Worldcrunch
Essay: Comic book writer Grant Morrison is known for being a bit outrageous. He once organized a “wankathon” to boost sales. And so his recent “outing” of Batman should be taken with a grain of salt. Still, fans of the caped crusader have long had reasons
As a new Truth Commission begins to retrace the crimes of Brazil’s military dictatorship, one officer admits to incinerating 10 corpses of people who disappeared from 1964 to 1985. Cláudio Guerra has since become an evangelical pastor.
Both economic and ecologic constraints weigh on the expansion of efforts to access endless sources of drinking supply by treating water from the seas and oceans. But progress is being made, and many still dream of solving a global water shortage with a fl
EL MOSTRADOR (Chile) SANTIAGO — The powerful student movement that erupted last year in Chile is showing signs it may be ready for an encore performance. That possibility hasn’t escaped the attention of the Carabineros, the country’s uniformed police force, which is arming itself – quite literally – for a new round of protests. According […]
LA REPUBBLICA (Italy) The widows of men who committed suicide because of their economic situation in crisis-ridden Italy have marched in front of the Italian Revenue Office in Bologna. The silent protest Friday was led by Tiziana Marrone, whose husband Giuseppe Campaniello died after setting himself on fire in front of the Revenue Office to […]
NOVAYA GAZETA (Russia) MOSCOW – There was a market for Soviet war medals even before the Soviet Union itself faded into history. There were thieves and collectors. But the real boom came in the 1990s, just after the fall of the Soviet Union, when many veterans looking to make some extra cash were willing to […]
The “100% Made in Africa” sneaker company Sawa is struggling to keep its brand in Africa, faced with corruption and consequences of the Arab Spring. But the touch of local handcraft combined with cheap labor is loaded with potential.
TOKYO– Japan’s demographic woes keep multiplying. The number of children under 15 has dropped for the 31st year in a row, down 120,000 from last year reports the Japan Times. The ratio of children to the overall population fell to an all time low of 13%, showing Japan’s ageing population is definitely not getting any […]
The final polls before France’s presidential election Sunday show President Nicolas Sarkozy making up ground on Socialist challenger Francois Hollande — but still predict a Hollande victory.
A bombing in Pakistan’s northwestern Bajaur district is reported to have targeted security forces close to a marketplace in Khar, the tribal area’s main town. Most of those killed were bystanders.
Beijing said that Chen Guangcheng, who is at the center of a diplomatic storm, has the right to apply to study abroad after he told U.S. lawmakers that he wants to leave his homeland for the United States.
The newest trend on the red carpet: Why are it-girls and stars carrying a book under their arm, heading to a movie premiere with Nabokov’s Lolita or Albert Camus’s La Peste? Well, look inside.
Dwindling production, rising costs, new diseases: ten years after genetically-modified cotton was introduced in India with high hopes of boosting the economy, farmers are deeply disappointed with its results and wondering if it was all worth it.
Chinese web giant Tencent set up its dedicated Olympic Team more than three years ago and has been preparing for the London Olympics ever since, hoping to grab a big chunk of the cake.
An attack on a cattle market in northeastern Nigeria by gunmen armed with explosives has left at least 34 dead, as strife spreads across country.
A pastel version of “The Scream” by Edvard Munch fetched nearly $120 million from an anonymous buyer at Sotheby’s in New York, setting a new world record for a work of art sold at auction.
US State Department confirms blind activist at center of growing diplomatic standoff has told its officials he now wishes to leave China.
Since the end of the civil war, many of the refugees exiled in neighboring African countries have been coming home to the Democratic Republic of Congo, only to find that their homes have been stolen or sold, and that there’s little they can do ab
Drug wars, poverty and organized crime combine to help Latin America dominate the list of most deadly cities on earth. Add in the U.S., and the Americas count for almost all of the top 50.
A school outside of Paris has denied enrollment to more than 20 foreign-born students. Amnesty International and other rights groups call it a case of cruel xenophobia. Officials from the town say it’s just a budget problem.
Internet access has been slowly but steadily spreading across Turkey, but for economic and even cultural reasons, there are still wide swaths of the population cut off from the digital revolution.
A new play starring veteran Israeli actor Amir Orian features an old, unrepentant Adolf Hitler. Orian’s Hitler didn’t die in 1945, and eventually resurfaces in Israel. The play is part of a recent wave of Hitler culture in Israel that caught the attention
Yulia Tymoshenko’s hunger strike and accusations of prison abuse have raised the stakes after her controversial conviction on corruption charges last year. At risk: Ukraine’s hosting of both an upcoming political summit and next month&am
Like other workers, those at the German railway company Deutsche Bahn have clear opinions about those running the show. Now, employee satisfaction will actually weigh on the compensation of senior executives.
Unknown assailants have killed at least eight people protesting against Egypt’s ruling generals near the Defense Ministry in Cairo.
Chinese activist Chen Guangcheng has left the U.S. embassy in Beijing to seek medical care and join his family, as China demanded an apology from the United States on the eve of key talks between the two powers.
Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi takes a historic oath to join a parliamentary system crafted by the generals who locked her away for much of her long struggle against dictatorship, ushering in a dramatic new political era.
The wife of Republican frontrunner Mitt Romney is a mix of trailblazer and tradition, Le Monde’s correspondent explains to French readers. Mother of five children, Ann Romney tries to humanize her husband and put to rest any final doubts about th
Surgeons in Italy are testing new techniques to improve general anesthesia-free brain surgery. Patients are “trained” ahead of time and, during the operation itself, made to answer quiz questions.
Along the mountainous border between Sudan and the now independent country of South Sudan, a German health worker continues to treat members of the local Nuba population, even as Russian-made Antonov planes litter the war zone with bombs.
Op-Ed: The Russian Orthodox Church seems more concerned about criticism of its top leaders than about physical attacks on its clergy. Is it suffering a post-Soviet identity crisis?
A river ferry broke in two and sank in a remote part of northeastern India.
Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp showed “willful blindness” about the scale of phone-hacking at its News of the World tabloid, for which Murdoch and his son James should take responsibility, according to a much anticipated British par
Tomas Borge Martinez, the last surviving founder of the Sandinista guerrilla movement that overthrew Nicaragua’s U.S.-backed right-wing dictatorship in 1979, is dead at the age of 81.
Analysis: The French incumbent knows the final round runoff requires him to pick up as much as possible of the 18% who voted for right-wing candidate Marine Le Pen in the first round. Immigration is the perfect issue, and one Sarkozy has been focused on f
Nicolas Sarkozy has children from three different women. His challenger for France’s presidency, François Hollande had four kids with a former candidate, but they never wed, then split. Struggling with monogamy, disdaining hypocrisy, reveling in
There is a new way to reduce legal costs. Law firms prepare the case and coach their clients, who then defend themselves – without a lawyer – in court.
Red Cross officials in China are in the middle of a scandal, yet again. After being caught paying for restaurant bills and luxury cars with public donations, the latest alleged faux philanthropy employed a bicycle scam to take people for a ride.
The nomadic Tuareg people had hoped for more freedom in what is now a disintegrating situation in the West African nation of Mali. Islamic radicals have taken advantage of a power vacuum to exert their authority. A look up close with Tuareg rebels.
Spain confirms it is officially back in recession, as the country’s economy shrank by 0.3 percent in the first quarter compared to the previous three months.