Worldcrunch
MANDELA MEMORIAL TODAY • Mourners gathered for former South African leader Nelson Mandela’s memorial service in rainy Soweto today. • In his remarks at the memorial, President Barack Obama characterized Mandela as “a giant of history, who moved a nation toward justice, and in the process moved billions around the world.” • Notably, and in […]
BERLIN – Inner tension mounts. Heart rate increases, breathing is faster, small body hairs stand on end. Sudden muscle contractions, spasms, indescribable feelings of pleasure: an orgasm, over relatively quickly for men but sometimes lasting up to 30 seconds for women. Along with intense feelings of release following an orgasm, come feelings of happiness and […]
OpEd: Prime Minister Mario Monti has announced his resignation, after Silvio Berlusconi sabotages his technical government. Why can’t Italy be a “normal” country?
MASRAWY (Egypt), AL JAZEERA (Qatar) Worldcrunch CAIRO – Attempting to tame the wave of rage that erupted last week in the capital, Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi continued his weekend maneuvering into the early hours of Monday morning, imposing and quickly rescinding a new consumption tax. On Saturday, Morsi announced he would annul the constitutional declaration […]
SYDNEY MORNING HERALD, AUSTRALIAN FINANCIAL REVIEW, NINE NETWORK (Australia) Worldcrunch SYDNEY – The two Australian radio DJs who conducted the controversial prank call to the hospital where the Duchess of Cambridge was staying, have broken their silence for the first time since the death of nurse Jacintha Saldanha on Friday. Radio DJs Mel Greig and […]
In November, both the U.S. presidential election and China’s change of leadership took place. They were the two most watched events of the year. China’s transfer of power within the party has become increasingly institutionalized. Meanwhile, America’s history of democratic election is deep-rooted and continues to play a fundamental role in its national and social […]
CNN, LOS ANGELES TIMES (USA), BBC NEWS (UK) Worldcrunch MEXICO CITY – Mexican-American singer Jenni Rivera died Sunday in a plane crash in northern Mexico, reports BBC News. Photo Jenni Rivera Jenni’s father, Pedro Rivera, confirmed the death of the Latin music and reality TV star as well as the deaths of every member on […]
Let’s be real, says this commentator, Israeli settlers on the West Bank aren’t going away, UN statehood for Palestine notwithstanding. Here’s another way to imagine a two-state solution.
Life of Pi shows the Taiwan-born Lee in total command of his storytelling talents.
DIE WELT (Germany) Worldcrunch BERLIN – By 2016 Deutsche Post wants to have its own national online food retail operation up and running. A spokeswoman said the company has been planning the move for some time and that the challenge was setting up a system of outlets around Germany that would stock a wide selection […]
Seniors Demographic Reaches Social Media Tipping Point.
FRANKFURT – After the plane landed, the Baier family felt a little lost. The customs officer didn’t smile; the taxi driver seemed annoyed by the amount of baggage they had. The Baiers (not their real name) were “home,” back in Germany – but it seemed foreign to them. The family breadwinner, Markus, had spent nearly […]
CAIRO – After clashes one night this week near the presidential palace, I went to a mosque near the palace. I knew it would be open, as it was time for the dawn prayer. I immediately recognized people from the Muslim Brotherhood, especially when I saw my neighbor from our town on the outskirts of […]
OUEST FRANCE, LE FIGARO (France) Worldcrunch PORT-LOUIS – Twenty-three mothers of primary school children in Port-Louis in northwestern France have taken “parental involvment” to a whole new level. To collect enough money to send their kids on winter field trips, mothers from Port-Louis’ Transparents association have decided to organize a “sexy and glamourous” photoshoot for […]
BERLIN – Yes, he has investigated cases of murder by poisoning, says Burkhard Madea. The forensic pathologist at the University of Bonn, an expert in unexplained causes of death, recalls “a series of deaths about 20 years ago when a nurse deliberately gave old, helpless patients the wrong medication. The victims all died suddenly, but […]
MOSCOW – Seeking to guarantee greater energy and food security for its population, China is coming up against serious limitations. Just look at the basic numbers: the country only has 8% of the world’s energy reserves, and only 11% of the world’s arable land – yet, it is providing for 19% of the planet’s population. […]
ROME – For a foreigner who doesn’t understand the Byzantinism of Italian politics, it will seem paradoxical: as of yesterday, the majority that has kept Mario Monti’s government in place is suddenly hanging by a thread, even as the main economic packages were approved by the legislature. And now, elections could be right around the […]
UNITED DAILY NEWS (Taiwan) Worldcrunch BEIJING- There’s a new iPhone app circulating in Beijing that breaks a new barrier in cool convenience, and it comes with a rather awesomely descriptive name: “Yaoyao-zhaoche,” which translates from Chinese as shake-shake cab-calling. According to the United Daily News, after downloading the app and establishing a paypal minimum balance, […]
AL JAZEERA (Qatar), BBC NEWS (UK), CNN (USA) Worldcrunch GAZA CITY – Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal set foot in Gaza on Friday, ending 45 years of exile from the Palestinian Territories, reports Al Jazeera. After passing across the Egyptian border at Rafah, Meshaal knelt on the ground to offer a prayer of thanks and was […]
BERLIN – Benjamin Netanyahu tried to be a polite guest. That’s why, when he visited the Federal Chancellery, he was careful to play down his disappointment with Angela Merkel. But the Israeli Prime Minister only made it worse. He said: “I think Chancellor Merkel was of the opinion that this vote would in some way […]
ASSABAH (Tunisia), FRANCE 24-ARABE (France), Worldcrunch TUNIS – With protests mounting against the Islamist-led government, Tunisia’s leading labor union called Friday for the first general strike since the fall of the Ben Ali regime nearly two years ago. Slated for Dec. 13 in the capital of Tunis, Sfax and other major cities, the strike has […]
JAPAN TIMES, NHK (Japan), CNN (USA), BBC NEWS (UK) Worldcrunch TOKYO – A powerful earthquake struck off the northeast coast of Japan on Friday evening, triggering a tsunami, reports CNN. The epicentre of the 7.3 magnitude quake was about 245km (150 miles) south-east of Kamiashi at a depth of about 36 kilometers. There have been […]
Doctors are left “playing God,” having to choose which patient will get the costly treatment.
