Worldcrunch
KURDS RETAKE KEY SYRIAN TOWN A Turkish soldier holds a child as Syrian refugees flee Tal Abyad — Photo: Ibrahim Khader/Pacific Press/ZUMA Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) in Syria have seized the town of Tal Abyad, formerly held by ISIS, cutting off a major supply route for the terrorist organization. Huseyin Kocher, a Kurdish commander […]
La Estrella de Panamá, June 16, 2015 A corruption scandal involving high-level politicians in Panama is spreading, now implicating members of the administration of current President Juan Carlos Varela. Luis Cucalón, former finance minister under previous President Ricardo Martinelli, had already been charged with misusing state funds intended for a private tax collection agency. But […]
On a hot April day on the Plaza Mayor (Main Square) of Cuenca in central Spain, generations intermingle as activity resumes — after the compulsory afternoon siesta.
Italian PM Matteo Renzi has obtained Washington’s blessing to pursue its own dialogue with the Kremlin. Could Rome be the bridge to resolving the Ukraine crisis?
With the state of California now in its fourth year of what is classified as a “mega-drought,” Governor Jerry Brown has declared a state of emergency and Hollywood stars are getting shamed over their abundant water consumption. But there are less notable corners of the earth going dry as well, as droughts are increasing in […]
A murder case in which a Chinese student poisoned and killed his roommate has brought out the worst in the Chinese public, which is practically marching with pitchforks for his execution. Attorneys, meanwhile, are urging that he be spared.
Politically speaking, Greece’s return to the drachma currency would be a defeat. But economically speaking, it doesn’t threaten European stability, and could offer the Greeks a chance at redemption.
GREXIT BECOMES MORE LIKELY Greece is edging closer to default and a potential Eurozone exit after talks with international creditors broke down once again late yesterday, The Guardian reports. Tensions with Berlin appear to be ratcheting up after the parliamentary leader of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s CDU party said, “Greece needs to get back to reality.” […]
DONETSK — Komsomolets Donbas is one of the largest coal mines in the Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine. But for more than a year now, it’s been out of operation due to serious damage suffered by the war. There are holes from falling explosives. The electricity has been interrupted. And the entrance is practically collapsed. […]
At least 24 people are still missing after severe flooding in Georgia’s capital Tbilisi that left at least 12 people dead. Potentially dangerous animals — including hungry tigers, lions and wolves — are on the loose too, as heavy rainfall damaged their zoo enclosures, allowing them to escape. Images of chaos and destruction in Tbilisi […]
This is how they used to farm oysters on the Île d’Oléron in western France: using tiles as cultch for the mollusks to attach to. This kind of traditional method has since largely disappeared.
PARIS — Are you bored at work? Do you stare blankly at your screen wondering what to do with the rest of your day? No doubt, you are a victim of “boreout,” which describes persistent boredom and disengagement in your work. What causes this listlessness and how can you solve it? Frédéric Méduin, a physician […]
Let’s start with some good news! Mercury’s retrograde has stopped, and ideas are becoming more clear, strategies more defined, with communication no longer disturbed by interference. Saturn, however, is back to where it started and returns to Scorpio. Those who have many projects on their hands must use this time to figure out where to […]
Putin Playing Nice, The World Tour by Worldcrunch
Improving trade can boost Latin American economies to the tune of tens of billions of dollars. For that, states must cut the proliferating rules and red tape.
Medievalist, novelist, and renown public intellectual, Umberto Eco’s most recent novel Numero Zero will be published in English this November. A regular contributor to Italy’s L’Espresso magazine and La Repubblica newspaper, his new work of fiction delves into the truth and lies of the mass media. He spoke with Le Monde. LE MONDE: Do you […]
In his first year as president, Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has shown surprising rhetorical flair, even as he consistently sends contrasting messages.
JERUSALEM — The biggest Palestinian newspaper Al-Quds published a long interview last week with Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat. The interview is an unusual event in the political landscape of this nationalist Palestinian newspaper that has long spent its ink attacking Israeli policies. In the interview, Barkat lays out details of construction plans for a new […]
A persistent drought is threatening California’s storied vineyards, which employ hundreds of thousands in the Golden State alone. But there is still water, for now.
Au Revoir Dick Costolo, A Twitter World Trip by Worldcrunch
Fashion tides are always changing, and as the weather warms, comfort is in for both ladies and gentlemen.
