AL MASRAWY (Egypt), SKY TV Worldcrunch CAIRO – After weeks of confrontation over a proposed new Egyptian Constitution, President Mohammed Morsi has signed the decree that makes the new document the law of the land after voters approved a nationwide referendum, according to press reports early Wednesday. Al Masrawy reported the official results of the […]
Author: Bertrand Hauger
Bertrand 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.
THE JAPAN TIMES, THE ASAHI SHIMBUN, (Japan) THE NEW YORK TIMES (USA), BBC NEWS (UK) TOKYO – Japan’s new Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has unveiled his Cabinet lineup, as he begins the task of resuscitating the country’s economy. Parliament voted Shinzo Abe back to power after Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda resigned Wednesday, ending the country’s […]
Warnings by the United States and other countries threatening the Syrian regime with dire consequences if chemical weapons are used against rebel forces may have had the intended effect. Recent media reports suggest this concern has now diminished. It is just as plausible, however, that the regime had little intention of using its chemical weapons […]
-Essay- BEIJING – Lately there seems to be a refreshing breeze blowing through China, which might even change the very essence of our “national conditions.” What are these Chinese “national conditions” anyway? They are many things – each uniquely Chinese. For instance, our tradition of “official-orientated consciousness.” We are accustomed to seeing large crowds at […]
PARIS – Boosting sales and maintaining the allure. Such is the challenge today for arguably the world’s most luxurious brand – Louis Vuitton. And that task falls to Jordi Constans, the former Danone food company executive, who is the new head of the largest subsidiary of the prestigious French LVMH (Louis Vuitton – Moët Hennessy) […]
Also signs of additional facilities that could produce weapons-grade uranium.
The end of the world is slated for this Friday, December 21, and Chinese restaurants are fully booked. They are promising a wonderful atmosphere and are dubbing the special evening the “Last Supper.” We can already imagine the hordes of young people who will spend the evening in a bar – downing alcohol to help […]
PUTIN TO PARDON KHODORKOVSKY After his annual press conference, Vladimir Putin stunned reporters by saying he will sign a pardon for jailed ex-Yukos CEO Mikhail Khodorkovsky “in the nearest time,” RT reports. MARKETS ON THE RISE AFTER FED’S STIMULUS REDUCTION European and Asian stocks were on the rise this morning after the Federal Reserve’s announcement […]
BERLIN – She’ll never know why, on August 7 1970, her father was in the border area near the Berlin Wall. The only thing she knows is that East German border guards fired 177 shots at him. Monika N. was 13 when she lost her father. Her sister was a year older. The worst thing […]
JAPAN TODAY, NHK (Japan), AFP Worldcrunch HIROSHIMA – A worker at a waste disposal facility in Hiroshima in western Japan, has found more than 10 million yen (about $120,000) in cash in a pile of garbage. The money, whose origin has yet to be determined, was spotted by a monitor on a conveyor belt. Some […]
RISING DEATH TOLL IN SOUTH SUDAN Between 400 and 500 people have died in the past three-plus days of clashes between opposing army factions in South Sudan, the BBC reports, citing UN officials. This comes as former vice-president and opposition leader-in-exile Riek Machar told the Paris-based Sudan Tribunethat he didn’t orchestrate a coup attempt, instead […]
GLOBAL TIMES, XINHUA (China), THE GUARDIAN (UK), CNN (US) Worldcrunch Chinese authorities have arrested at least 101 people for spreading rumors about an impending apocalypse, the state-run news agency Xinhua reports. The 101 people arrested (including 37 in Qinghai and 34 in Fujian province in the east of the country, according to CNN) all belong […]
Exclusive investigation: The terror network in Syria includes dozens of European members, and wants to get its hands on Assad’s stockpile of chemical weapons.
