Worldcrunch
PARIS – The price of luxury products is skyrocketing. The quasi-hypnotic appeal of some brands and the increasing number of extremely wealthy clients throughout the world is enabling luxury brands to hike prices to stratospheric levels year after year. A pair of John Lobb shoes, a Kelly Hermès bag, a kilo of Petrossian Sevruga caviar, […]
YANGZHI RIVER DAILY, CHINA DAILY (China) , EPOCH TIMES (USA) Worldcrunch (BEIJING) – The Chinese Communist Party has recently come up with a new bright idea on how to curb rampant corruption among China’s officialdom: training courses on how to identify conspicuous consumption. By organizing “appraisal lessons of luxury goods and artifacts,” the cadres of […]
KIGALI – There are preachers everywhere in the Rwandan capital. From minibuses to markets, from hospitals to the streets, all day, they try to get people to join their church. Early September, at the Nyabugogo market in Kigali, market-goers were surprised to see the Sainte-Famille parish priest. He had come to the market with worshippers […]
BERLIN – The issue is as old as Christianity: who belongs to a church? Some Catholic scholars in Germany defend the position that it is possible to be Catholic without paying church tax – but the country’s bishops don’t agree, and after months of negotiations they have voted a law that makes further discussion moot […]
While debate continues about controversial new national education reforms, hundreds of children in the southeast province of Hakkari have been locked out of their schools due to a major teacher shortage, the Dogan News Agency (DHA) reported. The 2012-2013 Turkish academic year kicked off on Sep. 17 with the implementation of the new 4+4+4 education […]
SANTIAGO – The U.S. Federal Reserve’s recently announced stimulus package, designed to strengthen the American economy, offered a clear reminder of the huge gap that exists today between Mexico and the rest of Latin America. While Mexico enthusiastically applauded the Fed’s decision to begin pumping $40 billion per month into the U.S. economy through the […]
NEW YORK POST (U.S.), BFM (France), REUTERS Worldcrunch As the rhetorical rollercoaster that is the UN General Assembly draws to a close Friday, amidst some of those heartfelt, or sometimes excruciatingly awkward, moments, we have picked our 2012 All-Star Team of top performers. Mahmoud AhmadinejadBy now, we shouldn’t be surprised by the Iranian President’s blatant […]
ALMATY – The sharp rise in tensions between the European Commission and Russian oil giant Gazprom is worrying the central Asian nations of Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, which are highly dependent on their gas and oil exports to the EU. “The relationship between Europe and Russia, in regards to energy, is similar to that of […]
KOMMERSANT, RT (Russia) Worldcrunch MOSCOW – Mitt Romney turned heads in both Moscow and Washington diplomatic circles last month when he called Russia the “No. 1 geopolitical foe” of the United States. Despite ongoing tensions between the two countries, the assertion surprised many in light of other, more hostile standoffs around the world. But now, […]
ORIENTAL DAILY, SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST (Hong Kong), LONDON EVENING STANDARD (UK) Worldcrunch HONG KONG – Cecil Chao Sze-Tsung, a Hong Kong real estate tycoon, has offered a $64 million “marriage bounty” to any young man “who can impress my daughter and give her happiness,” reports the China Times. Oriental Daily reported a week ago […]
MOSCOW – The Russian government has made quite clear its desire to protect the national light manufacturing and textile industry. A thick packet of documents from the Ministry of Economic Development (MED) lays out how the government intends to change the law regarding procurement of materials for federal agencies, including the military. MED essentially wants […]
CHINA DAILY, XINHUA (China), BBC (UK) Worldcrunch BEIJING – Bo Xilai, who had once been destined for a top position in the Chinese Communist Party ranks, has been expelled from the party and faces corruption charges, reports state newspaper China Daily. The decision was made at a Central Committee meeting on Friday, presided by Chinese […]
We often hear about the rise of the middle class in Asia, and in particular in the fast developing countries such as China and India. However, what exactly is the “middle class”? The term is widely cited around the world, applied without hesitation by all sorts of people. Nevertheless, it means different things to different […]
