Worldcrunch
BOKO HARAM TORCHES VILLAGE Islamist terrorists from Boko Haram razed a small village in northwestern Nigeria, bombing and setting fire to huts in a horrific attack that killed at least 86 people, officials say. A survivor hidden in a tree told AP journalists he could hear children screaming as they burned to death. The six-year […]
Islamist terrorists from Boko Haram razed a small village and two camps nearby Saturday in northwestern Nigeria, bombing and setting fire to huts in an attack that killed at least 86 people, officials say. On its front page Monday, Nigerian newspaper Daily Trust features photos of a child after the attack, and those of charred […]
The Schönbrunn Palace, formerly the summer residence of successive Austrian monarchs, is one of the country’s most majestic Baroque designs. It even features a Gloriette (a “little glory”), a building whose rooftop overlooks the magnificent gardens.
In the faraway verdant landscape of Easter Island, isolated in the Pacific Ocean, lives a rare type of bacteria that could be the key to curing a host of debilitating illnesses. Rapamycin, named for what the indigenous call the island it is found on — Rapa Nui — is used to produce an antibiotic named […]
PRESSURE ON MERKEL MOUNTS In stark contrast to the popularity German Chancellor Angela Merkel has enjoyed for most of her 10 years in office, a full 40% of Germans now want her to resign over what they believe is her misguided open-door refugee policy, a poll published today shows. The survey was conducted before yesterday’s […]
Israeli daily Yedioth Ahronoth revealed Friday that American and British intelligence spied on Israeli air force missions in Gaza, Syria and Iran. According to the Tel-Aviv-based paper, the U.S. National Security Agency and its British counterpart GCHQ hacked into the onboard cameras’ live feeds of drones (featured on today’s front page) during operations dating back […]
The fine sandy beaches of Nazaré, in western Portugal, are probably as big a tourist draw as the painted boats and the fishermen’s traditional costumes.
BRUSSELS — With Belgium already on high alert after several of its citizens took part in November’s attacks in Paris, authorities in Brussels are raising new concerns about potential jihadist threats to nuclear safety. The Belgian daily L’Echo reports Thursday that authorities have confirmed that the brother-in-law of a jihadist, who himself had extremist Islamic […]
MACEDONIA CLOSES BORDER TO MIGRANTS Some 2,600 people are stranded on the Greek side of the border with Macedonia after the Balkan nation closed its borders to incoming migrants yesterday afternoon, AP reports. Macedonia, which is not an EU member, took similar steps for two days last week. The authorities are, however, allowing in migrants […]
German daily Hamburg Morgenpost is flipping the blue bird on the front page of its Thursday edition, which features a four-page analysis of “The Hate-Net,” and why more and more “thugs, haters and scatterbrains” go online to vent their anger. In the special edition, the paper focuses on social media users’ inability to tolerate other […]
I’ve already told you how my wife and I liked to wander off the beaten path and picnic somewhere nice. This time we’d picked a vast meadow — only to discover that the place was next to a cemetery, which apparently had a little problem with upkeep … Bon appétit!
OREGON MILITIA MEMBER KILLED AMID ARRESTS Photo: Mike Albright/ZUMA Robert “LaVoy” Finicum, an Arizona rancher and one of the leaders of the armed militia that had been occupying a federal wildlife reserve in eastern Oregon since Jan. 2, was killed in a shootout with federal officers Tuesday, The New York Times reports. The militia leader […]
L’Osservatore Romano, Jan. 27, 2016 The meeting of Iranian President Hassan Rouhani with Pope Francis was featured on Wednesday’s Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore Romano, with the front-page headline: “A Political Solution For The Middle East.” At the 40-minute meeting at the Vatican, the first visit between a pope and Iranian president since 1999, Francis and Rouhani […]
Italian craftsmen shared their know-how with Indian lapidarists who were then able to execute the exquisite inlaid marble of the Taj Mahal. And the more I look I at it, the more the iconic Indian mausoleum reminds me of the Florence Cathedral.
