A wave of violence rocked Cologne on New Year’s Eve, when more than 100 women reported that men of Arab and North African appearance robbed, groped and raped them. Though shocking in Germany, such attacks are all too common in Arab countries, wher
Author: Worldcrunch
VATICAN CITY — For Pope Francis, “a work of art is the strongest evidence that incarnation is possible.” It is an idea expressed in his book “La Mia Idea Di Arte” (My Idea of Art), co-written with Italian journalist Tiziana Lupi as part of the Church’s latest attempt to recover bonds with its traditional allies […]
BEIJING — News of North Korea’s most recent atomic test, which Pyongyang is claiming was its first detonation of a hydrogen bomb, has sparked new fears about the future. But there is a more immediate concern: Neighboring South Korea and China are increasingly worried that the underground nuclear tests could set off the dormant volcano […]
LOIKAW — Myanmar“s so-called “giraffe women,” famous for the traditional neck coils they wear, appear destined to disappear. Young Burmese have rejected this tradition of wearing the heavy brass rings, saying they are painful and uncomfortable. And for those who do, carrying on the custom has become less about tradition and more about earning a living from tourists. San Bon village is one place where Burma’s long-necked women call home. It’s about 30 minutes by car from Loikaw, the capital of Kayah state. Residents say that at one time all the women here wore the neck coils as a symbol […]
Since the Jan. 7, 2015 killings, many humorists have been struggling to tackle the question of Islamic terrorism, security and freedom of speech. Most are undeterred.
Five centuries after Spanish conquistadors took over Mexico, Mexican billionaires are busy buying up chunks of Spain. After four years of recession, it was the perfect match between cash-rich customers and a needy economy.
CARACARAÍ — When a 21-year-old indigenous woman gave birth to her fourth son in this small settlement in northern Brazil, she noticed that the newborn was suffering from a malformation in his leg. She knew what that meant, but still consulted with the leaders of her Yanomami tribe in a desperate hope for an exception. […]
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NY Daily News On The NRA’s “Act Of Terror”
The National Rifle Association has worked itself up into such a bilious froth over modest gun control proposals that it has issued what looks like a death threat against New York lawmakers who support them. And New York’s Daily News called out the gun lobby on Tuesday’s cover, calling the threat an “Act of Terror.” […]
A recent study found that 40 million rural Chinese children’s cognitive ability was significantly lower than the national average. A program called “Nurturing the Future” focuses on toddlers too often left at home by parents who go to work
LUXOR — It’s hot in the minibus that takes us to a village about 10 kilometers from Luxor’s city center. We ask the driver to drop us off at the house of Hajj Tarek* on the main street. Dotted with farmland, sugar cane and modest concrete houses, the village looks like many other Upper Egyptian […]
It took a dozen years for Juan Camilo Niño Vargas to document and create a glossary for a little-known, and unwritten, tongue being threatened with extinction. Now it has a chance to live on.
BEIJING — As it marks the 10th anniversary of its entry into China, Lamborghini is undergoing a major rebranding operation — and one that cuts against the current. While virtually all other luxury carmakers have focused on attracting younger customers, the iconic Italian sports car brand wants to appeal instead to a more mature customer […]
SAO CARLOS — At 23, Sara Winter is in a mothering phase. Three months ago, she gave birth at home to her first son, Hector Valentim, and in December she published her first e-book, “Vadia, Não! Sete Vezes que Fui Traída pelo Feminismo” (I’m No Bitch! Seven Times I was Betrayed by Feminism.) As the […]
Perhaps just as fascinating as the electric cars is the company’s founder and the genuinely earnest ideal among employees to make the world a better place.
QUETTA/JAKARTA/MELBOURNE — Five-year-old Mohammad Raza is holding a photograph of his uncle Sadiq Ali. He believes his uncle is in Australia and that he will soon send a toy airplane. But his grandmother knows that Sadiq Ali is detained abroad. Sadiq left, she says, because he didn’t see any hope for his future in Pakistan. “It was a tough time for him here,” she says, “He ran his own shop but got tired of having no work because the area was unsafe. So he left the country.” Sadiq, 22, is part of the Shia Hazara community in Quetta, a town […]
In Brazil, where you’re born not only affects how you live, but can also have an enormous impact on how long you’ll live. The results of the latest report from the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics, published in Folha de S. Paulo, show that life expectancy in the country of samba varies from what […]
Shocked as we are by each new terror attack, we are no longer surprised. From Worldcrunch HQ in Paris, our editor weighs this troubling year with others before it.
Some believe names represent more than just a matter of taste, that they destine people to certain fates. But most everyone can agree that certain names are simply bad choices.
