Russia’s decision to send troops into Syria in defense of its ally, President Bashar al-Assad, is now at the center of a major diplomatic standoff between Moscow and the West. But the move by Russian President Vladimir Putin to send military support to combat ISIS insurgents is also a sign of concerns at the military […]
Month: September 2015
The pharmaceutical industry looks to identify new diseases so it can push new drugs on the market, and patients play along. The approval of reduced female libido as a pathology is a case in point.
CERRO DE PASCO — More than 2,000 children in Peru’s Pasco region have blood lead levels far higher than what the World Health Organization says is a safe range for children, and at least 70 of them are suffering from resulting physical illnesses and disabilities, Lima-based daily El Comercio reports. The culprit is mining, and […]
NEW MOVES ON SYRIAN WAR CHESSBOARD The diplomatic deadlock over how to end the bloody civil war in Syria is growing deeper by the hour. The upper house of the Russian Parliament has voted unanimously in favor of allowing the use of Russian troops in Syria, paving the way for the Russian air force to […]
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Unmistakably Muscovite
The nine gilded onion domes of the Annunciation Cathedral are one of the inimitable features of Moscow“s Cathedral Square, the central square of the Kremlin.
-OpEd- PARIS — It’s a thorny issue that has experts divided. For some, a ground war is a trap and should not even be considered; only well-targeted, reinforced airstrikes will do the job. For others, it’s impossible to slay ISIS without hunting down its jihadists one by one, from street to street, hideout after hideout, […]
Brazilian governments again are guilty of spending too much when exports and revenues were booming. A view from neighboring Argentina, where bad economics is endemic.
Law enforcement agencies that bring cases to court, and the administrators who act as court overseers, have far more power and influence than judges, who are often pressured to render false verdicts. How it works, and why the system needs overhauling.
TEHRAN — The deal between Tehran and the West to curb Iran’s secretive nuclear program in return for an end to crippling economic sanctions isn’t slated to take effect until Oct. 19. But with Western delegations already streaming in and out of Tehran in anticipation of business and investment opportunities, Iran’s Transportation Minister Abbas Akhoundi […]
Though the Egyptian president has authorized the release of some 100 political prisoners, the global human rights organization says thousands more are languishing inside prisons for doing no more than engaging in peaceful protest.
OBAMA AND PUTIN TALK SYRIA Photo: Klimentyev Mikhail/TASS/ZUMA Presidents Barack Obama and Vladimir Putin met Monday evening on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York to discuss the Syrian conflict and efforts to end it. “WATER ON MARS” FRONT PAGES Take a look at our collection of front pages from planet Earth […]
CHISINAU — The tent city in the center of Moldova“s capital sprung up the evening of Sept. 6, just after a downtown protest had drawn thousands. The demonstrators decided on the spot to stay until they could claim victory; and by nightfall, a few dozen tents had appeared. By the next day there were at […]
Plus, bonus coverage from the *celestial* hometown rag …
I’ve never gone to a country to lie on the beach, but I am happy to bring my camera along to capture a seascape or two.
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The World Comes To New York
With the United Nations General Assembly meeting this week, heads of state and all the many faces of the world are filling the streets of New York. Take a tour!
This week we shine the spotlight on Mexico: CHILD TRAFFICKING PROBE IN SONORA Mexican national daily Excelsior reports that the country’s Attorney General formally charged two officials from the northern state of Sonora with child trafficking. The case first emerged last month, when Vladimir Alfredo Arzate and José Hernández López, both officials at a government […]
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China Reflections: From Mao To Xi
NEW YORK — For some years now, I have been observing China from a distance, never going back to the country that I called my third home for many years. Back then, during my long stays in China, I learned a lot about the country and its culture. In the past, foreigners had to travel […]
There’s a video circulating on the Internet that stunned me stone cold. You see a group of animal rights activists literally tearing a homeless man’s puppy from his arms. You can see the poor guy trying in vain to free himself from the leader of the activist group, while the frightened little pup squeals and […]
SEPARATIST PARTIES WIN CATALONIA VOTE Pro-independence parties in the Spanish region of Catalonia won an absolute majority of legislative seats in regional elections yesterday that were seen as a de facto referendum on independence. Separatists see the landmark victory in the rich region as a clear mandate to break away from Spain, though they received […]
BRASILIA — While most Brazilians are focused on the country’s deepening economic and political crises, some politicians have another priority. A special committee in the Brazilian Chamber of Deputies passed a controversial statute last week that defined a family as a concept beginning from the union of a man and a woman. Rio de Janeiro […]
The bloody Syrian stalemate unites Russia and the West, in a shared urgency to defeat ISIS. But the Syrian dictator, also an ISIS foe, should not be seen as a lesser evil.
