Worldcrunch
IRAN VIOLATED MISSILE BAN, UN SAYS A United Nations Security Council’s Panel of Experts has accused Iran of violating a UN resolution by test-firing a missile capable of delivering a nuclear warhead on Oct. 10, Al Jazeera reports. “On the basis of its analysis and findings, the Panel concludes that Emad launch is a violation […]
The Somali community has solid roots in and around Minneapolis. But young people have increasingly been lured by jihadists.
Dawn, Dec. 16, 2015 People across Pakistan today are remembering the 144 victims of the Peshawar school massacre, one year after the Taliban attack that killed 122 children and 22 teachers. In its editorial, daily newspaper Dawn looks back at the changes the country has gone through after an attack that marked “a new, terrible […]
Visiting the Schwarzwälder Freilichtmuseum Vogtsbauernhof is like getting lost in a fairy tale. The open air museum, in the middle of the Black Forest, takes you back to rural Germany 400 years ago. Is that Little Red Riding Hood’s grandmother sewing something for Hansel and Gretel?
Chile used to pride itself as a South American answer to Germany, known for business and public integrity. Now a string of scandals have broken the public trust.
Mohamed Soltan lost 120 pounds during a hunger strike in Egyptian prison, where he landed for protesting against the military regime. The only American prisoner freed since the coup, he’s home now. But the physical and pychological effects of food
TREVISO — Not just a token sheep, but a flock of sheep. Not just Joseph and Mary, but all their neighbors, plus angels and wise men, bands of bagpipes, ancient tools, tables and cutlery, traditional dances and, yes, a thatched hut sheltering the Madonna and baby Jesus — several in fact, dressed for those roles, […]
SAUDI ANNOUNCES ANTI-TERROR COALITION Saudi Arabia announced today that it is leading a military coalition of Arab countries against Islamic terrorism, the Saudi Press Agency reports. Other alliance countries include Egypt, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Turkey, Malaysia, Pakistan and Gulf Arab and African states. A joint statement said that a joint operations center would […]
SÃO PAULO — When the dam at the iron ore mine in Mariana burst more than a month ago, killing at least 15 people, it was quickly described as Brazil‘s worst ecological disaster ever. The 40 billion liters of toxic mud unleashed in the central state of Minas Gerais, destroyed houses, roads, and left many […]
How impeccably dressed and well-behaved these students appeared when we visited the University of Coimbra in central Portugal. The university, the country’s oldest, is also well known for its annual Queima das Fitas, a massive and sometimes rowdy “burning of the ribbons” student festival that lasts for eight days each spring.
Northeastern Syria’s autonomous Kurdish leadership has informed schools in the area that they must teach core subjects in Kurdish. While proud to embrace their ethnic heritage, some worry that the change could create new conflicts.
-Editorial- PARIS — The electoral surge was on scale with the threat at hand: The rise in turnout from the first to second rounds of France’s regional elections was so strong that it prevented the conquest of several regional governments by the far-right National Front party, which tallied the highest number of votes in its […]
FRENCH FAR RIGHT FALLS SHORT Marine Le Pen and her far-right National Front party failed to win even one of France’s 13 regions in yesterday’s second round of elections, despite finishing first in almost half of them a week ago. It was ultimately the victim of alliances formed by other parties and of higher voter […]
MUNICH — The conservative Christian Social Union (CSU) party in the southern state of Bavaria wants Germany to ban the burqa. But the toughest opposition to the proposal may come from what is otherwise a natural CSU ally: local business leaders. Should a ban be implemented similar to the one France approved in 2010, it […]
PARIS — The French National Front, led by Marine Le Pen, failed to win a single region in the second round of regional elections Sunday despite leading in six of the country’s 13 regions a week earlier in the first round. The center-right coalition led by Former President Nicolas Sarkozy won in seven regions, while […]
Many such “blue caves” hide under the chalky cliffs of Paxi, the small group of islands near Corfu in western Greece, where I was two months ago — marking my 12th visit to Greece in the past 53 years.
