Once among the NBA’s most despised players, former New York basketball prodigy Stephon Marbury has reinvented himself in China, where he’s the “spiritual leader” of the champion Beijing Ducks. He’s also learnin
Category: Society
German political leaders have warned about the growing presence of Salafists, who follow a strict interpretation of Islam. Critics, who have accused them of links to terrorists, have criticized the Salafists’ handouts of 300,000 Korans across Ger
Amanda Knox will publish her account of being accused – and cleared – of murdering her roommate Meredith Kercher. Her ex-boyfriend has a book deal too. But the victim’s father, who still believes the pair murdered his daughter, is fighting back with his o
Repression, evictions, demolition: three words you don’t normally associate with the Eurovision Song Contest. Azerbaijan has bulldozed its capital’s center to make way for the glitzy palace that will house the contest, evicting people an
In the Italian city of Caserta, infertile couples bought the babies of Bulgarian women who were specifically brought to Italy when they were eight months pregnant. Three have been arrested, as disturbing details of the special arrangements emerge.
A new system is being used in Zurich to avoid potentially dangerous teachers from being hired which aims to keep certain profiles permanently barred from the profession.
Greek intellectual Nikos Dimou published a book in 1975 slamming his native country’s failure. Now published for the first time in German, “On the Misfortune of Being Greek” is painfully relevant to understanding the current crisis engulfing the
Plans have long been in the works for a Turkish-language edition of Al Jazeera, which would help fulfil Turkey’s diplomatic ambitions in the Middle East. But first they must resolve internal and external politics, and decide if PKK are to be call
With an increasing number of products marketed as “green” and activists raising the pressure on people to think about the environment day and night, more and more consumers are getting grouchy about having to always be eco-friendly.
Op-Ed: The 84-year-old German Nobel laureate’s new poem entitled “What Must Be Said” accuses Israel of plotting to destroy Iran, while acknowledging the risk of being dubbed anti-Semitic. Grass’s long-hidden stint as a
A new insurance product promises to protect families against damages to their e-reputation, a new but important concept in this era of fading privacy. But one writer wonders if this isn’t all just a scare-mongering way to make new business.
The recent killing of a doctor in northern China is just the latest act of violence by angry patients. A big part of the problem is an overcrowded, underfunded and sometimes corrupt medical system. By the symptoms go even deeper into modern Chinese societ
The Liechtenstein royal family has threatened to abandon the country if the public tries to limit their extensive range of powers. But leaving would force them to finally pay taxes on their billions.
Silicone breasts at 80? No problem! In Europe and the U.S., the cosmetic industry is actively courting a new clientele: the bona fide ‘elderly,’ who have plenty of time and money to spend on face lifts and tummy tucks and a final pursui
More than 750 gays, punks and “emo” youths have been killed over the past six years by radical Shi’ite militias hunting down “deviants” to torture and execute. There is no justice for these killings, which are
Cardinal Christoph Schönborn of Vienna, who has close ties with Pope Benedict XVI, has overruled a local decision that had blocked a gay man from taking his place on a parish council in a northern Austrian town. Are the winds changing for gays in the Cath
Essay: Liuliu, one of China’s best-selling authors and keenest observant chroniclers of modern life, has decided to expose her marriage crisis on her Twitter-like microblog account. It is a plot twist that cannot be undone.
Whether it is to avoid the nursing home, loneliness or rising rents, co-housing is the new trend for a generation of baby-boomers staring at 60 and beyond.
A right-wing politician wants the public’s help hunting for foreign-born criminals in Switzerland. Echoing the outrage in the U.S. over the shooting of black teenager Trayvon Martin, Swiss critics say this is the most dangerous kind of racial pro
Cinzia Pasquali had the honor of restoring Leonardo Da Vinci’s prized oil painting “The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne,” now featured at the Louvre. The assignment was 18 months fraught with nerves, in-fighting and endless int
It is considered common wisdom among Western analysts that Muslim countries are plagued with large families and ever-swelling masses of young people are a threat to stability. Only problem is all the hard evidence to the contrary.
