Worldcrunch
BEIJING — Three years after his imprisonment, still deprived of his passport and shut off in a bubble of official Chinese silence, Ai Weiwei, 57, neverthless appears ubiquitous everywhere else on the planet. The Martin-Gropius-Bau exhibition hall in Berlin devoted a huge retrospective entitled “Evidences” from April to July. His last documentary, Ai Weiwei’s Appeal […]
In many countries, musicians were Latin America’s leading social critics and political activists of the late 20th century. Not anymore.
After a prospective police candidate was banned for a tattoo, Germany debates workplace appearance rules as the number of young employees with tattoos is exploding.
PARIS — To the chagrin of many a Parisian poet, more and more English words are making it into the French language. The latest to get official entry into the Petit Robert dictionary include a batch straight from Silicon Valley: selfie, MOOC, hashtag, and the continued trend of the internationalization of the digital world — […]
It may have begun as a game, but soccer has become a substitute for so many facets of people’s lives, including politics and war, writes Colombian novelist Jose Luis Garces Gonzalez.
Though it has been taboo to discuss, the top ranks of soccer are rife with players who suffer from depression during and after their careers.
MADRID — Princess Letizia Ortiz Rocasolano has been preparing for this moment for 10 years. Soon the 41-year-old will be climbing the steps to the Spanish throne — a first for a Spanish commoner — to take her place beside her husband Felipe VI. That everything would happen so quickly after the unexpected abdication of […]
Hundreds of thousands of Libyans fled to Tunisia after the 2011 revolution that toppled Muammar Gaddafi. A visit with those who mourn the fallen dictator, including his relatives.
People over-40 and over-50 who are laid off find it increasingly difficult to find a job or switch careers. But opportunities are arising in unlikely places.
NEW DELHI — Pramod, 21, contracted polio when he was a child, but that isn’t stopping him from learning how to dance. He goes to the New Delhi dance and music academy called Artist Mahavidyalaya, where fees are waived for students with disabilities and those who don’t have the means to pay, says academy co-founder Krishna Basumatary. “People think that I’m a handicapped person who can’t do anything with my life,” says Pramod. “They’re full of negative opinions while I’m a proud physically impaired person. I’m turning my weakness into a strength. To dance well, one should first have a […]
BEIJING — Recent acts of violence in China have prompted the country to step up its anti-terrorism measures, leading the Beijing government, for example, to give police more authority to use force to stop a terror attack. The capital’s public security bureau has given anti-terror units twice the normal amount of bullets, Beijing News reports. […]
Below are some of the songs currently topping charts around the world. Worldcrunch Pick This week, one of the most misunderstood songs of all time turned 30 years old. Bruce Springteen’s “Born in the U.S.A.” was released with its eponymous album on June 4, 1984, before becoming one of the Boss’s most popular songs. With […]
GENEVA — It used to be that friendships ended in all sorts of ways. But these days, we simply “unfriend” instead. From the playground to Facebook, the process has evolved. You put the cursor on the name of the person you want out of your life, you slide over to the “Friends” button, let the […]
Newsmaking images that caught our eye.
New data shows high crime rates among children of the millions of rural migrants who moved to Chinese cities – both those brought along with their parents, and the ‘left-behind’ children.
AUNAY-SUR-ODON — Will there ever be a place for the civilian victims in the commemoration of French liberation and of the air raids that helped hasten the end of Nazi occupation? On June 6, France, along with other European and North American countries, will celebrate the 70th anniversary of the Normandy landings, and will rightly […]
GENEVA — When it comes to insomnia, some use the megaphone of the digital era, posting Facebook status updates to round up companions of misfortune — one-night or lifelong problem sleepers who want to talk. But there are myriad other coping mechanisms for this growing societal issue. And though insomnia can mean pure agony, it […]
Just over a year ago, when Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands handed her eldest son Willem Alexander the reins of the country, everybody in Britain wondered whether Queen Elizabeth II would be next. Now, as Spain’s Juan Carlos, 76, steps down to “renew” the monarchy, questions are rising again about the British queen’s succession. But […]
Geraldine Chaplin once recalled her famous father’s resilient humor, which persisted even onto his death bed. At 88, Charlie Chaplin’s health was failing, and as doctors and relatives observed him, his eyes closed and barely breathing, Geraldine’s mother audibly declared that the “final moment” had come. “I’m just playing dead,” Chaplin muttered back. He remained […]
Brazil’s national sport of ‘futebol’ is the expression of all that is right in a sometimes troubled country. Plans by protestors to take out their anger on the World Cup are destined to fail.
