The sturdy dry-stone walls of the Incan site have been standing there since the 13th century. And they still look good on a group picture.
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Incan Perspective
Category: blog
CANADA’S LIBERALS SWEEP TO POWER Justin Trudeau, son of former Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, led his Liberal Party to an unexpectedly sweeping victory in general elections yesterday, ending nearly a decade of Conservative rule, the daily National Post reports. Outgoing Prime Minister Stephen Harper conceded defeat and the Conservative party announced his resignation. The […]
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Second ‘Trudeau Mania’ Takes Over Canada
“New Trudeau Mania,” writes French-language Canadian daily Le Journal de Montréal on the front page of its Tuesday edition, after Justin Trudeau — son of former Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau — led his Liberal Party to an unexpectedly sweeping victory in general elections. Outgoing Prime Minister Stephen Harper conceded defeat late Monday, ending nearly […]
BEIJING —Using technology to get the most out of your workers, it seems, is a goal shared by employers around the world. From Silcon Valley to Shanghai, punch cards and time clocks are being upgraded with biometric tracking, fingerprint recognition and facial scanning to avoid fraud such as so-called “buddy clocking.” But now, Bejing Daily […]
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Leaning Toward Hackneyed
Taken at a time when this optical illusion was still somewhat original …
DRESDEN — Thousands of kilometers away from their war-torn home, and yet they still don’t feel safe. Three gay Syrians who say they’ve been harassed by Muslim refugees in Dresden decided to tell their story to German news agency DPA. Ahmad Suliman says that if he had come out openly about his sexual orientation in […]
Frankfurter Allgemeine, Oct. 19, 2015 Accompanied by an ominous photograph of the culprit’s weapons, German daily Frankfurter Allgemeine dedicated its front page Monday to the stabbing of, and subsequent victory by Cologne’s incoming mayor, Henriette Reker. “Rekker wins Cologne election after assassination attempt,” writes the conservative daily. Reker — an independent candidate supported by Chancellor […]
XI IN THE UK Chinese President Xi Jinping will arrive in Britain today for his first state visit to the country, a sign of the current “golden era” between London and Beijing, The Guardian reports. In contrast to Xi’s recent U.S. visit, which was marked by tensions over cyber security, the two countries are expected […]
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Rise And Flow
A trip on the Volga river — the longest in Europe — is like floating down the stream of history. The magnificently decrepit churches along the way gave us a glimpse of the many layers of the Russian nation, just 10 years after the fall of the Soviet Union, and one year after the arrival […]
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Another Venezuelan Opposition Leader Jailed
CARACAS — Venezuelan security agents have detained Manuel Rosales, an opposition politician returning to the country after six years in exile, at the airport in Maracaibo, in the western state of Zulia. Opposition daily El Universal reports that the 63-year-old former presidential candidate and ex governor of Zulia, was arrested “literally as he got off […]
A military court has convicted 26 military officers with conspiring to overthrow the current regime in collaboration with two prominent Muslim Brotherhood leaders, according to a copy of the secret indictment obtained by Mada Masr.
NEW YORK — A U.S. intelligence official has leaked a cache of secret slides that reveal details of the American military’s use of drones to assassinate suspected terrorists. The documents include suspicion that innocent people are regularly killed in the operations and that sometimes vague criteria are used to decide whom to target. The so-called […]
EU-TURKEY TENUOUS DEAL ON MIGRANTS Photo: Antonio Masiello/NurPhoto/ZUMA European Union states are considering an aid package worth 3 billion euros ($3.5 billion) to Turkey as well as quicker visas for Turkish citizens in exchange for Turkey’s help in curbing the flow of migrants into Europe. The BBC reports that European leaders also agreed to “re-energize” […]
The Economist, Oct. 16, 2015 London-based weekly The Economist warns against the growing risk of “the reluctant European” as it calls the UK facing the spectre of a so-called Brexit from the EU. As part of a special report for the weekly, writer John Peet argues that it would be a mistake for the UK […]
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Almost There
Estaing in southern France is one of the most picturesque villages in the country. Typiquement français. It’s a favorite stop among Christian pilgrims on their way to Santiago de Compostela — still some 700 miles away in northern Spain.
