Anonymous customers, confidential prices, private fittings. Even today, haute couture remains a secret world where each fashion house has its own way of operating and communicating.
Month: March 2024
While Vladimir Putin wages his holy war against the West, Russian officials and their families are often seeking better lives there. Will these double lives be the downfall of the aging dictator’s fixation?
The new “Sneakers” exhibition in Dusseldorf features pairs that sell for six figures and explores how the simple sports shoe became a global obsession.
Updated March 30, 2024 at 4 p.m. U.S. President Ronald Reagan was shot on this day in 1981, while leaving a speaking engagement at the Washington Hilton Hotel. Who shot Ronald Reagan? John Hinckley Jr. shot Ronald Reagan, along with three other people, in an assassination attempt aiming to impress the actress Jodie Foster. How […]
As Israel prosecutes its war on Gaza, Lebanon found itself caught in the daily attacks between Israel and Hezbollah. Lebanese know that Israel has made its position clear, which leaves the big question mark with the regime in Tehran, which largely guides Hezbollah in its response to Israel.
Netflix’s latest anime adaptations Avatar: The Last Airbender and One Piece have received positive reviews from fans and critics — exceptions in a long line of live-action failures. Why is it so difficult to get it right? And are Western fans too harsh?
Moscow “killed” the body charged with overseeing the sanctions regime against North Korea — now Putin’s ally against Ukraine — dealing yet another blow to the edifice of global governance inherited from the post-war era.
Compared to the worldwide admiration for Volodymyr Zelensky, authorities in Moscow have systematically tried to demean the Ukrainian leader. Yet even among Russians, that strategy appears to be backfiring.
Criticism of Israel in the United States remained a taboo for many decades. But this has begun to change with new generations and Palestinians presenting their cause on a humanitarian basis. It may ultimately make it impossible to reconcile being both a progressive and a Zionist.
We’ve seen some strong female leads in major TV series in recent years: Fleabag, Daenerys Targaryen or Mrs. Maisel. But how feminist are these emotionally distant characters who have a disastrous love life, a trait that just sits right next to the fact that they stand up for themselves?
While Germany’s Scholz has chosen to walk a tightrope, France’s Macron has made a major U-turn on. While differences between Berlin and Paris are not new, the intensifying war in Ukraine has changed the situation.
Updated March 29, 2024 at 12:30 p.m. The Louvre pyramid was inaugurated on this day in 1989, after nearly four years of construction. Who designed the Louvre pyramid? The Louvre pyramid was designed by the Chinese-American architect I.M. Pei. The pyramid is made of glass and steel, and consists of 603 rhombus-shaped and 70 triangular […]
April 1 – April 7, 2024
Safety or addiction concerns about TikTok are very real. But would U.S. elected officials seek to ban or control this social network if it were not Chinese? Are U.S. social networks less harmful? For France Inter, Pierre Haski warns us to take a step back when pointing the finger at TikTok.
As Colombia debates banning the abusive practice of “conversion therapy,” a Colombian teacher recalls the four years of therapy he undertook as teenager and his path to self-acceptance.
Tajiks are responsible for numerous Islamist terrorist attacks in recent months. Suspects in the devastating attack in Moscow also come from the Central Asian country. Open access to Russia, difficult economic conditions, and a secular dictatorship that has repressed religion at home are among the factors that contribute to the radicalization of Tajiks.
Violence against women, including rape, has been widespread in the war in Sudan, especially in the western region of Darfur. Now the women who led the uprising that toppled Omar al-Bashir in April 2019 are fighting to stop wartime sexual violence.
Another deal that would see Israeli hostages released has fallen through. Six months into the war in Gaza — and six months without their loved ones — where do the family members of the Oct. 7 hostages stand on the war and the negotiations?
Updated March 28, 2024 at 12:40 p.m. On this day in 1979, a nuclear reactor at the Three Mile Island power plant in Pennsylvania experienced a partial meltdown due to a combination of equipment malfunctions, operator errors, and design flaws. As a result, radioactive gas was released into the environment, and the plant had to […]
Political battle lines are becoming increasingly entrenched, and opposing views are being pushed towards ever greater extremes. Language has become a battlefield. If morality pushes us apart, and religion does not help in the process, we may find a solution in our sense of humanity, writes German psychiatrist Manfred Lütz in Die Welt.
