There are billion-dollar fines, but the humiliation is what really hurts the bottom line. This is the lesson VW faces amidst the emissions scandal snowballing in the U.S.
Month: September 2015
El Tiempo, Sept. 24, 2015 Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos and rebel leader Timoleón Jiménez of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) agreed Wednesday on a “deadline for peace,” promising to end the country’s half-century-long civil war within six months, Colombia’s daily El Tiempo reports. The two men sealed the deal with a historic […]
I’ve always thought that the best aspect of religion was art — be it music, architecture or painting. Enough to inspire stubborn unbelievers like me.
After Syria, Iraq, Libya and elsewhere, ISIS tries to take root in the Palestinian enclave governed by the Islamists of Hamas. Internecine conflicts get ugly fast.
-Analysis- BEIJING — China has been woefully behind its Western counterparts in the use and sharing of big data. A recent proposal by the government’s State Council aims to make up lost ground, promoting the collectioin and sharing of data between government departments and a gradual opening up of public data resources to improve social […]
With Europe’s lowest fertility rate, and some 20% of its 10.6 million inhabitants over the age of 65, Portugal is aging fast. Bad news for the country, but apparently a boon to criminals, who see the elderly as prime targets. Crime against senior citizens, financial scams in particular, has registered a sharp rise since the […]
This Argentine family decided a 13,000-mile trip in a VW van was the perfect way to see Pope Francis, their former archbishop. There were bumps along the way.
EU PUSHES THROUGH REFUGEE QUOTA DEAL The European Union has approved a controversial plan to relocate 120,000 migrants from Italy and Greece over two years. EU governments forced the deal through despite the opposition of four Eastern European states, using a rule that bypasses the usually required unanimity. Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania and Slovakia all […]
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Xi Jinping Begins U.S. Visit
People’s Daily, Sept. 23, 2015 “Xi Jinping begins U.S. visit” reads the front page of Chinese state-run People’s Daily Wednesday, together with a picture Chinese President Xi Jinping and his wife Peng Liyuan waving upon their arrival in Seattle on Tuesday. The Chinese president’s seven-day visit, aimed at strengthening diplomatic and commercial ties with the […]
The conventional wisdom says a male teacher shortage is bad for society, and the surplus of women in education might work against boys. A new study confronts the myths.
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Time Of The Seasoning
See those red garlands adorning this house on the shore of Lake Balaton? They’re chili peppers, from which Hungarians extract paprika they use to season stews and soups, like the famous goulash.
And watch out for Pablo Iglesias, leader of Spain’s leftist Podemos party.
The breakaway country’s fight for independence has lasted 25 years in the rubble of the Soviet empire. There is, inevitably perhaps, a growing religious rhetoric to the battle.
Photo: Biblioteca Congreso Nacional de Chile SANTIAGO — If it’s a scrum Chilean Sen. Jorge Pizarro wanted, he certainly got one. Though he didn’t expect to be at the bottom of the heap. Constituents complained to La Tercera newspaper that Pizarro, leader of Chile’s Christian Democratic Party, traveled to the United Kingdom to watch rugby […]
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Swiss Directions
To reach the small old town of Olten: turn left after the train station, walk alongside the Aare river until you get to a 19th-century wooden bridge, take a picture.
Peyrelevade, a village of 800 people in central France, has welcomed 60 refugees since April. Its former retirement home has been renovated, the primary school has avoided a class closure, and there are new jobs for residents. But the future is no less un
POPE FRANCIS ARRIVES IN U.S. TODAY Photo: Ricky Fitchett/ZUMA After a four-day visit to Cuba, Pope Francis is scheduled to arrive in Washington, D.C., this afternoon for his first U.S. visit since becoming pontiff. He will meet with President Barack Obama tomorrow morning and address a joint meeting of Congress on Thursday. He and the […]
The scandal rocking Volkswagen, in which the world’s second largest car manufacturer is accused of fraud in its emissions tests, could ripple through the entire German automobile industry and “plunge it into a crisis of confidence,” the country’s leading business newspaper, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, writes on Tuesday. In a scathing column, Holger Appel suggests the […]
More than 3 million people die prematurely each year from dirty air. But researchers can now trace what exactly causes the bad air in different locations. A way to begin to fix it.