SAO PAULO — The mess that is Brazilian politics right now would make for a fantastic television drama series. Its intricate plots, combining power disputes and alliances concluded behind closed doors, would easily match those of Game of Thrones, except that the omnipresent blood would be replaced with dirty money. Ever since her reelection for […]
PARIS: French civil engineering firm Colas has launched the world’s first “photovoltaic roads,” capable of withstanding the weight of cars and bicycles and producing electricity by exposure to sunlight. Known as “Wattway,” the concept could revolutionize solar energy production. Colas says that covering just 2.5% of France’s road and highway network would be enough to […]
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EU Migrant Meeting, VW Recall, Boorish Boris
EU LEADERS TO DISCUSS REFUGEE SOLUTIONS EU leaders are set to meet in Brussels today to discuss measures that could help stem the flow of refugees, with a focus on countries outside of Europe such as Turkey, Euronews reports. In a speech to German parliament this morning, Chancellor Angela Merkel said providing more support to […]
Paris Match, Oct. 15, 2015 In an exclusive interview with glossy French magazine Paris Match conducted at his modest apartment in the Vatican, Pope Francis bemoaned greed and the “idolatry of money” that’s driving the world to ruin. The magazine, whose covers more commonly feature celebrities and royals, was invited to the Casa Santa Marta, […]
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Just One Foot
Four shoeshiners for one foot. That’s how fierce competition was in Turkey, at a time when tourist feet were not as plentiful as today.
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Behind The Missing Obama-Rouhani Handshake
TEHRAN — Iranian legislators questioned Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif about why he had shaken hands last month with U.S. President Barack Obama on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly. The gesture was viewed by many as another positive sign of Iran’s thawing relations with the West, but has irritated the country’s conservatives opposed […]
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Hillary Holds, Dilma Sinks, Sodom Found
U.S.-RUSSIA TALKS OVER SYRIA CAMPAIGNS U.S. and Russian officials are expected to meet today for a third round of talks to discuss safety procedures in their respective Syrian campaigns after what the BBC describes as a “near-miss” on Saturday. American and Russian warplanes were reportedly in visual contact and within miles of each other. According […]
De Tijd, Oct. 14, 2015 “Belgians remain in control of big beer,” and “The biggest pint in the world is Belgian,” Flemish-language business daily De Tijd proudly writes on the front page of its Wednesday edition, a day after the world’s second-largest brewer SABMiller accepted a takeover proposal from Belgium-based No.1 beer giant Anheuser-Busch InBev. […]
ROME — Bordeaux or Borolo? Burgundy or Chianti? Yes, please! Though some have distinct preferences, most wine lovers around the world wish nothing but success to French and Italian winemakers alike. Still, the two European nations have something of an ongoing rivalry, both about the quality and quantity of the wines they put on the […]
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Victims Of Communism
There are several statues, monuments and informal crosses thoughout Prague that commemorate the death of 21-year-old Jan Palach and 19-year-old Jan Zajíc. The two students set themselves on fire in 1969 to protest the end of the Prague Spring, brought on by the invasion of Czechoslovakia by Soviet-led armies.