BEIJING — China can be proud of its achievements in both business innovation and in creating a technology-driven economy. In recent years Chinese enterprises have taken their place among the heavyweights in the technological sector and, in particular, in the information and communication industry: names such as Lenovo, Huawei, ZTE, Tencent and Xiaomi are recognized […]
HONG KONG — Hong Kong’s enormous appetite for seafood and its role as a hub for the global seafood trade is having an unfortunate impact on endangered fish species. Chinese cuisine prizes seafood, so it’s perhaps not surprising that per capita seafood consumption in Hong Kong averages 70 kilograms a year, about four times the global average. But the city is also a hub for trade into mainland China, where consumption is on the rise. All of that is putting a strain on endangered marine life and driving an unexpected sustainability push. On a busy Saturday morning at Hong Kong’s […]
The war in Syria is triggering the escape of many, but the true cause can be found much deeper. Arab societies need such vast reforms that Europe must stand as a model, rather than play realpolitik.
Why can’t Brazil’s largest city keep its graveyards clean?
Western powers must share in the blame for its historic role in the Muslim world, from Napoleon Bonaparte to George W. Bush. But without the Arab world taking its share of responsibility, the chaos will not quiet any time soon.
TIANJIN — In the frenzy of China’s real estate speculation, what goes up must sometimes come down — right away. Two brand new 31-story buildings and another 65-story skyscraper are set to be demolished in China’s northeast port city of Tianjin after undergoing unauthorized design changes during construction. According to the China Times, the three […]
Heaps of flowers, candles and other memorials to the Paris attack victims still remain on sidewalks and in front of businesses where tragedy struck Nov. 13. Locals understand the desire to pay homage, but say limits are needed on visible reminders of the
L’Espresso’s Michele Sasso went undercover in Turin to attend a meeting of the controversial Catholic group
COP21 WRAPS UP, TALKS CONTINUE The COP21 climate change conference in Paris will close later today without a deal, though French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said negotiations would continue into the weekend and that a final agreement would probably be adopted tomorrow, Le Monde reports. After almost two weeks of intense talks, a few roadblocks […]
After its standoff with Moscow over the downed Russian fighter jet, Ankara is making waves with its troop presence in Iraq. But Turkey does not want Shia militia to be the heroes to “rescue” Mosul from ISIS.
La Capital, Dec. 11, 2015 “I want to be the president of a united Argentina,” Argentina’s oldest daily La Capital quotes the country’s new leader Mauricio Macri as saying on its front page Friday, a day after he was sworn in as president. Predecessor Cristina Fernández de Kirchner boycotted Macri’s inauguration after a bitter dispute […]
Looks can be deceiving: These Hindu women in northern India’s Rajasthan region were not carrying flowers on their head (the flowers were actually in the background) but rather heavy concrete blocks for construction.
More and more universities around the world offer so-called Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs). With top Munich universities using the online education provider Coursera, doubts grow over security and the selling of customer data.
Government transparency is considered something of a Scandinavian specialty. And Taiwan? After having ranked 36th in 2013 and 11th last year, the Asian island nation has shot to the top of this year’s Global Open Data Index, the China Times reports. It is the first time a non-European country has topped the annual ranking from […]
Ahead of Sunday’s talks in Rome on the Libyan crisis, the U.S. and Italy stress that a lasting solution to the ISIS threat must include Arab allies — and Moscow.
Falling revenues, dire financial conditions and voter exasperation have curbed populist-socialist power in Venezuela and Argentina. The opponents have their work cut out for them.
TALIBAN AIRPORT SIEGE FINALLY ENDS Afghan forces have broken the Taliban siege on the Kandahar airport more than 24 hours after the attack began, AP quotes the country’s Defense Ministry as saying. The assailants killed at least 50 people, among them 38 civilians, 10 Afghan soldiers and two police officers. The 11 gunmen who carried […]
As Canada is getting ready to receive the first charter flight of the 25,000 Syrian refugees it has pledged to resettle by the end of February, Canadian daily the Toronto Star has chosen to greet them with a warm “Welcome to Canada” — subtitled in Arabic — on the front page of its Thursday edition. […]