Worldcrunch French acting legend Gérard Depardieu said he was surrendering his French passport after France’s prime minister called his move to Belgium for tax reasons “pathetic.” The acting legend had come under criticism last week for declaring permanent residency in the Belgian town of Néchin – allegedly to duck out on France’s new 75% tax […]
GUNFIRE CONTINUES IN SOUTH SUDAN Heavy gunfire continued last night and this morning in South Sudan’s capital, Juba, one day after President Salva Kiir announced he had defeated an attempted coup by military members loyal to one of his rivals, AFP reports. According to government officials, 26 people have died and another 140 have been […]
KIRKUK – Fifty kilometers out of Kirkuk, an oil city in Northern Iraq, the main road from Baghdad is already lined with tanks, artillery, Humvees and patrolling soldiers. Life has returned to the military barracks and checkpoints from the Saddam Hussein era that locals had thought were left behind for good. Tents have also been […]
SÜDDEUTSCHE ZEITUNG (Germany) Worldcrunch Located some 1,800 kilometers off the coast of South America, South Georgia Island has no permanent human residents – but millions of rats. The rodents first made their way to this south Atlantic island on whaling boats in the 18th century and, feeding on sea birds, proliferated quickly. No one can […]
SÜDDEUTSCHE ZEITUNG, DIE WELT (Germany) Worldcrunch MUNICH – New details have emerged Friday of a vast police raid this week against Deutsche Bank in an ongoing tax evasion case. Some 500 state prosecutors, tax and crime investigators were involved in the Wednesday raids on Deutsche Bank offices in Frankfurt and branches in Berlin and Düsseldorf. […]
By some calculations, Fabian Thylmann is the biggest porn king of all time. But right now, he’s stuck inside a Belgian jail.
AL AHRAM, MASRAWY (Egypt) Worldcrunch CAIRO – The very first Egyptians, those residing abroad, began casting their ballots Wednesday to say “yes” or “no” for the country’s new Constitution. They will have until Saturday to either send their voting card by post or present themselves in the voting bureaus in voting offices in their respective […]
UKRAINE “WANTS TO SIGN EU DEAL,” ASHTON SAYS SYRIAN OPPOSITION LEADER FORCED OUT BY ISLAMISTS ACCIDENTAL EXPLOSION NEAR U.S. EMBASSY IN KABUL A powerful explosion that hit an arms depot near the U.S. embassy in Kabul early this morning was apparently accidental, alleviating fears of an attack, Reuters reports. According to Afghan officials, nobody was […]
REUTERS INDIA, TIMES OF INDIA (India), BBC NEWS (UK) Worldcrunch SAN DIEGO – Indian sitar legend Ravi Shankar, who influenced everyone from the Beatles to Guns N” Roses guitarist Slash, has died at the age of 92 after he failed to recover from recent heart surgery in San Diego. Ravi Shankar in March 2009 – […]
AL AHRAM (Egypt), BBC (UK) Worldcrunch CAIRO – As the calm reigns over Tahrir square, cyber activists are multiplying their calls for Tuesday’s protests that will start at 4 P.M. in Cairo and later in other cities, according to tweets under the hashtag #Tuesday’s_mobilization. Protesters in front of the presidential palace. Photo Gigi Ibrahim Al […]
THE AUSTRALIAN FINANCIAL REVIEW, AAP, THE AUSTRALIAN (Australia) Worldcrunch Turn right, then after 200 meters, you have reached your destination. NOT. A glitch in Apple’s new iPhone mapping system is putting lives at risk by sending motorists into isolated parkland, the Australian news agency AAP reports. Over the past month, police officers in Mildura, a […]
BUENOS AIRES – When Nicolás Maduro was named president of the Venezuelan National Assembly, in January of 2006, Cilia Flores – his “life partner” – hung amulets above all the doors. “They are to ward off the bad vibes,” Flores said in an interview. She was right to worry. Maduro’s gradual rise within the governing […]
DIE WELT (Germany) Worldcrunch BERLIN – A forensic analysis of the psychiatric and psychological profiles of 78 German Catholic priests accused of child abuse between 2000 and 2010 shows that only nine were pedophiles. Four showed homosexual tendencies towards adolescent boys. Of the remaining 65, 54% were heterosexuals, 37% were homosexual, and nine were bisexual. […]
MANDELA MEMORIAL TODAY • Mourners gathered for former South African leader Nelson Mandela’s memorial service in rainy Soweto today. • In his remarks at the memorial, President Barack Obama characterized Mandela as “a giant of history, who moved a nation toward justice, and in the process moved billions around the world.” • Notably, and in […]