Is capitalism coming to Kim Jong-un’s North Korea? According to South Korean daily Chosun Ilbo, North Koreans who got rich thanks to state-backed monopolies are being encouraged by the regime to open small banks across the capital in a bid to boost the free economy. Some of the money-lenders even have installed ATMs, though these […]
China’s state-run People’s Daily has accused the United States and Russia of using the conflict in Syria as a proxy for reigniting a Cold War. In a commentary signed “Zhong Sheng” (“Voice of China”), the daily called for a peaceful diplomatic settlement to the crisis. “The United States and the Soviet Union employed a variety […]
IRAN LAWMAKERS APPROVE NUCLEAR DEAL Iran’s parliament today approved the nuclear agreement reached in July with six world powers, clearing the way for its implementation, state news agency IRNA reports. The deal was passed with 161 votes for, 59 against and 13 abstentions. It authorizes lifting sanctions against Iran in exchange for Tehran limiting its […]
JAKARTA — When Indonesian President Joko Widodo was elected last year on a platform to clean up rampant corruption in the nation of 250 million, no one thought it would be easy. Well, it’s proving to be even harder than that. The country’s powerful Anti-Corruption Commission (KPK) has targeted members of the Indonesian parliament, with […]
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Stone Giant In Sun Door
At equinoxes, the sun shines on the Pre-Columbian Ponce monolith through the Kalasasaya main door. In what is today western Bolivia, the effect no doubt left quite an impression on inhabitants of the Tiwanaku settlement near Lake Titicaca, then on Spanish conquistadors — then on French tourists.
VATICAN CITY — A letter delivered to Pope Francis, reportedly signed by 13 Roman Catholic cardinals, questions whether the pontiff has organized the ongoing Synod on the Family in such a way that ensures “predetermined results on important controversial issues,” Italian weekly magazine L’Espresso has reported. The magazine’s longtime Vatican correspondent Sandro Magister reported the […]
Grim accusations from a United Nations probe that Brazilian police use extrajudicial murder to clear out youth gangs in Rio de Janeiro ahead of next year’s Olympics.
TURKEY BLAMES ISIS FOR DEADLIEST TERROR ATTACK No group has claimed responsibility for Saturday’s bombings in the Turkish capital of Ankara, the deadliest terror attack in the country’s history, but Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu says the prime suspect is ISIS, Hürriyet reports. The attack is believed to have been executed by two suicide bombers outside […]
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Ankara Bombings: ‘The Cost Of Peace’
Milliyet, Oct. 12, 2015 “The cost shouldn’t be so high,” Turkish daily Milliyet writes on Monday’s front page, quoting and featuring a picture of Ä°zzettin Çevik, the blood-covered school teacher who became one of the symbols of the toll of Saturday’s deadly bombings in Ankara. Çevik, who was photographed by Reuters amid the carnage, lost […]
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The Remnants
Slowly, the sands of time eat away at the concrete bunkers on Utah and Omaha beaches. The half-buried structures still bear witness to the German efforts to repel the Normandy landings.
Tehran’s Milad Tower — Photo: Hamed Saber Tehran’s northern suburbs, in the foothills of the Alborz mountains, used to be a summer refuge from the heat of downtown Tehran, mainly for their numerous gardens and abundant trees. The rich used to live there before 1979, and some still do. But over the past 20 years […]
ISIS KILLS TOP IRANIAN COMMANDER ISIS killed Iranian Brigadier General Hossein Hamedani outside Aleppo overnight, Iranian military news agency Sepah News reports. Hamedani was providing military advice to Syrian government forces as part of support sent by Tehran. He was reportedly in charge of the Quds Force, a special unit fighting rebels in the war-torn […]
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Rome Mayor Quits Amid Pressure
Il Messaggero, Oct. 9, 2015 The resignation of Ignazio Marino, Rome’s embattled mayor, dominated headlines in Italy on Friday after months of rising political tensions in the capital and within the center-left Democratic party of both the mayor and Prime Minister Matteo Renzi. “Marino, A Surrender Amid Venom,” was the front-page headline in the Rome […]
Either this is a very original place to store a lifebuoy, or sculptors on the shores of Hungary’s Lake Balaton — the largest lake in central Europe — have a peculiar sense of humor.
NATO READY TO TO “DEFEND” TURKEY NATO is prepared to send troops to Turkey to defend its ally against any threats along its southern border, Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said during a press conference before a meeting with defense ministers in Brussels today, Reuters reports. His comments come after Russian jets operating in Syria violated […]