The international movement of talent has helped level the playing field of top national soccer teams. Among other things, it has also produced the most wide-open World Cup in memory.
Category: Society
So-called lifeloggers track and record their personal data, often sharing it with the world. Why? To make connections that can improve health and sleep…and maybe avoid oblivion.
Released in late May after two years in prison, Nabeel Rajab has taken his cause to foreign capitals. But will the West challenge the oil-rich nation’s human rights record.
By Patrick Randall On June 21, the Swedish Barbecue Team won the European Barbecue Championship that took place in the heavenly town of Znin, in Poland. With 24 teams participating in eight different events that included cooking pork ribs, beef briskets or fish, this competition was one of the high points of the year for […]
As Egypt’s economy nosedives, the jobless are forced to hawk wares in the streets. It all makes the new president’s efforts to eliminate street vendors seems especially harsh.
Crossing borders in and out of post-Soviet Russia is about to get more complicated, especially for Ukrainians.
In a seaside town in the Netherlands, an 11-year-old boy creates a private war zone in his everyday environment. What should his parents do?
VATICAN CITY — To the priests who invited him to take a vacation with them, the late Cardinal Alberto Idelfonso Schuster of Milan replied, smiling, that there would be plenty of time for that in the afterlife. Pope Francis — the Jesuit whose agenda would wear out any 40-something — seems to be inspired by […]
After the heartbreaking loss to host Brazil, a diehard Chile fan ponders the real meaning of the World Cup in a world with so much else to worry about.
BEIJING — Three years after the epic battle in Transformers: Dark of Moon, it’s time for the Autobots and Decepticons to face off again for viewers around the world. There is particular attention in China, where the fourth installment, Transformers: Age of Extinction, has been chosen to be the closing feature at the Shanghai International […]
Notable deaths of the past month.
BEIJING — Wang Huning is on time, standing alone. The lean man, who looks as if he might be a university professor, doesn’t stand out in the lobby of the luxury hotel. He is waiting for the sign that it’s time for Chinese President Xi Jinping’s delegation to leave. The protocol officers who’ve come to […]
SAO PAULO — Asking “How are you?” in English was the way Igor Mendes, a 26-year-old car dealer, approached Marcela Paes one night in Vila Madalena, the “in” district for Brazilians and foreigners enjoying La Copa in Sao Paulo. Unaware that Marcela is a reporter and fluent in English, he presented himself as a Scot. […]
Argentina is the patriarchal latecomer after moves by several Latin Americans to adopt norms to outlaw any physical violence inflicted on children.
Below are some of the songs currently topping charts around the world. But first … Worldcrunch Pick To the great delight of neo-psychedelic rockers worldwide, the Texas-based band Black Angels confirmed this week the release of their new album Clear Lake Forest, on July 21. On Record Store Day (April 19), the authors of last […]
GENEVA — Philippe Rey-Gorrez, founder of the software company Teamwork, has a passionate belief in what can be achieved in groups. And this self-taught IT engineer, officer in the French army at 18 and sports enthusiast has applied his passion to his work in a very real way: He offers the 280 employees of his […]
The controversial Norwegian author reflects on the state of the novel, the ghost of Hitler and plans for the future.
TIGRE — Is there a place they haven’t thought of yet to hide drugs? How about a meat pie? Argentine police have uncovered a so-called “narcopizzeria” in the district of Tigre in the northern outskirts of Buenos Aires, which supplied customers with cocaine hidden in “pizzas, pies and chicken.” A report in Clarín showed pictures […]
Anthropomorphic containers, ancient ceramic bowls, mysterious instruments, jewelry and delicate painting tools belonging to the native Colombian cultures that collapsed in the 16th century, before the onslaught of Spanish invaders. These were some of almost 700 items Spanish police confiscated from traffickers, which authorities in Madrid formally handed over to Colombia’s ambassador this week, a […]
Gislaine Nunes, 47, is the most prominent soccer attorney in Brazil. From Pelé to Ronaldinho, she has defended many stars, and her success has earned her as much fortune as hostility.
