WorldcrunchBertrand Hauger is a graduate of La Sorbonne Nouvelle school of bilingual journalism, and joined Worldcrunch after working briefly as a reporter in a local newspaper in his native eastern France. He now serves as Worldcrunch’s deputy editor-in-chief and director of content.
“RIOTS ERUPT” Tuesday’s front page of The Baltimore Sun reads, above images of clashes and burning cars as the city descended into chaos Monday after two weeks of tensions over the alleged police killing of Freddie Gray. Violence started erupting just hours after the funeral for Gray, the 25-year-old Baltimore man who died April 19 […]
Living a stone’s throw from Switzerland has its perks. People can go for a swim in the beautiful lakes — such as Lake Brienz here — but I’m more interested in Fendant, a dry and fruity white wine that’s particularly refreshing on a hot July day.
Ireland rocks at Eurovision. With seven wins since the birth of the most over-the-top singing contest, the country is actually the most successful at it. So, congrats…? But Ireland has lost its Euro-mojo, as it’s failed to reach the top five since 1997. Will this year’s contestant Molly Sterling — at 16 years old, the […]
The month of March in Thailand is usually rather hot and dry. Still, you can sometimes run into monsoon-like weather, and be as powerless as these monks trying to cross a flooded street in the center of the country.
ARMENIA REMEMBERS Ceremonies are being held in the Armenian capital of Yerevan in remembrance of the Armenian genocide by Ottoman Turks, which began 100 years ago today. “I am grateful to all those who are here to once again confirm your commitment to human values, to say that nothing is forgotten, that after 100 years […]
The monumental Karl-Marx Allee avenue in East Berlin, was a flagship project of the reconstruction program in East Germany after World War II.
The Armenian-Canadian newspaper Horizon Weekly featured a man kneeling before the eternal flame of Yerevan’s Armenian Genocide memorial complex, as ceremonies are being held in the Armenian capital in remembrance of the Armenian genocide by Ottoman Turks, which began 100 years ago today. ABOUT THE SOURCE: Horizon Weekly is an Armenian-Canadian publication and is the […]
TEL AVIV — One day, six years ago, while working on a documentary for Israel’s Holocaust Memorial Day, television producer Ronnie Sarnat came across a strange story. “I sent a crew to film testimonies of Holocaust survivors and the crew came back deeply distraught,” she says. “One of the survivors came out to them, crying […]
Prior to this year, Hungary had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest twelve times since their first entry in 1994 — which was coincidentally the year they achieved their best result, placing fourth. This year’s contestant, Boglárka Csemer, who goes by the name Boggie, had already gained worldwide recognition in January 2014 with the music […]
There are some lesser known places that give you some serious “travel credibility,” like Belize, Swaziland — or Kaliningrad. Being home to a very large number of storks during the warmer months, the Russian enclave reminded me of Alsace, a stone’s throw away from where I live in eastern France.
SAUDI ARABIA CALLS HALT TO YEMEN STRIKES, THEN STRIKES AGAIN Hopes that the Saudi-led coalition of Sunni Arab countries was ending its “Decisive Storm” campaign in Yemen were short-lived after reports of more airstrikes against Houthi Shia rebels emerged Wednesday morning, less than a day after Riyadh had indicated a halt to attacks. A local […]
The Eagle Mesa, the Sitting Hen, the Totem Pole, the Mittens … The sandstone buttes of Monument Valley lend themselves very well to man’s imagination. This here formation is called the Three Sisters, as it is supposed to resemble a Catholic nun facing her two pupils. To me it looks more like a gigantic “W” […]
MIGRANT BOAT CAPTAIN ARRESTED Italian authorities in the port of Catania said Tuesday they arrested the Tunisian captain of the boat that capsized off the Libyan coast Sunday, killing around 800 people, Rome daily La Repubblica reports. He has been charged with multiple homicide. The captain was arrested along with a Syrian man believed to […]
Holy Week is the occasion of many colorful processions around Mexico, like here with this Paseo de los Judas Indultados (“Procession of Judas”) in front of Mexico City“s National Palace. Particular importance is given to Judas Iscariot — and an effigy of the man who betrayed Jesus is usually burned on the night of Easter […]
EMERGENCY EU SUMMIT AFTER MIGRANT TRAGEDY European Union leaders are holding an emergency summit in Luxembourg to discuss a common response to the ongoing migrant crisis. But the EU’s Foreign Policy Chief Federica Mogherini warned ahead of the meeting that there was “no easy solution, no magic solution,” the BBC reports. This comes just one […]
Newspapers around the world featured the tragedy in the Mediterranean Sea on the front pages of their Monday edition, after as many as 700 migrants reportedly died when their boat capsized. Sunday’s tragedy is believed to be the worst maritime disaster in Europe since World War II. ITALY FRANCE GERMANY CHILE U.S.
No one knows why the people of Morne-à-l’Eau in Guadeloupe have chosen to bury their dead in these checkered black-and-white tombs — perhaps because both black and white are colors of mourning in different parts of the world? Anyway, the famous cemetery’s design naturally brought me back to my chess-playing days.
