Beef is a big deal in Argentina. But in the Casa Rosada presidential palace, people (including the president himself) are now going meat-free. What gives?
Category: In The News
Finally some serious competition for Tesla. Just days after Elon Musk said his American multi-billion dollar electric automobile startup would start producing its Model 3, the brand’s first mass-market electric car, a heavyweight automaker from the past declared “the end of the solely combustion engine-powered car.” By 2019, all new Volvo models will come with […]
Christian Assyrians have been targeted repeatedly through history — and found themselves under attack again by ISIS forces in Syria.
ALEY — Mohammad left his home on the outskirts of Damascus in 2013, gripped with a mix of guilt and anxiety. Though he was fleeing violence that is still ongoing in his hometown of Jobar, the 39-year-old father of four worried about how he would provide for his family. He had lived his whole life in the historic neighborhood that hems the walls of old Damascus, where he owned a thriving business — a workshop that pressed aluminum. But when the conflict broke out in 2011, he watched his enterprise shutter and his community unravel. Two years into the war, […]
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Norway, No Flash Required
The nice thing about northern Norway in the summer, is that the sun almost never sets. For a photographer, this means excellent lighting throughout the day (and night). Here you can see the colored gákti costumes of the Sámi people seem to pop right out of the picture. See more slides from My Grand-Père’s World […]
For the first time since India established diplomatic relations with Israel in 1992, an Indian prime minister traveled to Israel. Narendra Modi’s historic three-day visit began today in Tel Aviv, where Benjamin Netanyahu personally welcomed him at Ben Gurion airport — a rare airport greeting from the Israeli prime minister. The airport pickup signifies the considerable elevation at which Indian-Israeli relations have been lifted to. The Asian giant has traditionally walked a tightrope between Israel and Muslim-majority nations like Saudi Arabia and Iran, which have supplied it oil. India has also long lent support to the Palestinian cause, particularly under […]
Public development assistance has not achieved its objective of reducing entrenched poverty in Africa. Its scarcity requires the use of new forms of co-financing and investment.
Hand Spinner Mag, July 2017 PARIS — Fidget spinners — or as they’re called here, “hand spinners’ — have made it to France. Originally created for medical purposes, to help autistic children with attention disorders, the device has become a worldwide must-have for summer 2017. France seems to have taken things to a whole other […]
In spite of the thousands of miles and cultural distances between Colombia and Japan, Gabriel García Márquez’s masterpiece has become a national treasure among Japanese readers and artists.
With Britain missing its turn for the European Union presidency in light of Brexit, the rotating six-month duty has fallen into Estonia’s lap earlier than planned. Until the end of the year, the northernmost Baltic country will lead the EU through a complicated period: On top of difficult divorce negotiations between Britain and the 27-nation […]
Occupied by Israel for fifty years, the area on the Syrian border is a favorite destination for Israeli tourists. But most of the Druze who have lived there for generations do not feel Israeli.
-OpEd- PARIS — It’s taken years for acts of violence carried out against French Jews to be recognized not as ordinary crime, but as the violent expression of a new form of anti-Semitism. By describing perpetrators as standard criminals, lone wolves or psychiatric patients, every possible effort was made to avoid acknowledging that in France, […]
Technology is indeed eliminating jobs, but mostly routine tasks that young people spurn. It is also giving people a chance to recycle their working selves into something interesting.
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IT Ecosystems In Africa
SPONSORED CONTENT The IT ecosystem in Africa is thriving. Microsoft alone now has offices in more than 14 African countries, and has announced that it will open its first data centers on the continent in 2018. Another sign of spreading tech is Kenya’s M-PESA online monetary transaction system, which has become a part of everyday […]
-Analysis- Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro is still in charge — that much we know. What is less clear is whether he has a stronger or weaker grasp on power after the murky late-night helicopter shooting at the Supreme Court building, and a mob attack on parliament this past week. The brazen assaults on power may […]
Though brother fights brother on opposite sides of the war in eastern Ukraine, some people manage to bridge the gap that divides them.
-Analysis- PARIS — Will the digital revolution get the better of physical currencies, a cornerstone of trade since 700 B.C. and a key fixture of modern society and government? Whether using cards, transfers, or cellphones, paying for things is increasingly done without coins or bills. This evolution raises the prospect of a cashless society. But […]
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Legendary Cathedral
Don’t be fooled by the exuberant Moorish style of the Curtea de Argeș cathedral. The various legends associated with this Romanian Orthodox church tend to be, well, grim. In one tale, the architect — to be able to finish the building — is forced to sacrifice his wife by walling her alive in the cathedral. […]
-OpEd- Can you be a Christian and a politician? I’m not talking about a fundamentalist who would seek to apply Biblical precepts across all of society. I’m talking about a “moderate” Christian, one who knows how to distinguish between the moral principles that rule his life and the secular values that rule the life of […]
Analyzing letters and testimony of ISIS terrorists shows how eye-for-an-eye arguments in defense of Muslim victims meld with monotheistic guilt and a mystic sense of destiny to become offensive weapons in the jihadist strategy.
