Worldcrunch
BERLIN — How is Germany supposed to react to the U.S. spying activities that have come to light recently? The political opposition seems to think the answer is simple: Expel all U.S. intelligence agents! Allow whistle-blower Edward Snowden asylum! Immediately halt all negotiations regarding the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP)! Stop all cooperation with […]
-Analysis- CAIRO — The events unfolding in Egypt since July 1, 2013, when General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi led the ouster of President Mohammed Morsi, has been by all accounts detrimental to the interests of the Palestinians in Gaza and to Hamas, an offspring of the Palestinian Muslim Brotherhood, which has governed the tiny territory since […]
We saw what most agree are the three most impressive waterfalls in the world: Victoria Falls, between Zambia and Zimbabwe; Niagara Falls, between the U.S. and Canada; and Iguazu Falls, between Argentina and Brazil. If I had to choose one, it would definitely be what you’re looking at here. Niagara is awesome, but doesn’t have […]
Animal rights activists have attacked an annual Dog Eating Feast, which asks the larger question over values in modern China.
KIEV — Representatives of the new Ukrainian government are convinced: It is time for Maidan Square to be free of tents. The only question is how to get rid of the protestors from the site that became the center of the pro-democracy movement. The police think Maidan should be cleared with force, as if it […]
China’s annual “Dog Meat Feast” in the southern city of Yulin has sparked disputes between dog eaters and dog lovers, some cases even turning physical. Read the full story here. Photo: Whoisgalt
Two guitars, a bass and a set of drums. Brazilian post-rock band HAB might follow the standard rock line-up, but their percussive, minimalist and repetitive music sounds nothing like the usual pop/rock quartet you might hear on the radio. Their eponymous debut album, released earlier this year, features very little effects and only one track […]
Can Brazil apply the successful “Copa template” to everyday life and political leadership? Too often, the country tends to disappoint when the rest of the world isn’t watching.
In case you missed this last week and forgot (or can’t afford) to book any music festivals this summer, you needn’t worry. The online music platform Music Vault has uploaded five decades of remastered live concerts in more than 13,000 videos on its YouTube channel. Between ten-second extracts, songs and whole concerts in high-definition, is […]
Media in emerging economies must start to challenge the dominant voice of the Western press, argues Xinhua News Agency chief Li Congjun in a guest column for America Economía.
Without infrastructure and trade that arrives from Israel, the situation in Gaza would be even worse. So the lines are left open, even as bombs and missiles fly in every direction.
The Mannschaft’s World Cup winning team was the perfect embodiment of what Germany hopes to be perceived as — a mix of artistry, perseverance, solidarity and individual freedom.
Market places usually make for good, lively pictures. But here in Batalha in central Portugal, some of these young vendors were clearly bored out of their minds.
After students were hospitalized in the Bordeaux winegrowing region, pesticides were blamed. Parents calling for new rules near schools face a “code of silence” protecting the wine sector.
After its heart-stopping World Cup defeat to Germany, the expression of what the national team and the beautiful game mean to the people of Argentina.
KATHMANDU — Uttam Sanjel, founder of Samata School, stands before the morning assembly. Samata means “equal for all.” Today he wants to talk about a story from one of his students, whose mother celebrated the birth of a son over a daughter. “After five girls, my mom finally had a boy. She named him “Holy life water.” But our life has become more difficult. Why is it happening? It’s all because of lack of education. You have to tell your family and neighbors that sons and daughters are equal.” They then sing a song called, “Mother is Great, Love Her, […]
RIYADH — With more than 257,000 unmarried women in the country, and strict religious codes, traditional matchmaking is a lucrative business in Saudi Arabia. Yet with the rise of social media and online marriage websites, the industry is coming under pressure to stay financially viable, which has led to several recent reports of scandals that […]
Ten years had passed since the collapse of the Soviet Union, yet there was still something end-of-an-era-esque in the imposing GUM, the State Department Store near Moscow’s Red Square. The banner reads “Summer Discounts, Up To 50% Off.”
Germany’s 1-0 win over Argentina was front-page news around the world. Here are some highlights: Argentina: Belgium: Brazil: Germany: Mexico: Spain: UK: Uruguay: U.S.: Venezuela:
It is said that Russian parents start thinking of ways to get male children out of required military service before they are even born. Can Moscow change the system without weakening defense?
