), KOMMERSANT UKRAINE, ROSBALT (Ukraine) Worldcrunch ODESSA – The second of two men accused of planning a plot against Russian president Vladimir Putin and Chechen leader Ramzan Kadirov, Ilya Pyanzin, filed an appeal on Thursday with the local appeals to court in an attempt to fight extradition to Russia. Adam Osmaev, the man Pyanzin […]
RIO DE JANERO – The saleswoman smiles ironically while pointing out the best-selling product in Zecabiju, one of the dozen accessory shops in Saara, the most crowded open-air market in Rio. “Suelen’s earring, of course. I didn’t even need to tell you, right?” she says. A long golden earring on the right ear — this […]
OUTLOOK, TIMES OF INDIA, INDIAN EXPRESS, INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS TIMES (India) Worldcrunch BANGALORE – Thousands of people from India’s northeastern states have fled the southern city of Bangalore amid fears that they will be targeted in attacks. On Thursday the situation at the Bangalore railway station was chaotic, says the Times of India, as thousands of […]
BERLIN – In the posh, lush Pankow neighborhood of East Berlin, nothing indicates that people are squatting the Kunterbunt house. Everything is orderly in the small brownish building, a legacy of the former German Democratic Republic (GDR). There are flower bouquets on the tables and water paintings of landscapes hanging on the walls. Yet Doris, […]
BEIJING – From the Huangyan Island, known also as the Scarborough Shoal, to the Diaoyu Islands, the Chinese territorial waters have been anything but calm. And inevitably, the shadow of the United States has been present behind all this. These so-called island disputes are actually a game between two great powers. After a period of […]
NEW YORK TIMES, CNN (USA), THE TELEGRAPH (UK), AL JAZEERA (Qatar) Worldcrunch ISLAMABAD – At least nine men, armed with rocket-propelled grenades and automatic weapons, stormed an air force base in the early hours of Thursday in Kamra, about 80 kilometres northwest of Islamabad, reports Al Jazeera. According to a military spokesperson, the eight attackers […]
AFP (France), THE NEW YORK TIMES, BLOOMBERG NEWS (U.S.), AL JAZEERA (Qatar) Worldcrunch LEBANON – Persian Gulf states urged their citizens to leave Lebanon on Thursday after more than 30 members of the Syrian opposition movement were abducted by a Lebanese Muslim Shiite clan, in retaliation for the kidnapping of one of its members in […]
TOKYO – Toru Hashimoto, the young and often controversial mayor of Osaka who shot to fame for his attacks on Japan’s central government and bureaucrats, has chosen a new target — but this time, attracting little sympathy from the Japanese youth. Last March, Hashimoto decided to take disciplinary action against government employees who did not […]
ISTANBUL – For the first time in Turkey’s history, the Kurdish armed group PPK (Kurdistan Workers’ Party) has kidnapped a Turkish lawmaker. Hüseyin Aygün, an MP for the opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) was kidnapped last Sunday in the eastern province of Tunceli. PKK has claimed responsibility for the abduction and has promised to free […]
LE MONDE, LE PARISIEN (France) Worldcrunch PARIS – On August 15, a controversial “Prayer for France” will be read out at French Catholic churches, reviving a centuries old tradition as the country celebrates the Feast of the Assumption — the bodily taking up of the Virgin Mary into Heaven. The wording of the prayer, which […]
OP-ED – A German newspaper recently published a list of the “ten most dangerous politicians in Europe.” When something bad happens we immediately start looking for someone or something to pin the blame on. It makes no difference if the “bad” thing was the capsizing of a cruise liner, a war that ended in a […]
SANA, AL IKHBARIYA (Syria), BBC (UK), AP (USA) Worldcrunch A bomb attached to a fuel truck shook the Syrian capital Damascus, injuring three people, Syrian state-television reports Wednesday morning. The bomb exploded in the car park of the Dama Rose Hotel, which is popular among UN observers — however, none of the injured parties is […]
SYDNEY MORNING HERALD, HERALD SUN, THE AUSTRALIAN, (Australia), BBC (UK) Worldcrunch Australia’s High Court of Justice has upheld a new government law on mandatory packaging for cigarettes that remove brand colors and logos from packaging, reports the BBC. The new law mandates that cigarettes be sold in drab olive-green packs and ban all commercial logos. […]
ASSOCIATED PRESS (U.S.), KHAAMA PRESS (Afghanistan) Worldcrunch The Associated press reports that three grenades were thrown into a mosque in the eastern Afghan Khost province, injuring nine on Wednesday, a day after a string of suicide bombings killed at least 46 people in southwestern and northern Afghanistan. The Taliban did not acknowledge the attack, even […]
BENI – Last June, with rebel groups trying to force him to enroll, Paluku managed to escape into the Rwenzori mountains, in northeastern Congo. Near his 20th birthday, this native of Eringeti, about 400 kilometers to the north of the Congolese capital, Goma, is hardly the only one to have fled a region where armed […]
In just three weeks, the final stage of the EU phase-out of incandescent light bulbs will start. The EU campaign began in December 2008 with the EU Commission’s Ecodesign Directive stating that the manufacturing and sale of “light bulbs with low energy efficiency” would be forbidden in member states after a gradual phase-out. The directive […]
