Worldcrunch NEW YORK – Former Beatle Paul McCartney will perform with Nirvana’s Dave Grohl and Krist Novoselic at 12.12.12 benefit gig for Superstorm Sandy. Here is an imaginary mashup setlist of the songs they might play tonight in New York: 1- Smells Like The Walrus 2- Come As Lady Madonna 3- Lucy In The Sky […]
Category: Society
BERLIN – Uri Chanoch has sent a statement to the Committee on Labor and Social Affairs of the German Parliament reminding them of the historic significance of the task they now face. The 12 members of the Committee are debating whether to make an amendment to the Ghetto Pensions law. The law, enacted in 2002 […]
REUTERS INDIA, TIMES OF INDIA (India), BBC NEWS (UK) Worldcrunch SAN DIEGO – Indian sitar legend Ravi Shankar, who influenced everyone from the Beatles to Guns N” Roses guitarist Slash, has died at the age of 92 after he failed to recover from recent heart surgery in San Diego. Ravi Shankar in March 2009 – […]
Is the American-born Wang the Jeremy Lin of the fashion world?
GRENOBLE – Since she joined as staff at the Dojo Grenoblois — the judo and ju-jitsu club located in the heart of the housing projects of Villeneuve, south of Grenoble — Laëtitia Cardaci has gotten used to locking the door of the room where she gives her class in Japanese taïso exercise. For this bubbly, […]
LONDON – Londoners were left slightly bemused on Tuesday when they stumbled across a giant rubber duck floating down the River Thames. First a monkey wearing a coat roaming around IKEA in Toronto? Now a rubber duck swimming up the Thames? Has everyone gone quackers? Is it already the end of the world? No, it […]
LE FIGARO, FRANCE 24, LIBERATION (France), DAILY TELEGRAPH (UK) Worldcrunch PARIS– French acting legend Gérard Depardieu has come under criticism for reportedly declaring permanent residency in Belgium to duck out on France’s high taxes on the rich. Left-wing newspaper Libération took a shot at the 63-year-old following confirmation that the actor has taken up residence […]
SITTWE – If it weren’t for the flattened gaps in the standing rows of houses, Sittwe would seem like any typical Burmese city, with its decadent colonial façades. But the isolated blocks, leveled to the ground, are the price to pay for the apparent quiet: A brutal urban war begun last June that emptied the […]
EL GOUNA – In Samih Sawiris’ world, “small scale” is not a concept that gets much play. Over the years, the scion of Egypt’s richest family has shown a flair for the oversized, even to the point of eccentricity. Twenty years ago Sawiris bought up around 40 million square meters of sand and rock and […]
BERLIN – Inner tension mounts. Heart rate increases, breathing is faster, small body hairs stand on end. Sudden muscle contractions, spasms, indescribable feelings of pleasure: an orgasm, over relatively quickly for men but sometimes lasting up to 30 seconds for women. Along with intense feelings of release following an orgasm, come feelings of happiness and […]
CNN, LOS ANGELES TIMES (USA), BBC NEWS (UK) Worldcrunch MEXICO CITY – Mexican-American singer Jenni Rivera died Sunday in a plane crash in northern Mexico, reports BBC News. Photo Jenni Rivera Jenni’s father, Pedro Rivera, confirmed the death of the Latin music and reality TV star as well as the deaths of every member on […]
Life of Pi shows the Taiwan-born Lee in total command of his storytelling talents.
FRANKFURT – After the plane landed, the Baier family felt a little lost. The customs officer didn’t smile; the taxi driver seemed annoyed by the amount of baggage they had. The Baiers (not their real name) were “home,” back in Germany – but it seemed foreign to them. The family breadwinner, Markus, had spent nearly […]
OUEST FRANCE, LE FIGARO (France) Worldcrunch PORT-LOUIS – Twenty-three mothers of primary school children in Port-Louis in northwestern France have taken “parental involvment” to a whole new level. To collect enough money to send their kids on winter field trips, mothers from Port-Louis’ Transparents association have decided to organize a “sexy and glamourous” photoshoot for […]
Doctors are left “playing God,” having to choose which patient will get the costly treatment.
TIJUANA – The sinister stairs seem to lead down into a small hell. Illuminated with red lights and beating to the sounds of hard rock music, the air hangs with the smell of marijuana and sweat in a sticky cloud that engulfs everything. The destination is the basement, which has become one of the most […]
Worldcrunch SEATTLE – Possession of marijuana became legal Thursday in the U.S. state of Washington, a month after voters opted for decriminalization. Source:Facebook Anyone aged 21 and over is now allowed to carry up to 1oz (28.4g) of cannabis. Smoking cannabis in public will remain illegal. Though legal for medicinal purposes in other states, the […]
BIR JDID – The family dream was to move to a slum in Casablanca. Shantytowns are no longer as bad as they used to be, says the mother: “Everything there is well-planned nowadays.” She proudly lists out all the advantages of living there: “Electricity, sewage, waste collection, humanitarian organizations and even a mailman.” Every big […]
FOLHA DE S. PAULO, O GLOBO (Brazil) Worldcrunch RIO DE JANEIRO – Oscar Niemeyer, a Brazilian national icon and one of the most celebrated architects of the 20th century, died on Wednesday in a Rio de Janeiro hospital. He was 104. Niemeyer rose to international fame as the architect of the main government buildings in […]
Christopher Tolkien gave his first ever press interview with Le Monde, shedding light on his father’s vision and sharing his own deep dismay with Hobbit director Peter Jackson.
