Worldcrunch
MALAGA — There’s a classic children’s song in France that says a lot about how the world sees Spain. “Dans mon pays d’Espagne, olé! Y” a un soleil comme ça!” (In Spain, my country, olé! There’s a sun like this). The song also touches on things like bullfighting, the sea, flamenco dancing — all the […]
Syria Deeply had a rare opportunity to hear from Palestinians facing violence and starvation in the Yarmouk refugee camp in southwestern Syria.
ISTANBUL — The end of the ceasefire between Turkey and the PKK (The Kurdistan Worker’s Party) is a development that will undermine both sides’ bigger plans in the region. The Turkish government may be hoping to gain the nationalist vote and weaken the legal pro-Kurdish party (The People’s Democratic Party or HDP) by going after […]
Throughout France — not just Provence — wine producers want consumers to know that rosé can be just as sophisticated as better respected reds and whites.
I could never have been a Greek Orthodox bishop: True, the black cassock and the “chimney-pot” style hat look good — but I like to keeep my beard trimmed.
Three key factors in the world’s leading economies may slow growth again, and emerging economies could bear the brunt.
The ordeal of the Yazidis ethnic minority began one year ago, escaping an impending ISIS massacre in northern Iraq. Tens of thousands fled to Turkey. But what happened next?
HIROSHIMA ANNIVERSARY As the world marks today the 70th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, Japan’s Prime Minister called for the abolition of nuclear weapons worldwide, during a ceremony in the city where more than 140,000 were killed in the last moments of World War II. Asked about the significance of the anniversary before […]
The Republican party’s top White House hopefuls gather tonight in Cleveland, Ohio for the first debate ahead of this year’s primaries. Real estate tycoon Donald Trump, who has made racist remarks about Mexicans and insulted former Republican nominee John McCain, is dominating the media circus — and leading in the polls, ahead of former Florida […]
CAIRO — Egypt has been bombarded with a constant stream of messages this week about the miracles the New Suez Canal will bring. Not all of the claims hold up to scrutiny. Claim: The new extension will allow two-way traffic along the canal. Reality: This is sort of true — 60% true, to be more […]
Stories for humans, like water for fish…
In Belém, the gateway to the Amazon River in northern Brazil, we were able to admire impressive examples of the Victoria amazonica (or Victoria regia, as it used to be called) which grows mostly in this region. The largest water lily on Earth, we were told it could sustain the weight of a small dog.
Banks are back, the stock market has reopened and all economic signs (including the banks and stock market) are disastrous. Normalcy has returned to Greece! The more serious truth is that the deal signed last month by Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras — which includes new austerity measures in exchange for a third bailout to […]
Ghardaïa is “only” 1,700 kilometers (1050 miles) away from my house, as the crow flies. But 45 years ago, to get to the “the pearl of the oasis” in northern Sahara’s M’zab region, my wife and I first drove down to the port of Marseille in our Peugeot 404, took a ferry to Annaba, visited […]
JOHN KERRY CONCERNED BY CHINA LAND CLAIMS Photo: Then Chih Wey/Xinhua/ZUMA China should end provocative land reclamation projects in the South China Sea and work with its neighbors to resolve the region’s territorial disputes, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry told Wednesday’s summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. China has repeatedly rejected U.S. […]
MOSCOW — A new crackdown has begun on food illegally imported from Western countries that have imposed sanctions on Russia. But rather than just targeting goods brought in across the border, Russian officials now have the go-ahead to raid shops, warehouses and grocery chains throughout the country. Although most prohibited goods are stopped at the […]
Vanguard, August 5, 2015 After years of violence and terrorism, some members of Boko Haram are eager to negotiate a way out of the conflict with the Nigerian government,Vanguard reports. The Nigerian daily says the group’s apparent eagerness to talk comes in response to calls for dialogue from recently elected President Muhammadu Buhari. Vanguard also […]
The 2016 Summer Olympic Games start next Aug. 5 in Rio de Janeiro with too many projects behind schedule. One particular environmental hurdle looks insurmountable.
