Worldcrunch
LEIMBACH — At first glance, nothing distinguishes this apartment building on the outskirts of Zurich from those around it. Located on the upper reaches of a peaceful neighborhood in Leimbach, Switzerland, its sandy-colored walls are surrounded by a wild and vast garden. The tall trees of the Entlisberg Forest, perched on the nearby mountain, cast […]
After a religious pilgrimage to Mecca, an Arab-Israeli businessman imagines how a Saudi-brokered peace across the region could help solve economic problems for all.
It’s Friday AND it’s Halloween! Time to check out what the world has been listening to between spooky playlists this week. Worldcrunch Pick: King Horror, “Loch Ness Monster” France: David Guetta feat. Sam Martin, “Dangerous” Mexico: Calvin Harris feat. John Newman, “Blame” Uganda: Korede Bello, “Cold Outside” Lebanon: Marwan Khoury, “Law” Vietnam: Taylor Swift, “Shake […]
BUENOS AIRES — The Argentine capital is scheduled to host its third Eco Challenge car race this Sunday, with 82 “curious” cars demonstrating to the world that environmentally friendly rides aren’t necessarily boring. The cars are designed and built by students of technical colleges from across the country, and many may become prototypes of future […]
An Italian art historian has pieced together a little-known element in the Renaissance master’s portraits and sculptures that he believes may explain Michelangelo’s deepest beliefs.
The idea of today’s neuroscientists and radical secularists that human beings are nothing more than cell matter is not only arrogant, it is a theory that is self-defeating to the core.
In the near vicinity of the Pont d’Arc natural bridge in Ardèche, southern France, is the Chauvet Cave, which features some of the earliest prehistoric paintings in the world. Not as fun as kayaking on a crowded river, I guess?
In Sinai’s Sharm el-Sheikh, a cliff restoraton project has mobilized a community against an over-the-top contractor.
With slower demand expected in the world’s raw materials and consumer markets, big Latin American firms must find new strategies.
Contrary to the West, where obesity rates are higher in poorer, less well-educated areas, China’s overweight youth are from wealthy families. It has been dubbed a “disease of affluence.”
Yes, it’s a minority, but too many Muslims offer religious justification for violence and subjugation – and we must be free to criticize Islam’s dark side without being branded Islamophobes.
JAIPUR — Having a full-bodied moustache has long been a symbol of masculinity for Indian men and once was also an indicator of caste status. So-called untouchables, excluded from India’s caste system altogether, were not allowed to have a moustache at all, while lower castes had to grow theirs with the ends drooped down. Even now in modern India, there are annual competitions to judge who sports the best facial hair. For the last hour, 61-year-old Ram Singh Chauhan has been massaging his moustache, which is how he spends at least two hours each day. “I use mustard oil, coconut […]
BUENOS AIRES — A Buenos Aires public registry gave new identity papers this week to 10-year-old Mauro, the first Argentine youth born a girl to change his official gender identity to male under a landmark “Gender Identity Law.” Last year, Lulu, a 6-year-old girl, had her sex change made official pursuant to the new 2012 […]
News around the world that counts…
No, these monks are not giving food to destitute people, quite the opposite. In Thailand, the giving of alms is not considered charity — it is part of a two-way relationship: The community feeds and clothes the monks, who in return have a responsability to support the community spiritually.
The once sleepy coastal city is now buzzing with activity, and foreign investors.
The emblematic U.S. banana firm, a confidante of 20th century Latin American regimes, with a long history of mistreating workers, tried in vain to avoid falling into Brazilian hands.
Germany’s state of Bavaria is overwhelmed by the number of Somali refugees, creating a crisis at schools ill-equipped to deal with not only language barriers, but serious childhood trauma.
In the hills south of Rome, another kind of “liberation community” is preparing for a very different future.
