Worldcrunch
At 6 a.m. on Feb. 18, 2001, the roar of the engines from 12 Russian-built SU-27s ripped through Vietnamese airspace. Within minutes, burning phosphorus, shrapnel and delayed-reaction mines were falling on Vietnam’s main naval base. Operation Dragon Strike had begun. An hour later, a Chinese M-17 troop transport helicopter fired warning shots while six fiberglass […]
Greece, confronted by its creditors, and Iran, facing a showdown over the nuclear dossier, may have less to lose from the failure to reach an agreement than their counterparts.
Photo: Aristidis Vafeiadakis/Zuma A LAST-MINUTE DEAL FOR GREECE? With the Greek bailout due to expire tonight at midnight and Athens expected to make a $1.8 billion payment to the IMF, Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras is reportedly discussing with the European Commission a last-minute deal that would avoid the country defaulting on its debt. The Guardian […]
The People’s Daily, June 30, 2015 The People’s Daily, the official newspaper of the Chinese Communist Party, featured on its front page today a large photograph of the representatives of 50 countries that signed an agreement Monday for the China-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. The […]
MELBOURNE — For nearly an hour the audience sits in silence as Feryal Ali Gauhar paces the stage, delivering a solo performance that spans three continents and tells the story of various women; mothers and daughters, the wealthy elite and domestic maids. All the characters in the play are based on real-life stories and have a common theme of gender-based violence and control at the hands of men. “It’s a very immediate medium,” she later explains. “For most women in the audience it is an experience that is close to them. The debate begins really on the journey home with […]
DENGFENG — When Dominique Saatenang was a young boy back in his native village of Bafou, Cameroon, he was transfixed by Bruce Lee films. “I’ve been fascinated by martial arts since I was 10,” he explains. “My father wanted me to be a soccer player. It’s thanks to kung fu movies and thanks to Bruce […]
Seifeddine Rezgui, perpetrator of last Friday’s attack in Sousse, often prayed at the “God’s Mercy” mosque in Kairouan, Tunisia. A look inside.
Photo: PPI/Zuma GREEK BANK CLOSURES, TUMBLING STOCKS Stocks in Europe, Asia and Australia dropped in early trading today as the world braces for what some fear could be a “black Monday.” A Greek debt default tomorrow appears likely, with the country edging closer to exiting the Eurozone after talks with creditors broke down over the […]
Le Soir, June 29, 2015 The European and Greek flags billow beside each other under the headline “Disunion” on the front page of today’s Le Soir, a Brussels-based daily. Negotiations between Athens and its European creditors collapsed over the weekend, plunging the continent into a new depth of uncertainty and crisis. After European officials rejected […]
-OpEd- HONG KONG — Lately there have been snarky voices and Internet taunting directed at Hong Kong. This mostly comes from Chinese mainlanders declaring that Hong Kong’s economy is doddering and unprogressive, and that from both an entrepreneurial and infrastructure point of view, it is lagging behind the world and mainland China. Other critics say […]
After being abducted as a child, Sandra Mora decided to become a police officer. She excelled at her job, but then got kicked off the force after being outed as a lesbian.
As the largest consumer of tobacco in the world, China stunned everybody when it started imposing a tough smoking ban in Beijing this month. This comes as new smoking bans are being inaugurated in several other countries, particularly in Europe. Some 90 countries around the world now have anti-smoking legislation that just a few years […]
MISRATA — It’s a strange city where 15-year-old kids can be seen jumping behind the wheel of semi-wrecked cars, where the scenery they pass is made mostly of building facades blackened by mortar shells. In Misrata, the screeches of tires at the roundabout resemble the piercing sound of war sirens. The Libyan revolution here is […]
Latin America’s leading economies look for the formula to compete globally. They should start by studying local schools — and the bitter resistance to any education reform.
A decade after Israel’s unilateral withdrawal from Gaza, many sites have been reduced to ruins. Others are now symbols of Hamas’ mission to build a new state.
CAIRO — Interested in planting summer vegetables such as pepper, zucchini or molokhia? Now is just about the right time of year to plant, says Hany El Khodary, head of urban farming company Green Zone Egypt. Even city dwellers with no outdoor space apart from a small balcony can grow small gardens or recycle some […]
At one spot where France and Italy cross, we see a futuristic ascent to a majestic panorama of the Alps. Farther south, desperate migrants’ fate hangs in the balance.
The number of Brazilians living and working in the United States is growing fast, yet neither government has taken the steps necessary to mobilize this community.
Six months after the revelation that computer hackers had targeted Sony, leading to the release of a range of confidential information, Fortune has published an extensive investigative piece about the failure that led to the massive breach of security. Read the first installment of the three-part series HERE. After the November revelations — which included […]
Photo: Anup Kaphle/Twitter FRENCH FACTORY HIT BY TERRORIST ATTACK A gas factory in central France was the target Friday morning of what is being described by French media and law enforcement sources as an Islamist terrorist attack. DOZENS KILLED IN ISIS ATTACK ON KOBANI ISIS fighters have killed at least 146 civilians in their attack […]
The meditation-driven movement focusing on the present is spreading around the world. In France, mindfulness must battle national tendencies toward cynicism and overthinking everything.
