The Swiss Federal Institute of Technology has just opened a new research center in Singapore dedicated to the study the world’s biggest cities in order to better prepare for the urban explosion that is expected to take place by 2030.
Author: Worldcrunch
Op-Ed: The economic crisis in Spain is prompting many young professionals to seek better opportunities overseas. A popular destination for these so-called mileuristas – educated Spaniards who can’t earn more than 1,000 euros a month – is up-and-coming Chi
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Sony to cut global workforce by 10,000
The Japanese electronics giant will cut 6 percent of its entire workforce, by as early as the end of 2012.
Rebels in Syria have rejected a last-minute demand by the government, made just 48 hours ahead of a proposed ceasefire which now looks set to fail.
Al Qaeda militants seized control of a military base and two checkpoints during raids in southern Yemen, leaving at least 21 people dead.
A new system is being used in Zurich to avoid potentially dangerous teachers from being hired which aims to keep certain profiles permanently barred from the profession.
Greek intellectual Nikos Dimou published a book in 1975 slamming his native country’s failure. Now published for the first time in German, “On the Misfortune of Being Greek” is painfully relevant to understanding the current crisis engulfing the
Obituary: The former designer and auto company chairman F.A. Porsche has died at the age of 76 after a long illness. He was best known as the designer of the Porsche 911, an icon of 20th century design, but he also went on to create some much smaller gems
Plans have long been in the works for a Turkish-language edition of Al Jazeera, which would help fulfil Turkey’s diplomatic ambitions in the Middle East. But first they must resolve internal and external politics, and decide if PKK are to be call
From the flower fields of Grasse to the crystal perfume bottles sold in Paris, the process of creating a best-selling and enduring fragrance like Chanel N°5 or Poison by Dior is a long and delicate journey in a cut-throat business where competition and po
Too closely tied to its larger neighbor, Lebanon can’t help but worry about the consequences of the war spreading in Syria. The two countries have tight political links and share a porous border. Is Beirut set to be the next Arab Spring hot spot?
Would you climb 8,848 meters to pick up other people’s waste, discarded climbing gear and even the occasional dead body? This is what the Eco Everest Expedition sets out to do every year.
Unlike Germany, which is in a major row with Switzerland over Germans stashing away money in Swiss bank accounts, France has kept quiet on the issue. A French investigative journalist suspects France’s current presidential election campaign may o
Nothing can stop Baidu. The search engine giant holds an 80% share of the Chinese market, thanks to a simple “less is more” philosophy. Part of the “more” are China’s best and brightest engineers, who work to u
With an increasing number of products marketed as “green” and activists raising the pressure on people to think about the environment day and night, more and more consumers are getting grouchy about having to always be eco-friendly.
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Malawi’s President Mutharika reported dead
78 year-old Malawi President Bingu wa Mutharika has died after suffering a heart attack, according to medical and government sources
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Mali’s Tuareg rebels declare independence
Mali’s Tuareg rebels, who have seized control of the country’s north in the chaotic aftermath of a military coup in the capital, declare independence of the Azawad nation.
Russia has criticized the United States for handing down a 25-year sentence to Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout, saying the verdict against him was “baseless and biased.”
Thanks to recent changes from the Argentine Central Bank Charter, the Kirchner administration has access to lots more cash. How will the government spend it? An increasingly likely option is a public buyout of YPF, the affiliate of Spanish energy company
Op-Ed: The 84-year-old German Nobel laureate’s new poem entitled “What Must Be Said” accuses Israel of plotting to destroy Iran, while acknowledging the risk of being dubbed anti-Semitic. Grass’s long-hidden stint as a
A decade after first being lumped together, the world’s leading emerging economies show all signs of claiming a growing slice of influence. Yet at their latest summit, plans emerged to pool their resources in a bank to rival the World Bank. It&am
A new insurance product promises to protect families against damages to their e-reputation, a new but important concept in this era of fading privacy. But one writer wonders if this isn’t all just a scare-mongering way to make new business.
Paul Lacoste’s new mouth-watering documentary, “Entre les Bras” (“Step Up To The Plate”), chronicles a complex father-son dynamic in the kitchen, as acclaimed chef Michel Bras gets ready to hand down his multiple Michelin-star
Protesters clash with riot police in Athens, hours after a pensioner shot himself dead outside parliament, blasting politicians over the country’s financial crisis in his suicide note.
The UN Security Council’s call for an immediate ceasefire and return to democracy in Mali has prompted an announcement of an end to “military operations” by Tuareg rebels in the north.
Syrian troops target neighborhoods near Damascus as U.N. peacekeepers are scheduled to arrive in the capital for talks on deploying observers to monitor a cease-fire.
Op Ed: Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) won a recent battle over education reform by utterly marginalizing the opposition. These tactics indicate a dangerous trend for Turkey toward an ever more authoritarian government.
The recent killing of a doctor in northern China is just the latest act of violence by angry patients. A big part of the problem is an overcrowded, underfunded and sometimes corrupt medical system. By the symptoms go even deeper into modern Chinese societ
The Liechtenstein royal family has threatened to abandon the country if the public tries to limit their extensive range of powers. But leaving would force them to finally pay taxes on their billions.
Following the volatile reign of Silvio Berlusconi, the longtime European “technocrat” and economics professor Mario Monti has achieved surprising consensus both inside and outside of Italy. But can he make it last if he doesn’t stick around?
Silicone breasts at 80? No problem! In Europe and the U.S., the cosmetic industry is actively courting a new clientele: the bona fide ‘elderly,’ who have plenty of time and money to spend on face lifts and tummy tucks and a final pursui
Rick Santorum turns his focus to his home state of Pennsylvania as he faces an uphill battle to convince Republicans he can stop Mitt Romney from clinching the party nomination after his three-primary sweep.
New York police have opened an investigation into the circumstances of the death of a prominent French academic, Richard Descoings, whose naked body was found in a New York hotel room.
Serbian pro-Western President Boris Tadic announces his resignation, paving the way for an early presidential election where he will face a strong challenge from a nationalist candidate.
Five years after a terrorist attack that killed a dozen foreign tourists in Male, could this idyllic archipelago be transforming into a hotbed of Islamic radicalism?
Aung San Suu Kyi’s historic victory overshadowed another piece of equally important news: a new exchange rate came into effect, the first step in transforming Myanmar into a more open, market-based economy. Pretty soon, the whole world will be fi
More than 750 gays, punks and “emo” youths have been killed over the past six years by radical Shi’ite militias hunting down “deviants” to torture and execute. There is no justice for these killings, which are
Cardinal Christoph Schönborn of Vienna, who has close ties with Pope Benedict XVI, has overruled a local decision that had blocked a gay man from taking his place on a parish council in a northern Austrian town. Are the winds changing for gays in the Cath
The United States has put up a $10 million reward to help arrest Pakistani Islamist leader Hafiz Mohammad Saeed, suspected of masterminding two attacks on Mumbai and the parliament building in New Delhi.
One L. Goh, the 43-year-old former student of a small Christian university in California who opened fire at the school Monday, has given no motive after his arrest. Officers are still looking for the weapon with which he killed at least seven people.