WorldcrunchKOMMERSANT (Russia)

 Worldcrunch MOSCOW – It was a very particular family enterprise. Twin brothers, both professional artists, painted more than 800 paintings and then sold them, with the help of one of the brother’s daughter, claiming that they were the work of well-known 20th century Russian artists such as Kazimir Malevich. Painting by Kazimir Malevich. […]
It may also turn you into a hypochondriac.
Across the border from Mali, the former French colony of Mauritania is prime territory for Islamist leaders, as poverty and radical preachers lay the groundwork for Jihad.
RUSSIAN PRIME MINISTER VISITS CRIMEAIn the highest-level visit from Moscow since Crimea joined the Russian Federation, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev arrived in the region this morning, Ria Novosti reports. He announced that pensions and wages for public workers would be increased and that all residents would benefit from health insurance. Medvedev also explained that […]
MOQATTAM – After stray dogs violently attacked two children in Moqattam last month, their families pressured the local veterinary council to put an end to the problem by poisoning the animals with strychnine — a deadly pesticide. As a lethal product, strychnine should not be deposited at random, as it can also threaten residents’ health. […]
ROME – Refuse from the shacks float by in the river’s brown, putrid water. There is mud everywhere and the acrid smell of burning plastic lingers in the air. Chickens crow and dogs bark, rusty chain-links act as fencing and a gate. It looks like Manila, but this is Rome. Welcome to the “City of […]
BERLIN – There are impressive museum collections – indeed entire museums – of works by Pablo Picasso: in Malaga and New York, Paris and Barcelona, Münster, Madrid, Basel and Cologne. The best one? Berlin – part of the legendary collection of art dealer Heinz Berggruen (1914-2007) housed since 1996 in a palazzo-style building across from […]
MOSCOW – Since February, Russian authorities have been investigating all of the NGOs operating in the country in an attempt to root out any organizations with foreign ties or foreign funding sources. The entire operation risks further alienating Moscow from Europe – particularly from Germany, after Russian authorities cracked down on two German NGOs operating […]
Worldcrunch CARACAS – An animated video has been released by ViVe, the cultural TV channel owned by the Venezuelan government, depicting Hugo Chavez passing into immortality. The short video shows El Comandante being welcomed into the afterlife by famous Latin American heroes of the past that it felt best represented Chavez’s political ideals. From right […]
Thousands of young Tunisians who tried to emigrate to Europe after the Arab Spring have disappeared. Their families are desperate to know what happened to them.
In Spain and Latin America, debate is raging in the publishing world about whether a dead writer’s heirs have the right to publish works, which in life, the author did not want to publish.
New Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has big economic ambitions for his country — and it may require a slap to its largest regional trading partner.
CAIXIN MEDIA (China), REUTERS Worldcrunch BEIJING – It wasn’t so long ago that its booming spending power and growth potential were calling all the world’s retail giants to set up shop in China. But according to Caixin media, a relative economic slowdown and the rapid rise of its e-commerce is prompting many of those foreign […]
The shooting of teenage blogger Malala Yousafzai was just the tip of the iceberg. Extremists are taking aim at all girls schools of northwest Pakistan. What does the Taliban fear?
AP (USA), BBC, THE GUARDIAN (UK) Worldcrunch NICOSIA – Cyprus has no intention of leaving the euro zone, President Nicos Anastasiades said in a press conference on Friday. “In no way will we experiment with the future of our country,” declared President Anastasiades. He said the situation of the country had been “contained” following its […]
KOREA TIMES, YONHAP (South Korea), KCNA, (North Korea), AP, U.S. Military (USA) Worldcrunch SEOUL – Thousands of North Korean students and soldiers turned out for a rally in Pyongyang on Friday to support their leader’s call to arms, adding fuel to rising nuclear-charged tensions with South Korea and the United States, reports the AP. The […]
Food shortages are almost always a problem of supply, not demand, but don’t tell that to some top Chinese officials maintaining a tight grip on national family planning policy.
EL PAIS (Spain); TELESUR (Venezuela); REUTERS Worldcrunch WASHINGTON – Late Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez never tired of accusing the U.S. government of all types of nefarious deeds. His hand-picked successor, acting president Nicolas Maduro, is keeping up the tradition. First, days after Chavez’s death, Maduro accused Washington of somehow infecting “El Comandante” with his fatal […]
In modern life, artificial light is pervasive. A lack of natural darkness not only stops city dwellers from seeing the stars, it can cause real harm to both the environment, and human health.
Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti was called on to lead a caretaker government. His expertise was welcome, but then the economics professor was bitten by the bug of political ambition…
ADDIS ABABA – Initially, her idea was to provide work for her family in her native village of Zenabework, about 30 kilometers from Addis Ababa, the Ethiopian capital. When she announced that she was going to start her own company on a plot of land lent by her grandmother, everyone said: You are crazy! You […]
The South African paralympian, accused of killing his girlfriend, has no immediate plans to travel abroad, his lawyer says.
