Egyptian society simply doesn’t recognize the reality of atheism, and often punishes anyone who declares it publicly.
Month: December 2018
LE MONDE Monstrous Times Call For Monstrous Fiction: A French Manifesto Against the omnipotence of “reality-show novels’ and costume fiction, a group of young French authors want to reassert the novel as a contemporary art. SÜDDEUTSCHE ZEITUNG The Real Invisible Threat To Democracy: Poverty Even in economically powerful Germany, poverty threatens the social fabric. And […]
Since this summer, Morocco is the theater of an unprecedented wave of arrests and forced displacements of Sub-Saharan Africans forced to hide.
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The Dirty Truth Behind Electric Vehicles
The procurement of raw materials and the difficulties in recycling batteries show that electric vehicles are not as green and sustainable as we’re prone to believe.
If Brazil’s new government liberalizes its economy as vowed, it may also seek new and more dynamic trading partners like Chile and the Pacific Alliance.
Even as it contends still with Brexit and the rise of right-wing populists, the European Union did enjoy some ‘almost good news’ this year.
LE MONDE Full Translation Of French Anti-#MeToo Manifesto Signed By Catherine Deneuve Some 100 prominent French women artists and intellectuals have issued an open letter in Le Monde condemning the movement to call out inappropriate male behavior that erupted in the wake of the Harvey Weinstein scandal. CLARIN Interview With A Recovering Hippie Named Paulo […]
The celebration of Christ’s birth was always a little bit pagan for its associations with the Roman imperial religion. But the modern West has turned into a pure carnival of pleasures.
The Earth also rises … On Dec. 24, 1968, on the first human orbit of the Moon, astronaut Williams Anders looked out the window of Apollo 8. Reaching for his camera, and its color film, Anders would capture an image that would change human perspectives of our planet, ourselves and our place in the universe.
-OpEd- PARIS — In the sometimes cacophonous concert of demands from France’s “yellow vests’ protest movement, one measure keeps coming back: the Référendum d’initiative citoyenne (RIC), or “Citizens’ Initiative Referendum,” which allows individual citizens to submit a legislative text to a popular vote, and to thus express their opinions in the ballot box rather than […]
-Analysis- WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump pledged in his campaign that he would not be predictable. He’s more than lived up to that promise this week, and along the way, he has made a hash out of the way business is being done in Washington. Three times this week, Trump abruptly and unexpectedly changed course, lending credence to perceptions of a presidency in chaos. The biggest bombshell came Thursday afternoon, when Trump announced that Defense Secretary Jim Mattis would leave the administration at the end of February, and Mattis’s resignation letter explicitly stated that he and the president were not […]
There is a lot of planning behind the Christmas window decorations you find around the French capital, and keeping it traditional matters.
The normalization of sexual harassment and inequality in the workplace is keeping women from going to work, and holding back the rise of India’s economy.
SEOUL — A recently retired senior manager from South Korean electronics giant Samsung is back to work — in China. Referred to just by his last name, Kim, had been executive director responsible for electronic chip design (D-RAM) at the Seoul-based multinational. But just before he was set to begin his senior position at the […]
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What Lies Beyond The Indonesian Gate
Cross this gate and you’ll step into the land of the Toraja, in Indonesia’s South Sulawesi region. Keep your eyes peeled: from traditional Batak houses to spooky funeral rites and even a buffalo sacrifice — in the home to the Toraja ethnic group, I hardly had time to breathe between two shots!
The new president is hoping to strike what has tended to be an elusive balance in Latin America: equitable economic growth.
-Analysis- NEW YORK — What a difference two decades make. In 1997, China’s gross domestic product was about 11% of the U.S’s. By 2017, it was up to 63%. But this overstates the difference in living standards between the two countries, since prices are generally lower in China. In purchasing-power-parity terms, China’s economy became the world’s largest in about 2013. So which country’s economy is really bigger? The truth probably lies somewhere between these two figures. If China were to abolish its capital controls and open its currency to foreign speculation, there’s a good chance the yuan would rise in […]
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Do Anti-Xenophobia Campaigns Work?
At best, pro-migrant advocacy raises awareness. At worst, it reinforces tensions, new research shows.
