CLARIN (Argentina) Worldcrunch BUENOS AIRES – The old-growth forests of South America’s Patagonia region are now, more than at any time in the past 600 years, extremely slow growth, according to researchers from Argentina’s National Council of Scientific and Technical Research, or CONICET. What’s causing the slow down? The scientists point to ozone depletion in […]
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.
-Analysis- BRUSSELS – “It’s done,” a relieved Viviane Reding tweeted in several languages. The European Union Commission had finally approved her plan for women to constitute 40% of non-executive board directorships in large listed companies in Europe by the year 2020. In October, Reding had delayed the launch of her proposal which, having now been […]
PARIS – “An exceptional year for Bollinger champagne…” Considering the current economic situation, Jérôme Philipon’s comment is refreshing indeed. Even as the overall champagne market was down by 5% at the end of September, the family-run Bollinger producers predict record sales for 2013, says Philipon, the CEO of the champagne house. He expects a growth […]
-Essay- After Mo Yan won this year’s Nobel Prize for Literature, many Chinese people predicted that this would contribute greatly to the expansion of Chinese culture in the world. I sincerely hope so. However, in peaceful times the transmission and penetration of a culture are extremely slow. The Italian Jesuit priest, Matteo Ricci (1552-1610), was […]
AL JAZEERA (Qatar), THE GUARDIAN, BBC NEWS (UK), REUTERS Worldcrunch JERUSALEM – Two Palestinians were reportedly killed during the visit of Egyptian Prime Minister Hesham Kandil in Gaza, dashing hopes of a possible ceasefire between Israel and Palestine According to Al Jazeera, a new air strike hit the Jibaliya refugee camp located at the northern […]
FOLHA DE S.PAULO, O ESTADO DE S. PAULO (Brazil) Worldcrunch SÃO PAULO – Brazilian Justice Minister José Eduardo Cardozo has sparked controversy by describing the nation’s prison system as “medieval” and declaring that he would prefer to die rather than pass a long period in Brazilian jails. Brazil’s Fohla de S. Paulo daily reported the […]
BBC NEWS (UK), JERUSALEM POST, HAARETZ (Israel), REUTERS Worldcrunch JERUSALEM – Three people were killed on Thursday when rockets fired from Gaza struck the southern Israeli town of Kiryat Malachi, a day after Israel’s targetted killing of the military chief of Hamas. Tel Aviv daily Haaretz reports that rockets fired into Israel by militants in […]
BBC NEWS (UK), AL JAZEERA (Qatar), REUTERS, AP Worldcrunch BAGHDAD – A series of car bombs targeting security forces killed at least 14 people across Iraq, leaving dozens wounded. Car bombs and roadside devices exploded almost simultaneously in Baghdad and several other Iraqi cities. The wave of attacks took place on the eve of the […]
REUTERS, THE AUSTRALIAN, THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD (Australia) Worldcrunch SYDNEY – Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard has called for a Royal Commission, the highest form of investigation in the country, into the hundreds of child abuse cases within the country’s institutions, including abuses and cover-ups by the Catholic Church. Gillard sais she wants the commission […]
BERLIN – Drivers have been communicating with each other for 125 years with brake lights, turn signals and horns. But a new era is beginning: Car-to-X Communication (C2X). This is connectivity between vehicles making it possible for them to exchange information and warn of dangers. In early 2007, with about 40 million euros of taxpayer […]
LA STAMPA, LA REPUBBLICA, CORRIERE DELLA SERA (Italy) Worldcrunch ROME – Italy’s struggling economy appears to have at least one good shot at bouncing back: immigrant entrepreneurs. According to La Stampa, the businesses of non-EU immigrants account for 5.7% of Italy’s GDP. Confesercenti, the Italian association for small and medium businesses, says the number of […]
DIE WELT (Germany) Worldcrunch In his latest book, American National Geographic photographer and reporter Michael Yamashit writes about the Yartsa Gunbu miracle mushroom that could also be called Himalayan gold. Die Welt’s Bettina Seipp reports that depending on the quality of the shriveled Caterpillar Fungus, Chinese buyers are prepared to spend tens of thousands of […]
BERLIN – Two of the world’s economic superpowers have spent the past days picking their leaders for the future. Barack Obama and the Democrats are now ensconced in the U.S. while China’s big political show began with this week’s opening of the National Congress of the Communist Party, where over 2,000 delegates will decide on […]