The surprise election of Bassirou Diomaye Faye appears to be a wakeup call for French President Emmanuel Macron.
Fishermen in war-torn Gaza are risking their lives by entering the Mediterranean despite relentless Israeli naval bombing. They say they have no option to feed their children amid a looming famine in the strip.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, now 84, has been in power since 1989. What will happen when he dies? His death may lead to a hybrid military-Islamic regime, with members of the Revolutionary Guards imposing a more pragmatic yet equally corrupt regime. It is time for the opposition to find a unified leader they can rally behind and that can help mobilize Iranians in the transition.
Updated March 27, 2024 at 12:00 p.m. American filmmaker, screenwriter, and actor Quentin Tarantino was born on this day in 1963. Has Quentin Tarantino won any awards for his films? Quentin Tarantino has won numerous awards for his films, including two Academy Awards for Best Original Screenplay for Pulp Fiction and Django Unchained. His films […]
A government mega-project could push the country’s big cats closer to extinction — an outcome that would have devastating ripple effects on the local ecosystem.
Categories
Hypocrisy At The Easter Table
Our Neapolitan psychiatrist gets told off for not treating (and eating) animals equally.
As Poland considers lowering the voting age to 16, what can other countries’ experiences with reducing the voting age teach us about political trends and ralling young constituents?
The reforms introduced by Bola Tinubu, the new president of Africa’s most populous country, will take time to have an effect on the daily lives of Nigerians. In the meantime, the population is suffering from inflation, corruption and insecurity. The disillusioned youth are impatient and dream of elsewhere.
Updated March 26, 2024 at 12:15 p.m. Signed on this day in 1979, the Egypt-Israel Peace Treaty was a historic agreement, formally ending the state of war between the two nations and established diplomatic and economic relations. What was in the Egypt-Israel Peace Treaty? The peace deal included provisions for Israel to withdraw its military […]
By abstaining from a UN resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, Washington has not only angered Benjamin Netanyahu — it has potentially altered the dynamics of the whole Israel-Hamas war.
Since the 1990s, thousands of migrants have tried to enter the U.S. by crossing the borders of Arizona and Texas, and many have died in the desert. Yet there is no unified DNA program to identify the remains of missing migrants. So who identifies them and how do they do it?
As Russia mourns the victims of the worst terrorist attack in the Moscow area in more than two decades, differing narratives about the attack are spreading, as well as questions about why Putin addressed citizens just once in three days and did not acknowledge ISIS as the perpetrators.
With Israel blocking aid from entering Gaza, some are either resorting to force to get aid to feed their children or turning to a new black market where merchants and war profiteers exploit people’s needs.
Updated March 25, 2024 at 12:40 p.m. Aretha Franklin was born on this day in 1942 in Memphis, Tennessee. The American singer, songwriter, and pianist was often referred to as the “Queen of Soul”. What are some of Aretha Franklin’s most famous songs? Some of Aretha Franklin’s most famous songs include “Respect,” “Chain of Fools,” […]
After Friday’s terrorist attack in Moscow, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s decision to lay blame on Ukraine, even while all signs point to Islamic State terrorists, can’t undo the reality that jihadism remains a major challenge that the Kremlin wishes would just go away.
Following police violence against young people protesting in Pisa, the Italian government remains entrenched in its silence by merely promising investigations. But perhaps the issue is that the government perceives teenagers as a threat?
Located between Marrakech and Casablanca, the Mohammed VI Polytechnic University is trying to replicate the recipes that have made the United States’ Silicon Valley successful, fusing research and business — with special attention given to green energies and food sovereignty.
Updated March 24, 2024 at 12:20 p.m. The oil tanker, Exxon Valdez, ran aground on Bligh Reef in Prince William Sound, Alaska, on this day in 1989, causing a massive oil spill. The captain, Joseph Hazelwood, had left the bridge, leaving an inexperienced third mate in charge, who then failed to properly maneuver the ship. […]
Taking an international trip with small children can be a source of stress, but that shouldn’t overshadow the larger life lessons of such an adventure.
The military struggle of the Palestinians has become a holy matter that banned any discussion about it — including reviews, criticism and accountability. That has given the tyranny of militarism the upper hand at the expense of politics and popular movements.