MASRAWY (Egypt), AL JAZEERA (Qatar) Worldcrunch CAIRO – Attempting to tame the wave of rage that erupted last week in the capital, Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi continued his weekend maneuvering into the early hours of Monday morning, imposing and quickly rescinding a new consumption tax. On Saturday, Morsi announced he would annul the constitutional declaration […]
In November, both the U.S. presidential election and China’s change of leadership took place. They were the two most watched events of the year. China’s transfer of power within the party has become increasingly institutionalized. Meanwhile, America’s history of democratic election is deep-rooted and continues to play a fundamental role in its national and social […]
DIE WELT (Germany) Worldcrunch BERLIN – By 2016 Deutsche Post wants to have its own national online food retail operation up and running. A spokeswoman said the company has been planning the move for some time and that the challenge was setting up a system of outlets around Germany that would stock a wide selection […]
FRANKFURT – After the plane landed, the Baier family felt a little lost. The customs officer didn’t smile; the taxi driver seemed annoyed by the amount of baggage they had. The Baiers (not their real name) were “home,” back in Germany – but it seemed foreign to them. The family breadwinner, Markus, had spent nearly […]
OUEST FRANCE, LE FIGARO (France) Worldcrunch PORT-LOUIS – Twenty-three mothers of primary school children in Port-Louis in northwestern France have taken “parental involvment” to a whole new level. To collect enough money to send their kids on winter field trips, mothers from Port-Louis’ Transparents association have decided to organize a “sexy and glamourous” photoshoot for […]
DIE WELT (Germany) Worldcrunch As one of 34 countries with no diplomatic relations with Israel, the United Arab Emirates does not even allow Israeli citizens entry. But now the UAE’s state-owned airline Etihad has taken a new route in denying recognition: erasing Israel from the world map, Germany’s daily Die Welt reports On the touchscreen […]
ASSOCIATED PRESS Worldcrunch BEIJING — Liu Xia trembled uncontrollably and cried Thursday as she described how her confinement under house arrest has been absurd and emotionally draining in the two years since her jailed activist husband, Liu Xiaobo, was named a Nobel Peace laureate in 2010, the AP writes in an exclusive report. Breathless from […]
PEOPLE’S DAILY (China) Worldcrunch GANSU – What’s the best way to handle the unpleasant view of decrepit roadside housing and poverty? Hide it! is the answer from officials of China’s northwestern province of Gansu. According to China’s People’s Daily, the local authority in Zhang County in Gansu has begun to build walls to hide the […]
ASAHI SHIMBUN (Japan) Worldcrunch FUKUSHIMA – Tokyo Electric Power Co., the operator of the Fukushima nuclear plant is considering erecting a giant net to prevent radioactive fish from heading out to sea. In surveys conducted through October at the request of local fishery cooperatives, TEPCO found that the radioactivity levels of species of fish caught […]
SUDDEUTSCHE ZEITUNG (Germany) Worldcrunch Think of the most boring thing in the world: Tupperware? Celery? Jazz music? People talking about jazz music? That cool friend from college who can’t stop telling you how motherhood has changed everything… Now imagine a roomful of people giving enthusiastic talks about all these things, and you have the third […]
DIE WELT (Germany) Worldcrunch In Vietnam’s Mekong Delta, floods are a regular part of life, with more than a half million people affected in the past year alone. Even more troubling, authorities in the worst-hit province, An Giang, note that most of the victims are children, German daily Die Welt reports. Take Nghia, 7. In […]
THE JAPAN TIMES, ASAHI SHIMBUN (Japan), BBC NEWS (UK) Worldcrunch TOKYO – The Japanese government has ordered emergency inspections of road tunnels across the country after a roof collapse in the Sasago tunnel, on a highway west of Tokyo, killed nine people. BBC News says that emergency inspections of at least 20 tunnels of a […]
PARIS – What kind of haircuttee are you? Do you belong to the mute or the verbose category? At the hair salon, we apparently tend to be rather predictable. “About six out of ten people will just listen to what the hairdresser says. The others mainly need someone to talk to,” says Anthony Galifot, hairdresser […]