A stone’s throw away from Santiago de Compostela, I took this picture of a hórreo — a kind of granary built above ground and characteristic of Spain’s northwestern Galicia region. The pillars end in flat stones to prevent rats from accessing the grain stored there. When I took this shot in the month of July, […]
BERLIN — Worldwide researchers are experimenting increasingly with moss, algae and potted plants as a way to turn houses into multifunctional buildings. The question is “how a facade in a city neighborhood can generate additional value,” says Steffen Braun of the Stuttgart Fraunhofer Institute’s Urban System Engineering. Behind that lies “a whole new approach to […]
Unlike with Washington, Moscow and Beijing agree on how the state can monitor the Internet. Kommersant reports on a new Sino-Russia partnership set to be signed next month.
Recent acid attacks on women in the central Iranian city of Isfahan have apparently begun to upset Iranian authorities, but as much for the media coverage they are prompting as for the real-life effects. Political leaders have accused both the culprits and those spreading “rumors” of the attacks of being foreign agents. Acid attacks have […]
Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff edged out reelection, thanks in part to her charismatic predecessor Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. What role will he seek in her second term? Is he preparing to run in 2018?
Known as one of the worst cultures in the world for women, India is nevertheless undergoing a sexual revolution in its increasingly wealthy modern cities.
Seeing these two girls with their spindles and balls of yarn, going their merry way on a steep path of Lake Titicaca’s Taquile Island, you might think they are among the Peruvian girls and women who create the kind of high-quality handicraft I’ve already told you about. But on Taquile, women are only allowed to […]
Grave doubts about the health and capacity of longtime President Bouteflika are pulling Algeria apart at the seams. Who’s in charge? What happens next in this pivotal North African country?
ZAHEDAN — Three tons of “rotting” sardines were among thousands of dead fish from the Oman Sea that have washed onto Iran’s southern coast in recent days, in and around the port of Konarak. Local fishermen have blamed trawlers — the vast nets that sweep the sea floor in industrial fishing — and have urged […]
In its bid to root out financial corruption, China’s government is hunting down fugitive suspects from Canada to Colombia, U.S. and Australia.
There are around 20 to 25 metal bands active across Egypt. Though their concerts are increasingly rare and their audiences small, the fans they do have are passionate about the music, Cairo-based website Mada Masr reports. “I was a metalhead since I was born,” Sherif Tarek, 24, told Mada Masr. “I’m a very hardcore metalhead.” […]
BERLIN — A historically loaded conflict with potentially serious consequences about compensation for Nazi crimes looms between Germany and Italy. The Italian Supreme Court in Rome has ruled that Nazi victims can sue Germany for compensation in Italian civil courts. The court ruled last week that international law’s principle of “state immunity,” which would normally […]
Looking at the business fundamentals, there are both very good and very bad signs for Microsoft’s new CEO Satya Nadella. Is there a (positive) lesson in IBM’s evolution?
Six years ago, people thought the endangered hawksbill sea turtle had become extinct in one of its habitats, the American Pacific coast. But, as it turns out, they haven’t quite yet. After several were spotted months back in Colombia’s Gorgona national park, Colombian investigators and collaborators from the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) began searching for […]
The words that made news around the world.
With Argentina’s economy in crisis, Miami real estate has become a nice refuge for well-off Argentines to protect their money from devaluation. But it’s not just about the beaches
It’s been 20 years since the U.S. had troops in the Philippines. With new plans in the works for a Filippino-U.S. base-sharing, much has changed – both locally and geopolitically.
Beautiful mountains, colorful wooden houses, costumed Mädchen … The village of Schoppernau, in the state of Vorarlberg’s Bregenz Forest, is a living, breathing Austrian postcard. I guess my wife and I liked this kind of scenery: We went to Austria 23 times!
Radical Islamists zero in on young people in the West who are lonely and disaffected by modern life.
Meet the Burial Boys of Monrovia, whose role is no less important than medical staff in trying to stop the disease from spreading further.