With time running out, France’s Sarkozy and Germany’s Merkel have moved closer to a framework that would allow for a debt cut for Greece, and protect those French banks that might not withstand the partial Greek default. The health of th
Author: Worldcrunch
Op-Ed: Chinese want to know how to combat the abuse of power by top officials who force demolition of people’s homes to make way for new development projects. But rather than focusing on cracking down after the fact, citizens must simply demand a say in w
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Dexia Agrees To Franco-Belgian Rescue Deal
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Nobel Economics Awarded
Thomas Sargent and Christopher Sims win Nobel economics prize, AP reported (developping).
From Heineken and Krups to Pierre Hardy and Peugeot, more and more companies are joining forces – and labels – in an effort to give their respective brands an added buzz.
PARIS/AP — A moderate French leftist once dismissed as soft as a strawberry dominated nationwide primary voting Sunday, and emerged the top likely challenger to the divisive and impulsive Nicolas Sarkozy for the nation’s presidency. Pollsters say Francois Hollande, a longtime Socialist leader who urged his party to embrace European integration, could easily dislodge the […]
Essay: Reaching yet another new low, Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi suggests a vulgar, sexist new name for his political party. No less disturbing is how the economic crisis has revealed the fact that he’s been selling Italy an empty ba
An Italian reporter pays a visit to one of Singapore’s many low-commission, high-confidentiality betting outlets. Investigators say bets were placed in these locations in a match-fixing scandal involving top players now undermining fan confidence
The world’s second largest retailer, Carrefour, insists it is not pulling out of the massive Chinese market. Still, a closer look at the French company’s struggles offers a window into how quickly things can change when doing big busines
A R A B I C A ارابيكا By Kristen Gillespie LIBYA, AL QAEDA LINKS?Tripoli military commander Abdelhakim Belhadj denies al-Qaeda fighters are among ranks of rebel forces, quoted in Al-Quds al-Arabi, a London-based daily. LIBYA, CIA LINKS?A Facebook group calling itself “Wikileaks Libya” posted documents exposing efforts by a number of former American intelligence […]
Economic difficulties in Europe and the United States may finally be landing to China. In Wenzhou, a mid-sized city near Shanghai, entrepreneurs are tightening their belts – and skipping town in some cases – as operating costs rise and loans become scarce
A number of wealthy and well-connected Swiss families are turning their homes into classical music venues. A throwback to the aristocratic salon-scene of yesteryear, Zurich’s private concerts can be elegant affairs, though the organizers insist they are n
France’s universities have made major headway in attracting foreign students in recent years. But more needs to be done if the country’s top schools hope to score better on international rankings and draw more of the world’s best and brightest.
Op-Ed: There will be a heavy price to pay for the recent detention of more than 150 accused of being part of a banned separatist Kurdish group. Those sure to benefit are hardliners on all sides as hopes grow dimmer for a democratic solution to the Kurdish
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Placebos Can Be Bona Fide Painkillers
Memories formed following previous intake of actual drugs are triggered by a placebo pill resulting in a real effect to fight pain and inflammation, according to a new Italian study. First thing, though, you better trust your doctor.
He’s organized exhibitions from Johannesburg to New York. Now, Nigerian-American curator Okwui Enwezor, the new director of Munich’s historic Haus der Kunst, is taking Germany by storm.
Bashar Al-Assad’s crackdown on pro-democracy forces has killed thousands in cities like Rastan and Daraa. But the regime is also pursuing opponents abroad. In Paris, several activists have been beaten by shadowy characters presumed to be Syrian secret ser
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How Birkenstocks Became Hip
They used to be the eco-shoe par excellence, footwear of choice for the ‘No Nukes’ crowd. But now that green has gone mainstream – so have Birkenstocks. The cork-rubber-and-leather German sandals known more for comfort than their good lo
In the past few years, the Chinese government has decided to dust off quite a number of “dormant” taxes, including those levied on property and personal income, as well as a local education surcharge, all signs of both the causes and effects of its high-o
Op-Ed: Le Monde remembers the Apple founder, as a corporate executive who was always more than a businessman. His gift was to see the ways that the latest technology could enter into ordinary lives.
The life and death of the visionary Apple founder is being shared — often on devices Jobs invented — all across the world.
