More than 270 women and children who were held captive by Boko Haram have been rescued and are recovering in Nigeria, but treatment and taboos are tricky to navigate.
Month: June 2015
-Op-Ed- SAO PAULO — Two studies published in recent months show how inequality around the world is becoming even more obscene than before. One such study is the UBS report on the rich that focuses on capital. The figures involved are predictably shocking, but one element in particular caught our attention: The wealth owned by […]
-OpEd- BEIJING — After studying China’s lottery operations, the country’s National Audit Office recently identified “violations of discipline, misuse of funds, system deficiencies, poor management, and a lack of supervision in certain cities and provinces.” The disclosures around this murky institution are startling, but sadly, Chinese citizens are hardly surprised. The China Welfare Lottery Management […]
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G7 Wraps Up, HSBC Layoffs, French Kisses
O “COMPLETE STRATEGY” YET FOR ISIS “We don’t yet have a complete strategy because it requires commitments on the part of the Iraqis as well, about how recruitment takes place, how training takes place,” President Barack Obama told the G7 summit yesterday, speaking of U.S. efforts to combat the ISIS terror organization. His comments come […]
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Extra! G7 Gets Green In Germany
 Die Welt, June 9, 2015 “G7 agrees to ambitious climate goals,” reads the front page of German daily Die Welt“s Tuesday edition. The Group of Seven talks have ended in the German mountain resort of Garmisch-Partenkirchen with a photo op worthy of the Sound of Music (which was filmed in the nearby Austrian Alps). […]
Despite the devastation, growing demand among foreign couples continues to feed medical tourism in Nepal, where surrogacy agencies recruit women to carry babies for infertile couples.
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Barely Hanging
In Northern China“s Shanxi Province, the Xuankong Temple, also known as Hanging Temple, clings precariously to a sheer precipice, some 75 meters above the ground. It’s not as dangerous as it looks, though: The temple hangs thanks to oak crossbeams fitted into the cliff — the supporting beams below were put there merely for dramatic […]
Those who believe that the FIFA scandal is an exceptional case among international organizations should think again. The poison is called “global governance.”
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No, Asia Won’t Save The World
Some prominent thinkers believe that Asian values can better manage human affairs and our relationship with nature. And yet, sadly, selfishness is a universal condition.Â
The government’s failure to address crime, corruption and declining living standards risks true social upheaval. But Enrique Pena Nieto just sits on the ball.
ERDOGAN’S PARTY LOSES MAJORITY Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Justice and Development Party (AKP) suffered a major setback in yesterday’s general election, losing their parliamentary majority, Hürriyet reports. While it still received more votes than any other party, losing the single-party majority bodes poorly for Erdogan’s wish to introduce a strong presidential system. […]
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Extra! Erdogan Rebuked In Turkish Election
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Justice and Development Party (AKP) suffered a major setback in yesterday’s general election, losing their parliamentary majority. While it still received more votes than any other party, losing the single-party majority bodes poorly for Erdogan’s plans to change the constitution to give the president more powers in Turkish […]
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Covered Market
The vast majority of the inhabitants of Pec are Kosovo Albanians — and in the 1960s, the highlanders still wore the traditional qeleshe, a white brimless felt cap. I brought one back, obviously.
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LAST QUARTER MOON – June 8-14
This Last Quarter Moon does not facilitate communication or dialogue. With Mars and Mercury (still in retrograde until the 12th) in Gemini there is a risk that the words come out badly, peppered with grit that could be mistaken for resentment. One word too many could blow up a deal. It’s the same when it […]
In this traditionally Catholic province, government authorities are quietly removing the prelates who stayed loyal to the Vatican.
Meet Alondra Metaute, a 38-year-old woman who wants to shake up a sleepy Colombian town.
PARIS — Eternally nostalgic of its past grandeur, France is already dreaming about the prospect out loud: Platini! As an attacking midfielder, he led France to the 1984 European Championship and Italian squad Juventus to club dominance, before turning manager and overseeing the 1998 World Cup organization in France and eventually taking over as head […]
The state security apparatus that secretly exerted control over much of Egyptian society during the Mubarak regime is firmly back in command.
Saying that a starred rating in the Bible of fine dining actually turns off locals, Donatella restaurant in Oviglio has decided to give back the precious star.
