Facebook is certainly a lot of fun, but for some Orthodox Jews, it can also be a bit risqué. In an effort to keep social networking both clean and kosher, an enterprising young Israeli has come up with a virtual compromise: Faceglat!
Category: Society
In an education system that is often stuck in old ways, some French teachers are experimenting with Twitter as a writing and communication tool with students as young as six years old.
The hotel heiress had refused to give back $60,000 worth of diamonds that had been stolen, but later located by police. A girl’s best friend? A good lawyer.
Op-Ed: China has helped fund a major new project to build schools in Africa, raising the ire of some Chinese for not first taking care of kids at home. The writer lays out the local benefits of helping globally.
The country’s best writers were long forced to rely on metaphor and symbolism to express their art and avoid the wrath of the regime. Now, with Gaddafi driven from Tripoli, a new world is set to open up.
The eternal battle that pits animal lovers v. landlords could take a decidedly pet-friendly turn in Italy, where the Parliament is set to debate a bill that would outlaw any building regulations banning home pets.
In the latest sign that the Castro regime is loosening its grip over the open practice of religion, the first nationwide procession since the revolution will be allowed to take take place for the island country’s patron Saint in a celebration to
Researchers in Lausanne, Switzerland have discovered a chromosome anomaly in very skinny people that may explain pathologies that cause people to stop eating.
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The Ferocious Nudes Of Fausto Pirandello
Unforgiving nudes are the focus of a new exhibition in Venice of the 20th century realist painter, and youngest son of the legendary Sicilian playwright.
After her historic French Open victory, Li Na instantly became the apple of advertisers eyes to the tune of $42 million. Though she was knocked out of the first round of the U.S. Open, a whole star system is counting on her earning power to keep growing.
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Yvonne, The Cow On The Lam, Is Back!
Last May, this humble bovine in Upper Bavaria, Germany, went missing. For months she hid in the woods, prompting a Facebook page and cash reward for her return — and becoming an international media star in the process. And now, of her own free will, she’
In a parenting culture clash, the southern Italian visitor is being prosecuted in Stockholm under a super strict law against any form of “offensive treatment” of one’s own children — not only slapping, but maybe even yelling at them.
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The Secret Of Israel’s High-Tech Success
Technion in Haifa turns out 75% of Israel’s engineers and 70% of its start-up founders. The 100-year-old university is a source of both newfound entrepreneurial energy and the intellectual hardware for the country’s national security arsenal.
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Ai Weiwei Has The Last Word. For Now
Since his release from detention, Chinese artist and political activist Ai Weiwei has been forbidden to make any political statements, but he can’t help himself. Communicating via social networks, and now a magazine essay, appear to be a matter of inner n
Getting a massage at this women’s prison in Northern Thailand has become a tourist attraction. One reporter undergoes the not-so-tender treatment – always under the watchful eye of prison guards.
Commentary: The “stiffs” in the government have banned songs from an array of popular singers, though the reasons for the are anything but clear. The only thing we know is that the black list is a nice round number.
Already locally regulated, Bonn’s street walkers will now be taxed on a per-night basis. Well-organized as ever, the German city has built a handy automatic dispenser where prostitutes can purchase a 6-euro ticket per night.
Commentary: China is busy with some serious self-examination about the national “condition” after the tale of a near disaster above Shanghai Airport when a Chinese pilot was determined – at all costs — to land first.
Social media sites are a double-edged sword in the battle between criminals and law enforcement. In this case, the cops were able to exploit the growing habit of wanting to share all your latest personal news with your friends and family.
Nine girls and young women reportedly committed suicide over a 10-day period this month in Batman Province, Turkey. Women’s rights activists believe some victims may have been murdered.
A top tourist destination for the wine and rolling landscapes of the surrounding countryside, Bordeaux also attracts its fair share of international film and television producers, who are drawn by the French city’s special mix of modern and medieval. Amon
Hundreds of Austrian priests are challenging the standing leadership of Pope Benedict XVI and the local bishops, demanding modern-day answers to issues like communion for divorced people, women in the church hierarchy, and the taboo of priests who have a
A new report shows China sliding faster and faster into an “aging society,” which creates both economic and social pressures on the world’s most populous country.
As many as 40 million Pakistanis tune in every night for “Alif Laam Meem,” an Islamic version of “Who Wants to be a Millionaire.” The trivia show’s popularity is just one example of how dominant a role religion now plays in Pakistan.
Liu Changjiang, 58, was never planning on having children. But that didn’t stop a local health clinic in Henan Province from giving him a vasectomy. Though the surgery won’t affect China’s population numbers, it does help Changjiang’s village meet its ann
Teenage would-be models in Switzerland often end up in an apprenticeship instead of finishing high school. But experts in the field say the versatility that comes from a standard education is a better bet for achieving supermodel stardom. Yes: brains matt
Name the color, name the odor: Local factories have long been dumping all kinds of pollutants into the river north of Athens. Will the arrival of legendary American activist Erin Brockovich make a difference?
Recently elected Peruvian President Ollanta Humala has made something of a surprise appointment for his new culture minister: Susana Baca. A well-known singer, Baca is also thought to be Peru’s first black cabinet minister.
Italy recently approved a new “solidarity tax” for high income earners. The country’s soccer players don’t want to cough up the cash. Impatient, the government fired back by calling the players “a caste of spoiled people.”
Italy will still need lighthouses. But with new technology, lighthouse keepers are quickly becoming a thing of the past. Already just 62 of the country’s 161 “faros” have actual human operators.
The bankruptcy of America’s Evergreen Solar has sent chills down the spines of German solar manufacturers. Solar energy company stocks are crashing on the market. But just how vulnerable is the industry?
Once upon a time, he was addicted to everything — sex, drugs, alcohol, hooliganism. Fast forward and he’s talking us through the UK riots. Why British entertainer Russell Brand, known for his excesses, has suddenly become a voice of reason.
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The Meaning Of Marriage In Modern China
China has introduced a new modification to its national marital law, with a focus on defining a couple’s rights with respect to their shared real estate. What getting hitched – and divorced – says about modern China.
Growing demand and rising world food prices have brought about an agricultural boom in Argentina. But it’s also meant a steady increase in the use of farm chemicals, which critics say is responsible for climbing cancer rates and other serious health probl
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Kursumlija, Serbia’s City Of Women
The municipality of Kursumlija is the poorest in all of Serbia. But a determined lady mayor and fellow female officers intend to turn it into “a Serbian Switzerland.”
The Beth Shalom synagogue in Havana has undergone something of a renaissance over the past decade. The same could be said for Cuba’s Jewish community as a whole, which lost roughly 90% of its members after the island’s 1959 revolution.
Author Louise Jacobs creates characters from a milieu she’s familiar with, and writes about how money, lots of it, can create spiritually impoverished people numbed to the passion, caring and contribution that make life rich and beautiful.
The standing wave of Munich’s Eisbach River has encouraged a lively surf scene – and a new niche industry along with it. Some of the city’s river riders are starting to make a name for themselves outside of Germany as well.
Looking back across urban uprisings of the past half-century, a French scholar of modern British history says the summer riots of 2011 show that the questions are above all about haves and have-nots.
Yvonne, a dairy cow, has been hiding since May in the woods near Zangberg, a tiny Bavarian municipality. So far, she has eluded all attempts at capture – but now it’s Ernst the bull’s turn to be trucked in, in the hopes he can woo her out.