Hellen lives with a mental health condition in Juba, South Sudan. She says she fell ill after the birth of her sixth child. With this powerful portrait, New-Zealand born photojournalist Robin Hammond won 2017 second prize singles at the prestigious World Press Photo, in the “People” category. In this OneShot, Hammond explains why he thinks this particular image of Hellen touched the jury. [youtube https://www.youtube.com/embed/AVt2t5GHlL0 expand=1] Praying for a Miracle (©Robin Hammond/NOOR) | OneShot OneShot is a new digital format to tell the story of a single photograph in an immersive one-minute video. Follow OneShot:
AGAZZANO — This village in the northern Italian province of Piacenza is tucked between the hills. The locality is celebrated primarily for its castle, a complex that represents an incredible synthesis between defensive medieval architecture and the elegant, ladylike mansions of the Renaissance. And the beautiful interior of the Castle of Agazzano is the perfect […]
With the help of a talented young engineer, demobilized FARC fighters are using an Archimedes screw hydro turbine to power a remote enclave.
The EU remains a work in progress, especially with Britain’s messy exit efforts. But if there’s one constant, it’s that Europe still needs France and Germany to be partners.
Patric Fassbender and Marcus Stahl are struggling to keep up with demand for their ‘Toniebox’ devices, which are now set to break into the English-speaking market.
-Editorial- BUENOS AIRES — Like health, peace or freedom, democracy is appreciated once it is lost. It has been 35 years now since democracy was restored in Argentina and Raúl Alfonsín became its elected, civilian president on Dec. 10, 1983. The military dictatorship became part of the past. It was a historic landmark. The balance […]
The fashion industry sees that protection of the environment is a hot selling point, and maybe also a long-term trend.
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Italy, Pasta Così
The Italian border is just a four-hour drive from my hometown. Over the years, I ended up going to Italy with my family dozens of times, to enjoy the seaside, the beautiful architecture, the warm climate, the history — and yes, la pasta.
-Analysis- MUNICH — At first glance, the video footage looks like a harmless Advent promotional clip. It showed cheerful people walking between decorated stalls, tinsels, Christmas trees, Santa hats. But back in 2000, the Strasbourg Christmas Market was already a prime target for terrorists, and this video was the most important piece of evidence against […]
How VR can help patients suffering from eating disorders, phobias and schizophrenia.
Towards the end of World War II, 800,000 German women and girls were deported to forced labor camps in the Soviet Union. A visit to the abandoned camps near the Russian-Finnish border.
WASHINGTON — My first encounter with China was, oddly, at the top of the Empire State Building. I was a young student, and climbing to the top of the Manhattan landmark was the last thing I did before returning home from my first visit to the U.S., where I now live. I was not particularly […]
Far-right and far-left from around the world voice support for the popular uprising in France.
Trump’s trade war with China could be a golden opportunity for India. But first, it’ll need to revisit its trade policies and regulatory framework.
Colombia’s Spanish, beside its charming formality, is replete with graphic allusions to extreme brutality, becoming a mirror of a good 100 years of political and criminal violence.
Google tried and failed to play the social media game. But that’s not necessarily a bad thing for the tech giant, which is doing just fine by sharing the tech market with California rival Facebook.
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Watch: OneShot — Reza’s Breath Of Freedom
It is one of the most iconic images taken by Iranian-French photojournalist Reza. For nearly four decades, Reza has spanned the globe covering conflict and communities, stories of faith and visions of beauty. This image capturing the eternal spirit of the nomad along the plains of Turkmenistan is now available for purchase as a print in Reza’s ongoing end-of-the-year Flash Sale. Discover the story below of this passing moment in moving words and images via One Shot. [youtube https://www.youtube.com/embed/i3tb-XHfwnE expand=1] Breath Of Freedom (© Reza) | OneShot OneShot is a new digital format to tell the story of a single […]
Monopolistic companies may be near a tipping point where people (and governments) want them reigned in.
In the West, the era of grand, strategic pacts between nation-states seems to have come and gone. But in Asia, the trend may just be catching on.
The outpouring of rage and resentment that erupted in last weekend’s “yellow vest” demonstrations in Paris made headlines around the world. In far-flung Chile, which has had plenty of its own experience in recent years with large-scale, anti-government demonstrations, there was keen interest in the French protesters taking umbrage with leaders who seem out of […]
The referenda that rejected marriage equality in Taiwan last month was not only a huge blow to the country’s LGBT community, but also a political setback to the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP). Two years ago, It was the DPP that had originally taken to Parliament the proposed amendment of Taiwan’s Civil Code to allow […]
BARCELONA — It’s a large, bright open space, in which 80 people work, sitting behind brand new desks. The grey of the carpet is still pristine, the walls too white, impersonal. Except for a large sticker, whose shape, known throughout the world, provides an indication of what’s going on precisely in this room: it’s a […]