It’s 1:05 p.m. and lessons are starting slightly late today at the dog-sitter course. But this is not your usual dog sitting class: It’s taking place at Bollate prison, just north of Milan. Every Thursday until November, 18 inmates will spend four hours (two hours of practical lessons and two hours of theory) learning until […]
While attention was focused on alleged corruption at FIFA, another kind of drama was playing out between the Israeli and Palestinian soccer delegations.
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CHINA BLAMED FOR U.S. DATA BREACH Chinese hackers recruited by their government are being accused of breaching the computer system of the federal Office of Personnel Management in December, The Washington Post reports. The personal data of as many as four million federal employees, including their banking records and credit card information, has been affected. […]
South China Morning Post, June 5, 2015 Tens of thousands of people held a candlelight vigil Thursday night in Hong Kong’s Victoria Park to mark the 26th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989, the student-led demonstrations in which hundreds — thousands, according to some estimates — are believed to have died. The Hong […]
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Pineapple Express
In Brazil, you can buy delicious pineapples at roadside stalls pretty much everywhere. And we did.
Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) may not have enough seats to form a government if the main Kurdish party passes the 10% election threshold.
Signs of eternal fashion in a new Geneva barbershop that serves men only, and only men who know what will never go out of style.
BUJUMBURA — When she goes out alone of Burundi’s capital, Valerie has started wearing trousers in case she has to run or is dragged to the ground. On this day, Bujumbura is sunny with a light breeze coming off Lake Tanganyika — still her heart is beating fast. Valerie (not her real name) is always […]
All eyes are on legendary Argentine striker Lionel Messi ahead of Saturday night’s Barcelona-Juventus final of the Champions League. Here’s our world tour of gasps and shouts of amazement for the best soccer player of his generation. Olé! Lionel Messi: Lovin” Leo In 7 Languages par Worldcrunch
Filmmaker Diasteme’s new movie suggests links between neo-Nazis and France’s third largest party the National Front. He says cinemas are now dropping the film.
SCORES DIE IN GHANA GAS STATION BLAST At least 96 people were killed in an explosion at a gas station in Ghana’s capital Accra last night, The Accra City Times reports. Local radio station JOYFM put the death toll at more than 100. Most of the victims had sought shelter at the gas station as […]
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Extra! Sarkozy’s Republican ‘Hold-Up’
“Scandals, lawsuits, and bankers chase him. What of it!” writes French news weekly Marianne in its cover story this week. “Nicolas Sarkozy has but one goal: take back ultimate power on the “Republican” ticket.” The former president of France has rattled observers across the political spectrum with his initiative to rebrand his center-right party, the […]
PARIS — Europe is truly a strange character. In Greek mythology, Europa was a princess kidnapped by a white bull whose breath smelled like Crocus flowers. In today’s reality, it’s a body threatening to cut off its own limbs. Its left foot is considering stopping its own blood flow. Suffering from cramps for the past […]
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Familiar Parade
During the summer months, the Ceremonial Guard performs the “Changing of the Guard” ceremony on the lawns of Ottawa’s Parliament Hill. The uniforms are very similar to those of the British Queen’s Guards, and are just one feature of the Canadian capital that surprised me in how much it looked and felt like capitals back […]
SEOUL — North Korea is sometimes seen as being trapped in a Stalinist time warp. And because it’s so isolated, some South Koreans think that even the way people there speak Korean is stuck in the past. It’s becoming clear that one of the biggest challenges for the nearly 28,000 North Korean escapees who now live below the border is overcoming linguistic differences. So researchers are trying new ways to help close the language divide. The North Korean accent is sometimes mocked on South Korean comedy programs for sounding quaint or old-fashioned. But Lee Song-ju says that when he speaks […]
Once the world’s murder capital, the Mexican city that borders with El Paso, Texas, has seen crime plummet. But deeper problems still persist.
Blatter resigns: watch the world react by Worldcrunch
Coverage of social issues in Egypt is rarely even-handed. Instead, media outlets preach and bray, moralizing instead of taking a detached, just-the-facts approach.
TOLL OF CHINESE SHIPWRECK CLIMBS Photo: Stringer/Cpressphoto/ZUMA Hopes of finding survivors of China’s shipwreck were fading Wednesday, after a total 14 survivors were rescued from the Eastern Star, the cruise ship carrying 456 that sank Monday night in China’s Yangtze River after a storm hit. So far, 19 bodies have been recovered, leaving more than […]