As China expands its anti-bribery crackdown, targeting ritzy gifts to officials, luxury brands are seeing drops in Chinese sales. The hope now is in the rising middle class moving up.
How did a city known for its ethnic and religious mix roll over for a band of Islamist radicals? In the wake of the ISIS conquest of Mosul, the spectre of it spreading to the capital looms.
CHENGDU — It’s common practice in every country to confiscate property that criminals attained illegally. In China, criminal law stipulates three concrete measures: confiscation of the instruments of crime and contraband, recovery of illegal gains from criminals, and confiscation of the personal property of criminals who commit certain offenses. It’s worth recognizing that the law […]
Compared to ancient times, the world is a relatively peaceful place right now. Strangely, this has begun to push economists to study the historical costs and returns of war.
Sure to be the leading candidate in August’s first-ever direct election of Turkey’s president, the current prime minister is touring Europe to woo Turks living abroad. Not all are convinced.
Below are some of the songs currently topping charts around the world. Worldcrunch Pick It’s music festival season and last weekend saw a heavy lineup at the Isle of Wight, including Red Hot Chili Peppers, Kings of Leon and Biffy Clyro. On Saturday, the Specials performed their classic “Ghost Town” as night was settling in: […]
Mexico seems to be returning to more regulations, paperwork and taxes, which fuels the underground economy and encourages the government to overspend.
A look at the rapidly evolving experimental electronic music scene in Cairo.
A Latin American call for the global soccer chief to step aside amidst ongoing corruption investigations. Yet even a Blatter-less FIFA would still have a long road to rectitude.
-Analysis- SHANGHAI — The evolution of megacities is a common worry in various countries: Beijing and Shanghai in China, Seoul in South Korea and Mumbai in India all are concerned about how to manage skyrocketing urban populations. But while other countries typically regard population expansion as the result of economic development, and base their future […]
Some German companies that used concentration camp victims as forced labor during World War II took decades to own up to their wretched acquiescence to the Hitler regime.
BOGOTA — Blame it on Rio. Colombia officials arrested one of the country’s most sought-after leftist rebels after noticing an enormous satellite dish he had installed on his jungle hideout so he could watch the World Cup, Spanish news agency EFE and Colombian media reported. No civil war was going to deprive the 15-year veteran […]
BEIJING — Earlier this month, in the central Hunan province, the family of a cancer patient beat up the attending doctor and a pregnant nurse because they had been unable to save the patient’s life. The nurse nearly had a miscarriage afterwards, while the hospital ward facilities were badly damaged. On June 5, the Chinese […]
Argentina and Uruguay have the highest collective ages in the tournament. In Africa, youth is treasured. Experience? Energy? A demographic snapshot of Brazil 2014.
The Arab Spring is now but a tiny trickle, as the new Egyptian government jails not just the Brotherhood but activists of any kind. Those still standing continue, despite the poor odds.
BERLIN — Peter Seher sits on his balcony in Berlin-Wilmersdorf enjoying the late afternoon sun. He looks at the large puddles of water beneath his feet. It was nice and warm today, so after work the stockbroker set up a little wading pool on the balcony for his young daughter Hanna. “She really got going […]
Below are some of the songs currently topping charts around the world; but before that: Worldcrunch Pick Jack White performed two tracks — “Temporary Ground” (watch below) and “Alone In My Home” — from his new LP Lazaretto on Conan Wednesday. Cover photo: Incase
A London School of Economics professor has developed complex mathematical formulas that he says can predict what can happen on the pitch. Why is Spain so good? What’s your bet?
ISTANBUL — In our divided existences, everyone lives their own reality, with their own priorities. Right now, the demand that this city’s Hagia Sophia museum be transformed into a mosque has suddenly become the singular issue for a certain segment of the Turkish population. The Anatolia Youth Association announced a gathering at the iconic location […]
Many outsiders regard Latin America as monolithic about soccer. But as the World Cup begins in Brazil, a closer comparison of the region’s top two teams might surprise you.