After centuries of disagreements over the legacy of the Prophet Muhammad, the split between Islam’s two main schools of thought is more apparent than ever, as the two theocratic regimes of the Middle East are increasingly hostile towards each other. “Shias, Sunnis: Why is Islam torn apart?” the French newsweekly L’Obs writes on Friday’s cover. […]
GAZA CHILD KILLINGS “TRAGIC ACCIDENT” Israel Defense Forces have closed an internal investigation into its controversial bombing in last year’s Gaza war, in which an Israeli missile killed four children aged 9 to 11 on a Gaza beach, clearing itself of any culpability, Haaretz reports. The Israeli advocate general’s office described the attack as a […]
ANKARA —Last Sunday’s general elections in Turkey represented nothing less than a cultural and political revolution: Not only did President Recep Tayyip Erdogan lose his parliamentary majority, but Kurdish politicians also succeeded for the first time in winning enough votes to enter parliament. The Turkish electorate’s disenchantment with its egomaniacal leader deals a blow to […]
Driving from what was then a peaceful Syria, we stopped in Jerash, in northern Jordan, to enjoy the view of the well-preserved ruins of the Greco-Roman city Gerasa.
KIGOMA — The outline of the MV-Liemba looms on the horizon. The oldest ferry in the world drops anchor off the coast of Kagunga, a Tanzanian village just three miles from Burundi’s border. Around 600 Burundian passengers are subsequently brought on board after arriving from the shore on small fishing boats. The MV-Liemba will steam […]
Cuban gays and lesbians once hid from police. But today, with help from the president’s daughter, Mariela Castro, LGBTs in Cuba are fighting for their rights.
BRAUBACH — Pets bring happiness to the lives of their owners. Now, a German Cemetery Association (Deutsche Friedhofsgesellschaft) allows the bond to continue for eternity, offering clients the opportunity to be buried alongside their dogs and cats. Two German cemeteries, in the towns of Braubach and Essen, inaugurated the policy this week that allows humans […]
Unlike most leaders of finance and commerce in The City, leaving the EU is not a frightening thought for the Business for Britain movement.Â
AL-QAEDA HAS “COLLAPSED” The al-Qaeda terror group has been “cut off and ripped apart by ISIS,” two of its most important spiritual leaders told The Guardian. Abu Qatada and Abu Muhammad al-Maqdisi said that al-Qaeda has been drained of recruits and money because of territorial and influential losses to rival ISIS. Al-Maqdisi said its organizational […]
Dong-A Ilbo, June 11, 2015 The outbreak of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) entered its third week in South Korea, with nine people dead, 122 declared cases of infection and growing concerns about the consequences of the virus on the economy. South Korean President Park Geun-hye canceled her planned Sunday trip to Washington to oversee […]
Some landmarks are baffling. Why has the statue of a naked little boy urinating into a fountain’s basin become so popular? More than the Manneken Pis, I remember Brussels for the only sauerkraut with champagne I’ve eaten in my life. Now that is a landmark.
There is so much beauty to be found in the preservation of decay.Â
It is politically reasonable for President Obama to want to focus on problems at home. But his fainthearted foreign policy approach has contributed to global volatility.
Studies show that pesticides sprayed on crops are poisonous and that we are ingesting these toxins with our food. Perfect examples are the corn and soybeans Colombia imports from Argentina.
La Stampa takes on big questions in Muslim world with Sunni Islam’s highest authority, who was at a conference in Italy, his first trip to Europe since taking his post in Cairo.
U.S. STEPS UP ISIS FIGHT WITH MORE TROOPS TO IRAQ The White House is readying to send 500 more troops to Iraq to train and support the Iraqi army in the counteroffensive against ISIS, The Wall Street Journal reports. The additional troops will be sent to a new military base in the Anbar province. This […]
Corriere della Sera, June 10, 2015 Hot on the heels of the recent — and Russia-less — G7 meeting in Germany, Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in Italy on Wednesday, highlighting the way that business ties could be a way out of Moscow’s standoff with the West. In an interview published Wednesday in Corriere della […]
We shine the spotlight this week on Venezuela: PRISONER POLITICS Plenty of glowing foreign press coverage of the arrival in Caracas of former Spanish Prime Minister Felipe Gonzalez, who came to support opposition leaders who’ve been jailed by the government of President Nicolás Maduro. But El Correo del Orinoco, a state-owned daily, wrote that the […]
It’s been two decades since the flight of many Kashmiri Hindus after an insurgency targeted them. Now even Kashmir Muslims want them to return.