Abandoning Iraq and failing to act in Syria have left a vacuum that ISIS and other terrorist groups are filling. Obama’s criticism of his predecessor is no substitute for a real foreign policy.
Month: June 2014
WARSAW — While protests swept Maidan Square in Kiev, both Polish and German media reported the same storyline: Ukraine was overthrowing a bloody dictator and changing its course toward the West. German politicians, much like their Polish counterparts, made fiery speeches and pushed the European Union to address a “serious offer” to Ukrainians. The pro-Ukrainian […]
Below are some of the songs currently topping charts around the world; but before that: Worldcrunch Pick Jack White performed two tracks — “Temporary Ground” (watch below) and “Alone In My Home” — from his new LP Lazaretto on Conan Wednesday. Cover photo: Incase
A London School of Economics professor has developed complex mathematical formulas that he says can predict what can happen on the pitch. Why is Spain so good? What’s your bet?
As Colombia prepares to elect a president, voters must choose between a candidate willing to make painful concessions with FARC guerrillas and a hawk keen on the status quo.
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How Much For That Nothing In The Window?
Even if Romania’s growth rate was among the highest in eastern Europe when we traveled there in 1966, many shop windows were nevertheless empty. And things weren’t going to get better, as the country was just beginning to become familiar with a certain Nicolae Ceausescu. Interestingly, it’s in this city of Timisoara that the Ceausescu […]
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Comic Relief
This little village in County Kerry is nicknamed “The Little Whirlpool,” and it’s so peaceful it’s no wonder it was a favorite holiday destination for Charlie Chaplin and his family.
ISTANBUL — In our divided existences, everyone lives their own reality, with their own priorities. Right now, the demand that this city’s Hagia Sophia museum be transformed into a mosque has suddenly become the singular issue for a certain segment of the Turkish population. The Anatolia Youth Association announced a gathering at the iconic location […]
The stunning assault this week in Iraq by the al-Qaeda-linked Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) is bad news for Iran, which has been a staunch ally of Iraqi Prime Minister (and fellow Shia Muslim) Nouri al-Maliki. But beyond condemning the Sunni foes from ISIS, some in Tehran are pointing the finger at Washington. […]
Many outsiders regard Latin America as monolithic about soccer. But as the World Cup begins in Brazil, a closer comparison of the region’s top two teams might surprise you.
BEIJING — Three years after his imprisonment, still deprived of his passport and shut off in a bubble of official Chinese silence, Ai Weiwei, 57, neverthless appears ubiquitous everywhere else on the planet. The Martin-Gropius-Bau exhibition hall in Berlin devoted a huge retrospective entitled “Evidences” from April to July. His last documentary, Ai Weiwei’s Appeal […]
In many countries, musicians were Latin America’s leading social critics and political activists of the late 20th century. Not anymore.
ISIS (the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham), the jihadist group wreaking havoc in Syria for more than a year, has gained control of the Nineveh province in its country of birth – post-US invasion Iraq. Reports late Wednesday said the extremists had taken control of the city of Tikrit. Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Maliki […]
Credit cards, ratings agencies and currency supremacy are some of the battlegrounds where Beijing and Moscow are teaming up to take on the West.
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Let It Slide
Some of you won’t know what I’m talking about — but when you’re using a projector, sometimes you come across a slide that was misplaced in the carousel, or a photo that was taken vertically. Which means that your audience (family members in my case) all tilt their heads sideways at the same time. And […]
The wind instrument this snake charmer is playing is called a pungi. I brought one back as a present for my then 6-year-old grandson, who — since there aren’t that many cobras in France — tried to charm earthworms with it.
Kneeling on the sidewalk, Guilherme and his friends are busy preparing their banner ahead of a protest march against the World Cup, which starts in São Paulo on Thursday. In the nation of soccer, people have grown increasingly disenchanted and the Copa is growing more unpopular by the day. Only 48% of Brazilians support the […]
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Can A Tattoo Get You Fired?
After a prospective police candidate was banned for a tattoo, Germany debates workplace appearance rules as the number of young employees with tattoos is exploding.
TEHRAN — A member of the Iranian Parliament’s cultural affairs committee says he and his colleagues are “firmly opposed” to any Iranian legislator attending the World Cup in Brazil “for any reason” — primarily because the country should save money. In response to chatter about sending certain members to the global soccer event, Hojjatoleslam Seyyed […]
PARIS — To the chagrin of many a Parisian poet, more and more English words are making it into the French language. The latest to get official entry into the Petit Robert dictionary include a batch straight from Silicon Valley: selfie, MOOC, hashtag, and the continued trend of the internationalization of the digital world — […]
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Soccer, The New Opiate Of The Masses
It may have begun as a game, but soccer has become a substitute for so many facets of people’s lives, including politics and war, writes Colombian novelist Jose Luis Garces Gonzalez.