Op-Ed: The demonstrations are chaotic and their messages tangled, but the Occupy Wall Street protesters are anything but crazy. In drawing attention to the gaping chasm between America’s haves and have-nots, they have correctly identified a situa
Some European companies and government offices are sticking it to their tobacco-loving employees, forcing them to punch the clock any time they step out for a cigarette break. In France, Belgium and Italy, the policy has sparked controversy and left smoke
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In Vietnam, Souls Captured on Paper
Once upon a time, hand-painted portraits were more valued in Vietnam than photographs. But with the arrival of digital cameras, the country’s remaining portrait painters have faded to black. In the old royal city of Hue only one remains: Master Huu Vinh T
Alongside the changes emerging from the Arab spring, the fashion world in France’s southeast corner is shifting its focus away from Asia to its Mediterranean neighbors in North Africa, and establishing a textile industry network that is close at hand.
A R A B I C A ارابيكا By Kristen Gillespie FAISAL AL-QASSEM V. SYRIAN REGIME One of Al Jazeera’s most famous talk-show hosts, the combatative Faisal al-Qassem conducted an interview with a Syrian official that has gone viral in the Arab world. The highest-rated host on the highest-rated network presided over what can only […]
Op-Ed: President Obama has been wagging his finger at Europe, and Germany in particular, to do more to stimulate the world economy. It reveals a major transatlantic gulf on both philosophical and practical solutions to the global economic crisis.
With fares as low as 250 rubles, Avianova made a splash when it entered the competitive Russian market two years ago. But plagued from the start by delays and cancellations, the low-cost carrier will be grounding its fleet for good on October 9.
In Beijing, housing price per square meter is as high as $2,000, which means most people who work in the city can’t afford to live there. Government efforts at subsidized housing have fallen short, as China begins to pay the price for its modern
Vasily Aleksanyan is dead at 38. He used to be a lawyer and top executive of oil company Yukos, whose chief Mikhail Khodorkovsky is in jail since 2003. Aleksanyan had long battled with Russian authorities to be released from jail to be treated for AIDS.
Over the past six years, Germany has opened three treatment centers for men with pedophilic tendencies. Patients enter the therapy-based program voluntarily, as a way to explore their impulses and control their behavior – before it’s too late.
The not guilty verdicts in the Meredith Kercher murder case are a bitter pill for Italian investigators. That Amanda Knox and Raffaele Sollecito walk free – after four years in prison – leaves no one satisfied.
Poverty is getting worse in Egypt, particularly in rural areas, according to a study released by the government statistics agency. Analysts blame the worsening situation in rural regions on the government’s bias in recent years towards funding urban devel
Op-Ed: Three cheers! The relevant EU states approved the new euro bailout package. There’s just one problem: everybody knows the money is not enough, which is why they are already planning their next steps. Why are politicians ignoring the truth and playi
A R A B I C A ارابيكا By Kristen Gillespie KILLERS IN SYRIAThe situation in Syria appears to be worsening further as intellectuals and doctors are being assassinated. Opposition activists blame the government for the deaths they say are an attempt to stoke sectarian tensions while the government continues to blame unnamed “armed terrorist […]
Two female reporters run the gauntlet at Oktoberfest and share their tales of grabbing, groping, drunken come-ons, sexist insults and flashing foreigners. For women, the annual event’s drunken antics can cross the line to degrading and even dangerous.
After this weekend’s arrest of some 700 activists in New York, the so-called Occupy Wall Street squatters appear to be gaining strength – and media interest. France’s Le Monde notes the parallels with Spain’s ‘Indignados’ movement.
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The Roman Polanski Interview
In his first interview since being jailed in Switzerland in 2009, Oscar-winning director Polanski talks about the 1977 case of unlawful sex with a minor that led him to flee the U.S, and prompted his arrest two years ago. In the Swiss TV interview, the me
In France, a growing number of corporate coaches are taking unconventional approaches to introduce basic management skills. Some teach executives to work with horses. Others in the largely unregulated industry organize their trainings around cooking, musi
Outrage follows an investigation into the confiscation of a dozen infants from a poor rural area of Hunan province. There, local officials offered dozens of children up for adoption to foreigners after the biological parents failed to pay fines for violat