PEOPLE’S DAILY (China) Worldcrunch GANSU – What’s the best way to handle the unpleasant view of decrepit roadside housing and poverty? Hide it! is the answer from officials of China’s northwestern province of Gansu. According to China’s People’s Daily, the local authority in Zhang County in Gansu has begun to build walls to hide the […]
KIGALI – In Rwanda, children born out of wedlock often say they’d rather be orphans. “At least orphans receive some help from charities,” explains one 20-year-old high school student, named “ML.” Hiding behind the school, crying, this “illegitimate child” wonders what sin she has committed to deserve to be so mistreated — even by her […]
SUDDEUTSCHE ZEITUNG (Germany) Worldcrunch Think of the most boring thing in the world: Tupperware? Celery? Jazz music? People talking about jazz music? That cool friend from college who can’t stop telling you how motherhood has changed everything… Now imagine a roomful of people giving enthusiastic talks about all these things, and you have the third […]
The Pompidou Center’s current Dalí retrospective sheds light on one of the greatest painters of the 20th century, whose eccentric escapades have long obscured his talent. PARIS – It’s with time that legends are usually made, either forging their destiny as heroes or demonizing their very existence. Salvador Dalí didn’t have the patience to wait. […]
Worldcrunch LONDON – It’s time to get the bunting out again. After months and months of speculation and glossy magazines waiting with bated breath so they can roll out the pregnancy tips and photos of Pippa Middleton’s gloomy, baby-envious face, we can all rest assured: Kate is preggers! With the London Olympics over and the […]
HAMBURG – A chocolate penis – with bite marks – hangs around an angel’s neck. Olivia Jones breaks out in a loud, naughty laugh at the sight of it and declares it awesome. Hamburg’s most famous drag queen is wearing a Dalmatian coat and enough red glitter to deck out a whole Christmas tree. “I […]
CHANGSHA – When the Dazehu village chief told his constituents that a company was planning to build the tallest skyscraper in the world right there, in the swamps in front of the village, Mrs. Tan’s only reaction was: “All right then…” It takes more than that to overwhelm this 60-year old woman, who has become […]
PARIS – What kind of haircuttee are you? Do you belong to the mute or the verbose category? At the hair salon, we apparently tend to be rather predictable. “About six out of ten people will just listen to what the hairdresser says. The others mainly need someone to talk to,” says Anthony Galifot, hairdresser […]
PRAGUE – A few minutes before the concert starts, Riccardo Sahiti says he can’t believe all this is real, that it’s not a dream. He’s standing in the ornate conductor’s room of the Rudolfinum in Prague – one of Europe’s premier concert halls. All around him are photographs of his idols – conductors such as […]
YANZHAO URBAN DAILY (China), NEW TANG DYNASTY TELEVISION (US) Worldcrunch BAZHOU – In this small northern Chinese village, seven strangers, all dressed in black, arrived on a mission. They would force a family out of their own house, and then swiftly demolish it. It was one of the few houses still occupied on a street […]
A photograph on the Internet shows Michael Kiok gazing into the eyes of his life partner, Cessy. Cessy is an eight-year-old German shepherd. Kiok, 52, is a zoophile — by his estimation one of 100,000 in Germany. The university librarian is sexually attracted to animals. Hans-Michael Goldmann, an animal protection expert who chairs the federal […]
New rules on school uniforms in Turkey will now allow young girls to wear headscarves while attending religious vocational schools. The move comes as a part of a new regulation that will no longer force children in state schools to wear secular school uniforms. Children will be able to wear their own choice of clothes, […]
GLOBAL TIMES (China), CENTRAL NEWS AGENCY (Taiwan) Worldcrunch BEIJING – As a recent wave of corruption has been denounced in China, we have heard of the important role played by bloggers and a progressively more open press. But there’s another segment of society that has been absolutely crucial in busting bad politicians: their mistresses. And […]
MUNICH – In his Munich art gallery, Daniel Blau has an exhibition called Death and Disaster, which features German and American war photographs. Whether to view these photographs as documents or art depends on one’s perspective. The pictures bear witness not only to death and destruction but also to the power of imagery as a […]
BRASÍLIA – Brazil’s indigenous people increasingly live an urban existence. Televisions, DVDs, refrigerators, gas ovens and cellphones are all consumption goods that have been integrated into the daily lives of many tribes. And the dream for young Brazilian native people: going to university. These are among the findings from a survey conducted by Datafolha and […]
PARIS – To look at them, you would never know the agony these young men, relaxed and self-assured, have endured. Drinking wine and eating blinis in their comfortable Parisian apartment, Nicolas (not his real name), Bertrand, Fabrice and Damien all tell a similar story. Raised in practicing Catholic families, and believers themselves, they have taken […]
MOGALE CITY – Patience Pumlangadu’s black skin is now a yellowish color. “I put this powder on my face to protect it from the sun,” explains the South African mother of three. Pumlangadu makes this sun protection herself by mixing water with bits of crushed rock she says are “good for your health.” But in […]
FOLHA DE S.PAULO, O ESTADO DE S. PAULO (Brazil) Worldcrunch SÃO PAULO – Brazilian Justice Minister José Eduardo Cardozo has sparked controversy by describing the nation’s prison system as “medieval” and declaring that he would prefer to die rather than pass a long period in Brazilian jails. Brazil’s Fohla de S. Paulo daily reported the […]
BEIJING – Men conquer women by conquering the world; women conquer the world by conquering men. This ancient Western proverb is often cited by Chinese in reference to Cleopatra, and her conquest of Julius Caesar. In 2000, I was responsible for covering the story of Cheng Kejie, the former vice chairman of the National People’s […]
TIJUANA – There is a party going on across the wall. You can hear the sounds of families and friends, and good fun. Adriana walks towards the fence and explains that further away, some kids are flying kites. But the wind is blowing in the opposite direction. From where we stand, we won’t be able […]