Six would-be astronauts are confined for an unprecedented 17-month experiment in social confinement that is helping to lay the groundwork for extra long missions in space.
Author: Worldcrunch
In Rio de Janeiro, militias – often involving corrupt police – have taken control of the notorious favelas and worked their way into local politics. Judge Patricia Acioli was one of the few people brave enough to go after them. She paid with her life.
Paraguay was infamous as a favorite hiding destination of Nazi fugitives after World War II. But the links to Nazism actually go much farther back — and live on: Hotel Del Lago, which was frequented by severable notable Nazi supporters before the war, is
A R A B I C A ارابيكا By Kristen Gillespie SYRIAN DIPLOMACYSyria is expected to respond to an Arab League proposal to end the country’s crisis, Al Jazeera reported. The Syrian opposition maintains that the regime is stalling for time and has no intention of reforming — and called on the Arab League to […]
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Is There A Pedophilia Gene?
Italian researchers discover possible genetic origins of pedophilia, making the sexually deviant behavior a potentially treatable condition. But is it an alibi for convicted pedophiles?
The first gastarbeiter (guest workers) from Turkey came to Munich from Istanbul in 1961. Some of them took part in the recent 50th anniversary trip celebrating the bilateral recruitment agreement—and looked back to often painful memories.
Essay: After its first free election, Tunisia is not without its challenges. Still, the “post-revolution” situation there is already starkly more hopeful than in Egypt where the military continues to exert control in absence of a politic
Editorial: after its latest edition poked fun at the Muslim prophet, the offices of French satirical weekly ‘Charlie Hebdo’ was firebombed and its website hacked. Like ongoing fundamentalist Christian attacks on a local theater troop, the incident is a th
Russia garners top spot in the list of those countries whose businesses try to pay bribes when working abroad. There are two explanations: either Russians pay bribes out of habit, or because they couldn’t sell their products without them.
The new darling of the marathon scene is an Indian man named Fauja Singh, who can run 42 km in eight and a half hours. With that time he finished 3,850th in the recent Toronto marathon, which would be rather unremarkable — if it weren’t for the
A conservationist souvenir that visitors to the tropical paradise can both leave in the Maldives, and take home with them: adopt-a-coral.
Analysis: The pause for air after last week’s EU summit has abruptly ended with the Greek government’s announcement of plans to hold a referendum on the debt bailout. This view from Germany says all bets are off. Again.
Chinese farmers are tired of selling their milk to Nestle at steeply discounted prices, and want an end to local bans on selling elsewhere. Some have threatened to slaughter their cows instead of letting Nestle and their government-backed local monopoly m
A cross-border controversy is bubbling up over plans by TransCanada, an energy infrastructure firm, to build an oil pipeline across six U.S. states. Environmentalists don’t want it. The Canadian government does. And President Barack Obama is so far sittin
People laughed when Stefanie Fuchs opened her specialty butcher shop in Munich. But little by little, the canine nutritionist’s idea – top quality, custom-made dog food with no chemical additives – caught on. And there’s one special bonus at the
A confidant of Yasser Arafat, al-Masri made billions in oil and gas. But unlike some other super-rich Palestinians, he chose to remain close to his roots in Nablus, where he built a true palace and meets with Hamas and Fatah leaders alike in search of rec
In Arbus’ first major retrospective in France, Galerie Nationale du Jeu de Paume in Paris presents a selection of 200 works of the American artist who quite literally changed the “face” of photography.
To coincide with the rise of Islamists in Tunisia and Libya, Hebdo Charlie, a popular satirical weekly that’s pushed the envelope in the past, has invited a guest editor-in-chief for a special edition: The Prophet. And yes, they say, he believes
A R A B I C A ارابيكا By Kristen Gillespie YEMEN: OPEN WARA series of explosions shook Sanaa International airport overnight following clashes between supporters of Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh and forces loyal to dissident general and tribal leader Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar. Sources told Al Jazeera that the airport would be closed “for […]
After the third such case in recent years, where health officials cite “risks” of gays giving blood, Italian gay rights activists say it’s time to explicitly guarantee the right for people of all sexual orientations to donate bl
Essay: Recent charges that Gucci China workers faced sweatshop-like conditions expose bigger questions about Chinese society. The pursuit of luxury in itself is not a problem, but its side-effects can be.
