WorldcrunchTEHRAN — Iranian Interior Minister Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli has warned the Sunni Islamist terror group ISIS not to approach Iranian territory or the Shia shrines in Iraq. Speaking at a gathering Friday in Tabas, in eastern Iran, Fazli said that ISIS should not get closer than 40 kilometers (25 miles) to Iran’s border nor attack […]
EGYPT RESTRICTS UK RESCUE FLIGHTS Egyptian authorities are restricting flights sent to rescue British tourists, who were stranded at the Sharm el-Sheikh airport after Saturday’s crash of a Russian plane, the BBC reports. Some 20 flights were planned to take British tourists back home today, but it appears that only about eight will depart. According […]
Hopefully this bakery in central Turkey didn’t get its flour delivered the way it did its coal.
DELHI — On November 4, 2000, Irom Sharmila, an Indian civil rights activist, began what would become the longest recorded hunger strike ever, protesting against India’s military following the killing of 10 civilians in her northeastern state of Manipur. Fifteen years later, the now 43-year-old has never broken her fast, as The Indian Express reports […]
ISIS MAY HAVE CAUSED SINAI CRASH AFTER ALL There is significant evidence that an ISIS affiliate in Egypt was behind a suspected bomb attack on a Russian passenger plane that killed 224 people over the Sinai Peninsula Saturday, UK, U.S. and European officials told The Guardian. But Egypt and Russia still urge caution on making […]
Libération, Nov. 5, 2015 “Everyday, two Aylans,” French daily Libération writes on Thursday’s front page, which also features a photograph of the body of a yet-to-be-identified 10-year-old Afghan boy washed up on a beach of the Greek island of Lesbos, off the coast of Turkey. The picture and headline both echo the similar drowning death […]
I’ve never skied in my life, but luckily you don’t have to be a winter sports enthusiast to appreciate the glaciers and dense pine forests of the Canadian Rockies. A cozy part of the scenery was Lake Louise Inn, nestled among the snowy peaks of Banff National Park in the western province of Alberta.
In another possible sign of thaw after decades of chilly relations between the United States and Iran, the U.S. is set to return 1,500 fossil pieces to Iran that it has kept since the 1979 revolution, the reformist paper Shargh reported this week, citing comments by Iran’s chief environmental official Masoumeh Ebtekar. Ebtekar confirmed the […]
WHY WILL CHINA, TAIWAN LEADERS FINALLY MEET? Doses of both silence and skepticism have followed the surprise announcement Tuesday that the leaders of Taiwan and China would meet for the first time in 66 years. Presidents Xi Jinping of China, and Ma Ying-jeou of China will meet on Saturday for what’s being dubbed as a […]
In southern Indonesia’s Torajan villages, traditional weaving and wood carving compete for tourists’ attention.
After 66 years of standoff between Taiwan and the People’s Republic of China, the top leaders from both sides of the Taiwan Strait will meet this coming Saturday in Singapore. Compared to relative silence on the mainland, Taiwanese newspapers Wednesday were dominated by the surprise announcement of the upcoming historic encounter between Taiwan’s President Ma […]
U.S. PLANS MORE SOUTH CHINA SEA PATROLS The U.S. will continue conducting patrols near artificial Chinese islands in the disputed South China Sea, Reuters quoted a U.S. defense official as saying yesterday. The official said patrols would happen about twice a quarter, describing that as “the right amount to make it regular but not a […]
This is no ordinary stone. For the Ancient Greeks, the omphalos represented the navel of the world, determined by Zeus when he sent his two eagles across the world to meet at its center. The eagles may have gotten lost along the way, as there are several such stones around the Mediterranean Sea, Delphi merely […]
TEHRAN — While the moderate government headed by Iranian President Hassan Rouhani enjoys the Supreme Leader’s qualified backing — which is crucial to its survival inside Iran — it contends daily with criticisms, often from its conservative opponents. The conservatives fear that his policy of bringing détente with the West and opening the economy will […]
“EXTERNAL FORCES” BLAMED FOR PLANE CRASH Photo: Grigoryev Maxim/TASS/ZUMA Russian airline Kogalymavia said that “external forces” were the only possible explanation for Saturday’s crash of an Airbus A321 in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula that killed all 224 people on board, Sputnik News reports. The company confirmed that the aircraft had suffered damage before the accident but […]
Zaman, Nov. 2, 2015 “Alone in power,” writes Turkish daily Zaman on its Monday front page, after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s Justice and Development Party (AKP) swept back to victory in Sunday’s parliamentary elections. In a defeat for political moderates, secularists and Kurds, the AKP will return to governing the country alone after winning […]
These garlic garlands, in southeastern France’s Provence region, may have been destined for a batch of aioli: a local kind of mayonnaise that also includes olive oil and sometimes egg yolks, and a squeeze of lemon juice.
SYRIA SUMMIT BEGINS IN VIENNA Envoys from 17 countries are gathered in Vienna for the broadest peace talks since the beginning of the Syrian war, a summit nevertheless marked by the notable absence of both the Syrian government and its opposition, The Guardian writes. The U.S., France, Turkey, Russia and China are among the participants, […]
MORELIA — The violence-plagued state of Michoacán on Mexico’s central Pacific coast has risen to become the center of narcotics production in the country, according to an investigative report by leading Mexican newspaper El Universal. Mexico is the world’s leading supplier of methamphetamines, as identified in a 2014 UN report . And Michoacán, where some […]
There wasn’t much to see in this remote and destitute Bulgarian village. And then, around the corner, there was this huge advertisement for the local communist party, in Bulgarian and … French. This defied logic in a town where not a soul seemed to speak French.
