Worldcrunch
BUENOS AIRES — Argentina’s parliament is set to debate a bill to ban plastic surgery for anyone under the age of 18, in response to reports of its increasing popularity among teens in one of the continent’s more image-conscious countries. The bill, initially presented in March, is ready for debate in the lower house of […]
Many Syrian children are forced to leave school and work as child laborers for employers who ofter mistreat them. New statistics shows a 30% drop in school attendance since the war began.
German artist Ignacio Uriarte knows all about the tedium of life as a 9-to-5 employee, which he ditched to create art riffing on the subject. Süddeutsche Zeitung sat down with him.
The Chinese-born fashion designer creates clothes that react to light, sound, even a passing glance. What would Lady Gaga think?
Newsmaking images that caught our eye.
Last week’s anti-Chinese protests led to vandalism of Chinese and Taiwanese factories, causing casualties and property damage. But Vietnam could wind up the worst victim in the long run.
BETHLEHEM — Venetian larches, Turkish oaks, German lead, and 1,500-year-old nails: These are the base materials that a group of 30 Tuscan engineers, architects and archeologists are using to restore the Church of the Nativity for the first time in 600 years. Originally built in the 6th century by Byzantine Emperor Justinian, the church is […]
BEIJING — Before 2000, public space in China dedicated exclusively to young people was basically non-existent. Rock-loving youngsters, for example, had nowhere to go except for a few small, dark bars. Woodstock represented an unattainable dream. But times have changed since then. First the Midi Music Festival, one of China’s largest rock music festivals, was […]
BOGOTA – Even if the buses in the Colombian capital ran on time, you’d never know. A Bogotá city councilman recently confirmed that hundreds of clocks on its metro-bus network platforms were no longer working. Turns out, most stopped working at least five years ago – and counting! Councilman Hosman Martínez complained that 406 electronic […]
Honduras, Guatemala and Nicaragua offer vivid proof of the ravages that narco-trafficking inflicts on the environment, from clandestine landing strips to roads built to transport illegal drugs.
Such are the results of a recent study in Germany, which knows a thing or two about automobiles.
KARACHI — It’s time for the evening prayer at the Edhi Shelter Home in Karachi, Pakistan. For nine-year-old Rehmatullah Khan, it’s a reminder of a painful childhood past. His parents sent him to an Islamic boarding school in the northwestern city of Quetta when he was just three. “At seminary, my teacher would beat me and the other students,” he recalls. “The teacher would beat us for not memorizing the lessons or making a noise. He sometimes hit us with sticks and would punch me when the other students told him it was me making noise in the classroom.” After […]
In the often tough multi-ethnic neighborhoods on the periphery of French cities, the Catholic youth organizations offer a way out.
The Fujian Tulous, mysterious circular Chinese buildings, were named a World Heritage site in 2008. It has raised both investments and fears.
Words and feeling and the party line. Leaning on Western studies of social psychology, the writer deconstructs how the powers that be have taught Chinese people how to feel.
Somewhere between war preparations and street theater, the barricades along the roads in Ukraine offer a sign of where the country may be heading.
YANGON — Musmeah Yeshua is the last surviving synagogue in Myanmar. The synagogue has stood in the centre of downtown Yangon for more than 100 years. At its height, it served a community of some 2,500 Jews. But a recent rise in tourism has put the synagogue back on the map. “People from Germany and Europe are amazed to know that there was a synagogue in a country like Myanmar. We are proud of it,” boasts Sammy Samuels, a spokesperson for Musmeah Yeshua. The 120-year-old synagogue is nestled between Indian paint shops and Muslim trader stalls at the corner of […]
Long revered amongst the founders of modern India, the Gandhi family is now facing the most delicate political moment in memory as its INC party risks losing national elections.
Egypt is cracking down on the ubiquitous motorized rickshaws that navigate the capital’s narrow streets.
-Editorial- BOGOTA — Some residents of the Colombian capital are indignant at recent police checks on white cars thought to be carrying passengers through Uber, an Internet application that links users with private drivers. Passengers using Uber can pay by credit or debit card beforehand and can be picked up anywhere. Cars are clean and […]
In a small country like Israel, land is finite and costs continue to rise. Burials are expensive, and the rich and poor are laid to rest depending on their means.
Two full decades after its previous version was voted in, the country’s newly amended environmental protection was cited for its toughness. But the challenge is in the execution.
MUNICH — At some point Hanna Seibert (not her real name) just started making excuses. When her girlfriends called and wanted to go out to eat and drink cocktails in the city, she would put them off, saying she had too much to do. The cliché excuses suggesting she was stressed out struck her career-minded […]
With the intention to stop the ‘corruption’ of the Chinese language, authorities in Beijing have been taking aim at everything from the NBA and MBAs, to iPhones and WiFi.
After their companions were shot over the weekend in Rome, a visit with ultra soccer fans in Naples, Italy
The 2014 Eurovision Song Contest will take place Saturday in Copenhagen. Through the glitter and cheese, some may again ask why such a show even exists — apart from its official claim of uniting the European continent through music. And no, you don’t watch the Eurovision in the hope of discovering that singularly euroesque talent […]
The current and past Minister have both been women (not to mention Chancellor Angela Merkel). But that’s apparently not enough…
As evangelical hostility to proposed same-sex civil unions demonstrates, Peruvian society has yet to embrace its own government’s rhetoric of tolerance and social inclusion.
The social network measures up worse than other Internet sites. Part of the problem is that people’s expectations are unrealistically high that Facebook can improve their lives, for real.
SHARM EL-SHEIKH — Abu Saleh (not his real name) used to earn his money giving camel tours to tourists. But now the Egyptian Bedouin farms his 340-square-meter opium field. It’s not legal, which is why he covers his face, although he notes that the police are looking the other way. When Saleh took his camels […]
BEIJING — Ancient Chinese erotic drawings have been well-documented throughout history — in the Book of Han, for example, a classical Chinese history finished in 111 AD of the Han dynasty between 206 BC to 25 AD. Numerous well-respected classical artists have also been painters of erotic art. The most famous is Zhou Fang, the […]
The world in numbers travels far and wide, and still counting…
Using rumors and references to the Soviet past, the Russian media propaganda bears a clear responsibility in the Ukraine crisis.
An Indian shrine built in memory of a dead traveler and his motorbike has attracted prayerful followers who credit the unusual temple for all manner of good tidings.
A professor at the London School of Economics argues that the free market and everything we thought we knew about economics are now irrelevant.
Since insecticides have killed most bees in China’s Sichuan province, local farmers are forced to fertilize the flowers themselves. But the “bee-men” may now be a dying breed.
BEIJING — The other day I read Hou Hongbin’s article entitled, “Why are Chinese men so ugly?’ It harshly criticizes the generally unkempt appearance of Chinese men. I can’t help but admire the author’s mastery of words in describing Chinese men’s singular neglect of their looks. Naturally, it also left me feeling like crying for […]
The St. Varena Hermitage is trying to recruit a new hermit to oversee see its chapels, but the job description raises a dilemma: how to find a recluse who can schmooze with visitors.
Below are some of the songs currently topping charts around the world. Worldcrunch Pick On May 19, the American band Brian Jonestown Massacre will release their 14th studio album, Revelation. After an almost 25-year career in shoegaze, folk and even experimental music, Anton Newcomb and his crew haven’t finished exploring and playing with the 1960s […]
Zvi Narkis, credited with reinventing the Hebrew letter, left a huge archive after his death. A new book will document this treasure, which is integral to the history of Israeli design.