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Thai Superstition
The overwhelming majority of Thailand’s people are Buddhists. Yet almost everyone there believes in fortune-telling — palm-reading, tarot cards, you name it. Not being the superstitious kind, I didn’t personally consult this “maw du,” but he looks like he means serious business.
More people would have access to health care, and there would be less waiting for doctors if public hospitals were divided and more private hospitals were created in China.
-OpEd- PARIS — Let’s be honest, Syria’s June 3 presidential election was nothing but a giant government-orchestrated masquerade. Bashar al-Assad will remain president of Syria, a country whose population has been largely decimated, as the three-year-long conflict has turned the country into a battleground for international jihadists from Shia and Sunni Islam, with the direct […]
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World Cup Aside, Brazil’s Economy Stinks
If Brazil wants to attain ambitious development goals, it needs radical reforms to its insular economy and inefficient public administration.
There is a more than three-decade-long clash of cultures between Egypt’s secular establishment and Iran’s post-revolution clerical regime. The brief interlude following the election of Muslim Brotherhood President Mohammed Morsi was, alas, too brief to notice any significant change. But all eyes in Tehran were back on Egypt this past weekend for the inauguration of […]
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Soccer’s Long-Ignored Depression Problem
Though it has been taboo to discuss, the top ranks of soccer are rife with players who suffer from depression during and after their careers.
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The Little Reindeer Girl
Had this adorable young girl really come down from her remote Lapland to sell her reindeer hides in Helsinki? I suspect that even 46 years ago, Finns understood that folklore sells well with tourists.
MADRID — Princess Letizia Ortiz Rocasolano has been preparing for this moment for 10 years. Soon the 41-year-old will be climbing the steps to the Spanish throne — a first for a Spanish commoner — to take her place beside her husband Felipe VI. That everything would happen so quickly after the unexpected abdication of […]
Hundreds of thousands of Libyans fled to Tunisia after the 2011 revolution that toppled Muammar Gaddafi. A visit with those who mourn the fallen dictator, including his relatives.
People over-40 and over-50 who are laid off find it increasingly difficult to find a job or switch careers. But opportunities are arising in unlikely places.
The stories that counted…
Janusz Korwin-Mikke, who has made outrageous comments about women and the disabled, has managed to gain a following among disenchanted, young Poles.
NEW DELHI — Pramod, 21, contracted polio when he was a child, but that isn’t stopping him from learning how to dance. He goes to the New Delhi dance and music academy called Artist Mahavidyalaya, where fees are waived for students with disabilities and those who don’t have the means to pay, says academy co-founder Krishna Basumatary. “People think that I’m a handicapped person who can’t do anything with my life,” says Pramod. “They’re full of negative opinions while I’m a proud physically impaired person. I’m turning my weakness into a strength. To dance well, one should first have a […]
PARIS — There is no doubt among the people at the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), Europe’s soccer governing body, that allegations of corruption against UEFA President Michel Platini is a case of paranoia gone wrong. Some there believe that the controversy suggesting Platini was bribed to support Qatar’s 2022 bid may be the […]
BEIJING — Recent acts of violence in China have prompted the country to step up its anti-terrorism measures, leading the Beijing government, for example, to give police more authority to use force to stop a terror attack. The capital’s public security bureau has given anti-terror units twice the normal amount of bullets, Beijing News reports. […]
FLORENCE — The Italian national soccer team has landed in Brazil, and each player is carrying an extra card with them. It’s similar to an ATM bank card, though instead of money it will give them access to a database where they can find any and all relevant information about the World Cup. Manager Cesare […]
Below are some of the songs currently topping charts around the world. Worldcrunch Pick This week, one of the most misunderstood songs of all time turned 30 years old. Bruce Springteen’s “Born in the U.S.A.” was released with its eponymous album on June 4, 1984, before becoming one of the Boss’s most popular songs. With […]
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Meaningful Lake
Sure, Italy’s Lake Como is beautiful. And Hungary’s Lake Balaton is impressive too. But nothing compares to Guatemala’s Lake Atitlan and its three volcanoes. Its name comes from the Mayan language this fisherman’s ancestors spoke, and means “the place where the rainbow gets its color.” As if that weren’t poetic enough, locals call the lake […]