TEHRAN — A trip down the 19 kilometers of Valiasr Street, the avenue that splits Tehran in two, is like walking through a metaphor for Iranian society. At one end, by the railway station on Rahahan Square, the houses are narrow and tatty; but continue towards Tajrish Square, and glass skyscrapers and shining buildings rise […]
Curious about the sex lives of the over-70 crowd? Even intimate relations among 50-somethings is usually not talked about. And teens? Now all is revealed on German television.
DIYARBAKIR — When Aykan Erdemir, a parliamentary member from Turkey’s Republican People’s Party, tried to visit the website of a Christian church located in the country’s southeastern city of Diyarbakir, he was surprised to see that the parliament’s filtering system recognized it as pornography. The preacher of Diyarbakir Protestant church, Ahmet Guvener, said he thought […]
MAYDENA — Down below, ferns and moss thrive on the surrounding humidity. Higher up, they give way first to sassafras, then to giant eucalyptus trees that have been growing for centuries, here in the Upper Florentine Valley. This thick forest in the southern part of this Australian island was added last year to the Tasmanian […]
MAISACH — “It’s high season, so it’s not really convenient,” says Uwe Möderl when we first talk on the phone. Then, moments later, he says, “How would tomorrow night be?” The 51-year-old Bavarian is apparently not a man who wants to be kept from his work. I had been looking for an experienced gas station […]
The Supreme Court in Argentina is weighing the case brought by María Belén Rodríguez, whose name redirects to X-rated sites in the major search engines.
Below are some of the songs currently topping charts around the world. Worldcrunch Pick A never-before-released Led Zeppelin instrumental has surfaced online this week. The track, simply called “La La,” was recorded in 1969 and starts with an interesting mix of gospel organ, savage drumming, acoustic guitar, followed by the classic Jones-Bonham groove and Page’s […]
Tan Dinh is the oldest Vietnamese restaurant in the French capital, and may still be the best. Lately, the focus is on matching the perfect bottle of Burgundy with a spring roll or bowl of pho.
PARIS — Bad news for the tobacco industry and smokers in France. Health Minister Marisol Touraine will announce strict new tobacco control measure next month that are expected to ban any branding on cigarette packs. The French daily Le Figaro reports that the overall effect of the new measures will be as radical as the […]
Zulkiflee Anwar Haque, better known as Zunar, is a cartoonist who has been drawing editorial and political cartoons for over 20 years. His cartoons cover a range of issues, but are known for being critical of the government. “Most of the mainstream media neglect or black out the important issues, just focusing on petty or sensational issues. They want to distract people’s minds from focusing on the fundamental issues. Through my cartoons I want to highlight the important issues in Malaysia, like corruption; there are so many cases of corruption that have been blacked out by mainstream media.” As rules […]
Italy is often a point of arrival in Europe for immigrants from troubled points east and south. But most will eventually wind up in northern destinations. What have they seen? What will they find?
Some bits and bytes of news in numbers…
BERLIN — As the expression goes, “It ain’t over “til the fat lady sings.” But a recent slew of insults from British opera critics hurled at one full-figured young singer has added a new twist to the expression. Internationally known mezzo-soprano Tara Erraught was keen to sing at the Glyndebourne Festival, the UK’s most important […]
The Brazilian Congress has passed a new law that requires no fewer than 20 percent of its civil service employees in the public sector to be of African origin. Good motives, bad policy.
“Science needs time. Bear with us, while we think,” declares a new movement of researchers pushing back against the demands to always make breakthroughs and publish findings.
TEL AVIV — “A few steps away from the all the urban fuss …” And so begins the seduction advertized on the website of a unique approach to the city shopping mall. It is indeed hard to imagine a public consumer space as beautiful as this one. Historical stone houses meticulously restored, neatly cut lawns, […]
MALANG — Mohammad Yazid, 58, is walking slowly toward a health clinic. His whole body is trembling and he says he has a severe headache. He hands over a bag full of plastic refuse along with his Garbage Clinical Insurance card to the clinic staff. “I bring one kilo of plastic and paper waste,” he explains. “I’m glad I can pay for my health care with this. I don’t have to pay anything.” Another patient, Siti Hasanah, says she suffers from a breathing problem. She too pays for her health care by bringing in waste. “I’m happy,” Hasanah says. “I […]
The ugly sandal beloved everywhere by hippies and the comfort footwear set is so hot this season that even Marc Jacobs wants in on the action. Paint those toes, baby.
Below are some of the songs currently topping charts around the world. But first … Worldcrunch Pick The Rumours turned out to be true: Christine McVie, Fleetwood Mac’s keyboardist and singer who quit the band in 1998, announced at the Ivor Novello songwriting awards that she has rejoined as a permanent member. Not second-hand news, […]