OP-ED – As the world’s eyes were focused on the Olympic Games in London and Bashar al-Assad’s killer tanks and planes battered Syria throughout the summer, Kofi Annan“s resignation went almost unnoticed. But when the UN peace envoy to Syria threw in the towel, it marked the end of a shameful fiasco. The affable Ghanaian […]
Categories
Coming Soon: Islamic Facebook
JAKARTA GLOBE, ANTARA NEWS (Indonesia), AAP (Australia) Worldcrunch JAKARTA – A new Islamic social networking site will be launched in Indonesia in November, and will offer “better protection” for young Muslims from “harmful content” reports the Jakarta Globe. According to the Indonesian newspaper, the Beta version of the site is currently being tested by 1,000 […]
ULAN BATOR – Over the last decade, Mongols have rapidly begun to concentrate here in its capital, as well as other cities. This trend is accelerating and making Ulan Bator an unbearably crowded place, though still relatively small in comparison with most of China’s major cities. Nevertheless, the impact may be more drastic on a […]
DAILY NEWS EGYPT (Egypt), JERUSALEM POST (Israel), AP Worldcrunch On Tuesday, Egyptian President Morsi appointed Mohamed Mekki as his new Vice-President. Mekki is a former senior judge and the first civilian to assume the role. Abdel Fattah el-Sissi was also named as the new chief Field Marshal whilst General Sidqi Sobhi became Chief of Staff. […]
EUROPE 1, BFM TV, LE COURRIER PICARD (France) Worldcrunch AMIENS – Around 100 French youths clashed with police overnight in the city of Amiens, north of Paris. A total of 16 police officers were injured by buckshot and mortar fire during the clashes that lasted for several hours — but no arrests were made. The […]
IRNA (Iran), ABC NEWS, NEW YORK TIMES, ASSOCIATED PRESS (USA), AL JAZEERA (Qatar), XINHUA (China) Worldcrunch TEHRAN – In an apparent change of heart, Iran says foreign aid is now welcome following the twin earthquakes that hit the north western part of the country last weekend, reports ABC news. On Monday, a Turkish rescue team […]
SANTO DOMINGO – In a soft voice, Elena Lorac tells her Kafkaesque story. Born 23 years ago in the midst of the Sabana Grande de Boya sugar cane plantations, 90 kilometers north of Santo Domingo, the young woman is stateless. Dominican authorities won’t give her a cedula (an ID card), using the excuse that her […]
SKOPJE – Cameras flash on Macedonia Square. There aren’t droves of foreign tourists in Skopje, but the Macedonian diaspora, back in the country on holiday, can’t believe their eyes. A huge mounted warrior is in the center of the capital, brandishing his sword skyward: counting the pedestal, the monument has a respectable height of 24 […]
LE MONDE (France), THE GUARDIAN, DAILY MAIL (UK) Worldcrunch They’re not allowed to drive or to vote, writes Le Monde, but the women of Saudi Arabia will soon have their own city. How to create more job opportunities for woman in gender-segregated society? Build female-only city! gu.com/p/39y2a/tw #SaudiArabia — Guardian World (@guardianworld) August 13, 2012 […]
Over 150 years ago the Gold Rush began in California. It made some people very rich, but most people who were a part of it were only enriched by the experience. Today, the state is making people dream again – but this time it’s silicon, not gold, that’s making them see big. The half-metal is […]
AL JAZEERA (Qatar), RADIO SVOBODA NOVAYA GAZETA (Russia), SUNDAY TIMES (UK) MOSCOW – Vladimir Putin, comfortably back in the Russian presidency, presents himself as a humble, down-to-earth man of average means. But rumors about his wealth, and the secrecy surrounding it, have been circulating for years, as far back as his time as deputy mayor […]
EL CALAFATE – This town of around 8,000 in Patagonia holds a particular place in the world of Argentinian President Cristina Kirchner. It is full of luxurious hotels that are open, but with barely any tourists, at least now in the (Southern Hemisphere’s) winter. It was full of stray dogs a few years ago, but […]
IRAN DAILY, TEHRAN TIMES (Iran), AL JAZEERA (Qatar), REUTERS Worldcrunch TEHRAN – Iran has raised the death toll from Saturday’s twin quakes in the north east of the country to 306, a day after calling off the search for survivors and stepping up the relief effort. The official toll, presented by Health Minister Marzieh Vahid […]
Categories
Hong Kong Court Orders “Occupy” Eviction
HONG KONG STANDARD (Hong Kong), BBC NEWS (UK), AL JAZEERA (Qatar), ASSOCIATED PRESS (U.S.) Worldcrunch HONG KONG – A Hong Kong court on Monday ordered the eviction of the protesters camped around the HSCB headquarters in the center of the city, reports the Hong Kong Standard. Protesters have until August 27 to leave the area […]
EFE (Spain), BBC (UK), AP Worldcrunch A thousand people were evacuated Sunday night in La Gomera, in Spain’s Canary Islands, as forest fires continue. Two boats transported residents from the Valle Gran Rey area to the town of San Sebastian overnight, after the fire blocked off road access, the BBC reported. The Garajonay nature reserve, […]
Big oil companies don’t think much of Iraq’s threats. They are lining up for oil prospection in Kurdistan, despite Baghdad’s ban on signing contracts with Kurdish authorities. Last week, Total announced it was purchasing 35% of two blocks located in Iraqi Kurdistan, while the Russian oil giant Gazprom Neft bought stakes in two blocks that […]
Recently several authors of a BL fiction website were arrested. The injustice is so glaringly obvious that I can’t stop myself from saying something about this. The so-called BL (Boy’s Love) fiction is a particular interest of a minority of people. The concept comes from Japan: it refers to female-oriented fiction featuring idealized romantic relationships […]