Worldcrunch
I’ve taken my share of pictures of guards from around the world, but these may be the most original, keeping an eye on the Palazzo Pubblico in the tiny landlocked microstate of San Marino.
OBAMA-CASTRO MEETING IN CUBA President Barack Obama’s second day itinerary of his historic visit to Cuba will include face-to-face negotiations with Cuban President Raul Castro, as well as a state dinner this evening at the Palace of the Revolution in Havana. The two leaders, who have met three times since the December 2014 surprise announcement […]
The colorful Maltese fishing boats called luzzus are said to date back to Phoenician times. They’re famous for the small pair of eyes drawn on their hulls — an ancient superstition supposed to ward off evil and bring protection to the fishermen.
BOGOTÁ — Mmmmm. How about the World’s Largest Rodent on your Easter menu? That’s right. The capybara, a bigger and arguably uglier cousin of the guinea pig, may soon be legally served in the homes and restaurants of Colombia, after having been classified as a threatened species and thus banned from markets and menus. That […]
N. KOREA FIRES MORE MISSILES North Korea fired a pair of ballistic missiles today from its eastern coast, the latest in a series of provocations that included a nuclear detonation in January and the launch, last month, of a long-range rocket. BRAZIL IMBROGLIO Brazil is barreling toward a full-blown constitutional crisis over President Dilma Rousseff’s […]
South African President Jacob Zuma is facing new accusations of influence peddling, in what may be the most perilous scandal of his political career. On its front page Friday, Cape-Town-based Afrikaans-language daily Die Burger asked if this was “The End?” for the South African leader. Senior public figures accused the Gupta family of close ties […]
Air pollution has reached record levels in the Indian capital. In some areas, it’s at least 10 times higher than the World Health Organization acceptable norms. But it appears some action is finally taking place … Read the full article Les Echos/Worldcrunch article: New Delhi Pollution, A Roadmap To Disaster.
On the Indonesian island of Bali, statues of gods near the entrances to buildings and homes often wear checkered sarongs around their waists. Modesty must be respected, I suppose, even for gods.
TURKEY REFUGEE DEAL TOPS EU SUMMIT European Union leaders are gathering today to discuss a controversial deal with Turkey aimed at easing the ongoing refugee crisis. Negotiations are likely to be tough in Brussels, with European Council President Donald Tusk acknowledging a “catalogue of issues” still unresolved, the BBC reports. Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu […]
VALENCIA — Supporters of traditional bullfighting are seeing red in Spain, with tens of thousands taking to the streets this week in Valencia to protest cuts to government subsidies for the controversial sport. Attendees chanted “liberty” as they gathered in front of the local city hall, with the march culminating at the nearby Plaza de […]
“Can Barbarin fall?” asks French-language weekly Tribune de Lyon on its cover this week, in reference to Archbishop of Lyon Philippe Barbarin, who is accused of covering up acts of paedophilia. Cardinal Barbarin, one of France’s top Catholic clerics, is accused of failing to take action against 70-year-old priest Bernard Preynat in 2009, when he […]
Working the day shift at the Machu Picchu police station looked like a pretty quiet job. No troubles even from the neighborhood llamas.
HILLARY V. DONALD SHOWDOWN NEARS Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump have expanded their respective leads after 14 million voters cast their ballots yesterday in Democratic and Republican primaries in five states, with The Washington Post reporting that it is now increasingly improbable that rivals stand a chance of catching up to the frontrunners in the […]
TEHRAN — How much is a life worth in Iran? In what may be a small but significant sign of progress, senior Iranian clerics have ruled that relatives of fatal car crash victims should receive the same amount of insurance compensation regardless of whether the deceased was a man or woman. The same new parity […]
No matter what morro (hill) you’re viewing it from, Rio’s Guanabara Bay is always stunning. I took this shot from the Corcovado, famous for its Christ the Redeemer statue.
Le Soir, March 16, 2016 “Deadly search in Forest,” writes Brussels-based daily Le Soir on its front page Wednesday, a day after Belgian and French police killed a gunman linked to the terror attacks in Paris, in a raid on an apartment in a Brussels suburb. At press conference in Brussels early Wednesday, a spokesperson […]
RUSSIAN WITHDRAWAL BEGINS IN SYRIA After yesterday’s unexpected announcement from Russian President Vladimir Putin, Russian armed forces have begun to withdraw from Syria on the civil war’s fifth anniversary. A first group of warplanes has already left its Syrian base for Russia, the Defense Ministry said. “The main task now is to take every measure […]
“Russia out of Syria,” the front page of Moscow-based daily Vedomosti reads, just hours after Russian President Vladimir Putin’s surprise announcement that Russian forces would withdraw from Syria. After yesterday’s unexpected announcement, a first group of warplanes has already left its Syrian base for Russia, the Defense Ministry said. “The main task now is to […]
One of the few wonders of this world that my wife and I did not get to see is Cambodia’s Angkor Wat temple. Still, in Thailand we visited one of the finest examples of Khmer architecture: the Prasat Hin Phimai temple, which used to be connected with Angkor by the Ancient Khmer Highway.
SYRIA PEACE TALKS IN GENEVA Syrian opposition negotiator Mohamad Alloush said during the Geneva Syria peace talks Saturday that Syria’s political transition could only start once Bashar al-Assad was no longer president. “We consider that the transitional period starts with the fall of Bashar al-Assad or his death,” The Jerusalem Post quoted him as saying. […]
O Globo, March 14, 2016 “Brazil takes to the streets against Dilma and Lula and in favor of Moro,” Rio-based daily O Globo writes on its front page Monday, a day after an estimated 3.6 million Brazilians protested recession and corruption and called for the impeachment of President Dilma Rousseff. Sao Paulo’s Avenida Paulista (pictured […]
With 11,623 pipes, the organ inside the imposing Salt Lake Tabernacle is one of the biggest in the world. It is used to accompany the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, which we got to listen to during our visit, where we also learned about this uniquely American religion.
MORE NORTH KOREAN NUCLEAR BOMBAST North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has ordered further nuclear tests to improve attack capabilities, national news agency KCNA reports today. Pyongyang has stepped up its threats and statements boasting about its nuclear capabilities since the U.S. and South Korea initiated joint military exercises on Monday. Today’s statement was made three […]
Libération, March 11, 2016 To mark the upcoming fifth anniversary of the start of the civil war in Syria, French daily Libération renamed itself Friday in Arabic, featuring a striking front-page image of children spinning on swings around a bomb. Calling itself Tahrir (“Liberation” in Arabic) for the occasion of the March 15th anniversary next […]