BBC NEWS (UK), TIMES OF INDIA (India) Worldcrunch KATHMANDU – A plane carrying trekkers to the Everest region crashed and burned just after takeoff on the outskirts of Nepal’s capital, killing all 19 people on board, including seven British and five Chinese passengers. According to eyewitnesses, the small plane operated by Sita Air crashed into […]
CNN, LA TIMES, ABC NEWS, NY TIMES (USA) Worldcrunch LOS ANGELES – The filmmaker behind the anti-Islamic video that has sparked violence across the globe was arrested on suspicion of violating the terms of his probation, including allegedly lying about his role in the film’s production, reports the Los Angeles Times. Federal Judge Suzanne H. […]
CLARIN (Argentina) BARCELONA – For his adoring fans, superstar soccer player Lionel Messi can do no wrong – at least when he is on the pitch. But what about when he’s out of uniform? Watch as the Barcelona FC forward mistakes teammate Thiago Alcântara’s car for his own: The incident occurred just after a team […]
ISTANBUL – Mornings around nine, when shop owners on Galip Dede Street open their doors, dozens of cats appear out of nowhere. They know it’s breakfast time. Not right away: the men first have to unpack new merchandise, stock the shelves, and check the till. But then they put out bowls of water for the […]
EL PAIS (Spain), CLARIN (Argentina), REUTERS Worldcrunch MADRID – The showdown over Spain’s tottering economy continued Thursday, as embattled Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy unveiled a 13-billion euro package of austerity measures. After a six-hour cabinet meeting, Rajoy’s government emerged with details of the budget for 2013, which appeared as a last ditch attempt to avoid […]
HERAT – The withdrawal of Italian soldiers here in Afghanistan has already begun, even if nobody back in Italy knows it yet. For several months now, Italians have stopped being on guard at several bases they used to protect. The smallest, the most inconvenient, or the furthest from the contingent’s center of gravity, have been […]
JERUSALEM — While it is a community that has lived in the city for centuries, not many have heard of the Dom in Jerusalem. “Few people know that we are the Gypsies of the Middle East,” says Amoun Sleem, director of the Domari Society of Gypsies in Jerusalem. The cultural center she runs was founded […]
DIE WELT, DER SPIEGEL (Germany) Worldcrunch A 28-year-old woman has been charged with killing five of her own newborn babies over a period of several years, police said Thursday. Die Welt reports that the woman, whose name cannot be disclosed due to German privacy laws, has confessed to killing two of the babies, five years […]
SANA (Syria), CNN (US), REUTERS (UK), AFP (France) The UN’s refugee agency released new estimates Thursday that say the number of Syrian refugees could reach 700,000 by the end of the year. Reuters reports that UN estimates have almost quadrupled since its last forecast in August reported 185,000 refugees. The new figures were published as […]
PARIS – For months, consumption has been stagnating, and purchasing power is not improving. Will the French, like the Spanish, start buying their yogurts one by one instead of in packs as a way to face the global financial crisis? Remarks by Jan Zijderveld, head of European operations for the Anglo-Dutch conglomerate Unilever, on the […]
NFL.COM, AP, REUTERS (USA) Worldcrunch After two days of marathon negotiations, the National Football League (NFL) has reached an agreement to end a labor dispute with its regular game referees, ending three weeks of questionable calls that had threatened the integrity of the sport, Reuters reports. Welcome back regular refs; it’s been too long: yhoo.it/PqxvF7 […]
XINHUA (China), UNITED DAILY, CHINA TIMES (Taiwan) Worldcrunch TAIPEI – The Taiwanese are famous for being hard-working and creative when it comes to business. And thus the ongoing dispute between China and Japan has turned into an opportunity for the busy brains of Taiwan businessmen. While the boycott of Japanese goods is growing, an emphasis […]
MUNICH – The shelving is pink. The armchairs are pink. The bath salts are of course pink too. The air is heavy with a strawberry scent, and in front of the mirror sits Luisa, 11, having her long blonde hair combed. It must look a little like this at Barbie’s house. Kerstin Kobus, decked out […]
BEIJING – In many countries, being a doctor is regarded as a highly prestigious job. So why are so many Chinese medical students dropping out in the middle of their studies? According to Li Ling, a professor at the National Development Research Institute of Beijing University who is also China’s medical reform expert, “China trains […]
