Worldcrunch
-Essay- CAIRO – Copts are being persecuted in Egypt. So, what’s new about that? This has been the norm in our “beloved homeland” since at least the 1970s. But in fact, there is something new: sectarianism against Copts and many other minorities — including Shias, Bahais, and Bedouins — intensified after the beginning of the […]
Worldcrunch El Financiero reported this week that child labor abuses affect at least three million kids in Mexico: long workdays, minimal or no payment, informal jobs, and more blatent abuse are constant factors in their daily lives. The last official numbers on underage workers were released in 2011 and indicated that about 870,000 boys and […]
School life can be pretty merciless. Kids have an astonishing repertoire of nasty things they inflict on other kids. But what factors play a role in which kids are the victims and which the perpetrators? Why do some wind up on the receiving end of the nastiness, and others become the ones meting it out? […]
CASABLANCA – For a Moroccan tomato to be sold on the Algerian market, it first has to pass through Marseille. This sounds like a joke, but it describes a well-known reality: While in all other continents, countries group themselves in a common market or free trade zone (ASEAN in South-East Asia, Mercosur in Latin America, […]
The first question in European capitals remains: freedom for Yulia Tymoshenko
UKRAINIAN ARMED FORCES PUT ON FULL ALERT Acting Ukrainian President Olexandr Turchynov announced that the country’s armed forces had been put on combat alert, as he fears Russia could launch a continental war, Interfax reports. According to Ria Novosti, Turchynov also admitted that “the power structures are incapable of operatively taking control of the situation […]
HAARETZ (Israel), BBC NEWS (UK), REUTERS Worldcrunch GAZA – An Israeli airstrike in Gaza killed one Palestinian and wounded two others on Tuesday, in the first targeted attack since last November’s ceasefire. The victim, identified by locals as 29-year-old Haitham Misshal, was hit while riding his motorbike in the north of the Gaza strip. He […]
AP, DUTCH DAILY NEWS, DUTCH NEWS (The Netherlands); THE GUARDIAN (UK) Worldcrunch AMSTERDAM– Queen Beatrix of The Netherlands formally abdicated Tuesday, making way for her son Willem-Alexander to become king — the first in the country for 123 years, reports The Guardian. After 33 years, the 75 year-old queen — whose title now reverts to […]
AMSTERDAM- On Tuesday, Japan’s best-known prisoner — Her Imperial Highness Crown Princess Masako – will after 11 years of relative isolation join her husband Crown Prince Naruhito’s at the coronation of Willem-Alexander in the Netherlands. What would be routine protocol for most members of imperial and royal families will, for Masako, 49, represent a huge […]
On April 15th, India announced that an “intrusion” of around 50 Chinese military personnel had crossed onto the Indian side of the Line of Actual Control in Ladakh, and set up a tent camp. The Indian military immediately responded with tit for tat camp of tents nearby. Thus started the so-called “Tents Confrontation” standoff. The […]
LA STAMPA (Italy); NATIONAL CATHOLIC REGISTER (U.S.) Worldcrunch VATICAN CITY– Charismatic, humble, and kind — it was inevitable that the story of Pope Francis would end up on the silver screen. Bringing the story of Jorge Mario Bergoglio to life is German director Christian Peschken, who received 25 million euros backing from a group of […]
ASUNCIÓN – Latin Americans are not the type to pass on a bargain, especially if it’s being offered by a neighbor. This is why Paraguay has been mercilessly milking all it can from the depreciation of the Argentine peso. This can be seen in the exchange rate between the two currencies – but also in […]
PARIS – Will the young women of 2033 laugh when they learn that their mothers chose their foundation and makeup by themselves? Without a microscope or a telephone? This is what Givenchy is betting on. The French luxury cosmetics company just launched its first Spectrocolorimeter in three of its Paris stores. Developed by X-Rite, the […]
CORRIERE DELLA SERA, LA REPUBBLICA, LA STAMPA (Italy) Worldcrunch ROME – A day after a dramatic shooting outside Italian government headquarters, one of the two injured Carabinieri police officers remains in critical condition Monday as Italy’s entire political system attempts to begin its own recovery with a key confidence vote in Parliament. Sunday morning’s shooting […]
Even if outwardly the UK and Germany may appear on opposite sides of the debate over Brussels’ power, the European economic heavyweights share common interests.
MOSCOW WORRIED BY NATO BUILDUP Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said Moscow was concerned by the “unprecedented” increase in U.S. and NATO activity along the Russian border and urged U.S. counterpart Chuck Hagel to help “turn down the rhetoric” over the ongoing Ukrainian crisis, Reuters reports. This comes after U.S. troops were deployed in the […]
ABC, TELECINCO (Spain) QUITO – It’s the latest sign of a global economy turned on its head. Ecuador, in search of qualified workers to fuel the economy, is actively trying to lure its nationals back home from Spain, which is mired in Europe’s ongoing debt crisis, reports Madrid-based daily ABC. The Ecuadorian government has announced […]
AL JAZEERA, BBC, ASSOCIATED PRESS Worldcrunch DAMASCUS -At least six people died and 20 others were wounded in a blast Monday targeting Syrian Prime Minister Wael Al-Halqi’s car in central Damascus. The explosive device was planted under a parked car in a busy intersection, and then detonated as Al-Halqi’s car drove by, reports AP. The […]
-Essay- BEIJING – On April 10, Fenghuang, a popular tourist town that is on the UNESCO World Heritage tentative list, started charging entry for visitors, triggering public outcry in China. Fenghuang is located in Xiangxi Prefecture, in China’s central Hunan Province, which is home to the Miao and Tujia ethnic minorities. Now, whoever wants to […]
IN UKRAINE, MAYOR OF KHARKIV SHOT The Mayor of Ukraine’s northeastern city of Kharkiv, Gennady Kernes, was shot in the back and admitted to a hospital where “doctors are fighting for his life,” The Kyiv Post reports. It is unclear who shot him, with the newspaper explaining that although Kernes was a supporter of ousted […]
The Mai-Mai militia in the Democratic Republic of Congo is known to kill and eat captured tribal leaders, which they think gives special powers to shield them from bullets.