DUBAI — Unlike other places, where building a new subway line can wind up taking a decade or more, the United Arab Emirates offers a very different approach to major public project deadlines: It meets them. This Gulf metropolis has made itself a regional and global hub for commerce, financial services and investment, and virtually […]
CHINA ENDS ONE-CHILD POLICY After months of speculation, China today officially ended its notorious 35-year-long one-child policy, allowing couples in the country to have two children, Xinhua state news agency reports. China’s so-called “family planning policy” was implemented in September 1980 in an effort to alleviate social, economic and environmental problems. But as The Guardian […]
Next year’s Chad elections will represent a novelty for the central African country. No, not a new president. Chadian voters are being asked to register to vote biometrically. Although this method is relatively absent in more developed countries, it isn’t exactly an innovation in Africa, and Chad will become the 30th country to adopt registration […]
Children were playing next to a man painting a wood panel for one of the countless Hindu festivals in Kathmandu, Nepal.
U.S. TO STEP UP ANTI-ISIS FIGHT The United States may soon dramatically escalate its military campaign against ISIS in Iraq and Syria. Defense Secretary Ashton Carter said at a Senate hearing yesterday that the new policy could include more “strikes from the air or direct action on the ground,” The Washington Post reports. The recommendations […]
Between Mexico and Guatemala lies the small, lesser known Belize, the only country in Central America whose official language is English. The former colony, once called “British Honduras,” was granted full independence only eight years before we visited.
U.S. SHIP CHALLENGES DISPUTED CHINA SEA A U.S. Navy ship sailed close to artificial islands built by China in the disputed South China Sea waters early today, The Washington Post quoted a U.S. defense official as saying. The move is a direct challenge to China’s territorial claims to this area, which the U.S. considers international […]
Al-Akhbar, Oct. 27, 2015 “His Royal Drugs,” reads Tuesday’s front page of Lebanese Arabic-language daily Al-Akhbar, one day after a Saudi prince and four others were arrested at the Beirut airport after authorities found more than two tons of illegal drugs on a Saudi-bound private jet. Prince Abdel Mohsen Bin Walid Bin Abdulaziz was among […]
Visiting Sarajevo 43 years ago was virtually a feat in itself because the roads leading to what was then part of the socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia were mostly unpaved, and there were very few hotels to welcome tourists. But the city was nice and quiet, and kept its distinct Ottoman charm.
ROME — Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has chosen Italy as his first major Western destination since winning elections in 2013, and the first to come in the wake of the Vienna accords on Iran’s nuclear program and the lifting of international sanctions. Italian newspaper La Stampa first reported earlier this month that the president will […]
EU, BALKANS NEGOTIATE REFUGEE PLAN Leaders agreed yesterday at a summit of eight EU countries along with Serbia, Macedonia and Albania to create 100,000 places for migrants in the Balkans and Greece as part of German-led efforts to find “a more reasonable way of dealing with the problem,” Chancellor Angela Merkel said. 500,000 Indonesia’s disaster […]
Of the hundreds of frescoes that once decorated the Sigiriya rock“s western surface, only 19 remain. The exquisitely delicate paintings, in vibrant colors, are said to depict ladies of the king’s harem.
“Kaczynski Takes Poland,” writes Polish daily Fakt on Monday’s front page, one day after the Conservative and eurosceptic Law and Justice party (PiS) swept to victory in Poland, ousting the ruling center-left and pro-EU Civic Platform. PiS leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski — the twin brother of Poland’s late President Lech Kaczynski, who died in a plane […]
GOP BENGHAZI HEARING FAILS TO RILE CLINTON Photo: Ron Sachs/CNP/ZUMA Democrat presidential candidate and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton kept her composure throughout an 11-hour congressional special hearing set up by the Republican majority Thursday on the deadly Benghazi attack that killed the U.S. ambassador Chris Stevens and three colleagues on Sept. 11, 2012. […]
The Greek island of Santorini, in the southern Aegean Sea, is one big active volcano. And though it’s dormant, there’s always the risk of an eruption that could destroy the beautiful whitewashed houses as one did some 3,600 years ago.
A new wave of democratic protests has been spreading across Africa, from Angola to Burkina Faso and beyond, as several long-time leaders look to extend their rule for as long as they can, often defying their country’s own constitution. Front and center in these popular movements have been several prominent hip hop stars. The French-language […]
KERRY, NETANYAHU MEET IN GERMANY U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met in Berlin today for talks about ongoing violence between Israelis and Palestinians. Kerry called for an immediate end to all incitement and violence after three weeks of deadly attacks. Netanyahu also called for a de-escalation but blamed […]
In the lobby of a hotel on the shores of the Black Sea, a band was playing what we in France call de la musique tzigane. This Gypsy-style music is recognizable, among other things, by the characteristic way of playing the violin — an instrument I myself tried my hand at when I was younger, […]
U.S., RUSSIA REACH DEAL ON SYRIA CAMPAIGNS Washington and Moscow officials signed an agreement yesterday to regulate flights over Syria in a bid to avoid potential clashes in the skies between U.S. and Russian aircraft as the rival countries engage in separate operations against jihadists, The New York Times reports. But the deal doesn’t include […]
La Nazione, Oct. 21, 2015 In what it characterizes as an international scoop, Italian daily La Nazione reports that Pope Francis has a curable brain tumor, which the Vatican no doubt has been trying to keep secret. “The Pope Is Sick,” is the newspaper’s front page headline Wednesday, the same day the Vatican characterized the […]