PARIS – Ever seen a human scalp transformed into a drumhead? Or a shrunken head with its lips sewn shut to keep the dead from casting spells from beyond the grave? With their hair uncannily preserved, these centuries-old trophies seem to have retained all their eerie powers. They are some of the key pieces of […]
MANDALAY – A narrow little street between two houses, filthy walls on both sides, baby clothes hung out to dry – is this really where the enemies of the state reside? But the taxi driver is sure. He gets out of his car, walks down the alley and turns to wave me on. We reach […]
Being overweight is unhealthy. The medical community never tires of predicting an early demise for obese people, and strongly urging them to lose weight. But in fact, the latest science says that fat people live longer and can tolerate higher levels of stress. “The classic view is that obesity is an illness that has to […]
Beginning this week, there will be a new generation of Chinese leaders. The world’s media are all highly attentive to China’s coming changes and the policy direction of China’s new leaders. I’d like to share my personal views, focused on the domestic issues such as the economy and the government. I believe the focus of […]
BEIJING – Investing in North Korea is becoming a hot topic among Chinese businessmen. Over the last few weeks, a series of business events and investment conferences about North Korea have been held. Chen Jiangfeng, a real-estate developer from Beijing was one of the 150 plus entrepreneurs who attended the investment projects fair held at […]
On November 1, under the nave of the Lutheran Church of the Redeemer in Jerusalem, an archeological park called “Durch die Zeiten” (Through Time) opened. It provides the answer to a question that has long eluded researchers: just where Golgotha, the place where Jesus was crucified, buried and resurrected, is really located. Planned and built […]
BBC NEWS (UK), BFM.RU (Russia), REUTERS Worldcrunch MOSCOW – Russian President Vladimir Putin has dismissed Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov and replaced him with a loyal political ally after his ministry was involved in a corruption scandal. Putin’s decision appears to be connected to a probe announced by the Russia’s top investigative agency two weeks ago. […]
BERLIN – It is a scientific theory of longevity that has the whiff of homemade pie: people live longer thanks to the grandmothers who help raise them. Though first put forth more than a half-century ago, the “grandmother hypothesis” has gotten renewed attention with a recent study published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society […]
XINHUA, ARROW OF CUPID (China), Worldcrunch BEIJING – China is not only the world’s most populous country, but also has a seriously packed “singles scene” of 180 million men and women eager to find their other half. Recently, a popular TV series called Time To Be Married, depicting Chinese bachelors in their 30s in a […]
BERLIN – Men are hunters — constantly on the lookout for challenges, for the thrill of danger. But how does our modern adventurer spice up his everyday life? At the office for example, where instead of hunting prey figuratively or literally, he’s more likely to get his schnitzel served — breaded and cooked by somebody […]
CHINA TIMES (Taiwan), STOCK MARKET TREND WEEKLY (China), CNBC (USA) Worldcrunch BEIJING – The ranking of the world’s richest man has stayed relatively stable. There have been only three individuals who made it there in the past ten years – Bill Gates, Warren Buffett and the Mexican telecoms tycoon Carlos Slim. Over the same period […]
BERLIN – The Tannhof, a wellness hotel in Germany’s Black Forest, is for adults only. So is the Ringhotel Dolce Vita in the Bavarian Forest. According to the Adults-Only-Holidays website, there are five hotels in Germany where children are not welcome. There are five such establishments in Austria, the UK and Turkey; four each in […]
BEIJING – While many other luxury brands are facing a sharp decline in their sales in China, the American brand Coach is busy writing a different story. As a relatively more accessible luxury brand, its prices have always been 50-75% lower than the top luxury brands. Now for the first half of this year, it […]
