New rules in the Italian city could require all public workers to get docked for every time they step outside the office for a smoke.
Author: Worldcrunch
Despite dissent among top Iranian leaders, Tehran appears to be now throwing its weight behind Gaddafi’s regime rather than the rebels. Iran hopes the West gets bogged down in Libya and can’t pursue Syria or Iran’s own nuclear program.
Is cycling up and down the Alps, and around every other corner in France, not tiring enough? Now cyclists are expected to tweet in between exhausting stages. And from their bikes?
Bicycle paths in some Swiss cities are about to crowd up as motorized, 3-wheel rickshaw taxis come to town.
Thai wine is gathering growing praise from world-renowned wine experts. Many tourists – including some who sign on as grape pickers – now include vineyards on their list of things to see in Thailand.
After all these years, are people still suspicious of the quality of products Made in China? Shi Jihongof the Xinxiu group luggage makers says the answer is a resounding ‘Yes’.
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Is Russia Really Such A Solid Investment?
Op-Ed: Right now, Russia is ‘in’ with investors. But the giant economy is both less dynamic and more risky than many realize.
A R A B I C A ارابيكا By Kristen Gillespie TENSION RISINGLebanon’s A-Nahar daily reports on the growing acrimony between the new Hezbollah-backed government and the March 14 opposition faction, headed by former Prime Minister Saad Hariri. The UN’s Special Tribunal for Lebanon last week indicted four men, believed to be members of Hezbollah, […]
Like hundreds of others in Germany, and a few cases popping up elsewhere, one 29-year-old is lucky to be alive, but otherwise facing major health problems.
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The Libyan Diaspora And The War
Libyans who have left, and others with experience abroad, play a key role for the anti-government forces in coordinating and communicating with the outside world.
A political battle erupts when locals objecting to the arrival of bears decide to hold a very particular kind of barbecue.
Fifteen months after losing its president in a tragic plane crash, Poland takes stock of its past — recent and not-so-recent — and looks to a future that is once again charged with a sense of opportunity for a nation still looking to fulfil its potentia
A R A B I C A ارابيكا THE CITYBBC Arabic features an in-depth report from the central Syrian city of Hama, which had been the site last Friday of the largest demonstrations in the past four months of unrest. “Witnesses said about 30 buses full of armed police officers and soldiers entered the city […]
In interview with Le Monde, Saif Al-Islam Gaddafi doesn’t exclude a cease-fire and negotiations, but otherwise strikes an aggressive posture toward the rebels and the West.
Long before Fukushima, or even Chernobyl, Austrians pulled the plug on nuclear power with a 1978 referendum. The physical legacy of that narrow vote is a completed – but never used – power plant called Zwentendorf, now open to the public.
Since Strauss-Kahn’s arrest on attempted rape charges, and with the latest news that his accuser’s credibility is in doubt, those who know him best paint the picture of a public enigma whose desire for freedom – and women – always risked undermin
Our Milan business and finance correspondent is moving back to Germany. Before leaving, he tried his hand at small-time Italian entrepreneurship: selling the entire contents of his apartment. Not so easy, as it turns out.
With the era of cheap Chinese labor over, international manufacturers such as Samsung, Canon and Foxconn have relocated major production plants across the southern border to Vietnam.
In France, where accusers enjoy something akin to a “right to lie,” the latest twists in the DSK investigation follow questions about Strauss-Kahn’s treatment as a common criminal.
When it comes to swimwear this summer, Europe’s fashionistas say covering it up can be super cool.
From Day One, the African-born New York hotel maid who accused Dominique Strauss-Kahn of sexual assault has either been seen as the most innocent of victims, or the center of a plot to take advantage of an influential leader with a weakness for women.
An NGO in Geneva, Swizerland is working on a drug to treat to African trypanosomiasis, better known as “sleeping sickness.” If approved, the medication would be available in pill form. Sleeping sickness patients must currently received painful injections.
The market is suddenly booming for getting cameos in blockbuster movies for everything from Chinese computers to clothes to milk. Just make sure the movie isn’t made in China.
The region reacts to news that the ever influential and controversial Venezuelan President has announced from Cuba that he is being treated for cancer.
Op-Ed: In last week’s “2+2” summit in Washington, U.S. and Japanese government officials made it clear that they see Chinese growth as a threat to regional stability. Their response is a coordinated policy of containment, which lacks a wider vision for th
The Socialist party primary to challenge Nicolas Sarkozy in 2012 is in full swing. Politicians react to sudden news that Dominique Strauss-Kahn may be back in the running.
Despite some signs of decrease right-wing extremist violence in Germany as a whole, the former Communist eastern part of the country has registered an uptick in Neo-Nazi action.
Op-Ed: Deeply indebted euro zone countries are hoarding significant quantities of gold reserves: Greece has 4 million ounces, Portugal’s stash is worth 13 billion. But instead of selling it to pay off their creditors, they’d rather ask t
Contemporary artists in Indonesia are starting to gain the attention of Western galleries. And like the craze for Chinese art that preceded it, the sudden attention could send prices for Indonesian pieces through the roof.
It’s not just the disgraced former New York Congressman: philandering Chinese politicians are being caught out online too. Exposed in naked chat rooms and saucy blogs, they remind Chinese of…Bill Clinton
Convicted rapist and murderer Jean-Louis B. escaped from his Swiss jail on Monday. “As he talked about his dark past, his eyes lit up”, recalls journalist Fati Mansour from her 1999 encounter with the man considered Switzerland’s most dangerous c
A R A B I C A ارابيكا > SYRIAN ARMY*AFP Arabic reports at least 16 Syrians were believed killed as the army pushed into new villages in northwest Syria, close to the Turkish border. “The soldiers deployed in the villages and began raids,” said Ramy Abdel Rahman, the head of the Syrian-based Syrian Observatory […]
Upon returning from Afghanistan, French Army Chaplain Julien de Pommerol accused the military of bending to Islamic pressures and “babouche-licking.” Some accuse him of Islamophobia, others applaud his candor.
In a view from the ground in Brega, signs of bombing campaigns carried out with oil production in mind. Gaddafi loyalists say NATO attacks kills civilians, spares the oil in a dirty war.
Rebels in the southern mountains have advanced on government troops, and France believes they may have best chance of reaching Tripoli, which could lead to Gaddafi’s overthrow.
Chinese lawmakers have drafted a law designed to protect people from the so-called “made mad” phenomenon. As several high-profile cases have shown, people in power sometimes manage to force political opponents into mental hospitals.
It’s the second smallest state in the world, stomping ground for millionaires and eccentrics, and host to Prince Albert’s royal wedding this weekend. But there’s more to Monaco, from the snubbing of the nouveaux riches to mingling at the local fruit marke
Op-Ed: Barack Obama wants to end a “decade of war” by withdrawing troops from Afghanistan. But as the United States increasingly focuses on its own problems at home, its allies will be vulnerable to an ever more uncertain world.
A R A B I C A ارابيكا JORDAN: ROUGH POLITICSIn Jordan’s Lower House of Parliament, largely wedded to the status quo, Prime Minister Marouf al-Bakhit barely managed to win a 53-50 vote of confidence following accusations of involvement in a murky casino deal involving King Abdullah’s closest advisers and confidantes. The representatives already voted […]
Venezuela’s normally bombastic president has been uncharacteristically quiet as he recovers from hip surgery in Cuba. Chávez’s prolonged silence is now sparking rumors that his health condition could be far worse than officials sources a