Can’t afford original artwork? Never fear. For a small fee, people in Geneva can borrow a piece or two.
Month: November 2017
WASHINGTON — The neo-Nazis were hungry. They had spent the day in a Charlottesville, Va., courthouse testifying at the preliminary hearing for a white nationalist jailed for pepper-spraying counterprotesters during August’s deadly Unite the Right rally. Now, after the long drive home to Alexandria, Va., they craved pizza. “We were going to order from the local place where we get pizza all the time, but we said no, Papa John’s is the official pizza of the alt-right now,” said Eli Mosley, the 26-year-old leader of the white separatist group Identity Evropa. “We’re just supporting the brands that support us.” That […]
In the gruesome attack in Egypt on Nov. 17, 1997, three key elements came together that have driven Islamic terrorism over the past two decades.
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Salty Turkish Mirage
That’s not snow: During the summer, Lake Tuz in central Turkey dries up, revealing a thick layer of salt. My wife Claudine and daughter Cécile were gearing up against the August sun as we pulled our Peugeot 404 over to the side of the road.
For all the economic accolades they’ve earned over the years, Chilean authorities are dragging their feet when it comes to market-changing technologies.
Taking care of a stranger’s children in exchange for food and housing is a popular way to see the world, but many young women find themselves in tough situations.
LAGUNA LARGA — Four months ago, hundreds of villagers were expelled from their land in the jungles of northern Guatemala. The government claimed they were encroaching on a protected national park, sending over 700 men, women, and children fleeing to the nearby Mexican border. According to the Guatemalan daily Prensa Libre, the refugees continue to […]
SEOUL — Stella came to South Korea on a government scholarship to do a PhD. She says when she arrived from Europe, she found that the degree came with some “unofficial” costs. “I heard that there should be some kind of payment every time that my committee of professors would meet to discuss my thesis.” Stella did not want to reveal her real name since she works for that same university now. She says she confronted her professors about these payments, but it didn’t go well. “I was explicitly told by one of the members of my committee that I […]
-Analysis- PARIS — The Catalan flag fluttered alongside the European flag and its 12 stars on Oct. 27, when Catalonia declared its independence from Spain. But Jean-Claude Juncker, the president of the European Commission, didn’t appreciate this tribute to Europe. “We shouldn’t insert ourselves into what is an internal debate for Spain,” he warned. “I […]
The new Reality Show ‘Curvy Supermodel’ is supposed to be about body positivity. But the reality is that it’s just positively offensive.
Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe’s three decades in power may finally be over. Gunfire broke out late Tuesday in the Zimbabwean capital of Harare as military panzers moved in to prevent anyone from accessing government offices. At around 5 a.m. Wednesday, Maj. Gen. S.B. Moyo, a ranking member of the army, appeared on state television. “We […]
The Bitcoin rate spike, still alive despite bitter divisions in the community that supports the cryptocurrency, has laid bare the biggest problem with Bitcoin: Compared with fiat currencies, it’s painfully inconvenient and expensive to use as a means of payment. Bitcoin is set up to reward users for verifying transactions. Miners who package transactions into “blocks’ receive two kinds of rewards: The additional Bitcoin they produce by using their hardware to solve mathematical problems (an income stream that will eventually cease since 21 million bitcoins are the maximum that can be mined) and the transaction fees paid by users to […]
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Central American Gray
This is the capital of Belize, the tiny state in Central America. Unlike colorful cities in neighboring Mexico and Guatemala, I remember the capital Belmopan as a particularly uninspiring subject, its drab streets dotted with banks and jewelry stores — and this one theater.
BOGOTÁ — The dragon fruit, or pitaya — that exotic fruit resembling a yellow or red flame and touted for its many health benefits — might just be the great new hope of Colombia’s economy. Though the worldwide market for pitaya has long been growing for several years in such countries as China, the United […]
Xi Jinping knows exactly where he wants to go. Donald Trump, not so much…
-Essay- This was not how he wanted to say goodbye. Gianluigi “Gigi” Buffon’s tears were featured Tuesday on the front pages of Italian newspapers, and not just the all-sports publications. At 39, the legendary goalkeeper played his final game for Italy’s national team Monday night. For the first time since 1958, the four-time world champions […]
The legendary French actor just published a very personal book. So why is he so hard to talk to?
The nations of South America’s MERCOSUR trade bloc are well positioned to cash in on increasing global demand for food. But they’d also do well to start planning a common approach.