LE MONDE (France), VICE, USENIX SECURITY (USA) Worldcrunch Remember that scene in Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi when Darth Vader learns about Luke’s sister just by reading his thoughts? “Your thoughts betray you,” says Darth Vader Well the same might just happen to you soon – and if you don’t happen to […]
China’s Ministry of Health recently drafted a new organ transplant directive called “Management for the Acquisition and Allocation of Organs.” The directive should be implemented soon in the hope of setting up a fairer and more transparent organ distribution system as well as a national database. A national organ database is an institution specifically set […]
THE CARIBBEAN JOURNAL, CNN, NBC, AP (USA), BBC NEWS (UK) Worldcrunch Haiti is pleading for international help in the wake of Hurricane Sandy, as more than a million Haitians risk being victims of food shortages. The Caribbean Journal reports that Johan Peleman, the head of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs’ […]
DIE WELT (Germany) Worldcrunch BERLIN – A growing number of Germans are now moving to retirement homes in Eastern Europe, Spain or Thailand where aged care costs substantially less thanks in large part to lower staff salaries. Die Welt has obtained figures not made public by Germany’s Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) showing that more and […]
XINHUA, CHINA NEWS, CAIXIN BLOG, UDN NEWS (China) Worldcrunch BEIJING – The Chinese government likes to boast of its superiority to the West, thanks to its socialist economy “with Chinese characteristics.” For years, it was virtually impossible to publicly say something out of step with this idealized view of the nation. But now, in what […]
THE HANKYOREH, KCNA (North Korea), CNN (USA) Worldcrunch SEOUL – Rumors are spreading fast that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s wife, Ri Sol Ju, is pregnant. North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) published a picture of her wearing a long coat that could be hiding an imperial baby bump. Ri Sol Ju […]
They appear out of the darkness, men and women moving across a field carrying flaming torches, white hoods covering their heads. After forming a circle, in broken English they swear allegiance to “white power” – to the white race and the nation. Then they light a cross as high as a man. This is a […]
SÜDDEUTSCHE ZEITUNG (Germany) Worldcrunch COLOGNE – A German court has ruled that male Lufthansa pilots must continue to wear their hat with their uniform at the airport – even though the same policy does not apply to female pilots at Lufthansa, the Süddeutsche Zeitung daily reports. A male Lufthansa pilot had filed a suit against […]
BELGRADE – “Go to Republic Square first, and then walk along Knez Mihailova Street, that’s Belgrade at its most beautiful…” With the counsel of the young woman at Reception, a rickety Dacia taxi gets me from the residential neighborhood of Senjak – pretty, but with some parts in urgent need of a facelift – past […]
On October 18, water started flowing along a 20 kilometer (12.4 mile) aqueduct from the Yellow River into a gigantic pit in Zhengzhou City. In two months this pit will turn into an artificial lake with a surface of 5.6 square kilometers (3.5 square miles). It has taken two years of digging and has cost […]
UNIVERSITY OF MANCHESTER, BBC NEWS (UK) Worldcrunch MANCHESTER – A piece of music composed by Ludwig van Beethoven nearly 200 years ago has been unearthed by a University of Manchester scholar. Professor Barry Cooper, a leading Beethoven expert, spotted the work which the German composer wrote around 1820 alongside some original sketches of the famous […]
LONDRINA – In the southern state of Paraná, is a small town of some 12,000 people, with no schools, day care or health centers — nor any real shops. Initiated in 2009 by former Brazilian president Lula and completed last year, the Vista Bela public housing project has 2,712 residences (1,272 houses of 35 square […]
ONS, BBC NEWS (UK) Worldcrunch LONDON – Britain’s Office for National Statistics (ONS) reported Thursday that the UK economy has emerged from recession, helped by the Olympic Games. In the three months from July to September, the country’s economy returned to growth at its fastest pace in five years, with its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) […]
AP, CBS (USA) Worldcrunch CAIRO – Egyptian official sources say a militant suspected of involvement in the deadly U.S. consulate attack in Benghazi was killed in clashes in Cairo. An Egyptian interior ministry source told CBS News on Thursday that the suspect in Egypt, known only by his first name, Hazem, was killed after neighbors […]