The decision comes in response to Snowden’s NSA revelations, and follows two recent cases of German officials accused of spying for the U.S.
Month: July 2014
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Nirvana Starts Young
Nepalese prayer wheels come in all shapes and sizes. This one wouldn’t quite fit in my luggage, so I brought a smaller one back home.
ISTANBUL — The Syrian regime today presents itself to the international community as a partner in “fighting terrorism,” and Bashar al-Assad is happy to leave his enemies on the northern front (where the Nusra, Islamic Front, Free Syrian Army, and YPG fight ISIS) to wear each other out. The proposed anti-terror partnership would function just […]
The downing of Malaysia Airlines’ flight MH17 may change Putin’s hand in eastern Ukraine, but a weak and divided Europe is still no match for the well-armed Russian poker player.
AMSTERDAM — Two-thirds of the 298 passengers on downed Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 were Dutch, and their countrymen are seeking ways to vent their anger. Some have found an outlet in the daughter of Russian President Vladimir Putin, Masha. The 29-year-old is married to Dutchman Jorit Faassen, 34, who works for Gazprombank and Stroytransgaz in […]
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Before The Popemobile
Paul VI was the last pope to use the sedia gestatoria regularly, like here for Easter celebrations on St. Peter’s Square. This ceremonial chair which was carried on the shoulders of a few chosen men — usually belonging to old Roman families — was abandonned by his successor John Paul I, before being altogether replaced […]
About two weeks before Israel started its Operation Protective Edge, the entire political leadership of Hamas in Gaza attended a funeral for five members of the movement’s military wing — among the attendees were former premier Ismail Haniyeh, Speaker of the Gaza parliament Ahmad Bahar and other senior figures from Hamas’ politburo. On its face, […]
Like hip hop in American cities, funk carioca was born in Brazil’s inner cities, and now has arrived in one of Rio’s most prestigious theaters. Yet police remain wary of what’s behind the beats.
Quit or double down? The risks for Israel rise in step with the number killed on both sides of the conflict in Gaza.
In Sri Lanka, take a whiff of that newspaper. Its ink can help shoo away deadly mosquito-borne diseases, one of the more improbable ways to save the printed press in our digital era.
Images that made news around the world…
Radicalized Islamic men aren’t the only ones punishing non-compliant civilians in Syria. Now women zero in on other women for not following the group’s strict brand of Sharia law.
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Zebra Crossings
Can you spot the odd one out?
Traffic is decidely outbound in a country whose medical practices and facilities can’t keep up with a multiplying affluent class. Still, there may be positive effects for all in the long run.
Photo: Mathi et Mathi. No one quite masters the art of whining and complaining like the French, which means the world’s ultimate râleurs and blasés find the deepest kind of pleasure in cursing. Some French musicians have now taken it to the next level, singing songs essentially based around the use of the word “merde”, […]
Protests over the weekend in major European cities to support the people of Gaza were fertile ground for a growing movement of anti-Semitism.
PACHMARHI — Anil Yadav has lived in the hilltop town of Pachmarhi for the past 16 years, but over the past three he says that the monkey population has expanded beyond control. So much so that humans are now being forced to live in cages. In India, monkeys are sacred and worshipped by Hindus as […]
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Saudis To Build Mosque Near North Pole
IQALUIT — A wealthy Saudi couple will soon begin building a mosque in one of the least hospitable corners of the globe: near the North Pole, in Iqaluit, Canada. The mosque, which will be the northernmost mosque in the world, will face extreme Arctic weather conditions, including lows of -40 degrees Celsius. The town of […]
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Introducing Minimalist RnB With ‘Divine’ SZA
Photo: Arangoalejandra New Jersey-based singer SZA released a new song called “Divinity” last week. The seven-and-a-half minute track, made up of minimalist elements of R&B, features a collaboration with the soul and funk singer Jill Scott. SZA is part of the new wave of artists coming to light in what has been labelled as “alt […]
Both Egyptians and refugees from Gaza are living through the war that comes to them in Egypt both from across the border in Palestinian territory, and from Cairo’s showdown in the Sinai.