CLARIN (Argentina) Worldcrunch BUENOS AIRES – Olives and its oil have been one of Argentina’s boom industries in recent years, but farmers are now begging the government for help to stay afloat, Clarin reports. The olives produced in Argentina are mostly exported, and currency fluctuations have made the price paid for the olives abroad shrink […]
-Analysis– Karen L. King, the first woman to occupy the Hollis Chair of Divinity at Harvard, recently caused a sensation in Rome. At the International Congress for Coptic Studies, she revealed a fragment of papyrus measuring 4 cm by 8 cm (1.6 inches by 3.15 inches), dating back to the fourth century and covered with […]
LE SOLEIL (Canada), POPULAR MECHANICS, SMITHSONIAN (USA), GUARDIAN (UK) Sure, fewer party balloons and squeaky-voice clown pranks would be a shame. But recent reports of a worldwide shortage of helium could also create supply problems in the production of some of the most advanced technologies, reports Quebec news site Le Soleil. Reserves of helium, a […]
REUTERS, (U.S.) DAPD (Germany), NEUE ZURICHER ZEITUNG (Switzerland) NEW YORK – As television images back home showed off Tehran’s latest weaponry, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad prepared for his final official discourse to the United Nations General Assembly on Wednesday. Tensions are as high as ever over Iran’s nuclear program and Ahmadinejad’s threats against Israel, and […]
EL PAIS, LA VANGUARDIA, EL MUNDO (Spain) Worldcrunch MADRID – Protesters called for a new round of demonstrations Wednesday after a day of clashes with riot police on the streets of Madrid. The latest toll from the violence is 35 people arrested and 64 wounded, according to La Vanguardia. The 2 most tweeted Photos of […]
KATHERIMINI (Greece), THE GUARDIAN (UK), REUTERS Worldcrunch ATHENS – The three-month old Greek coalition government is facing its first anti-austerity general strike Wednesday, with disruptions bringing the country to a standstill. Greek public sector unions have called a strike that is likely to draw thousands of workers out into the street today to protest against […]
-Analysis- Since the beginning of the crisis provoked by the Islamophobic film The Innocence of Muslims, the media have written about it from almost every angle: Coptic extremism, the danger of Salafism, the “arrogance” of the West, the “backwardness” of the Arab world, the shock of civilizations between the Sacred and Freedom of Speech, the […]
CLARIN (Argentina), PERU 21 (Peru) Worldcrunch A Peruvian man is behind bars for allegedly raping and strangling to death his teenage girlfriend, a reality TV participant whose on-air confessions police say led to her murder. The victim, 18-year-old Ruth Thalía Sayas Sánchez, earned 15,000 Peruvian soles (about $5,800) for her recent appearance on El Valor […]
SÃO PAULO – Eight cyclists surround a black car stopping at a red light on Paulista Avenue, a major thoroughfare in São Paulo. The driver, who the cyclists had spotted committing traffic infractions, is told that he is being filmed. He immediately speeds away from the bikes — running the red light. He hits a […]
NAHA – In mid-September, tens of thousands of people demonstrated in Ginowan, a town on the main island of the Japanese Okinawa archipelago. But these were not protests against the Chinese navy presence near the Senkaku Islands, (called Diaoyu by the Chinese), whose sovereignty is disputed between Japan and China. The Okinawans were protesting the […]
ARIRANG NEWS (Korea), BBC NEWS, CURRENT BIOLOGY (UK), MEDICAL DAILY (USA) Worldcrunch During Korea’s Chosun Dynasty, young men living in poverty often chose to castrate themselves to live within the relative comfort of the imperial palace walls, reports Arirang news. They were used to guard gates and manage food, and were the only men outside […]
TEL AVIV – A small synagogue nestles in a dead-end street near the ocean promenade in Tel Aviv. The synagogue, used by Jews from Aleppo, Syria, was crowded last week for prayer services on Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year. As in the other 10,500 places of worship in Israel, the congregation recited a special […]
KOMMERSANT (Russia) Worldcrunch MOSCOW – The three things that Russians find the most “immoral” are child abandonment, suicide and homosexuality, reports Kommersant. In a survey by the Levada Center, a non-governmental sociological research center, a majority of Russians polled also found sexual relationships between non-married individuals to be immoral. That is more than double the […]