Words that have been making news, and news that has been prompting words…
BOGOTA — When 31-year-old Grace Kely sic, a transsexual living in Bogotá, applied to become a nurse with the city government last year, the hiring process ground to a sudden halt. It happened when the municipal department she hoped to work for told her they couldn’t hire her without a certificate showing she had completed […]
BAGHDAD — Ten years ago, this was a park for children. The young boys of Adhamiya, a Sunni district in Baghdad, used to come here to play soccer. Now, this bare patch of land on the bank of the Tigris river is a makeshift cemetery. A forest of tombstones grew during the darkest years of […]
There are signs of ‘Denglish,’ a German (Deutsch)-English brew becoming fashionable in American culture. Some of it is crossover from Yiddish, some of it is über hipster posing.
The news that counts…
–OpEd– Chinese philanthropist Chen Guangbiao recently staged yet another high-profile charity event, this time in the United States, by inviting “poor and destitute Americans” to lunch in New York’s Central Park and to accept a cash gift of $300 each. He seems to have three goals: to find and express his personal convictions, to push […]
If it weren’t for his name discreetly written on the cover of his new album, you’d think Bror Gunnar Jansson’s Moan Snake Moan might be the lost recordings of a 1920’s American delta bluesman. But no, it’s 2014, Jansson is Swedish, and he’s playing gigs around Europe. With his raw, dark and diabolical blues, the […]
In rural Idlib, marriage offices are fixing people up, but some say they’re exploiting the lonely during wartime by selling desperate women to overseas men.
LA JOYA — Juan Castro is trying to keep it together as he tells me this story, but the tears well up in his eyes. “There was this 11-year-old girl from Guatemala who had been raped. I had to ask her how, where, by whom, why and every single detail that could help build her […]
To get to the stunning view over the Forbidden City from the top of Jingshan Park’s Coal Hill, you have two options: climb the 400 or so steps, or hire these porters and their sedan chair. However tempting that was, my wife (in the background) and I chose the former.
What the growing tensions look like, up close, aboard a Vietnamese Coast Guard vessel coming face-to-face with the Chinese navy.
Ever dreamed of quoting a French protest song in the middle of a heated, high-brow debate? The University of Manchester — in a city that has always been forward-thinking, especially when on the music front — now offers a course called “Protest Music in France”. Every week, students will focus on three French artists: songwriter […]
New Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi claims to oppose sexual violence from security forces and others, but there is bloodcurdling evidence that it is still used to silence critics.
BUENOS AIRES— A band of 11 suspected cocaine smugglers were caught posing as a festive bus tour group destined for a Buenos Aires carnival, Argentine police reported this week. The busload of fake “tourists from Ecuador” were stopped near the Bolivia-Argentine border town of Salvador Mazza. After the passengers, 10 men and one woman, said […]
A prominent Iranian politician has characterized Israeli operations against Gaza as the third phase of Israel’s current plot to destabilize the Middle East region. Mohsen Rezai, a former Revolutionary Guards commander and current member of a state arbitrating body, said the first two phases of Israel’s strategy were the civil wars provoked in Syria and […]
MOSCOW — Earlier this week, all of Russia’s ambassadors were called home from their stations abroad to attend an event with members of the Russian Parliament and, of course, President Vladimir Putin. The only ambassador missing at the event was Mikhail Zurabov, ambassador to Ukraine. Apparently, the time he spent in Moscow after being recalled […]
I used to be a philosophy teacher, with a penchant for Spinoza — meaning my mind tends to be of the logical and down-to-earth kind. But sometimes you’ve just got to wonder: Last year, looking out the window of my living-room, I saw these tire tracks left after a light snowfall. I grabbed my camera […]
Contemporary relationships are challenged not just by naughty temptations, but by competing personal interests and professional goals. How modern couples reflect whole new values.
With Pope Benedict XVI’s historic resignation last year, and the subsequent election of Pope Francis, the Catholic Church has the rare circumstance of two living pontiffs. (In the past, popes had almost always reigned until death.) Now, with the World Cup soccer final set between Benedict’s native Germany and Francis’ native Argentina, Worldcrunch’s photoshopping maestro […]
There was shock after the latest report from U.S. Border Patrol found an explosion of young people being sent northward from Central America. Why it isn’t just about the parents.