BBC, REUTERS, TWITTER Worldcrunch NICOSIA – Banks in Cyprus have reopened Thursday after a two-week closure as the government was forced to accept a strict European Union rescue package to avoid bankrupcy. As discussions between the EU and the International Monetary Fund took place, eventually culminating in Sunday night’s late bailout deal, the doors had […]
AFP; MAIL & GUARDIAN, NEWS24 (South Africa); SOWETAN LIVE (Soweto) Worldcrunch JOHANNESBURG – Former South African President Nelson Mandela has been admitted to hospital with a recurrent lung infection. The news was confirmed by current President Jacob Zuma’s office on Thursday morning, according to Cape Town’s News24. Mandela in 2008. Photo by South Africa The […]
BUENOS AIRES – Expectations for Argentina’s Holy Week were already pretty high after the election of the first Argentine pope, anticipating a strong wave of domestic religious tourism. But the “Francisco Effect” has gone beyond expectations, creating huge demand among Catholic pilgrims from across the region. With occupation rates of around 80% and many hotels […]
Worldcrunch VATICAN CITY – Hardly a day passes that we’re not witness to a new example of how truly humble a man the new Pope is. He paid his own hotel bill just hours after being chosen pontiff; he opts for the simple white cassock and his trusty black shoes instead of elaborate capes and […]
UKRAINE’S RIGHT SECTOR FACING BAN Ukraine’s ultranationalist Right Sector group could be banned after 2,000 of its members encircled and threatened to storm the Parliament in Kiev, a source from former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko’s party told news agency Ria Novosti. The group has increased pressure on Acting Interior Minister Arsen Avakov following the death […]
CORRIERE DELLA SERA, LA STAMPA (Italy) Worldcrunch VERCELLI – This northern Italian city is more than 2,000 kilometers away from Chernobyl, so it’s almost impossible to imagine how the very same radioactive particles ended up here — or in the innards of 27 wild boars. Caesium-137 is a radioactive isotope, formed by nuclear fission on […]
LÜDENSCHEID – There aren’t many places more secretive nowadays than a certain German automobile factory, even if the shiny Mercedes sedans and Porsche sports cars it rolls out are bound for mantlepieces, not autobahns. You see, this factory makes German model cars. Still, giving visitors a tour is virtually impossible, says Britta Sieper, 35, who […]
Vladimir Putin is genuinely convinced that protests against his rule are fomented abroad
Known for its gender equality, Sweden has begun to turn ugly. Some point to a “Breivik effect” spreading through Scandinavia since the 2011 massacre in Norway by a right-wing extremist.
L’EXPRESS, FRANCE 24 (France), BLOOMBERG, REUTERS Worldcrunch PARIS – U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry met his French counterpart on Wednesday for talks about aid to the Syrian opposition and the situation in Mali, where the United Nations has just recommended a force of UN 11,200 peacekeeping troops. Kerry held breakfast talks in Paris with […]
BEIJING – To stem surging housing prices and curb speculation, China has recently issued a new policy that enables local governments to impose a 20% tax on profits earned from the sale of a second home. This is a huge hike from the current 1-2% tax. The move immediately triggered panic among the affluent class […]
-Essay- RABAT – A year ago, Tuareg rebels from the Azawad National Liberation Movement (MNLA) decided to launch an attack to take back the territory of Azawad in northern Mali that they claim as their native land. They managed to chase Mali military troops from their land, but weren’t able to gain the upper hand […]
WASHINGTON POST (U.S.), BBC, SKY NEWS (UK) Worldcrunch LOS ANGELES – In his first speech since resigning in November, former CIA director David Petraeus has apologized to those he says he let down with the extramarital affair that lead to one of the most sudden and dramatic public falls from grace in recent memory. In […]
IMF AGREES ON LOAN TO UKRAINE The International Monetary Fund announced this morning that it will loan between $14 billion and $18 billion to Ukraine over the next two years. With loans from other partners, the program is expected to free up a total $27 billion for the embattled country. This comes after yesterday’s announcement […]
NICOSIA – The festival atmosphere on this sunny morning in Nicosia doesn’t match the bad vibes coming out of Brussels. The Faneromeni church in the heart of Cyprus’s capital is decked out with garlands made of hundreds of blue and white Greek flags and Cypriot flags with the shape of the island nation depicted in […]
China’s basketball legend Yao Ming wants to save the sharks. Wang Haifeng wants to save 500 jobs. Who are you rooting for? Have you ever tried shark fin soup?
You can ride Rome’s public bus and subway system by validating your biglietto of His Holiness from his balcony pose.