TIJUANA – The sinister stairs seem to lead down into a small hell. Illuminated with red lights and beating to the sounds of hard rock music, the air hangs with the smell of marijuana and sweat in a sticky cloud that engulfs everything. The destination is the basement, which has become one of the most […]
Worldcrunch SEATTLE – Possession of marijuana became legal Thursday in the U.S. state of Washington, a month after voters opted for decriminalization. Source:Facebook Anyone aged 21 and over is now allowed to carry up to 1oz (28.4g) of cannabis. Smoking cannabis in public will remain illegal. Though legal for medicinal purposes in other states, the […]
L’EQUIPE (France), BBC NEWS (UK) Worldcrunch LAUSANNE – It is one of the most eagerly awaited announcements in soccer. But on Thursday, no country won the right to host the 2020 edition of the European Championship after UEFA, the continent’s governing soccer board, chose for the first time to spread the event across a dozen […]
BIR JDID – The family dream was to move to a slum in Casablanca. Shantytowns are no longer as bad as they used to be, says the mother: “Everything there is well-planned nowadays.” She proudly lists out all the advantages of living there: “Electricity, sewage, waste collection, humanitarian organizations and even a mailman.” Every big […]
BRUSSELS – Over good food and drink, the dinner Tuesday of all of NATO’s foreign ministers was meant to be an informal exchange of the different points of view on the Middle East. But before the main course had been served most of the ministers had lost their appetite: The alliance’s Secretary General, Anders Fogh […]
DIE WELT (Germany) Worldcrunch As one of 34 countries with no diplomatic relations with Israel, the United Arab Emirates does not even allow Israeli citizens entry. But now the UAE’s state-owned airline Etihad has taken a new route in denying recognition: erasing Israel from the world map, Germany’s daily Die Welt reports On the touchscreen […]
-Analysis- BEIJING – Zhang Lan, founder of restaurant chain South Beauty, is one of China’s richest women and a symbol of the country’s booming economic success. Thus it is not surprising that the recent news that the billionaire has renounced her Chinese citizenship to take on a foreign nationality has been met with some significant […]
AMANDALA (Belize), PRENSA LIBRE, UNIVISION (Guatemala), BBC (UK) Worldcrunch GUATEMALA CITY– Computer software millionaire John McAfee was arrested in Guatemala late Wednesday, after fleeing his home last month in Belize following the murder of his neighbor. The BBC reports that McAfee, who made his fortune developing anti-virus software, has been charged with entering Guatemala illegally, […]
FOLHA DE S. PAULO, O GLOBO (Brazil) Worldcrunch RIO DE JANEIRO – Oscar Niemeyer, a Brazilian national icon and one of the most celebrated architects of the 20th century, died on Wednesday in a Rio de Janeiro hospital. He was 104. Niemeyer rose to international fame as the architect of the main government buildings in […]
MASRAWY, AL AHRAM (Egypt) Worldcrunch CAIRO – Protests against Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi have turned deadly. Egypt’s Health Ministry confirmed Thursday five deaths and 446 injuries from the latest confrontation, which turned violent Wednesday night in clashes between pro and anti Morsi demonstrators, the news site Masrawy reported. As the clashes intensified, presidential security deployed […]
ASSOCIATED PRESS Worldcrunch BEIJING — Liu Xia trembled uncontrollably and cried Thursday as she described how her confinement under house arrest has been absurd and emotionally draining in the two years since her jailed activist husband, Liu Xiaobo, was named a Nobel Peace laureate in 2010, the AP writes in an exclusive report. Breathless from […]
In December 1984, this Indian city suffered what is considered the world’s worst industrial accident ever.
HAARETZ (Israel), THE GUARDIAN (UK) Worldcrunch Syria’s ambassador to Venezuela has denied allegations Wednesday that President Bashar al-Assad is considering seeking political asylum in Latin America. On Tuesday, Israeli newspaper Haaretz suggested President Assad’s Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal al-Miqdad had previously held meetings in Venezuela, Cuba and Ecuador in order to ensure the President’s safe […]
SÃO PAULO – It was February 10th, 2011, Penitentiary No. 2 in Presidente Venceslau, a rural town in Brazil’s São Paulo state. At 4:51 P.M., a secret conference call began by mobile phone with two prisoners and three criminals on the outside – the conversation would go on without interruption for nine hours and 38 […]
Christopher Tolkien gave his first ever press interview with Le Monde, shedding light on his father’s vision and sharing his own deep dismay with Hobbit director Peter Jackson.
PEOPLE’S DAILY (China) Worldcrunch GANSU – What’s the best way to handle the unpleasant view of decrepit roadside housing and poverty? Hide it! is the answer from officials of China’s northwestern province of Gansu. According to China’s People’s Daily, the local authority in Zhang County in Gansu has begun to build walls to hide the […]
GENEVA – Pontus Elofsson, head sommelier at Copenhagen’s Noma restaurant, ranked best restaurant in the world for the past three years, swears by them: natural wines. These are the wines with “nothing added, nothing taken away” – no sulfites, no foreign yeasts, no added sugars, no enzymes. Traditional wines, on the other hand, are “corrected […]