Op-Ed: With newly constructed apartments reduced to rubble and the death toll nearing 600, Turkey must demand the truth about how unsafe buildings were allowed to rise.
Often white and well-trained, South Africans are leaving their adoptive homes in the “developed world” to return to their native land where the cost of living is lower and jobs are more plentiful. Some whites, though, complain they are s
Italians have ancient claims on the origins of the ever more global holiday of Halloween. In Mantua, where Jack-O-Lanterns — called “lumere” — light the roads to cemeteries, others may be more interested in the delicious dishes made wi
As evidenced by new car sales, consumers in Chile and Argentina and out-buying their counterparts in some much larger countries, including Brazil and China, members of the much talked about BRICS club.
Analysis: The democratic wave sweeping North Africa is moving in a decidedly Islamic direction, with the Ennahda party’s election victory in Tunisia and Libya’s new leaders vowing Sharia law. Is it just a necessary phase toward pluralism
Weltbild, one of Germany’s largest publishing companies, happens to be owned and operated by the Catholic Church. But that has not stopped it from publishing books that many of the faithful find offensive.
Linguists from the University of Lyon in France looked at seven widely spoken languages to see how they rank in terms of efficiency. Which mother tongue works best at imparting information? A clue: it’s not French.
A R A B I C A ارابيكا By Kristen Gillespie FULL CIRCLEThe head of the Ennahda party in Tunisia, Rachid Ghannouchi, is calling for calm in the town of Sidi Bouzid, the site of violent protests since the Islamist party’s victory was announced on Thursday, Almoslem.net reported. Supporters of the People’s Party began rioting […]
Russia has explicitly stated it wants to begin exploration for minerals and hydrocarbons in and around the White Continent. But others, from China to Australia, have already given (and planted) signs that show they will not sit idly by.
In storms that have killed at least nine, scenic villages in Liguria and Tuscany have been decimated by floods and mud. A visit to the coastal town of Monterosso, where tourists are trapped with locals — and anger is growing.
An exclusive interview with Rached Ghannouchi, whose Islamist party Ennahda was the big winner in Tunisia’s recent landmark election. He vows to work with secularist rivals, promote women’s rights and let far more radical Islamists have their say
Op-Ed: Rescue plans were the focus of this week’s high-stakes EU summit in Brussels. But anyone really wanting to know how Europe is doing should stop looking to its leaders, and talk instead with the region’s struggling business owners and unemployed wor
For generations, two families in Mallorca have laid competing claims to the legacy of Frédéric Chopin. Starting in 1838, the Polish composer lived in a room on the island with his mistress, and composed some of his great works. But which room was it? And
Ramzan Kadyrov has absolute power over Chechnya. He controls everything from the reconstruction of the capital Grozny to what women are allowed to wear. Behind the pomp, Vladimir Putin’s spiritual heir is “normalizing” the country through terror.
New Chinese regulations limiting entertainment shows on regional television channels may be an attempt to halt the declining ratings of the CCTV state-controlled network. But with the growth of the Internet, and other new freedoms, it may not work this ti
Op-Ed: Germany’s relative economic strength and Angela Merkel’s steady leadership on the debt crisis are being lauded around the world. Now it’s time that Merkel gets some overdue respect from her own citizens.
With world food demand expected to jump 70% and rising production of biofuels, international investors are gobbling up agricultural land in developing world. But what happens to the rights of local farmers?
A R A B I C A ارابيكا By Kristen Gillespie WE ARE ALL…Two police officers were convicted of torturing and killing the young Egyptian activist Khalid Said, 28, who was arrested while at an Internet café in Alexandria last July. Pictures of Said’s tortured body post-mortem circulated on the web and inspired Wael Ghonim, […]
Russia’s leadership position in Indian markets appears to be at risk after several high-profile military bids were rejected, and a joint nuclear power plant delayed by local protesters.