Worldcrunch
HANNOVER – It’s 2 p.m. on an early summer Wednesday at an Autobahn rest stop near Hannover, in north-central Germany. Robert, starting out on the last big stage of his journey, plans to hitch a ride to Cologne. He’s making an unusual exception to journeymen rules on this one — letting a non-journeyman like me […]
ANSA, TGCOM24 (Italy) Worldcrunch ROME – Italy’s former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi broadcasted an angry video late Thursday, after a high court upheld his four-year prison sentence in a tax fraud case. The center-right leader strongly denounced the jail ruling, claiming his innocence and accusing the Italian Justice of persecuting him. “No-one can understand the […]
BEIJING – Mengyun seems satisfied with her new bedroom, even if it’s less than seven square meters and originally served as a kitchen. “This is the biggest room I’ve ever had in the four years I’ve lived in Beijing,” she says. “And it costs me only 950 RMB ($155) per month.” Peng, the head tenant […]
AAP (Australia) Worldcrunch TAIPEI – Taiwanese MPs exchanged punches and threw water at each other on Friday morning ahead of an expected vote to authorise a national referendum on whether to build a fourth nuclear power plant on the densely populated island of 23 million people. While Taiwan“s frequent earthquakes have led many residents to […]
THE AUSTRALIAN (Australia) Worldcrunch DARWIN – A mining company convicted in a landmark ruling of desecrating an Aboriginal sacred site has apologised after being fined $150,000 for the damage. In the first successful prosecution by a government authority of a mining company for desecration under Australian law, OM Manganese was found to have caused a […]
Despite a four-year ban on gambling, illegal casinos are thriving here — partly because of crooked police, and partly because law enforcement officials are confused by the murky law.
Djamel Mastouri was told as a child that he’d never walk again. He went on to become an Olympic champion and an accomplished French soldier.
Take a tour of what the world has been saying this week…
Chile is the only country in South America where abortion is completely banned, even in cases of rape and when a mother’s life is in danger. It’s time to change that.
Friday, August 1, 2014 GAZA CEASEFIRE BROKEN, SOLDIER CAPTURED, VIOLENCE SPIRALS A planned 72-hour ceasefire lasted just two hours after taking effect Friday morning, as fighting broke out and casualties quickly began piling up again. The temporary truce had been announced late Thursday by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and UN Secretary General Ban […]
REUTERS Worldcrunch ISLAMABAD – U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry agreed with Pakistan on Thursday to re-establish a “full partnership” — a partnership hurt by U.S. drone strikes and a 2011 NATO air attack in which 24 Pakistani soldiers were killed. Speaking after talks with Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in Islamabad, Kerry said the […]
BBC NEWS (UK) Worldcrunch This week’s election in Zimbabwe was “seriously compromised” with up to a million people prevented from voting, the country’s largest observer group said Thursday. Most of those turned away were in urban areas, where support for Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai is strong, said the Zimbabwe Election Support Network. It noted that […]
HAMBURG – Frank Gundelach is a numbers guy. He knows about stock market prices, interest payments and going rates for real estate. In fact, his boss at Sparkasse bank in Hamburg promoted him to lead the real estate department — a position with many responsibilities, and the perfect job for a rational person like him. […]
CBS (USA) Worldcrunch MINNEAPOLIS – Dozens of gay couples began tying the knot early Thursday morning at Minneapolis City Hall, as Minnesota became the latest state, together with Rhode Island, to legalize same-sex marriage. “I didn’t expect to cry quite that hard,” said a beaming Cathy ten Broeke, who with Margaret Miles was the first […]
BBC NEWS (UK) Worldcrunch MONTEVIDEO – Members of Uruguay’s House of Representatives passed a bill to legalize marijuana on Wednesday night. If it goes on to be approved by the Senate, Uruguay will become the first country to regulate the production, distribution and sale of marijuana. The measure is backed by the government of President […]