Worldcrunch
Trailing other Western European countries — and several U.S. States — in gay rights laws, France has again opted against legalizing gay marriage. Still, same-sex French couples are increasingly making sure civil union ceremonies walk and talk like a wed
In a sit-down with France’s top business daily Les Echos, Amazon founder Bezos reflects on the pure speed of innovation on the Internet, and why the “posture” of consumption can change everything.
Once in the frontline of Afghanistan’s civil war, the Kabul zoo attracted hungry militiamen, not tourists. But now it is bringing in peaceful crowds again.
A R A B I C A ارابيكا 12-MM TALKING*A man in the northern Syrian city of Idlib found a creative way to describe recent protests in the city. “The city of Idlib, June 26th 2011,” he begins the narrative, while filming bullets placed on two pieces of white paper spelling out the word “freedom” […]
Yuan Jiang has struck gold with his B2C wine business. Through his website, the Chinese entrepreneur is already moving about 10,000 bottles of wine per day and chalking up annual sales of more than 20 million euros.
Op-Ed: Germany is doing itself no favors by sticking with the euro. Instead of bailing out the hapless likes of Greece and Portugal, Germany should join other countries that share a similar economic culture and create a new hard currency: the “nordeuro.’’
Europe’s consumer electronics industry is already reeling from the recent disastrous showing of Nokia. Now Philips has announced it would stop making televisions, another sign that the historic brand is struggling to compete.
Offering instant citizenship and huge salaries to star athletes, maneuvering for major sporting events are a way for small Gulf nations to aim big on world stage.
DANZIGER
As a potential place to invest, Berlin ranks high. At least that’s what the polls say. But when it comes to putting its money where its mouth is, big business is shying away from launching into a long-term relationship with the attractive German capital.
Plagued by civil war, terrorism and poverty, Somalia and its capital Mogadishu are often described as hell on earth. But thanks to international help and a handful of courageous citizens, some light has appeared at the end of the tunnel for the troubled A
Mercedes is building a hybrid Popemobile for Benedict XVI’s upcoming visit. That’s a departure from the usual—for every day getting around, His Holiness sticks to Italian makes.
A police clampdown on Maori activists in New Zealand netted an unlikely “terror” suspect: 27-year-old Urs Signer of Switzerland. Awaiting his trial, Signer continues life as “usual” in the indigenous village of Parihaka, where he lives with his Maori part
A R A B I C A ارابيكا By Kristen Gillespie ALL-SYRIA FRIDAYThe “Friday of the Fall of Legitimacy” was met with protests around the country. Meanwhile, the Syrian military rolled up to within 500 meters of the Turkish border. HAMAA short clip of protests in the small city of Hama is here. This one, […]
A “crazy” pan-African plan is looking to fight desertification in the Sahara with a giant green belt. The ambitious initiative calls for planting millions of trees – from Senegal all the way to Djibouti.
Tunisia’s recent “Jasmine revolution” has brought much of the country’s economy to a standstill. Foreign tourists are still a rare sight right now, but long-established Italian companies are eager to reignite old economic ties.
Op-Ed: If China indeed wants to be a protagonist on the world stage, it can no longer ignore human rights issues. A good place to start would be the case of artist Ai Weiwei, whose recent release from jail had everything to do with Chinese Premier Wen Jia
Op-Ed: Founded 83 years ago, the Islamic organization manages to be both politically astute and yet rise above politics. But for post-revolution Egypt to turn into a vibrant democracy, other forces must emerge with the same connection to people’s
Op-Ed: The veteran Prime Minister’s passivity suits the Israeli public, interested in neither war nor peace. Still, to turn the short-term success into a lasting legacy Netanyahu must radically change his strategy — and coalition partners.
Unemployment, economic hardship, and the shame of being considered Europe’s black sheep – the Greek have never been so dispirited. And the number of cases of clinical depression and suicides is soaring.
A R A B I C A ارابيكا TURKISH BORDERAs the situation along the Syrian-Turkish border becomes increasingly tense, BBC Arabic was leading its website with an amateur video clip of a building close to the border with Syrian soldiers and armored vehicles next to it. Two snipers are in position on the rooftop. The […]
A report by China’s central bank found that thousands of Chinese government officials have smuggled billions out of the country and fled, mainly to the U.S., highlighting “the corruption within a corrupt system”.
Anglo-French oil and gas giant Perenco accused of using cultural sponsorship to try to whitewash its polluting of the water of a Guatemalan nature reserve.
Airbus engineers are coming up with startling new ideas for how planes could look – and operate – 40 years from now. By 2050, commercial aircraft may have transparent cabins, fly in formations and shuttle some 9 billion passengers.
Unruly — and unhappy — dogs and cats can be a real nightmare for their human masters. One option? Therapy. Specialized dog and cat psychologists can work wonders with perturbed pets, but only when their owners are willing to open up as well.
The young people on the two shores of the Mediterranean each have demands, but the sense of possibility embodied in North African and Arab quest for freedom is utterly absent in European youth protests.
A R A B I C A ارابيكا UPRISING (CONT.)*As the government of President Bashar Assad offers a public face of reconciliation toward protesters while using an iron fist on the ground, fresh video clips suggest that demonstrations and marches are continuing around the country. Despite the growing risk, one thing Arab regimes will never […]
Manola Rajaonarison thought she was going to Lebanon to work as a housekeeper. That’s what the agency said. What she didn’t know was that she would repeatedly be humiliated, beaten and raped.
Brothers Abu and Ghulam Taieb embody the internal rifts that are tearing Afghanistan apart. One a Taliban fighter, the other a policeman, they remain on friendly terms – but swear they will kill each other if needs be.
Armed with a healthy dose of courage – and his own sleeping bag – one Swiss reporter sets off on a perilous quest to brave Zurich’s cheapest sleeping establishment: the infamous Krone.
Designer Giorgio Armani gave reporters an earful Tuesday following a fashion event in Milan, Italy.
Op-Ed: Faced with China’s chain of food safety scares, the Health Ministry’s answer is to clamp down on journalists. But it is the media’s job to monitor the Health Ministry, not the other way round.
Le Monde reports on new documents that may prove costly for French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde. The documents suggest Lagarde may have known that members of an arbitration panel involved in state dispute with a French tycoon were biased.
Op-Ed: A provocative viewpoint from China on the U.S. endgame in territorial disputes between the Chinese “elephant” and smaller “ant” nations like Vietnam. Washington’s pragmatic self-interest can be dislodged only by “belief in its own destiny,” or Jewi
In crime-infested Calabria, the famed Italian national soccer team takes a stand against local mob intimidation by training on a field confiscated from a notorious boss.
A new report by Russian atomic power agency Rosatam paints a grim picture of the country’s aging nuclear power plants, which are ill-prepared for earthquakes and other natural phenomena.
Business in booming for Turkey’s commercial aviation industry. Led by Turkish Airlines, the industry has already ordered some 5.3 billion dollars worth of new aircraft.
Pharmaceutical companies are increasingly carrying out their clinical trials abroad – in developing and emerging nations, including in the so-called BRICS countries. But in their eagerness to save both time and money, are the drug companies also sidestepp
Greece’s deepening economic crisis is prompting some lifelong city-dwellers to return to their ancestral villages, where they are taking up farming, opening B&Bs and rediscovering the quiet charms of rural living.
A R A B I C A ارابيكا SPEECH & SENTIMENT*Syrian President Bashar al-Assad gave a closely-watched speech to supporters at Damascus University, carried live on state television, blaming the past three months of violence on an external conspiracy and “saboteurs.” Assad promised to form a committee to oversee reforms, and pledged that reforms will […]