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Separatists Win Catalan Election
La Vanguardia, Sept. 28, 2015 “The ‘yes’ prevails,” the Barcelona-based daily La Vanguardia titled Monday, as pro-independence movements won the absolute majority in regional elections in Catalonia. The landmark victory is seen by separatists as a de facto independence referendum in favor of the northern region breaking away from Spain. The “Junts pel Sí” (“Together […]
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Pilgrim Pose
Going to Lourdes as a tourist, not as a devotee, you come across a diverse bunch: the ailing believers looking for a cure, the admirable volunteers taking care of them, the peddlers cashing in on people’s faith. When I went there 45 years ago, I took this shot of pilgrims waiting for a group photograph […]
PARIS — Pépite is still in shock. “It’s hard to deal with it,” repeats this mother, whose youngest daughter converted to Islam. Pépite comes from a Catholic family, and never expected this to happen. She didn’t worry when her daughter, Alexandra, became infatuated with a boy who had converted to Islam, or even when she […]
Climate change is already starting to affect wine growers, who scientists say will have to use other varieties of grapes and periodically move vineyards, among other interventions.
A showdown over Israel’s choice for ambassador to Brazil, pro-settlements leader Dani Dayan, shows the Netanyahu government may be set to abandon the two-state solution that has promised Palestinians a homeland.
Digging into the intellectual history of Germany and Greece, ancient and otherwise, adds yet another level of irony to Europe’s current struggles.
BEIJING — After enjoying years of double-digit growth, China’s luxury car market has screeched to an unprecedented slowdown with a growth rate of less than 6% for the first half of 2015. But there is one notable exception to the slowdown: the Beijing Benz Automotive Co. (BBAC) — the joint venture between the Chinese state-owned […]
If and when Colombia’s FARC guerrillas stop fighting and peace comes to Colombia, the socio-economic benefits will be multiple and unstoppable. There is only one choice.
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A Different Kind Of Visa
Travelling on organized tours doesn’t necessarily mean being on auto pilot. When we went to Guatemala, our local guide suggested that, for a bit extra cash, we could take a detour and visit the Mayan site of Copán. Copán is in Honduras. We had no visas. So our guide grabbed two bottles of rum — […]
SAUDI ARABIA ORDERS STAMPEDE PROBE Saudi Arabia’s King Salman ordered a swift investigation and safety review after yesterday’s stampede during the annual Hajj Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca left at least 717 people dead and 863 hurt, Al Arabiya reports. VERBATIM Photo: Ron Sachs/CNP/ZUMA “Why are deadly weapons being sold to those who plan to inflict […]
A redeployment of Russian missiles to Kaliningrad and the Western borders could be a response to reports of U.S. nuclear bombs arriving at a German air force base.
BERLIN — German Interior Minister Thomas de Maizière has leveled harsh criticisms of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s decision to allow refugees to enter the country from Hungary earlier this month, describing the migrant situation in the country as chaotic, the weekly Der Spiegel reports. Speaking on the television network ZDF (at 33:30), de Maizière, a member […]
Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud ordered a swift investigation, as well as a safety review, after Thursday’s stampede at the Hajj pilgrimage site of Mina which left at least 717 people dead and 863 hurt. On its Friday front page, Saudi daily Al Yaum quotes the king as saying that “the massive development […]
When moving as a group, each bison in a herd can “vote” on which direction to take, and the decision will depend on the majority, just like in elections, according to a report published by scientists in the forthcoming issue of Animal Behaviour. Researchers concluded this while observing the herd movements of about 30 European […]
It’s home economics, not geopolitics.
STOCKHOLM — Ing-Britt Akerberg, 70, receives us in front of paintings of nymphs and a beautiful Persian carpet. A swaggering spaniel licks her toes. “I live in the apartment below,” she explains. “But I’m keeping my friend’s three dogs; she went to town to do a bit of shopping.” The apartment building is squeezed between […]
The European airplane giant has just opened its first U.S. assembly plant in Mobile, Alabama. Airbus is banking on lower labor costs and an aging American aircraft fleet.
Carmen Balcells, literary agent to some of the greatest Spanish-language writers of our time, died this past weekend in Barcelona. One of the novelists she discovered, Isabel Allende, pays tribute.
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Mecca Stampede, FARC Handshake, Exhumed Tsar
MORE THAN 300 DEAD IN MECCA STAMPEDE Photo: Omar Chatriwala At least 310 people taking part in the annual Hajj pilgrimage were killed in a stampede Thursday morning in Mina, near the Islamic holy city of Mecca, in Saudi Arabia, Al Jazeera quotes Saudi officials as saying. Thursday is the first day of the Muslim […]