Worldcrunch
-OpEd- BERLIN — The expansion of Vladimir Putin’s authority is directly connected to his ability to exploit the weaknesses of Western democracies. But people continue to play down the danger that Putin poses. Could this prove to be a fatal error for our system of liberal democracy? “If you can’t beat them, join them,” or […]
Rue de Ponthieu is one of the French capital’s choice spots for late-night partying. But it also has a reputation for dodgy encounters and pre-dawn street fights.
-Analysis- When a hit has been ordered, the chosen method for assassination is ultimately of secondary importance. A “successful” car bomb, stabbing or long-distance rifle shot all have the same final result for the intended victim. Still, there’s something about poisoning. The Shakespearean plotting and preparation required to secure and administer the fatal potion give […]
Navigating the khlong canals of Bangkok is quite a different experience from being on a Venetian gondola. No rowing oars here, but the famous longtail engine – basically a car engine attached to a propeller. See more slides from My Grand-Père’s World.
WASHINGTON — With President Donald Trump in his fourth full week in office, the upheaval inside the administration that West Wing officials had optimistically dismissed as growing pains is now cementing itself as standard operating procedure. Trump — distracted by political brushfires often of his own making — has failed to fill such key posts as White House communications director, while sub-Cabinet positions across agencies and scores of ambassadorships around the globe still sit empty. Upset about damaging leaks of his calls with world leaders and other national security information, Trump has ordered an internal investigation to find the leakers. […]
SAO PAULO — When the contraceptive pill first appeared in the 1960s, it was celebrated as a symbol of sexual freedom for women. But an increasing number of women in Brazil now see it very differently. Many say the pill has become something that is imposed on them by their partners. They believe it has […]
TRIPOLI — As the sun sets on the Libyan capital, the sky takes on an ochre shade over the old city walls surrounding Martyr’s Square. Children play on carousels and the muezzin’s call to prayer fills the air, booming from loudspeakers in the streets. It’s an arresting scene that — for a moment — makes […]
WASHINGTON — The world seems to be stepping into a new era — literally. As if, all of a sudden, the Gregorian calendar is no longer valid and the world needs to start counting from the beginning. On January 20 of the year 2017, according to the old calendar, the new Trumpian calendar will start […]
This traditional blacksmith, in the open-air museum of Village Historique Acadien in Canada’s New Brunswick province, brought back memories of my hometown. I grew up — and still live — near one of the oldest forges in France.
DIBRUGARH — A blazing sun is shining on Jyoti Khaund’s plantation, where rows of green foliage stretch as far as the eye can see. This hot and damp district in the Brahmaputra Valley, in the northeastern state of Assam, is where India’s best tea is produced. But Khaund is frustrated this morning looking over his […]
After Brexit and Trump, Europe is forced to fight back. The precious Transatlantic Alliance may be at risk.
Big Brother, if and when he arrives, will start out looking small. Take that mundane office badge or key card you use to pass security before entering your office. Rather than having to carry one around, and risk losing it, technological advances make it easy enough these days to get an RFID microchip implanted in […]
The office of the bishop of Wurzburg recently received the rib of Saint Aquilinus. But why are the faithful obsessed with relics?
If Trump wants to seal off U.S. borders, Latin Americans can respond by boycotting American brands.
-Analysis- More than 4,500 people lost their lives off the Libyan coast last year. And yet, there have never been so many vessels carrying out rescue missions in the area — from Italian coast guard ships and European operation Eunavfor vessels to those from the border control agency Frontex and others chartered by NGOs. This […]
NABLUS — The historic West Bank city of Nablus spreads out in front of Mount Gerizim, also known as Jebel et-Tur in Arabic. Through his binoculars, Israeli Army Major Elitsur Trabelsi gazes from the mountain’s peak at the sprawling urban area below — home to almost half a million people. “Do you notice anything? There […]
GENEVA — Sapiosexual. The word only recently emerged from Internet limbo to warrant real-world study. It defines a sexual orientation. Namely, that of a person who will be sexually attracted to another person solely because of their intelligence, their erudition. In other words, a sapiosexual is someone sexually obsessed with IQ. For such a person, […]
These young Syrians in the western city of Homs paused from playing a mock game of war to look my way for a photograph. Current Syrian ruler Bashar al-Assad, whose father had taken power two years earlier in Damascus, was about the same age as these kids. See more slides from My Grand-Père’s World.
-Editorial- TOKYO — It is a situation in which automobile trade issues could develop into new friction between Japan and the United States. Japan must counter the United States appropriately without giving in to baseless criticism. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Toyota President Akio Toyoda held a meeting. Their talks were apparently intended to coordinate […]
Pakistan is ranked among the most dangerous countries in the world for religious minorities. Marginalized and persecuted for their faith, minorities such as Christians, flee to countries like Sri Lanka.