-Analysis- Lebanon can be seen as a microcosm for the entire Middle East: intractable sectarian conflict, economic potential, terrorist threats and a labyrinthine web of competing national interests. These days, it seems, the small nation of just over six million inhabitants risks again becoming the live theater for the region to play out its many […]
WASHINGTON — This is an elegant city. It is smooth and soft-spoken. It’s clean and well kept, possibly because most of the residential buildings in the city are family townhouses. Low, two, three-story buildings spread the city out, creating the impression Washington is bigger than it is. Sparse-density urbanity evokes the pastoral, idyllic way of […]
CAGLIARI — Just over 280 kilometers (174 miles) of Mediterranean water separates the Algerian port city of Annaba from the Sulcis on the southwest coast of the Italian island of Sardinia. As Italy continues to crack down on trafficking routes linking Libya to its other major island, Sicily, attention is shifting to new routes. Algiers-based […]
Beijing has become one of the largest weapons exporters in the world, allowing it to gain new allies and place its pawns strategically throughout the continent.
PARIS — What is France to do, as neighbors, and we Europeans, as fellow citizens, faced with the declaration of independence of Catalonia? It undermines a large European democracy on our border, Spain, and places us in the face of an unprecedented challenge. Within what right do we say “yes’ or “no” when the nationalism […]
HOMS – Akram al-Khoule and his 7-year-old son hold hands as they stare at the once familiar primary school building, now demolished, looted of its contents and stripped of its identifying markers. “This is where my children studied,” al-Khoule says in a melancholy voice. Al-Khoule returned to the Homs district of al-Khalidiye this year, after being displaced to the coastal Syrian city of Tartous for six years. He is one of 600,000 Syrian refugees and internally displaced people who are estimated to have returned to their hometowns this year – many of whom now face a barrage of problems trying […]
Boats will soon be capable of sailing without captains on board. The first tests will take place next year.
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Imperial Memories Of Palaces Past
On two separate trips, we visited the Hofburg imperial palace you see here in the bustling center of Vienna, as well as the emperors’ exuberantly baroque summer residence at Schönbrunn. Even if this photograph is better, my memory is quite clear that the summer palace was far more stunning in person.
-OpEd- As the old saying goes, no situation is so bad that it can’t get worse. The cruel irony of Venezuela’s going from bad to worse is how the government of President Nicolás Maduro is incompetent at everything save keeping power. It is a power play designed to spread suffering further every day, while keeping […]
Japan’s trade surplus with the U.S. is mostly not about protectionism or aggressive Japanese policy — it’s about macroeconomics.
The South Korea nun’s culinary philosophy has influenced chefs and foodies around the world.
-Analysis- PARIS — A wave of popular revolt against the establishment, globalization and immigration is washing over the West. And as the recent election results in Germany, Austria and the Czech Republic suggest, it won’t be ending anytime soon. After the staggering victories of Brexit and Donald Trump in 2016, Western elites, always eager for […]
After a drop in oil prices left the Nigerian economy reeling, new government policies have boosted rice and other agricultural production. It’s a boost to stay home for Nigerians eyeing emigration to Europe.
Having spent 22 years in Israeli jails, Sinwar knows his adversary — and appears open to negotiate, with both Israel and the Palestinian Authority.
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Welcome To The Hotel Los Angeles
My wife and I were able to enjoy the view on the snowy Sierra Nevada mountain chain from our room at the picturesque Hotel Los Angeles, in southern Spain. You can check out any time you like.
-Analysis- A political neophyte who launched his presidential campaign by railing against Mexican “rapists’ and “murderers’ was never supposed to win, especially against a seasoned stateswoman backed by her party’s establishment. Add to that unthinkable episodes, like his mocking a disabled reporter or the revelation of the infamous “grab ‘em by the p***y” recording, and […]
Eco-friendly national legislation and hard work on the local level has made it possible for wind farms to blossom throughout Germany. But it’s not without costs.
The shooting at a Southern Baptist church in Texas is believed to be the worst such shooting at a church in modern U.S. history. Several prominent Southern Baptist pastors have President Donald Trump’s ear as members of his unofficial evangelical advisory council. Even so, it would be very surprising if Southern Baptists pushed for changes in gun policy, because it hasn’t been a priority for the denomination in decades. The Southern Baptist Convention, the largest Protestant group in the country with about 15 million members, has taken up issues like abortion and same-sex marriage at its annual conventions, but it […]
-Analysis- MADRID — Virtually everyone now uses the Internet before, during and after they travel, whether its downloading an app to become familiar with a particular destination or sharing your holiday photos on Facebook or Instagram. The information revolution has indeed revolutionized both the way we prepare trips, and how we experience them. As such, […]
-Analysis- Charlie Hebdo is facing another existential moment — and Harvey Weinstein is partly responsible. The surviving members of the French satirical weekly might appreciate the twisted irony. Less than three years after the terror attack that killed 12 members of its staff, Charlie has been receiving very explicit death threats after a cartoon they […]
All was calm around the recent inauguration of the northern city of Pavia’s new Islamic Center for Dialogue, bucking a trend of protests around Italy when new mosques are proposed.
To some, it is simply a delicious chocolate hazelnut spread; to others, it is a key factor for understanding the difficulties of the European common currency.