GAZA – At first sight, it is just a wasteland. Sand – blown in from a nearby beach – covers the scattered bushes. Here and there, ruins, where sometimes children play, barefoot. Welcome to what used to be the spectacular Anthedon Harbor, one of the crossroads of antique civilizations, which for 2000 years was used […]
-Blog- BEIJING – The world is big, and has all kinds of people. Given their various historical, cultural and environmental backgrounds, people from each country are naturally very different. Each nation is proud of its national character. And indeed, some people have a lot to be proud of, like those who pioneered science and democracy. […]
TAPACHULA – “I’ve come here to earn money, and then I’ll go back home…” Josefina Perez talks as she cuts coffee trees with a machete on the 617-acre Irlanda farm perched on the Tacana volcano in the Mexican state of Chiapas. Like this 40-year-old seasonal worker, more than 100,000 Guatemalans cross the border each year […]
PANTHERA, TIMES LIVE, NAMIBIAN Worldcrunch Warnings came this week that the cheetah, the world’s fastest land creature, may be on its way to rapid extinction. The slender big cat could disappear from the wild by 2030, according to NGO Panthera, which reported that cheetahs have been removed from 77% of their original territory in Africa. […]
Meet Bjoern Werner, who was drafted in the first round of the NFL draft this week. And yes, soccer came first.
A selection of the week’s magazine covers from around the world: from Einstein in Brazil to an old president in Italy to bird flu in China, and more…
The Italian city’s decision to take away a modern sculpture of “wonder” says more about the present than the past.
MOSCOW – In December, the Kazakh space agency announced that it was going to be reevaluating the terms under which Russia leases the Baikonur Cosmodrome, the world’s largest facility for space launches — and the only cosmodrome that Russia uses to launch manned space flights. The announcement sent a wave of panic through the Russian […]
RIA NOVOSTI, KOMMERSANT, THE MOSCOW TIMES (Russia) Worldcrunch MOSCOW – At least 38 people have died in a fire that broke out early Friday at a psychiatric hospital outside of Moscow. The death toll may rise further as many are still believed to be in the one-story facility in Ramenye, 120 kilometers north of Moscow. […]
ADNKRONOS, LA STAMPA (Italy), BIOSCIENCE TECHNOLOGY (USA) Worldcrunch MILAN – Great news for coffee junkies worldwide from the place where it’s brewed to perfection: Italian researchers say even three or four cups of espresso a day is actually good for you. A study at Mario Negri Pharmacological Institute in Milan showed the daily cup or […]
A probe finds Dilma’s government taking shortcuts to achieving competitiveness for the country.
RANGOON – Down Pyay Road, in the middle of a huge traffic-jam, children walk between old Japanese cars in the stifling heat and humidity. Like in other cities of emerging Asian countries, the children walk through the busy streets to sell soda cans and jasmine flower bouquets that are supposed to help cool down the […]
20 MINUTES, MARIE CLAIRE, LA DEPECHE (France) Worldcrunch PARIS – This doesn’t sound very French. A group has declared Friday “Asexuality Day” in France. Organized by the AVA (Association for Asexual Visibility), the goal of the celebration is to inform the public about this little-known category of sexual identity of those people who do not […]
The sensational details surrounding the case of disgraced Liu Zhijun have captivated the public and media. But the real question is why is this the norm?
TEL AVIV – February 2013. Tel Aviv gets ready to celebrate Purim, a biblical celebration that along the centuries has become a sort of carnival where Israelis drink — as the tradition goes — “until they cannot remember their name.” There are long lines in front of costumes shops. Riff Cohen, will get as drunk […]
CAIXIN, XINHUA, PEOPLE’S DAILY (China) Worldcrunch BEIJING – More than 4,000 aftershocks have been recorded since the earthquake that struck Sichuan Province, in the southwest of China, last Saturday. The death keeps rising, with dozens still missing reports Xinhua. More than 11,470 people were injured in the 7.0 magnitude earthquake. While the relief effort continues […]
RUE 89 (France) Worldcrunch PARIS – When Britain’s former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher died on April 8, 2013, the Office of the President of the French Republic issued a communiqué on its official homepage that paid tribute to the “Iron Lady“. So far, nothing to write home about. But when they tried to come up […]
WEST STRENGTHENS ANTI-RUSSIA RHETORIC In what marks a further escalation of the war of words between the pro-Ukraine and Russian Federation factions, Ukraine’s Interior Minister Arseny Yatsenyuk said Moscow wanted “to start World War III.” The comment came after Russian President Vladimir Putin increased military exercises along the border following yesterday’s deadly fights in Eastern […]
Horacio Cartes won a comfortable victory in last weekend’s election, putting the long-ruling Colorado Party back in power. But this time it may be a new brand of personality politics.