Categories
If Egypt Loses Its Sense Of Humor
Essay: Egyptian comedian Adel Imam faces potential jail time for a series of allegedly “blasphemous” films from two decades ago. Much is at stake as the forces of free expression and pious Islam face off in “Arab Spring, the Sequel…”
German authors have found a new way of cataloging economic, social and environmental gaps between the Western industrialized world and developing countries. This sucky stuff atlas aims to heighten awareness of our wasteful society, a little bit of trivia
Categories
Stalin And The Macho Cult of Mass Murder
History tells us that purges, show trials and other sadistic state policies were integral to the birth and expansion of the Soviet Union. But a new book focuses on how Stalin helped form the unique “boot and leather jacket-wearing” character of the Bolshe
Interview: Anders Breivik is unlike any client attorney Geir Lippestad has ever had – and not just because of the ghastly number of murders he’s accused of. As Lippestad tells Le Monde, Breivik admits to killing 77 mostly young Norwegians and exp
A surprise victory turns the keys to Frankfurt city hall over to Peter Feldmann, the German city’s first Jewish mayor since 1933.
An NGO in India has started to use Google Earth satellite technology to shine a light on whole neighborhoods of wretched slums, which authorities had long pretended didn’t even exist. But not all are happy about what happens when people suddenly
Thanks to particularities of the Chinese language, China’s largest Internet service provider has launched a mobile app with a name — Weixin — that means “little message,” but also can mean something else. Its geo-location feat
Determined to make their new pay-as-you-go garbage system work, municipal authorities in Yverdon are hot on the trail of trash cheaters. But before they can issue fines, the Swiss town must identify the violators – which means rifling through the refuse
Pope Benedict XVI has arrived in Mexico, one of the world’s most Catholic countries. But other religions are gaining ground, especially in the state of Chiapas, where even Islam has made inroads. Adopting a different religion, however, can be ris
Is it OK for doctors to remove the organs of people who are brain dead but whose bodies still function metabolically? The German National Ethics Council grappled with the issue this week. One panelist supported the practice, saying the brain dead &quo
In late 2010, the art world was stunned when retired French electrician Pierre Le Guennec made it known that they were in possession of no fewer than 271 previously unseen Picassos. Digging deep, Le Monde finds connections directly to the master himself.
In Peshawar, capital of Pakistan’s most conservative province, billboards showing women are regularly torn down and music shops have been repeatedly bombed. So how is it that under the noses of Islamist forces, adult movie houses continue to flou
Essay: There are cultural explanations for why that man next to you on the Shanghai subway has his finger in his ear, or his shirt sticking out. Some, however, are ready for grooming and good looks to become as important for Chinese men as a good job and
Not wanting to risk the wrath of unhappy neighbors, New York’s Guggenheim Foundation has decided against setting up a “mobile laboratory” in Berlin’s Kreuzberg district. The lab, a joint project with BMW, is currently on a tour of major world capitals.
Belachew Girma is the World Laughter Champion. The man, who can laugh for more than 3 hours non-stop, has just opened Ethiopia’s first laughter school where they teach that cackling away is the best medicine for life’s ills. Girma should
Chancellor Angela Merkel is the daughter of a Protestant pastor. Germany’s new president, Joachim Gauck, is an ordained minister. Coincidence? Overall, Protestantism in on the decline Germany – with one notable exception: politics.
Sportsmanship is next to godliness, or so the Vatican thought when it helped launch a soccer league in Rome made up of teams of seminarians. Competition quickly became fierce, and eventually too fierce for the Vatican to be a part of.
Essay: A coming monstrosity or an engine for new jobs? The chattering class in Chile’s capital of Santiago are appalled at photos of a huge new mall being built in the southern island town of Castro. Locals, it seems, see a very different picture.
We’ve seen so many reproductions of Leonardo Da Vinci’s masterpiece we’re not sure how she really looks. Even at the Louvre, huge crowds and a glass case make seeing her hard. Now French cultural officials have *the* photo to re