El País, Jan. 26, 2016 Spain is waving a red flag at famous bullfighter Francisco Rivera Ordóñez after he posted a picture of himself taunting a bloody calf while holding his five-month-old daughter. Ordóñez posted the photograph, featured Tuesday on the front page of Spain’s leading daily El País, on his official Instagram account a […]
COLLEAGUE KILLS 10 AFGHAN POLICE A rogue Afghan police officer drugged and shot dead 10 of his colleagues early today at a checkpoint in Afghanistan’s central province of Uruzgan, Al Jazeera reports. The man collaborated with Taliban insurgents, who joined him in shooting the officers. Weapons and ammunition were missing from the checkpoint after the […]
Parts of the Mayan city of Tulum, along the east coast of Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula, were dedicated to the worship of the Diving God. He has since given way to more humble beach-going mortals enjoying the blue waters of the Caribbean Sea.
In Cappadocia, these fairy chimneys date back to the 4th century, drawing curious tourists from around the world. But some of the ancient troglodyte structures still serve as people’s homes.
FIFTH ANNIVERSARY OF EGYPT’S ARAB SPRING Photo: Amr Sayed/APA/ZUMA Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has warned against protesters using today’s fifth anniversary of the Jan. 25 revolution to disrupt the country. Al Arabiya reports that security forces were on high alert and the streets of Cairo were mostly calm this morning, five years to the […]
Jornal de Noticias, Jan. 25, 2015 “Marcelo crowned,” Portuguese daily Jornal de Noticias writes on its front page Monday, as center-right candidate Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa won Sunday’s presidential election with 52% in the first round, a resounding victory otherwise marked by a low turnout of just 48.8%. “The people command, and the people chose […]
MIGRANTS DROWN OFF GREEK COAST Eight children were among at least 21 migrants who drowned early this morning after their boats sank off the Greek coast, AFP reports. Dozens more are reported missing, but 48 survivors managed to reach the shore. The tragedy comes amid renewed debate about the European Union’s borders. “If Europe is […]
PARIS — Invited on French radio Europe 1, British actress and Oscar-nominee Charlotte Rampling has weighed in on the controversy over the lack of diversity this year among Academy Award nominees, saying that filmmaker Spike Lee’s call to boycott the ceremony was “racist against whites.” The 69-year-old English-born actress, famous for her movies in three […]
This big plant we came across in Guadeloupe is nicknamed “traveller’s tree,” supposedly because its sheaths can hold rainwater. But the murky and foul-smelling water this one held made me glad I never was that thirsty.
OSLO — Global oil prices are falling again this week, having dipped below $30 for the first time in 13 years. In oil-dependent economies from Russia to Saudi Arabia to Venezuela, the crisis continues to spark panic and weigh on national budget deficits and unemployment rates. And yet another major oil producer, Norway, is looking […]
PUTIN “PROBABLY” APPROVED MURDER Russian President Vladimir Putin “probably approved” the 2006 assassination of Alexander Litvinenko, a former Russian spy who later fled to Britain and worked for the MI6, a public inquiry in the UK has found. The report on the years’ long investigation was published this morning, saying that Litvinenko’s murder “was probably […]
Austrian daily Salzburger Nachrichten poses the question “Sealed border?” on its front page Thursday, after the government announced plans to limit the number of migrants allowed in the country. An estimated 90,000 asylum seekers registered in 8-million-strong Austria last year, with tens of thousands more crossing the country for Germany. Austrian authorities revealed plans Wednesday […]
This procession of trucks loaded with sugar canes was on its way to the processing plant. Belize, the tiny country in Central America, still relies heavily on its sugar and rum exports.
GUNMEN STORM PAKISTAN UNIVERSITY, DOZENS FEARED DEAD A group of gunmen killed at least 21 people and wounded more than 50 as they stormed the Bacha Khan University in Pakistan’s northwestern Charsadda District this morning, The Express Tribune reports. A security official quoted by Reuters said the death toll could rise to 40. Police have […]