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The Sudanese press insists that between Dec. 15 and 20, Israel carried out air raids that destroyed at least two convoys headed across Sudan toward Egypt. This is not the first time in recent years Israel is accused of launching attacks in the African cou
German billionaire Nicolas Berggruen has a plan to make America’s “Golden State” sparkle again: cut income and sales taxes, but broaden the revenue base by taxing services at 5%. Now he just has to convince California’s voters and political leade
After four people were killed recently while crossing the street in Bern, the Swiss city looked to the Austrian luxury crystal maker’s affiliate that mixes Swarovski glass beads into road surfacing to increase visibility. It’s a top-end
Massive protests, economic worries and Mother Nature made 2011 a particularly turbulent year. Latin America was hardly exempt. Hugo Chávez came down with cancer. Dilma Rousseff took on government corruption. And in Mexico, a bloody drug war killed thousan
An al-Qaeda front group in Iraq says it was behind the wave of attacks that killed 69 people on a single day last week.
Two Swedish journalists have been jailed for 11 years in Ethiopia on charges of illegally entering the country and supporting terrorism.
An Arab League mission arrives in Homs amid reports of escalating violence. The team is in Syria to assess if the government is upholding commitment to end its crackdown.
Essay: A Beijing-based Taiwanese writer picks apart the twisted attempts by mainlanders to make sense out of Taiwan’s upcoming presidential election.
For those in the know – and with the willpower not to drink up their assets – fine whisky can be quite a rewarding investment. A bottle of 1995 Brora, for example, was worth 100 euros in 1998. Now it sells for five times as much.
Turned away from state centers in and around Switzerland’s Basel, some migrant asylum seekers have had no choice but to sleep on the streets. A handful of concerned citizens, however, have organized through e-mail and Facebook to offer their homes as emer
Brazil has overtaken the UK as the world’s sixth largest economy, an economic research group reports.
A delegation of South Korean citizens arrived in Pyongyang on Monday to express condolences over the death of the North Korean leader Kim Jong-il.
At least seven people have been killed in a suicide car bomb attack outside Iraq’s interior ministry in Baghdad.
Early export stats suggest that so far this year, Italy’s Prosecco variety of sparkling wine is outselling Champagne, its better known – and generally more expensive – French counterpart. A victory for the underdog? Not so fast, says France. Chri
Dating sites make fantastic claims about the number of users who find true love. But a closer look shows that online dating has the same pitfalls as conventional dating: men shy away from successful women and too many women care more about paychecks than
Once known for it’s left-leaning politics, the region of Emilia Romagna has recently witnessed a high school council taken over by a far-right group. As much as ideology, the election victory is another sign that traditional politics has lost legitimacy a
Do you give Fido a treat every time he’s been a good boy? Watch out: canines put on weight fast. But rationing what they eat isn’t enough: here’s how to keep a dog’s weight in check or knock off excess pounds.
Analysis: After Vladimir Putin’s ruling party lost major ground in Russia’s recent parliamentary elections, opposition parties have done little to take advantage of the momentum. Why? They’re “spooked” by their own success.
When his shiny new Vespa was swiped off the streets of Milan in 1976, its owner figured it was gone for good. And then last week, a call arrived from the police in Sicily. A nice holiday surprise, but at 84, the reunited owner may have to let someone else
From Parma to Piacenza, Bologna to Ferrara, the northeastern region of Emilia Romagna offers some to the tastiest classic flavors of Italian cuisine, from cappelletti pasta to Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, balsamic vinegar and Gutturni wine.
Essay: Politicians used to work behind closed doors, now their days are spent moving from one public appearance to the next. A glance at how leadership fashion sense matters more and more, from country to country, from East to West.
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan says massacres by French colonialists in Algeria was genocide, responding to French legislators passing a bill making it a crime to deny that the mass killings of Armenians by Ottoman Turks nearly a century ago
The town of Christchurch, where an earthquake left 181 dead only 10 months ago, was shaken by two successive quakes on Friday afternoon local time. There are no deaths reported, although 19 people have been hospitalized.
The explosions in Syria’s capital claimed the lives of civilians and soldiers, according to Syrian state television.
Essay: Soldiers ripping off the shirt and veil of a female demonstrator, and dragging her across Tahrir Square by her hair has set off unprecedented outrage. But there is a deep paradox in the reaction, even in the post-Revolution Arab world — and even f
Essay: For citizens of France and the world, there is much to be grateful for — and much to worry about. Looking back at what good has and hasn’t come from past Christmas wishes, this French writer has a special request for Santa that can never
Op-Ed: This week marked a bad end to a bad war, which European critics of US policy had long predicted. The 2003 invasion left vast destruction, undermined America’s standing and deprived Iraqis of a role in their own history. Reverberations are still aro
In latest sign that US-style mass consumerism is breaking through European traditions, American food giant General Mills is outperforming rivals in France.
A presidential committee studying Mikhail Khodorkovsy’s second conviction found no evidence of a crime by the onetime billionaire oil baron and Vladimir Putin opponent. With a touch of absurdism, experts ask if someone can be convicted for someth
Dulce de leche may not be the healthiest of snacks, but oh man is it tasty. In Argentina, the caramel-like spread is also big business thanks to growing consumption both at home and abroad.
Russian President Dmitri A. Medvedev used his final state-of-the-nation address to outline extensive political reforms that, if implemented, would begin to deconstruct the heavily centralized government built by his mentor, Vladimir V. Putin.
U.S. stock-index futures rose, indicating the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index (SPX) will advance for a third day, as investors awaited reports on consumer confidence and initial jobless claims for signals of economic recovery.
A wave of bomb attacks strikes in the Iraqi capital, killing at least 63 people and injuring at least 185. The bombings are the worst in months – and follow the withdrawal of US troops.
Essay: A dissident blogger recalls the secret Christmas of her youth. The holidays are now acknowledged out in the open, but the other troublesome topic — human rights — is still off limits.
Essay: “South Park,” the popular and sometimes over-the-top American animated series, has just aired an episode in Germany built around harsh German stereotypes, with allusions to the Nazi era. How does the cliché of the German lack of h
A first wave of 200 new CCTV cameras were installed in the French capital this week. By next summer, there will be more than 1,000 such surveillance cameras. Still, Paris peeping is nothing compared to London’s much bigger version of Big Brother.
Essay: Are we witnessing the U.S. empire head into its final decline? Obama is drifting. Republican candidates inspire little confidence. But viewed from Europe, which is more skeptical than ever, it’s worth taking a closer look at a nation with the Peter
Church employees cannot turn to state courts in matters concerning job loss or demotion, and the European Court for Human Rights may be turned to only in extreme cases.
Seif al-Islam el-Qaddafi, the son and presumed heir of Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi, is alive and well and being held by a rebel militia outside the Libyan capital.
Hackers in China broke into the the U.S. Chamber of Commerce computer system and had access to everything stored there. The attack was cut off in May 2010.