For the past 30 years, the American lawyer has been hunting down former despots all over the world. The trial of the former Chadian dictator Hissène Habré, which opened last month, is the latest fruit of his work.
CAIRO — A woman carried her son as she pleaded with the doctor in charge of Nasser Institute Hospital’s blood bank for a few bags of blood to save his life after a serious car accident. The doctor turned her away, saying that the boy’s rare blood type was not available. Salma Khattab, whose father […]
GREEK STOCKS KEEP SINKING Greek stocks have continued their descent on Tuesday, on the second day of heavy losses after a five-week shutdown of Greece’s stock exchange amidst the debt crisis. All four major Greek banking stocks were down around 30% in early trading. KOSOVO WAR CRIMES COURT Kosovo’s parliament voted late Monday night to […]
La Vanguardia, August 4, 2015 Catalonia is set to go to the polls next month, as regional President Artur Mas called early elections for Sept. 27, intending to use the vote as a fresh bid for independence. He announced the election as “an exceptional measure,” says Tuesday’s front page of La Vanguardia. In a televised […]
PARIS — If you believe mankind has grown decadent and that we should look to nature for an example of modesty and self-control, you would be in for a surprise. Because when it comes to bad behavior — be it thievery, infidelity or even drug abuse — the animal kingdom knows few bounds. Take sex, […]
Seven pairs of polished shoes, four cravats and two plus-fours trousers … In the 68 years since, the dress code for French 16-year-olds has changed just a bit. Here I was, right in the middle of this shot, with six friends from my Greek-Latin Première class.
After last month’s border attack, some hard Syrian lessons for Ankara, which has finally opened a key air base for attacks against ISIS positions.
For China’s State-Owned Enterprises, new reforms are aimed at linking senior management pay to the company’s performance.
Locals in the Syrian city of Idlib were happy when rebel forces overturned regime forces. But now the rebels are enforcing their own version of military rule.
OBAMA TO UNVEIL CLIMATE CHANGE ACTION PLAN U.S. President Barack Obama is set to unveil what he described as “the biggest, most important step we’ve ever taken” to tackle climate change. The revised Clean Power Plan aims at cutting greenhouse gas emissions by almost one-third over the next 15 years and represents “the administration’s boldest […]
-OpEd- PARIS — As Europe barely recovers from an unprecedented crisis, the African continent is experiencing a vigorous period of growth. This long-awaited shift is slowly but steadily making investors more confident, even if they remain aware of the risks. According to a recent study conducted by Havas Horizon, investors are showing broad optimism concerning […]
For 2,000 years, the Roman aqueduct of Segovia, in central Spain, has defied the passage of time. With the French Pont du Gard (of which I’ll show you a picture soon), it’s one of the best preserved examples of its kind.
Perhaps the final sign that gay rights are here to stay, at least in the West, is the growing number of children’s books with gay protagonists.
AIX-EN-PROVENCE — For a moment, Alain Orsoni was his old legendary self, the charismatic nationalist and dashing adventurer who struggled for independence at home, roamed for years through South America, and is still muscular enough to fill out his plain white t-shirt. He was talking about himself because he was asked to, but also because […]
BOGOR — The oldest Buddhist temple in Bogor, West Java, is a silent witness to religious tolerance in the area. Five men gather inside the temple, whose doors are always open for people from different religions to come inside and pray. Sitting behind statues of a Buddhist goddess, the men engage in their weekly communal Koran study group. After the evening prayer, they move to the temple’s kitchen to enjoy tonight’s dinner. “We’ve been doing this for three years now, every Thursday night. It’s a routine,” says Epul Saefullah, who leads this evening’s Koran reading. “At first people asked, “But […]
-OpEd- PARIS — The late 1990s anti-globalization movement that protested against summits like the World Trade Organization in Seattle and G8 in Genoa used the slogan: “Another world is possible.” Is this “other world” now being constructed before our eyes by the BRICS, as the emerging countries of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa […]
Pope Francis’ recent encyclical on the climate had a major blind spot: cattle farming and meat consumption. Nowhere is the damage more evident than his native Latin America.