After the stunning Brexit referendum and Donald Trump’s election in the United States, all eyes shifted to the land of “liberté, égalité, fraternité” to see what modern democracy held in store, as French voters cast their ballots in the April 23 first round of the presidential election. And it did not disappoint, with France’s two […]
The promise of the Tahrir Square protests has been largely unfulfilled. Yet there is some progress in how Egypt faces harassment against women.
Illegal border crossings won’t stop, but prices will rise.
Little penitent during a Palm Sunday procession in Andalusia, southern Spain.
-Analysis- PARIS — For more than 70 years, the United States was the ultimate life insurance policy for Europe against the Soviet and now Russian thirst for power. The U.S. also held sway in Asia, in large part to counter China and to contain North Korea’s dangerous and eccentric drifts. The rise of China’s economic […]
Thinking of death is inherent to being human. Technological advances, like so many human activities, reflect our desire to avoid it. But that may all be bound to change.
DAMASCUS – Now in its sixth year, the war in Syria has torn through the country’s cities, sects and social fabric. For families like Um Mahmoud’s, Syria’s frontlines have even invaded their homes. The mother has seen her three sons join opposing sides of the war and has been unable to stop them from turning on each other. Her story is just one example of how the war has torn families apart for countless reasons. Some families have been divided by ideological differences and political affiliations. Other families have fled the country and been scattered across borders. Um Mahmoud blames […]
It was always going to be a tricky nomination. Still, Brazilian President Michel Temer could hardly have made a more controversial choice for the vacant seat on the nation’s Supreme Court. With anti-corruption investigation Lava Jato (“Car Wash”) still very much at the center of national debate, giving the nod to his close ally and […]
BERLIN — Is our intelligence determined by our genes? That’s the question driving genetic and psychological research ever since these scientific disciplines were born. But to this day, the question has yet to be answered. Our cognitive skills are determined by our genes, yes, but they are also influenced by the environment around us. But […]
Invoking religion against one’s enemies is a sure way to perpetuate resentment and war. It stretches from the Crusades to the internet where you are reading right now.
-Analysis- NEW YORK — Investors are ignoring Donald Trump’s trade rhetoric at their own peril. That’s the warning coming from a rising cohort of erstwhile Trump bulls who’ve gone weak in the knees as the president turns his sights on allies from Mexico to Japan and Australia. It isn’t enough, they say, that the post-election rally that added more than $3.5 trillion to global equities and sent high-yield debt to the best start to a year since 2012 has stalled. According to them, the administration’s pledges to protect U.S. industry and redefine currency relationships could ignite a trade war with […]
There is more to folk dancing than the famous “Dragon Dance” … Feather Fan Dance, Ribbon Dance, Sword Dance — my wife and I spent an evening enjoying them all. See more slides from My Grand-Père’s World.
-Essay- LAUSANNE — The cult of the strong man is back at the forefront of our societies, albeit in different forms. There are strong-man politicians, military leaders, even autonomous survivalists. And yet as formidable as he may be, the strong man finds himself challenged by someone even better, even more powerful: the augmented man. Against […]
-Editorial- SANTIAGO — Finally. The Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto reacted correctly to the new U.S. President Donald J. Trump, canceling the meeting they were scheduled to have last week. Mr. Peña Nieto seems to have come into his own! Trump had asked for the meeting, to discuss trade, immigration and above all, frontier security. […]
Our era of authoritarian rulers and ‘alternative facts’ makes the guiding light of philosophy more vital than ever.
Austin, Texas may be the first of many ‘sanctuary cities’ that disobey President Donald Trump’s hardline immigration policy.
CHONGQING — Every day since 2014, a train leaves from the western German city of Duisburg. It winds its way across Europe and Asia to finally reach Chongqing, a megalopolis of 28 million inhabitants in southwestern China. Huge cranes there extract gigantic matchbox-like containers from the train. BMW cars made in Germany are taken from […]
-Analysis- BUENOS AIRES — It must be a sign of the times. Echoing the clampdown of foreign visitors by U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration, Argentina is set to tighten its border controls in a country that has long received migrants from around the world. The move was taken ostensibly to target crime, which many Argentines […]
In Greece, everywhere you go and everything you see can easily take on a mythological aura. When you’re well-versed in the ancient Greek texts — as a high school philosophy teacher like me was bound to be — a seemingly mundane pier like this might actually seem to be the mooring for Charon’s boat, carrying […]
It’s October 2017. The spring’s French presidential elections had been won by a fresh-faced ‘Anti-Trump.’ Now it’s time for the two men to meet.