Adventurers flock to the Finnish hinterland to take in the Northern Lights, winter sports and some culinary surprises.
Month: March 2013
PARIS – Their vintage facades date back from a time when apartments didn’t have bathrooms. For many people, washing up meant a sink and cold water. The whole family went to these public baths, regularly or for special occasions. But as time passed, these public baths were transformed into nightclubs, shops – or simply demolished. […]
LE MONDE (France), XINHUA (China) Worldcrunch BEIJING – According to Le Monde, the opening of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) on March 3, was more like a star-studded film premiere than a political event. The CPPCC is a 2,200-member body that meets annually to debate policy and advise government. It includes politicians, but […]
LE NOUVEL OBSERVATEUR (France), THE GUARDIAN (UK) Worldcrunch PARIS – Spanish fashion retailer Mango has issued an official apology for advertizing a necklace on its French website as “slave style,” blaming it on a “translation error.” Screenshot of the incriminating ad on Mango’s French website now removed French actresses Aïssa Maïga and Sonia Rolland quickly […]
LA STAMPA, GAZZETTA DEL SUD (Italy) Worldcrunch VATICAN CITY– The countdown to the conclave is on, and everyone seem to wants in on the action. Indeed one man dressed up as a bishop and headed to the Paul VI auditorium on Monday where the cardinals were meeting to discuss the date for the upcoming conclave, […]
BERN – Switzerland may be set to become the world champion of shareholder democracy. Swiss voters gave overwhelming approval to the popular initiative against excessive corporate compensation — an initiative launched by Thomas Minder, an entrepreneur from the city of Schaffhausen. Some 68% voted in favor of Sunday’s ballot measure, and each local canton received […]
KOMMERSANT (Russia) Worldcrunch IRKUTSK – The Russian government has unexpectedly decided to close down the Baikal Pulp and Paper Mill, which had been the center of one of the biggest environmental battles in recent Russian history, Kommersant reports. The paper mill, which is located on the shores of Lake Baikal in Siberia, had been struggling […]
The Holy See has said that the final report on the scandal plaguing the Vatican would only be delivered to the new pope. But some of those voting for the pontiff want to know the truth.
PUTIN’S MIXED MESSAGES ON UKRAINE Referring to Ukraine as Russia’s “fraternal nation” and characterizing the movement that ousted Ukraine leader Viktor Yanukovych as a “coup,” Russian President Vladimir Putin addressed reporters during a live press conference this morning and insisted Russia had no plans to go to war with Ukraine, though he did not exclude […]
YNET, HAARETZ (Israel) Worldcrunch QALQILYAH – The first official Palestinian-only bus lines began service Monday morning. According to Israeli daily Haaretz, the Israel’s Ministry of Transportation said it has launched the special bus lines in order to avoid conflicts. The lines are for the Palestinian workers who travel each from the West Bank into and […]
CNN (USA), THE GUARDIAN (UK), THE VOICE OF RUSSIA (Russia) Worldcrunch ATLANTA – Mississippi doctors say they have cured a two-year-old girl born with HIV after very early treatment with standard drug therapy – the first time such a case has been documented. Dr Deborah Persaud, a virologist at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore who […]
AFP, BBC (UK), VOICE OF AMERICA (USA) Worldcrunch KARACHI – The death toll has reached at least 45, with 150 wounded from a powerful blast in a mainly Shiite Muslim area of Karachi. There are reports that the explosion was set off by Sunni terrorists, although by midday Monday no group had claimed responsibility for […]
South of Munich is a clinic that specializes in treating teachers with psychological problems. The causes aren’t always what you think.
