Worldcrunch
BEIJING — If one were to think of the Internet as a person with flesh, blood and a soul, then what would be the source of its soul? The answer will be a very different one depending on which country’s Internet we are talking about. In the United States, a Time magazine article explored the […]
GOP BENGHAZI HEARING FAILS TO RILE CLINTON Photo: Ron Sachs/CNP/ZUMA Democrat presidential candidate and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton kept her composure throughout an 11-hour congressional special hearing set up by the Republican majority Thursday on the deadly Benghazi attack that killed the U.S. ambassador Chris Stevens and three colleagues on Sept. 11, 2012. […]
The Greek island of Santorini, in the southern Aegean Sea, is one big active volcano. And though it’s dormant, there’s always the risk of an eruption that could destroy the beautiful whitewashed houses as one did some 3,600 years ago.
As students return to school this month in the rebel-held areas of Aleppo, they won’t be heading back to the same classrooms they left last year. Instead, they’ll be studying in basements and other “secure areas” across the devas
A new wave of democratic protests has been spreading across Africa, from Angola to Burkina Faso and beyond, as several long-time leaders look to extend their rule for as long as they can, often defying their country’s own constitution. Front and center in these popular movements have been several prominent hip hop stars. The French-language […]
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has sparked outrage with his thesis that a Palestinian gave Adolf Hitler the idea to annihilate the Jews. It is, of course, utter nonsense. But from a German perspective, there is another problem.
-Editorial- TOKYO — Both to deter North Korea’s military provocations and to ensure regional stability in Asia, it’s vital that the United States and South Korea maintain their solid alliance. South Korea should be mindful not to get too close to China, or risk weakening its collaboration with the United States. U.S. President Barack Obama […]
KERRY, NETANYAHU MEET IN GERMANY U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met in Berlin today for talks about ongoing violence between Israelis and Palestinians. Kerry called for an immediate end to all incitement and violence after three weeks of deadly attacks. Netanyahu also called for a de-escalation but blamed […]
Daniel Scioli, candidate closest to the outgoing Argentine President Cristina Kirchner, is leading the polls. But whoever wins, the future of the country is a wide-open question.
In the lobby of a hotel on the shores of the Black Sea, a band was playing what we in France call de la musique tzigane. This Gypsy-style music is recognizable, among other things, by the characteristic way of playing the violin — an instrument I myself tried my hand at when I was younger, […]
Hosting 30 million people in the world’s largest pilgrimage, Nashik is a temporary example of “extreme urbanism,” and researchers are studying what happens in the process.
CAIRO — In 1929, Egypt’s Interior Ministry banned Wedad Orfi’s Masat al-Hayah (“The Tragedy of Life”). “The story as we saw it revels in self-indulgence, overshadowing the good part of it, leaving only a few meters of preaching, which neither leaves a strong enough impact on the viewer, nor gives the viewer a sublime idea […]
A group of well-educated Afghans with credentials to work in Europe are instead committing to stay in their troubled homeland – and using Facebook to encourage others to do the same.
U.S., RUSSIA REACH DEAL ON SYRIA CAMPAIGNS Washington and Moscow officials signed an agreement yesterday to regulate flights over Syria in a bid to avoid potential clashes in the skies between U.S. and Russian aircraft as the rival countries engage in separate operations against jihadists, The New York Times reports. But the deal doesn’t include […]
French academic André Gunthert asserts that the selfie is not narcissistic folly at all, but rather represents a new kind of revolution that threatens elite control of society.
La Nazione, Oct. 21, 2015 In what it characterizes as an international scoop, Italian daily La Nazione reports that Pope Francis has a curable brain tumor, which the Vatican no doubt has been trying to keep secret. “The Pope Is Sick,” is the newspaper’s front page headline Wednesday, the same day the Vatican characterized the […]
The sturdy dry-stone walls of the Incan site have been standing there since the 13th century. And they still look good on a group picture.
This week we shine the spotlight on Malaysia: CURRENCY AND CARS While other emerging-market currencies in Asia are halting their slide, the Malaysian ringgit is continuing its precipitous fall, Malaysian financial newspaper the Edge reports. The Malaysian currency has experienced a steady depreciation for months against the U.S. dollar. Despite a minor rally recently, it’s […]
Suspended for three months by FIFA’s Ethics Committee for a 2 million Swiss franc payment from Sepp Blatter, the former French soccer star denies any wrongdoing, and still says he’s the right man to be the next president of the global soccer org
CANADA’S LIBERALS SWEEP TO POWER Justin Trudeau, son of former Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, led his Liberal Party to an unexpectedly sweeping victory in general elections yesterday, ending nearly a decade of Conservative rule, the daily National Post reports. Outgoing Prime Minister Stephen Harper conceded defeat and the Conservative party announced his resignation. The […]
With renewed violence raging between Palestinians and Israelis, and an international community caught up with other conflicts, the two-state solution is all but dead and buried. Another reason to mourn the Israeli leader, assassinated Nov. 4, 1995.