TEL AVIV — Don’t know where to run when you hear the sirens? Want to send a distress signal in an emergency to security forces or assure your family you’re okay with a tweet? Here is a list of the latest smartphone applications that are getting downloaded during the current military “Operation Protective Edge,” as […]
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Hong Kong Hotel, Dragons Welcome
This hole in Repulse Bay hotel in Hong Kong is not merely the result of an architect’s whim. In accordance with the “invisible forces” of feng shui, many high-rises and hotels feature such “windows,” to let air flow naturally through the city. In this case, we were told by locals that the hole also allowed […]
By destabilizing the situation in Ukraine, the Russian president became party to the death of the 298 passengers of the MH17 flight from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur.
If you are 15 or 50, you will have a different way of seeking work, friendship, or even love online. But being “off-the-grid” is ever more a ticket to isolation.
SAINT PETERSBURG — It is two steps away from the Hermitage Museum, a few steps more from the Kazan Cathedral, at the corner of Nevsky Prospect, Saint Petersburg’s principal avenue. This is, in other words, a prestigious address. The spacious premises exude comfort and money and are seemingly designed for welcoming businessmen rather than students […]
A crafty entrepreneur is bringing the canceled wedding market to Germany, where brides and grooms are embracing new ways to save tons of cash off the leftovers of altar breakups.
It is becoming harder and harder to even imagine an end to the cycle of anger and vengeance.
The Malaysian airliner wasn’t the only one following the route over Ukraine, as detours can bring major time and fuel costs. When is it time to close air space?
Here is a sample of how Israel’s ground offensive into Gaza was playing out on Twitter in Arabic and Hebrew. Tweets in Arabic *A young Palestinian named Mustafa Abu Zir tweeted this morning from Gaza, “the electricity has been cut to our neighborhood for 18 hours.. my laptop and phone battery died and we have […]
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Proud Brittany Beats With Ethiopian Flavor
Photo: Brethoniques France’s annual Vieilles Charrues festival is on in the northwestern region of Brittany. The country’s largest music festival, which ends Sunday and is set to host around 200,000, will feature top international headliners such as the Arctic Monkeys and the Black Keys. But the Bretons are famously proud of their region (even sometimes […]
Architects near Santiago are building a new kind of housing in Chile, both modern and adapted to the ancient culture of the Mapuche community.
JERUSALEM — Nobody wanted to believe it. Benjamin Netanyahu’s cabinet had of course called up reservists and warned the 100,000 inhabitants of Gaza who lived near the border not to stay long. But for most Israeli political analysts, this had appeared to be mainly an exercise in communications. And everything pointed to their being right […]
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Seriously Texan
In France, from the early 1980s until rather recently, you basically couldn’t turn on your TV without stumbling onto an episode of the American series Dallas. And though I have never actually watched the show, when I went to Beaumont, Texas, it all looked vaguely familiar.
The beverage company’s Christmas 2012 advertisement features a gigantic Santa Claus that was inspired by famous French giant characters. The theater company says it’s fighting for its soul.
A woman from Treviso in northern Italy, who left her neighbor in charge of her five cats while she went away for a few days, returned home to a rather grim surprise, as reported by Italian news site Quotidiano. One of the cats — which had required daily medication — died while the owner was […]
KLAIPEDA — The entrance to this Lithuanian city’s port is a lesson in geopolitics. Klaipeda is the major transit hub for Russia on the Baltic Sea, but there’s no overlooking the huge semi-domes of the new terminals for LNG (liquefied natural gas) which Lithuania hopes will free the country from its energy-dependence on Moscow. There […]
BUENOS AIRES — Facing the risk of billions of dollars of debt claims, the Argentine government is looking to maximize its revenues — whichever way it can. Argentina’s tax agency AFIP has decided to start keeping an electronic tab of all the country’s livestock beginning next year, tracking their movements and making sure their owners […]
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Dehydrated Vs. Inebriated
How better to recover from the spookiness of a Transylvanian burial than with a Transylvanian wedding? It was incredibly hot on this July day in Romania, and I remember one of these wedding-goers offered me a sip from what I assumed was a bottle of water. I took a big gulp, and quickly found out […]
Chikungunya, which causes high fever and severe joint pain, arrived from Africa last December, and has killed 33 and infected 300,000 in the Western Hemisphere. How to stop the spread.
Children as young as four are the main breadwinners for some families in the Syrian capital.