-Analysis- PARIS — There are always worse things in life than money troubles. The record $2.7-billion fine that the European Commission slapped on Google for breaching competition rules is a major financial blow for the company. But for a firm making billions of dollars like Google, the mega-penalty isn’t the main problem. It’s never enjoyable […]
SPONSORED CONTENT In this technology driven world, Africa is still recording low iGDP compared to its neighbouring continents. Funding, infrastructure, electricity and IT literacy are among the key challenges hampering ICT development in Africa. Currently, only one percent of African children leave schools with basic coding skills yet Africa’s population has been increasing at an […]
Iran’s Islamic regime may have harsh penalties for drug trafficking, but officials are now estimating that the number of “regular drug users’ has doubled in the past six years, from 1.3 million to about 2.8 million. The head of the country’s drug control organization, Parviz Afshar, told Iran’s ISNA news agency that currently “about 2.8 […]
In Finland and Norway, right-wing, anti-elite and anti-immigration parties have had to adapt to the problems of power, but they still can fire up the base by playing to their gut.
Ever wondered what’s the French for “Slytherin”? Or how Harry Potter”s voice sound in Hindi, or Hebrew? To celebrate 20 years since the J.K. Rowling’s first installment of the series hit our bookshelves, Worldcrunch has conjured up a video that speaks to Potterheads all around the world! [youtube https://www.youtube.com/embed/EsTAF0QcFHw expand=1]
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Burning Faith
The villages and landscapes, the colors and fauna, old people and young — in my experience, few countries can rival Nepal as a photographic subject. Here is one flickering moment of prayer passing at a Buddhist temple in Kathmandu. See more slides from My Grand-Père’s World here.
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The Swamp Of Brazilian Politics
Watching from abroad as Brazil’s anti-corruption probe rumbles into its fourth year, you can’t help but think: “Well, I guess they’re all corrupt…” “How could it get any worse?” No doubt, many Brazilians are thinking the same. The latest episode in this seemingly unending series of accusations and counter-accusations, rising and falling political fortunes, is […]
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Harry Potter V. The Internet
“The boy who lived” turns 20 years old today. Harry Potter, the turn-of-the-century literary sensation, topped bestseller lists and broke box office records across the globe, featuring seven book installments and their eight celluloid versions, and redefining the fantasy genre for a generation. Readers in some 68 languages — including Ancient Greek, Latin, and Urdu […]
A project that encourages villagers to protect local river sources is helping revive community life and traditional culture.
Coal miners have lived off the industry for generations. Though China is still the world’s top coal producer, plans for clean energy spell the end of the mining life for many.
Imagine what Donald Trump would do within a French-like government structure …
The western state of Maharashtra, home of Mumbai and the biggest regional economy of India, announced this month that it will waive farmer loans worth 1,140 billion rupees, or nearly $18 billion. The June 12 measure will leave only 800 billion rupees, or about $12 billion, in the state’s coffers until the end of the […]
A current exhibition at the National Museum of Fine Arts in Buenos Aires isn’t just about remembering a great 20th-century artist. It’s about reclaiming him as a national treasure.
PARIS — Donald Tusk had a dream: The United Kingdom was staying in the European Union — For him, this vision isn’t just a pure imaginary digression. The European Council president even appealed to the words of one of Britain’s most famous voices, quoting John Lennon’s “Imagine“: “You may say I’m a dreamer, but I’m […]
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Lucky Chaplin
There is a well-known statue of Charlie Chaplin in Vevey, Switzerland, not far from my hometown, where the great American actor lived for 25 years. But what was he doing in Ireland? The quiet village of Waterville, County Kerry, happened to be a favorite vacation spot for the Chaplin family. See more slides from My […]
Seyran Ates, a German-Turkish lawyer, has opened the first “liberal” mosque in Berlin, where she herself is the imam. The goal is nothing less that the worldwide reformation of Islam.
The latest big news out of the Middle East is that Saudi Arabian King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud has ousted the crown prince and installed his 31-year-old son, Mohammed bin Salman, in that position. While the world waits to see more of the reaction from Saudis and others in the region, a few quick thoughts come to my mind. First, the news feels stunning because of its significance; if MbS (as the new crown prince is known) becomes king, he will be the first monarch who is not a son of King Abdulaziz al Saud, the founder of Saudi […]
TOKYO — The popular Chinese imagination of Japan has followed along with Japan’s evolution over the past four decades. In the late 1970s, when China started to reform and to open up to the rest of the world, Japan was Asia’s economic power. Then, following the arrival of Japanese animé to China, Japan was the […]
Dictators, gangsters and gun-toting guerillas all seem to have a fondness for facial hair — specifically above their upper lips. But why?
PARIS – Notre-Dame Cathedral continues to draw millions in the center of Paris. But how long before it starts to collapse? For now, at least, France’s most famous cathedral still stands tall and proud. But it’s not in great shape. Far from it. Pollution is eating away its stones. Detail work on the outside is […]