AL-QAEDA GAINS AMID YEMEN CHAOS Airstrikes from the Saudi-led coalition against Yemen’s Houthi rebels have “indirectly helped empower al-Qaeda in ways the group had not enjoyed before” because the focus elsewhere leaves them “unopposed,” The New York Times writes. The jihadist group has seized a major airport, a military base and a significant oil terminal, […]
TIME Magazine revealed, as it does every year, its list of the 100 most influential people in the world, with five different covers. Kanye West was chosen as head of the “Titans,” in the same category as his wife, Kim Kardashian. Representing the “Pioneers” is African-American ballet dancer Misty Copeland, accompanied by actresses Emma Watson […]
The Stavrovouni Monastery in southern Cyprus is one of the few places that boasts a piece of the Holy Cross. It was particularly interesting to see how one of the oldest monasteries in the world manages to maintain the island’s tradition of Byzantine icon painting.
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Pertti Kurikan Nimipäivät — which, for brevity’s sake and because we don’t want the Internet to run out of space, we shall refer to as “PKN” — is a punk rock band that was formed in 2009 in a charity workshop for adults with developmental disabilities. They entered the Eurovision Song Contest to raise awareness […]
SUNKEN S. KOREAN FERRY TO BE RAISED South Korean President Park Geun-hye has promised to raise the sunken ferry Sewol to recover the nine bodies still missing, as the country commemorates the disaster’s one-year anniversary, Yonhap news agency reports. A total of 304 people, most of them high school students, died when the ship sank […]
El Tiempo, April 16, 2015 “Airstrikes resume after FARC massacre,” the front-page headline of Bogota-based daily El Tiempo reads Thursday, alongside a picture of Colombian soldiers retrieving the bodies of their comrades who died in an ambush by the rebels late Tuesday in western Colombia’s La Esperanza. At least 10 soldiers were killed in the […]
This is the arresting Rock of Monaco, back when you could snap a picture without having to slalom between obnoxious sports cars.
The Nobel laureate, who died this week, helped Germany find its voice after the horrors of World War II. But his life ultimately embodied his nation’s struggles to come to terms with its past.
Financial Times, April 15, 2015 The European Union announced plans Wednesday to charge Google with violating antitrust laws by using its dominant position in the search engine market to favor its own services over those of its rivals. The Financial Times had details of the expected action in its Wednesday edition, noting the EU’s move […]
China is moving into a new phase of both political and economic power that will test both its skills and ambitions far beyond the factory walls.
U.S. TO REMOVE CUBA FROM TERROR LIST After this weekend’s historic meeting with Cuban President Raul Castro in Panama, Barack Obama announced plans to take off Cuba from the list of countries the U.S. accuses of sponsoring terrorism. The Washington Post reports on what this latest step in the rapprochement between the two neighbors means. […]
As I’ve already pointed out, eating in China is a singular experience. And though the stalls of the soup vendors in the streets of Xi’an, in central China, smelled delicious, you have to keep an open mind and expect something … well … exotic in your bowl.
In the deafening Egyptian capital, a small group of independent artists quietly present an art relying on everything the performer has to give … except their voices.
SEPARATISTS BREACH UKRAINE CEASEFIRE The Ukrainian military accused pro-Russian separatists yesterday of using heavy weaponry that is supposed to have been withdrawn per a ceasefire both parties agreed to in February, Reuters reports. EXTRA! Nigerian newspaper Daily Trust joins the rest of the world today in marking the first anniversary of the terrorist organization Boko […]
Nigerian newspaper Daily Trust on Tuesday joins the rest of the world in marking the first anniversary of the terrorist organization Boko Haram’s abduction of 276 schoolgirls from the northeastern town of Chibok, There are 219 still missing. The mass kidnapping sparked the #BringBackOurGirls campaign, drawing international attention to the fate of the victims and […]
Although it is somewhat cast into the shadow by the world-famous temple of Petra nearby, the Wadi Rum region in southern Jordan is popular among travelers who want to discover the wonders of the desert and its Bedouin heritage.
HILLARY’S IN, AND THE WORLD REACTS Hillary Rodham Clinton’s Sunday announcement that she’s running in the 2016 presidential race, her second bid to become the first female U.S. president, drew news coverage from around the world, with one German newspaper even using the English headline, “The Very First Lady.” Via a short video on her […]
Las Vegas, Shenzhen, Mexico … Paris” Eiffel Tower has inspired countless duplicates. We came upon this one standing a mere 18-meters tall at the entrance of Filiatra, in Greece’s southern Peloponnese region.
Hillary Rodham Clinton’s Sunday announcement that she’s running in the 2016 presidential race, her second bid to become the first female U.S. president, drew news coverage from around the world, with one German newspaper even using the English headline, “The Very First Lady.” Via a short video (watch below) on her campaign website, the former […]
E-commerce, local partnerships and logistics are among the keys to success for foreign retailers trying to tap into the massive Chinese consumer market.
U.S. AND CUBA MAKE HISTORY IN PANAMA U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez met last night in Panama City in what represented the highest-level meeting between the two countries in more than 50 years. The meeting preceded the Summit of the Americas, which begins there today. A U.S. State […]
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