Worldcrunch
Yes it’s that time of the year again! Readers’ Picks These are the articles that got your attention (and clicks) in 2012. 1. Catholic Church Makes A Fortune in the German Porn Business DIE WELT Weltbild, one of Germany’s largest publishing companies, happens to be owned and operated by the Catholic Church. But that has […]
GENEVA – To distinguish themselves from Facebook and Twitter, new social networks are trying to find a different economic model. A trend is emerging – the return to paid subscriptions. From App.net to Diaspora, here is a short review of these new actors. App.net, the paying Twitter “We are selling our product, not our users.” […]
-Essay- CAIRO – During the painful Ettehadiya battle earlier this month between Brotherhood supporters and youthful opposition, the violence was not just physical. The scene was also a battlefield of chants. We chanted, “horriya” (freedom). They responded, “Sharia.” Then we uttered, “Jika.” Then they fell into a temporary silence, bedazzled and confused about what the […]
AP, U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT (USA) Worldcrunch WASHINGTON – U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was admitted to a New York hospital on Sunday, after the discovery of a blood clot stemming from a concussion she suffered earlier this month, reports the AP. #SecClinton is being treated for a blood clot stemming from a concussion sustained […]
PAPEETE – Regardless of what geographers might say, there is a certain proximity between Tahiti and Iceland… The lush green rock dropped in the middle of the southeast Pacific Ocean might be a hundred times smaller than the chunk of windswept ice in the Northern Atlantic Ocean, but insularity is not about surface or latitude. […]
MOSCOW – President Vladimir Putin recently announced that this year was a record year for Russian weapons exports, with $15 billion in contracts for next year and $14 billion worth of weapons that have already been sold in 2012. This past year the main customers for Russian weapons were once again India, Algeria and Vietnam. […]
CASABLANCA – Saturday September 1st was a sunny day, the afternoon sky was blue and the summer holidays not quite over. A young couple, Mr. and Mrs. Ajouhi wanted to bring their six and three-year-old children to the Tahiti Beach Club on the Corniche Boulevard in Casablanca, Morocco. Established in 1940 and currently owned by […]
YOUTUBE, AFP Worldcrunch MOSCOW – Four people were killed when a Russian jet from Red Wings Airlines overshot the highway at a Moscow airport and crashed on a nearby highway. The Tupolev Tu-204 jet was empty of passengers, and was just carrying eight crewmembers according to the AFP. “Four crewmembers were killed and four more […]
-OpEd- BEIJING – Despite strong opposition from the international community, North Korea went ahead with its planned use of a long-range rocket to launch a satellite. As the North Koreans were cheering the successful Dec. 4 launch, their longtime Chinese ally was in no mood for celebrations. North Korea’s missile and nuclear capabilities have been […]
Bob McMahon and I typically use our weekly podcast to discuss major foreign policy issues likely to be in the news in the coming week. In honor of the approaching New Year, we decided to change things up and examine the issues likely to dominate world politics in 2013. We discussed a sluggish global economy; […]
In the 17th and 18th centuries, opera performers could take any role they wanted. Sopranos were kings, countertenors their lovers; although, in an old theater tradition that went back to the Greeks, wet nurses were always played by men, and the character was re-written if no male could be found to play it. Only in […]
CAIRO – Some of the most widely circulated images and clips in the past year and a half have been taken using smartphones, leading a well-known activist to write on Facebook in late November that: “An effective use of a smart phone can sometimes replace the need for a Kalashnikov.” His comment came around the […]
SUDDEUTSCHE ZEITUNG (Germany) Worldcrunch BERLIN– This past year was the first for Germany’s innovative new Family Care Leave law that allows workers to take time off the job to care for needy relatives. But since coming into force at the beginning of 2012, Germany has met with little interest according to Federal Ministry of Family […]
Americans started eating out a lot more over the past thirty years, a trend that likely caused obesity rates to skyrocket, according to a new USDA report. The study tracked caloric and nutrient consumption at home versus restaurants, fast food establishments and schools between 1978 and 2008. Their results: Over the past 30 years, food […]
KIGALI– Beginning in January, every African visitor to Rwanda will be granted his or her visa upon arrival in the country from any border post. This “on-the-spot” visa process, according to Ange Sebutege, communications officer at the Rwandan Immigration Services, is designed to bring in more Africans tourists. Until now, visitors had to fill out […]
-Essay- BERLIN – It would have been better if she had dark circles under her eyes. Maybe a little bit of flab around the middle. At the very least a stain on her blouse – anything. Instead, in her first public appearance since the birth of her son, Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer was as slim […]
REUTERS, FOXNEWS, CNN, AP (USA) Worldcrunch SALT LAKE CITY – Gun-rights advocates in Utah have offered six hours of training in handling concealed weapons for teachers, in the wake of the mass shooting that killed 20 children and six staff members at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. On Thursday, about 200 Utah teachers […]
XINHUA (China), VOICE OF AMERICA (USA), REUTERS Worldcrunch BEIJING – Chinese legislature has passed a law that includes mandatory real-name registration for Internet users, Xinhua reported on Friday. The new rules were announced by the official Xinhua news agency on Twitter: Rules approved Friday in China to enhance protection of personal info online and safeguard […]
In 2011, Sony accumulated losses of $5.6 billion, Sharp lost $4.7 billion, and Panasonic $9.6 billion. The momentum of similar huge losses at these firms has continued through 2012. All these enterprises that used to be so much admired by the Chinese are plunging, one by one, into historic lows. Of course the ups and […]
NEW YORK TIMES, AP (USA) Worldcrunch Gen. H. Norman Schwarzkopf, who commanded the U.S.-led forces that stormed to victory in the first Persian Gulf War against Iraq in 1991, has died at the age of 78. The New York Times called Schwarzkopf the “most acclaimed military hero since the midcentury exploits of Generals Dwight D. […]
PARIS – The wine cellar of the French Presidential Palace – the Elysée – where President François Hollande now resides, is not that far from the command center of France’s nuclear arsenal. Its location remains just as much a mystery. Except for authorized personnel, it is impossible to visit the wine cellar, with the entrance […]
President Vladimir Putin’s announcement that he will sign the so-called “anti-Magnitsky” bill into law is just part of the widespread anger toward Washington.
