Worldcrunch
Animal rights groups get their wish: no more monkey shows on the streets of Jakarta, which means raids to rescue the animals and job training to prepare their trainers for new work.
A poor education ranking in the latest international PISA report failed to humble the country’s top education official, who instead hailed the outcome as a “great triumph.”
Around the world, famous and regular folk alike are mourning Nelson Mandela, as South Africa prepares for a 10-day commemoration. Here’s a selection of reactions from heads of state to a certain former heavyweight champ to the people of his nation, to as the world says goodbye to the father of South African democracy and […]
Concerns grow in Beijing, especially as the American boom in shale-gas production is helping the U.S. move toward energy independence.
Did you know ‘The Hunger Games’ was written by a woman? Do you care? Examples of sexism continue to plague the male-dominated world of science fiction.
Moscow has already made it clear to Ukraine that it should stop reaching out to Western Europe. The same message is being sent to Lithuania, which is already an EU member.
BERLIN — A refugee slams a briefcase down on the table, snaps it open and takes out a series of plastic cards. “Here,” he says, “health card from Italy, residence permit, identity card. We have everything. Our asylum cases are complete. We’re allowed to move around in Europe, but we’re not allowed to work, not […]
Thanks to crunching masses of employee data, the field of HR and corporate personnel management will never be the same.
-Op-Ed- MEXICO CITY — I am no energy specialist, but after reading and listening to experts in recent months, I have learned about the fundamental requirements that should drive any major energy-sector reform. Can smart energy policy become the most powerful platform for Mexico’s economic growth? Ramón Espinosa, an analyst at the Inter-American Development Bank […]
BEIJING — The recent government shutdown in the United States prompted a chorus of comparisons in China of the two countries’ political systems. The general sentiment? “The American model of democracy is not the only way. The Chinese style may be another option.” But the comparison is inappropriate because it is based on two false […]
LAUSANNE — The idea that young people nowadays are more conservative than previous generations is a common cliché. Girls are said to be dreaming of becoming housewives while boys supposedly behave like old-style alpha-males, reproductive and career-obsessed. As Switzerland is about to vote on an initiative that aims to use tax breaks to benefit a […]
Europe represents the freedom from political dictatorship. But at what cost?
The inhabitants of Butembo rely increasingly on solar energy, allowing households to save money and be self-sufficient.
Google is leading a project in Brazil to use balloons to bring Internet connection to the remote corners of the Amazon.
HAMA — Most young women in Syria probably grew up dreaming of someday having a beautiful, magical wedding. But in wartime, many women, assuming they are able to wed at all, are settling for ceremonies that are a far cry from what they imagined. “My biggest fear was that we would book a restaurant and no one would show up,” says Sarah, a newlywed from Hama. She had planned to get married at the end of the summer. But plans are hard to make in Syria these days. Roads are so dangerous that chances are slim a mailed invitation will […]
The two explosions that killed at least 23 people this week in Beirut are the latest sign that the country is moving toward the kind of conflict that has torn it apart in the past.
LONG SINGU — Lost in the Malaysian forest, the village of Long Singu — on the Island of Borneo — is engaging in righteous resistence. Between 200 and 300 Penan people are refusing to leave their land to make way for the Murum dam. “We want to keep our village and our forest,” is the […]
In southeastern Congo, where a malaria outbreak is killing young children, some believe the disease has mystical origins and turn to higher powers rather than doctors.
-Op-Ed- SAO PAULO — Globalization is an inescapable process. It’s even affecting the new forms of protest against different governments and in different social contexts on our vast, beautiful planet. The problem is that this copycat trend is happening out of context. The Brazilian “black blocs” and Mídia Ninja (a group of independent journalists) are […]
Does the classification of tropical storms need changing? With sustained winds of 195 miles per hour, and gusts close to 235 mph, the super typhoon Haiyan, which left a trail of destruction in the Philippines and beyond, was the most powerful cyclone to make landfall in recent history. So much so in fact that some […]
French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius was smart to reject a pact that offered no long-term guarantees for Iran to dismantle its nuclear program. A Le Monde editorial.
Poor women come to this Indian clinic to rent their bellies to wealthy couples from around the world. A practical solution to modern problems or the worst kind of social engineering?
Babs tried and failed, so did the peeps working for Beyonce and even French President Francois Hollande. Once online, information beats to the sound of its own drum.
TEL AVIV — It’s the joke of the evening and they tell it again and again, happy with themselves, a lukewarm glass of Coke in their hands: “Are you ready to hear a lie? Because if I tell you the truth, we’ll have to kill you.” They probably wouldn’t, but then again the participants of […]
Iraq’s rising death toll, a Nazi art stash recovery and other events of the past seven days are summed up by the numbers… (cover photo: Jorge Franganillo)
As winter descends on Mongolia’s cold and polluted capital of Ulaanbaatar, toxic coal heating is turning on everywhere. An estimated one resident in 10 dies from the effects of pollution.
A Brazilian viewpoint in the wake of the Edward Snowden revelations on widespread NSA surveillance.
Those who suffer from autism are increasingly sought out for their special skills set, particularly in IT. But difficulty with office politics and politesse can place limits.
Worms, crickets and the like are showing up at fine European eateries. But this is not just a gastronomical fad, as population growth means finding new sources of protein in unlikely critters.
BUKAVU – For the past two years, agricultural production has been increasing in the province of South Kivu in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. And at least part of the credit goes to shopkeepers across the border in Rwanda. The neighboring store owners have been providing Congolese farmers with phytosanitary seeds and products that […]
An American spy author and rock star, a chief rabbi from Israel and legendary general from Vietnam are among those to whom we’ve bid farewell in October. Read more below. (photo of Lou Reed in 1976 – Toronto Star/Zuma)
When Gezi Park protesters held up posters of Kemal Ataturk amid a fog of tear gas, they were searching for stability in a changing world. Reflections on 70 years of the Turkish Republic.
As demand for organ transplants skyrockets, a new artificial heart and other sophisticated prostheses are among the medical-tech advancements raising troubling questions.
What’s the price of John Lennon’s childhoood home? Or the scalp of a president? Find out how the news added up over the past week…
Thailand saw a record of capital infusion from abroad in 2012, but the country needs critical upgrades, as it remains totally dependent on technology from outside its borders.
NEW DELHI — He wears a badge, and his slightly wrinkled light blue uniform has epaulettes. But the security guard casually seated on a chair at the entrance to this jewelry store in a New Delhi mall, old gun in hand, doesn’t exactly look like the deterrent type. In the shop window, display busts have […]
In Hamburg, a major Nazi monument is being repurposed into deluxe apartments. A lesson on the luxury boom, and the way Germany faces its uncomfortable history.
MBANDAKA — Don’t tell Mfutu Etawale Ratis he’s a magician or a witch doctor. The self-proclaimed traditional practitioner says he can cure mental illness. And in this northwestern region of the Democratic Republic of Congo, where modern treatments are often missing, Ratis is one of the only people trying to help patients with mental disorders. […]
SHANGHAI — The annual rush in Apple stores all over the world started Sept. 20 when the Cupertino, Calif.-based company released its new iPhones 5S and 5C. Outside Fifth Avenue in New York, the queue was the longest in store history. Similarly, in China, people went en masse to buy the latest smartphone, but for […]
PARIS — Will the yuan dethrone the dollar one day? The Chinese currency may have just moved a step further in that direction with the October 10 signature between the European Central Bank and the People’s Bank of China (the country’s central bank) for the establishment of a “currency swap” mechanism. The terms of the […]