Among the innovations expected to change how our food is made is artificial meat. The results will feed more people and be environmentally friendlier.
Depending on his audience, the pontiff’s messages vary. On a historic visit to the U.S., President Obama and the whole world will be listening carefully.
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Extra! Syriza’s Second Chance
“Second Chance for Syriza,” reads the front page of Greek financial daily Naftermporiki on Monday, following the election that returns the leftist party’s leader Alexis Tsipras as prime minister. With just over 35% of the vote, Syriza came out on top, leaving center-right New Democracy behind at 28%. But Tsipras’ victory is less resounding than […]
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Tsipras Is Back, David Hameron, Emmy Firsts
TSIPRAS BACK AT THE HELM A “vindicated” Alexis Tsipras will return as prime minister of Greece after his Syriza party’s victory in yesterday’s election, Kathimerini reports. The liberal party won just over 35% of the vote, leaving the center-right New Democracy party behind with 28%. But Tsipras’ victory is less resounding than it was in […]
TEL AVIV — From the beautiful beach of Palmachim, on the Israeli coast, it’s hard to picture what’s happening below your feet, where 624,000 cubic meters of sea water are being sucked up every day by two enormous pipes and transported more than two kilometers inland to be transformed into drinkable water. Welcome to Sorek, […]
When it’s a celebration day on the Indonesian island of Bali, you come across a different procession every five minutes or so — each more colorful than the last.
The Mexican government’s recent actions suggest the ruling party yearns for the days when it governed unchallenged through cronyism. But order comes at a price.
Forced to abandon his Ukrainian companies because of corruption under the ousted pro-Russian president, Olexander Martynenko has risked it all on the front line.
The world of rugby is not what it used to be. Artists gave way to men built like tanks, and the 2015 World Cup, kicking off in England, will take the Robocop scrum to a new low.
The staple crop is so strategic that it has been targeted from all sides in the Syrian Civil War.
If you ‘like’ extreme right-wing Facebook pages, this German will try to contact your boss, and perhaps the police. Is he going too far?
Egypt and China made billions worth of energy and infrastructure deals during al-Sisi’s recent visit to Beijing, another sign of growing economic and political ties between the two countries.
More EU Borders Close, Obama And Francis, Invisibility Cloak
The situation in Burkina Faso was still tense Friday morning, after the rebel military installed General Gilbert Diendéré as the country’s new president Thursday, just three weeks before national elections were set to take place. “So It’s Him!” reads the front-page headline of the Burkinabe daily L’Observateur. Ousted interim President Michel Kafando, who had been […]
Every French region has its own version of brioche, which has a solid but modest history. But now in some corners, this lightly sweet breakfast bread is taking on a high-end air.
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That’s Entertainment
Back when the Jordanian city of Jerash was known to the Romans as Gerasa, the large South Theater was sometimes used for naumachia. Naumachia is similar to gladiator combat, just that you need to fill the theater with water and add life-size reproductions of warships. The stage was dry by the time we got there, […]
Latin American governments have shown scant interest in restricting cars and improving public transport. But some citizens in smoggy Bogotá have chosen a different path.
Despite some hopes inside and outside of Greece that a political coalition will emerge in Athens to lift the country out of crisis, the nation’s deeper forces do not bode well.
On the eve of the pontiff’s visit to the United States, confidential Obama administration documents reveal a remarkable harmony with Francis’ objectives.
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Desert Relentlessly Advances In Iran
TEHRAN — Iran is increasingly “becoming a desert” thanks to decades of wasted water supplies and a dry climate exacerbated by climate change, Tehran daily Arman-e Emruz reported Thursday. Water resource specialist Mohammadreza Fatemi told the newspaper that the state environmental agency has mismanged water resources for at least 20 years, destroying the environment in […]
EAST SUMBA — The island of Sumba, in southern Indonesia, is famous for its horses and regularly hosts racing festivals. In one such event last month, some 600 horses participated, as did a large number of jockeys — all of them children, some as young as four or five and none older than 11. Among them is 7-year-old Ade, who doesn’t even reach my waist. He’s putting on a balaclava so I can only see his eyes and mouth. He’s also wearing a small helmet and no shoes. He has a black eye from falling off a horse. Ade doesn’t […]