BEIJING – The tale of Cao Tian, a wealthy real estate developer from the Western city of Zhengzhou, has captured the attention of many Chinese. But it’s not, as one might have imagined, for his business success or personal riches. It all started when Cao Tian first announced his intentions last year to run for […]
FRANCE 24 (France), BBC NEWS (UK), AL JAZEERA (Qatar) Worldcrunch BANGUI – The United Nations has evacuated its non-essential staff from the Central African Republic, while the U.S. urged its nationals to leave as rebels closed in on the capital, reports France 24. The United Nations ordered more than 200 non-essential staff and families of […]
REUTERS, CNN Worldcrunch HOUSTON – Former President George H.W. Bush has been in a Houston hospital for more than a month, and in intensive care since Sunday, a family spokesman has revealed. He has been in the intensive care unit at Methodist Hospital since Sunday, spokesman Jim McGrath told CNN late Wednesday. Bush is in […]
THE TIMES OF INDIA, IANS (India) Worldcrunch SINGAPORE – The 23-year-old Indian woman victim of a gang rape on a New Delhi bus that sparked violent protests was flown to a Singapore hospital on Thursday morning, and remains in criticial condition. The decision to medevac the young woman to Singapore’s Mount Elizabeth hospital was taken […]
HAMBURG – Irina Galtsova has to concentrate on what she’s doing. If she makes a mistake, the inhabitants of Bonga Island won’t be able to plant any more palm trees, go fishing, or make pottery. Plus she could ruin the fun for hundreds of thousands of women who love the computer game she designs. The […]
For investors just getting into the game, the process can seem a little bit like a middle school dance. Awkward and inexperienced, they suction-cup themselves to the walls and poke around the punch bowl while bullish professionals stampede the floor and steal all the good deals. Ever thought you might be selling yourself a little […]
The struggle for power in Lumbini, Nepal as a Chinese group pushes a “mega project” to draw Buddhist tourists from around the world.
DIE WELT (Germany) Worldcrunch Over the past three years, U.S. lifestyle brand Hollister has opened 17 retail outlets in Germany opened during the last three years. According to information acquired by Die Welt, a number of former employees of the stores have sued the German subsidiary of the U.S. mother company Abercrombie & Fitch for […]
Chinese firms setting up shop on the African continent must do their homework on more than just strictly business conditions.
DONETSK – Four hundred miles south of Kiev, the oppressively cloudy sky overwhelms the vast plain. The only things cutting through the horizon are the slag heaps from the region’s coal mines. The coal basin of Donbass has seen better times – before Ukraine became independent in 1991, it was the heart of the Soviet […]
AL MASRAWY (Egypt), SKY TV Worldcrunch CAIRO – After weeks of confrontation over a proposed new Egyptian Constitution, President Mohammed Morsi has signed the decree that makes the new document the law of the land after voters approved a nationwide referendum, according to press reports early Wednesday. Al Masrawy reported the official results of the […]
THE JAPAN TIMES, THE ASAHI SHIMBUN, (Japan) THE NEW YORK TIMES (USA), BBC NEWS (UK) TOKYO – Japan’s new Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has unveiled his Cabinet lineup, as he begins the task of resuscitating the country’s economy. Parliament voted Shinzo Abe back to power after Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda resigned Wednesday, ending the country’s […]
MANILA STANDARD TODAY (Philippines), THE INDEPENDENT (UK), AP Worldcrunch MANILA – Angry residents beat a man to death and threw rocks at firefighters after a shantytown fire killed seven people on Christmas day, reports the Associated Press. The man was reportedly beaten to death by his neighbors after shouting that he started Tuesday’s fire in […]
CAIRO – President Mohammed Morsi has reportedly signed a decree Wednesday that activates Egypt’s new Constitution, after nearly 64% of voters approved its adoption in a referendum that concluded this past weekend. Opposition leaders have vowed to try to overturn the new Constitution, saying its language is vague and does not protect freedom of speech […]
LOS ANGELES TIMES, NEW YORK TIMES Worldcrunch News spread over the Christmas holiday that the acting trade had lost two of its most ordinarily recognizable faces, Jack Klugman and Charles Durning. Klugman, who died at the age of 90 on Monday, broke through with supporting movie roles in Hollywood, but was mostly remembered for his […]
MOSCOW – Human rights organization “Shield and Sword” has become the first Russian non-profit forced to register as a “foreign agent.” This comes with the activation of a new law that requires any non-profit that receives funding from outside of the country to register as such with the Russian government. Activists say the legislation was […]
AGEO – Shigeo Iizuka still has the black-and-white photo of his little sister, Yaeko, stuck on the inside cover of his pocket diary. It was June 1978, when the 22-year-old suddently disappeared, taken from the bustling heart of Tokyo and transferred to North Korea to be used as a teacher of Japanese language and customs […]
BERLIN – What is the first thing Chinese people think about when asked about Germany? Sure, Oktoberfest, the Cologne carnival, but mostly: the car industry. German automakers Mercedes, BMW and Volkswagen were mentioned spontaneously by nearly 25% of Chinese people polled in a recent survey. Asked about China, Germans made associations like “economic power” and […]