Worldcrunch“But there is no money,” reads the front page of this week’s edition of Moscow-based magazine The New Times, alongside a caricature of Russian President Vladimir Putin as an empty-handed, pants-less joker whose socks need mending. Russia is facing a deepening economic recession, caused notably by the low international oil price. And though Putin has […]
In the barren plains of Hungary, one of these csikós wranglers was getting ready to perform the “Puszta-five”: riding five horses at the same time while standing on their bare backs.
If you ever get lost in London, you can always turn to a member of the local police force — or as they call them, “bobby.”
LIBYA ANNOUNCES UNITY GOVERNMENT As part of a UN-backed plan signed last December, Libya announced the formation of a unity government today to reconcile the country’s warring factions. In the process of negotiation, there were disputes over the distribution of ministerial posts, Al Jazeera reports. Two rival governments, one based in the capital of Tripoli […]
BUENOS AIRES — For supporters and critics alike, the recently concluded eight years of President Cristina Kirchner“s government provided no shortage of bright lights and loud music. Now, just over a month after the presidential victory of Kirchner rival Mauricio Macri, emerging headlines tell of a secret bonafide disco party. Clarín reports that new Central […]
With a Sons of Anarchy-inspired front page, The Daily Telegraph in Sydney, Australia, is reporting that police have launched a large-scale crackdown on biker gangs. In the process, club houses have been shuttered and membership numbers have been reduced, costing the gangs millions of dollars in lost income from drug trafficking, extortion, gun running and […]
IRAN SANCTIONS LIFTED Some of the toughest International sanctions against Iran were lifted Sunday after inspectors verified that the country was complying with the nuclear deal reached last July, and after the Islamic Republic released three American prisoners, including Washington Post journalist Jason Rezaian. “These things are a reminder of what we can achieve when […]
These beautifully fortified walls protect the old medina quarters of Fes, the “Mecca of the West.”
STOCKHOLM — Kari Rosvall was 64 years old when she found out she had been bred as part of a Nazi program, with the purpose of creating a supposed Aryan elite. “I was seen as a product, like a pig bred in an animal factory,” she says in an interview with the Swedish newspaper Dagens […]
TOKYO — Japan isn’t accustomed to underachievement, in government or anywhere else. So it’s significant that the country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs is worried about the abilities of its diplomats to negotiate in English at a level comparable to counterparts from other parts of the world. To remedy the problem, the ministry has decided to […]
ISLAMISTS ATTACK SOMALI MILITARY BASE Gunmen from Islamist group al-Shabaab attacked a remote military base in Somalia, killing at least 61 Kenyan soldiers who were stationed there as part of an African Union force, Reuters reports. The assault, which happened 340 miles west of the Somali capital of Mogadishu, comes amid a week of deadly […]
This looks like Rome’s Colosseum, but is actually the Arena of Nîmes in southern France. When I took this picture, archeological digging was still taking place in the Roman amphitheatre, which nowadays serves as a concert venue.
“Asylum seekers will learn more about sexual norms,” reads the headline of the provocatively creative front page of Danish daily Jyllands-Posten. The national newspaper, based in western Denmark, reports that the Danish Red Cross wants to expand education programs for asylum seekers to include what it calls “adult education.” Anne la Cour Vågen, head of […]
HONG KONG — Just did it. Nike has made a marketing blunder for the ages, Mingbao, a Hong Kong daily reports on Thursday, after the U.S. sports retailer launched a new model of sports shoes onto the Chinese market in the hope of cashing in on the upcoming Chinese New Year spending season. According to […]
ISIS CLAIMS DEADLY JAKARTA ATTACKS Photo: Veri Sanovri/Xinhua/ZUMA Indonesia’s capital of Jakarta was rocked by a series of fatal explosions and gunfire this morning in attacks that local police spokesman Anton Charliyan said were meant to imitate November’s deadly terror in Paris, The Guardian reports. At least seven people were killed, including five gunmen, around […]
“The Jews’ great concern,” reads the Thursday headline in French daily Aujourd’hui en France, above an image of a man wearing a skullcap. It comes after a teenager attacked and wounded a Jewish teacher who was wearing the traditional headgear Monday in Marseille, southern France. France is debating whether it’s still safe for members of […]
We visited several hill tribes in northern Thailand, but the customs and costumes of the Hmong villagers in Doi Pui were definitely among the most memorable.
TURKEY DETAINS THREE RUSSIANS AFTER ISTANBUL BLAST In the wake of a deadly terrorist attack in Istanbul, Turkish authorities have detained three Russian nationals suspected of being linked to ISIS, Hürriyet reports. The arrests in the provinces of Antalya and Izmir follow a suspected suicide attack on Tuesday morning that killed 10 people, all German, […]
In Sunda Kelapa, the old port of Jakarta, Indonesian dock workers were busy unloading pinisis, these traditional two-masted ships.
Chinese President Xi Jinping’s glamorous singer wife Peng Liyuan used to perform with them. But so too did less reputable women, including several who became the center of public scandals. Now, after more than six decades of service, the Chinese People’s Liberation Song and Dance Troupe has been disbanded, reports Taiwanese newspaper China Times. Founded […]
AT LEAST 10 DIE IN ISTANBUL BLAST Photo: Zeynep Cermen/Xinhua via ZUMA An explosion in Istanbul’s historic Sultanahmet tourist district killed at least 10 people and wounded 15 others today, CNN Türk reports. Local authorities have said they believe an ISIS suicide bomber caused the blast, Turkish daily Hürriyet reports. UN CALLS FOR EVACUATING 400 […]
No need for Twitter if you are a media baron. Australian media mogul Rupert Murdoch placed an announcement in the Births, Marriages and Deaths page of The Times, the storied London-based newspaper he owns, to share the news of his engagement to American actress and former supermodel Jerry Hall. Murdoch, 84, is the executive chairman […]
No wonder this alligator looked so thirsty: The lush swamps of Avery Island are next to Louisiana“s Tabasco hot sauce factory.
UN TO RELIEVE STARVING SYRIAN CITY The United Nations is expected to send an aid convoy to the Syrian town of Madaya, where at least 23 people have recently starved to death. About 42,000 people in Madaya have had little to no access to food for the past two weeks, after government forces sealed off […]
La Prensa, Jan. 11, 2015 “Horrified!” Monday’s front page of Mexican daily La Prensa reads, quoting White House reaction to the Rolling Stone”s interview — by actor Sean Penn — with the world’s most prominent drug trafficker, Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman. Mexican authorities started U.S. extradition proceedings late Sunday against the Mexican drug kingpin, who […]
In the foothills of the Atlas Mountains, this Moroccan boy was selling lizards by the roadside. I wasn’t the only one who thought this improbable scene would make for a good photograph.
LÜBECK — The scourge of plastic litter in the oceans is measured in billions of floating tons of pollution, estimated to affect some 40% of the world’s waterways. But a solution to this massive environmental problem may be coming from a small shipyard in Northern Germany, where an ingeniously designed catamaran is being built to […]
POLICE FIND PRINTS OF PARIS ATTACKS FUGITIVE Belgian police have found a fingerprint of Salah Abdeslam, the fugitive jihadist who participated in the Nov. 13 Paris attacks, in a Brussels apartment, where the suicide belts worn by some of the terrorists were made, Le Soir reports. The discoveries were made almost a month ago, but […]