-Analysis- MUNICH — Slaughterhouses and farms are becoming increasingly larger in size. Tracing the origins of an animal has become next to impossible as our sources of meat are increasingly transported across Europe, and the world. This not only affects the animals but inevitably us as well. The schnitzel on your plate was once a […]
With the backing of Pope Francis, himself a lifelong fan, supporters of San Lorenzo are fighting to rebuild in the neighborhood where their original stadium once stood.
French scientists have discovered how flags, made of the right material, can be an alternative to wind turbines.
GREECE IS GIVEN FINAL ULTIMATUM Fruitless talks between the Greek government and its international creditors to obtain a new rescue funding plan resumed yesterday and lasted through the night, ending in the lenders giving Greece an ultimatum to offer a new reforms proposal this morning, To Vima reports. NATO TO RETHINK NUCLEAR POLICY Tensions between […]
“Save Europe, drown a Greek,” reads this week’s cover of satirical French weekly Charlie Hebdo, which depicts International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde drowning a Greek pensioner. Largarde and other creditors now want Greece to push its retirement age to 67 and to cancel benefits for its poorest pensioners. They’ve given Greece an ultimatum to […]
Too many nations and peoples with too many grievances. A wealth divide that grows deeper. A new (new) world order is needed, with the U.S. and China firmly in charge.
LANGSA — It was 8 p.m. and the sea was calm in the Strait of Malacca, at the northern tip of Indonesia’s Sumatra island. Ibrahim, a local fisherman, was pulling in his first catch of the night when he received news that a nearby boat was overcrowded and in trouble. “We met another small fishing boat and they asked us to help,” Ibrahim recalls. “The fisherman said there were more than 1,000 people that needed help, but his boat could only take around 20 to 30 people.” He immediately released his catch and headed towards Malaysia. Half an hour later, […]
The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank that China is leading will launch with 57 founding members, but Japan isn’t among them. Its dependency on the U.S. is a symptom of its outdated thinking, and will leave it badly isolated.
Few are shocked by revelations that U.S. intelligence spied on French presidents. But if Washington wants to be a good ally, it should start with a loud and clear apology to all its snooped-on friends.
SAO PAULO — Cemeteries are rarely considered places of beauty and pleasure. The one in the Sao Paulo neighborhood of Jardim Angela was also grim for another reason, considering that in 1996 the UN ranked it the most violent urban region in the world. But now a part of this graveyard is bringing some smiles […]
U.S. SPIED ON THREE FRENCH PRESIDENTS The United States’ National Security Agency (NSA) spied on the last three French presidents Jacques Chirac, Nicolas Sarkozy and François Hollande, according to Wikileaks documents obtained and released by the French daily Libération and the investigative website Mediapart. PAKISTAN HEAT WAVE DEATH TOLL TOPS 800 Photo :Sajjad/Zuma The death […]
Libération, June 24, 2015 French newspaper Libération and investigative website Mediapart released documents obtained by Wikileaks showing that the United States’ National Security Agency (NSA) has spied on French presidents Nicolas Sarkozy, Jacques Chirac and François Hollande. According to the documents first published by WikiLeaks late on Tuesday, and shared with the two French news […]
Amid growing ties, the youths of the Arab Spring could come between Beijing and its local partners
We shine the spotlight this week on Iran: IRAN MINISTER: ISIS + USA Iranian Interior Minister Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli made an incendiary claim this week during a joint appearance with the Syrian interior minister, connecting ISIS objectives with those of the West. He said that ISIS doesn’t just discredit Islam but also poses a danger […]
The Kurdish victory over ISIS in the Syrian border town of Tal Abyad has brought out the worst instincts from Turkey’s leaders.
The protein-rich algae spirulina is abundant and affordable in the Central African Republic, making it a nutritional alternative to help feed kids in the developing world.
The Dominican Republic will send a delegation to Haiti to discuss the deportation of Haitian citizens from the country, Tuesday’s edition of El Caribe reports. The migration minister announced that the administration would consult with its neighbor before expelling Haitians illegally residing in the country. Hundreds of thousands of Haitians live in the Dominican Republic, […]
EU EXTENDS UKRAINE SANCTIONS European foreign ministers agreed yesterday to extend EU sanctions against Russia until the end of January 2016 “to complete implementation” of the shaky Minsk ceasefire agreements, EU Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Maja Kocijancic wrote on Twitter. The decision came as French President François Hollande and German Chancellor Angela Merkel met President Vladimir […]
Argentine architect Eduardo Lacroze’s creation turns the ubiquitous supermarket trolley into a portable, private space for people who live on the streets. But it’s not without controversy.