“New Trudeau Mania,” writes French-language Canadian daily Le Journal de Montréal on the front page of its Tuesday edition, after Justin Trudeau — son of former Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau — led his Liberal Party to an unexpectedly sweeping victory in general elections. Outgoing Prime Minister Stephen Harper conceded defeat late Monday, ending nearly […]
BEIJING —Using technology to get the most out of your workers, it seems, is a goal shared by employers around the world. From Silcon Valley to Shanghai, punch cards and time clocks are being upgraded with biometric tracking, fingerprint recognition and facial scanning to avoid fraud such as so-called “buddy clocking.” But now, Bejing Daily […]
Taken at a time when this optical illusion was still somewhat original …
DRESDEN — Thousands of kilometers away from their war-torn home, and yet they still don’t feel safe. Three gay Syrians who say they’ve been harassed by Muslim refugees in Dresden decided to tell their story to German news agency DPA. Ahmad Suliman says that if he had come out openly about his sexual orientation in […]
Argentina’s electronic music scene and clubs are perfect venues for testing the country’s latest illegal recreational drugs. The favorites then go on to the bigger markets in Europe.
Frankfurter Allgemeine, Oct. 19, 2015 Accompanied by an ominous photograph of the culprit’s weapons, German daily Frankfurter Allgemeine dedicated its front page Monday to the stabbing of, and subsequent victory by Cologne’s incoming mayor, Henriette Reker. “Rekker wins Cologne election after assassination attempt,” writes the conservative daily. Reker — an independent candidate supported by Chancellor […]
An exclusive look at the evolution of the Yarmouk Martyrs Brigade through the words of members and locals in the Yarmouk Valley in southwestern Deraa.
XI IN THE UK Chinese President Xi Jinping will arrive in Britain today for his first state visit to the country, a sign of the current “golden era” between London and Beijing, The Guardian reports. In contrast to Xi’s recent U.S. visit, which was marked by tensions over cyber security, the two countries are expected […]
What if everything were free? Well, it is at Debora Fischkandl’s little Paris shop, no strings attached. And hers isn’t the only one. A look at the radical side of the sharing economy.
A trip on the Volga river — the longest in Europe — is like floating down the stream of history. The magnificently decrepit churches along the way gave us a glimpse of the many layers of the Russian nation, just 10 years after the fall of the Soviet Union, and one year after the arrival […]
-Analysis- BEIJING — A recent United Nations report predicted that the year 2017 will be the turning point for China’s demography. After reaching its peak that year, the population will start to drop. And yet at the same time, as a recent survey of China’s State Council showed, each major Chinese city has plans to […]
Turkish President Erdogan was quick to blame U.S. and French leaders after terror attacks struck those countries, but has failed to take responsibility for allowing the deadly Ankara attacks to occur.
Sima, a Parisian mother of three, hits the poker tables every night around 10 p.m. and plays for a solid eight hours, just like a day’s work. She earns a decent living, if not the respect of her children’s teachers.
By announcing the end of its exploration campaign in the north of Alaska, Shell delighted environmental NGOs. But the self-imposed moratorium, to the degree it even exists, will not last.
Molested, harassed, abused: Women in refugee camps are increasingly victims of sexual violence. Authorities in Hamburg try to react.
CARACAS — Venezuelan security agents have detained Manuel Rosales, an opposition politician returning to the country after six years in exile, at the airport in Maracaibo, in the western state of Zulia. Opposition daily El Universal reports that the 63-year-old former presidential candidate and ex governor of Zulia, was arrested “literally as he got off […]
A military court has convicted 26 military officers with conspiring to overthrow the current regime in collaboration with two prominent Muslim Brotherhood leaders, according to a copy of the secret indictment obtained by Mada Masr.
NEW YORK — A U.S. intelligence official has leaked a cache of secret slides that reveal details of the American military’s use of drones to assassinate suspected terrorists. The documents include suspicion that innocent people are regularly killed in the operations and that sometimes vague criteria are used to decide whom to target. The so-called […]
EU-TURKEY TENUOUS DEAL ON MIGRANTS Photo: Antonio Masiello/NurPhoto/ZUMA European Union states are considering an aid package worth 3 billion euros ($3.5 billion) to Turkey as well as quicker visas for Turkish citizens in exchange for Turkey’s help in curbing the flow of migrants into Europe. The BBC reports that European leaders also agreed to “re-energize” […]