-OpEd- PARIS — If you travel to the far north of England, you’ll see Hadrian’s Wall still proudly standing almost 19 centuries after it was built. Of course, it’s no match for the Great Wall of China, in length or in what remains of its fortifications. But it’s still an impressive construction, and its message, […]
Medellín officials tout the city’s transformation, diversions and high-tech investments. They’re less keen to talk about criminal gangs that operate with impunity reminiscent of the drug cartel days in the 1980s.
For a secular country, France sure does have a lot of Christian symbolism. The National Front’s youngest leader, 26-year-old Marion Maréchal-Le Pen, thinks it’s as it should be. She says France is a Catholic nation, where Muslim
BEIJING — President Xi Jinping is now be turning his attention to China’s so-called “black households,” those without an official family registry document, who are thus barred from obtaining legal proof of identity. But China will need more than Xi’s good will to solve the problem, which ultimately can be traced in large part back […]
As ties improve between Cuba and the United States, bilateral trade — perhaps the area of greatest interest to consumers — has yet to emerge from its Cold War torpor.
The nativity scenes, signs of hope and time for contemplation of modern Christmas is so retrograde! Let’s celebrate the secular and modern solstice. But really?
PARIS — No country has yet decided to send anyone to Mars. But private-sector initiatives reported by the media — and the global film industry — suggest that things could change within the next decade. If nothing else, such efforts are proof of our collective impatience to see a new stage of space exploration and […]
Border police and other German law enforcement unions say a black market of passports and insufficent border controls are creating a major security risk amidst the surge of Syrian refugees.
El Mundo, Dec. 21, 2015 “Spain knocks down two-party system and leaves the government high and dry,” reads the front page of conservative newspaper El Mundo, after Sunday’s general election saw the expected rise of newcomers Podemos on the left, and Ciudadanos on the right. It’s a “messy” situation for Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, one […]
SPANISH ELECTION ENDS TWO-PARTY SYSTEM Yesterday’s national elections in Spain have left more questions than answers today, as two of the country’s fledgling political movements made huge gains and the conservative Popular Party lost its majority. “Spain knocks down two-party system and leaves the government high and dry,” the front page of conservative newspaper El […]
-OpEd- SAO PAULO — Imagine the following situation: You go to the bathroom, but because you’re in a hurry, you head toward the exit without washing your hands. As you try to open the door, you notice that it has locked automatically. An alarm bell sounds. Only then you understand that the door won’t open […]
The Ottoman Empire’s Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent yearned to conquer Vienna but died in 1566 in Hungary. Archaeologists have discovered the place where his heart and other insides were buried, which is a momentous historical tale of its own.
Orphaned and forced to live on the streets at just 5, Amporn Wathanavong had a miserable childhood, and was lured to fight in the jungles along the Cambodian border. But he ultimately got an education and founded an organization to help poor orphans.
In anticipation of international sanctions on Iran being lifted at the beginning of 2016, European executives are chomping at the bit to do business there. But how will a market economy play with the Islamic regime?
Bicycles with electric motors are becoming more popular and controversial at the same time. Environmentalists wonder if cyclists are losing their carbon neutrality in pursuit of an extra boost.
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Bluer Than Blue
Blue sky, blue car, blue bicycle, and a very blue pub.
Many now blame the U.S.-led Iraq invasion of 2003 for the spread of terror in the Middle East. But what would the region look like today, if the Iraqi dictator hadn’t been ousted?
TOKYO — Earlier this year, a delegation from the Egyptian government was visiting Nibukata Primary School in Tokyo. “The children are well-disciplined and work in teams,” a member of the delegation noted. But the delegate then went on to express particular surprise that children sweep and mop the classroom floors, for it’s common in Egypt […]
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Peshawar School Massacre, One Year On
Dawn, Dec. 16, 2015 People across Pakistan today are remembering the 144 victims of the Peshawar school massacre, one year after the Taliban attack that killed 122 children and 22 teachers. In its editorial, daily newspaper Dawn looks back at the changes the country has gone through after an attack that marked “a new, terrible […]
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A Land Of Fairy Tales
Visiting the Schwarzwälder Freilichtmuseum Vogtsbauernhof is like getting lost in a fairy tale. The open air museum, in the middle of the Black Forest, takes you back to rural Germany 400 years ago. Is that Little Red Riding Hood’s grandmother sewing something for Hansel and Gretel?
Mohamed Soltan lost 120 pounds during a hunger strike in Egyptian prison, where he landed for protesting against the military regime. The only American prisoner freed since the coup, he’s home now. But the physical and pychological effects of food
TREVISO — Not just a token sheep, but a flock of sheep. Not just Joseph and Mary, but all their neighbors, plus angels and wise men, bands of bagpipes, ancient tools, tables and cutlery, traditional dances and, yes, a thatched hut sheltering the Madonna and baby Jesus — several in fact, dressed for those roles, […]