BEIJING – Before even leaving for the United Kingdom, we had already decided to try out the local cuisine as much as possible. It shouldn’t be too difficult to avoid Chinese food – even though there are Chinese restaurants in every corner of the world these days. After all, we were only spending a dozen […]
ROME – The Pope’s resignation is a unique event, although not entirely without historical precedent. Benedict XVI is retiring not in failure but as freely and serenely as Charles V — who wasn’t a pope but an emperor, and one of the West’s major rulers when he put down his crown on October 25, 1555. […]
LATEST ON UKRAINE The Ukrainian crisis worsened over the weekend after the Russian Parliament approved President Vladimir Putin’s request to send in troops, putting the Ukrainian army on full alert, the BBC reports. According to U.S. officials, Russia now has some 6,000 airborne and ground troops in Crimea, leading them to admit that Moscow was […]
SANTIAGO – José came to Santiago, from Cali, Colombia five months ago. Some acquaintances in his hometown had put him in contact with Carlos, another Colombian who has been working in a cell phone store in the Chilean capital for the past year. Now José has joined Carlos as a salesperson in the store, where […]
French and Chadian troops search for terrorist groups who melt into the landscape and launch suicide attacks in the towns. Initial plans for France’s rapid return home have been revised.
Would-be parents in the US are more likely than any other nationality to adopt children with disabilities. The issue is heating up again after the death of a Russian boy in Texas.
Worldcrunch TORONTO – The epitome of femininity and glamour is a pair of high-heeled shoes, but originally, they were actually designed for men. According to a recent BBC report, high heels were worn as a form of riding footwear, with the heel allowing a soldier to stand up in his stirrups securely so he could […]
WASHINGTON – Radioactive sludge has long been leaking from a nuclear site less than 10 kilometers from one of the West Coast’s biggest rivers, and no one seems to care. According to Tom Carpenter, director of environmentalist organization Hanford Challenge, this virtual media blackout should come as no surprise. The consequences of the leak will […]
HAMBURG – For Stephan Hering-Hagenbeck, whose family has run this city’s zoo for over 100 years, there are challenges both inside and outside the gates of any such “animal park.” Inside this zoo, as for every zoo around the world, the biggest challenge is to keep the animals from getting bored. Hering-Hagenbeck explains that animals […]
LA STAMPA (Italy) Worldcrunch LOS ANGELES – On Jan. 9, Swedish superstar DJ and producer, Avicii put out a call that he wanted to record a crowd-sourced single. After seven weeks and more than 13,000 fan submissions later “X You” is finally complete and is the world’s largest music collaboration. Here is his call for […]
A Polish reporter in London finds out for herself.
VATICAN CITY – One of the cardinals getting ready to enter the upcoming conclave knows that he himself is not papabile — that is, his is not one of the names being considered as a possible next pope. Perhaps for this reason he has taken the time to lay out to La Stampa, in a […]
BUENOS AIRES – A new exhibition at Buenos Aires” Palais de Glace museum delves into the colorful and high-flying world of Lucha Libre – the freestyle wrestling so popular in Mexico and elsewhere in Latin America. In Lucha Libre, the good guys are called “tecnicos” (technicians) while the bad guys – who wear even more […]
Worldcrunch PARIS – On Friday, the European statistics agency Eurostat, released new European Union and euro zone unemployment figures from January, showing record highs. Here is a breakdown of the alarming numbers: – More than 26 million people unemployed in the 27-member European Union. – Almost 19 million unemployed in the 17-country euro zone. – […]
NGOZI – In the north of Burundi, new brands of “beer” have sprouted recently. They are produced locally in a multitude of small breweries or imported from neighboring countries in little plastic bags. These alcoholic beverages are three times less expensive than normal brews – $0.30 for 50ml – and very strong, containing up to […]
DIE WELT (Germany) Worldcrunch BERLIN – “Tear down this wall!” Ronald Reagan famously implored in Berlin in 1987, challenging Mikhail Gorbachev to bring an end to the Cold War. Now, it appears, this was also the much quieter request of a luxury condominium developer. The longest remaining portion of the Berlin Wall, stretching 1,316 meters […]
AP, CNN, REUTERS, NEW YORK TIMES (U.S.), THE GUARDIAN (UK) Worldcrunch FORT MEADE– Wikileaks whistleblower, Bradley Manning pleaded guilty on Thursday to 10 of the 22 charges he is accused of in what the U.S. government calls the largest leak of classified documents in the nation’s history, writes CNN. There are many moving parts to […]
KYODO (Japan), WHO, AFP Worldcrunch TOKYO – The Japanese government on Friday refuted a World Health Organization report that found a higher cancer risk for people living in areas contaminated by the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster, reports Kyodo news. The UN health agency’s report, which was published on Thursday, said that there was a 70% […]