Worldcrunch
Greeks are used to making history, and they’re at it again. What will last month’s election victory of Alexis Tsipras and his anti-austerity Syriza party mean for the future beyond Greece? And more specifically, could it mark a turning point for the urgent global issue of environmental change? A not-so-subtle fil rouge exists between economic […]
Two very different tragedy-at-sea stories occupied the front page of Thursday’s Rome-based daily La Repubblica. The Italian island of Lampedusa was once again witness to the horror of would-be immigrants dying after setting out from North Africa in an attempt to reach European shores. As many as 300 people were feared dead after taking a […]
The way ISIS shocks us with its evil prompts fantasies of retaliation. How can we make these thoughts subside? What does it take not to lose our own civilization? Confessions of a monster.
(March 21 to April 19) Passions are more ardent this week, as well as a desire for someone you cannot have or who resists you. Love that does arise shudders with uncertainties, but it is all-encompassing; let it go, you have no choice. Longtime couples may take big strides in their relationships. In terms of […]
This was the week that Greece’s newly elected Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras took his case to other European leaders in a push to renegotiate the massive Greek debt. His charisma and no-apologies leftist politics got the world talking.
The Netherlands, a major consumer of sustainable coffee, is helping to make production in Colombia more environmentally friendly for the benefit of grower and drinker alike.
(March 21 to April 19) Professionally speaking, you have become a beacon for others around you. You may have noticed in the last two weeks that some people — despite having argued against your ideas — are now listening to you more. It’s a blessed sky to start new projects, which will be released in […]
Greece will vote in national legislative elections Sunday to choose its 300 members of parliament, after the ruling conservative coalition failed to maintain its parliamentary majority in December. And no, this is not your ordinary election. Polls suggest a victory of the radical left party, Syriza, with more than 30% of voting intentions, and stakes […]
BEIJING — It seems not so long ago that people were still looking at online literature with disdain. But no one can deny that, at the very least, it is a very real business opportunity. Last year, Choose the Day, a very popular Chinese online novel, was adapted into a webgame by Giant Interactive, a […]
‘Je suis Charlie’ is a defense of neither blasphemy nor free speech. It is a stark and collective reminder that we know our enemy, and the stakes.
PARIS — Two days after the deadly terror assault on the French satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo, France lived through another day of violence, fear and national soul-searching. A pair of hostage standoffs culminated in simultaneous raids late Friday by police that killed the presumed authors of Wedneday’s attack, as well as a fellow Islamist terrorist […]
After the deadly attack against French magazine Charlie Hebdo, two other Paris-based news organizations, L’Obs formerly Le Nouvel Observateur and Worldcrunch, have collected those three plain words of support — “Je suis Charlie” — from 21 different people around the world, in their native languages. I Am Charlie …
PARIS — Initially a welcomed spark for a global economy in need of a boost, the drastic fall in the price of crude oil — losing half its value since mid-2014 — has now begun to destabilize markets and worry investors and political leaders around the world. Still, this rapidly evolving situation is prompting some […]
The Pegida movement’s weekly Monday night protests against the “Islamization of Europe” were supposed to rally Germans to their cause. But it now appears to be having the opposite effect, as counter-demonstrations have sprung up around the country. “Pegida flops outside of Dresden,” Tuesday’s German daily Süddeutsche Zeitung’s declared, citing the eastern city where the […]
(March 21 to April 19) This Full Moon plays havoc with your emotions, but brings to light the challenges. Arians who have recently made a new acquaintance will realize that the other party is avoiding them. If you’ve just started a new project, a co-worker or boss will slow progress. But you’re a testa dura, […]
(March 21 to April 19) After a slightly tense Christmas, the turbulence starts to ease. You regain control of your choices, and are once again able to take on new challenges and turn them to your advantage. In love, if you haven’t already done irreversible damage, a period of truce unfolds. Beautiful Venus ushers in […]
Looking back on 2014, month by month, summing up the news — by the numbers. JANUARY According to a study published in the journal Science, at least 20% of the Neanderthal genome can be found in modern-day Europeans and Asians. Between 1% and 3% percent of human DNA comes from Neanderthals. “Individually, we are a […]
KARLSRUHE — Both of Annette Röser’s parents suffered from dementia, and she remembers a precious means of connecting with their hidden world was music. Her mother’s eyes would light up when Röser played folk songs or “Memories of Heidelberg.“ Röser’s experience with her late parents led her to found SingLiesel Verlag, a German-language publisher specialized […]
The rising battle between the forces of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and exiled imam Fethullah Gulen is a high-stakes power struggle. But some in Turkey want no part of it.
Images that made the news.
As Pakistan began to bury its children Wednesday, the world reacted to one of the most horrifying terrorist acts in recent years: the Taliban’s methodical assault on a school in Peshawar. The death toll in Tuesday’s attack stands at 141 people, including 132 children, as survivors recounted point-blank-range elimination of one student after another. The […]
BERLIN — As the price of oil continues to fall, share prices on the Gulf region’s stock markets have plummeted in parallel. The price of oil reached a yearly low of $60 a barrel on Friday, and we’re now looking at a possible $50, which would create a truly bleak outlook for economic prospects in […]
(March 21 to April 19) The Final Quarter of the Moon will test your patience and perseverance. You can get just about anything, just as long as you manage to get an organized system in place — this requires patience. This is your “challenge” for the last quarter, and if you embrace it you will […]
One in three people around the world is overweight, and the ratio is growing. “Globesity” investors see that airlines, hospitals, car companies and others must adapt to meet the expanding needs.
News in images
As the 20th UN Climate Summit begins in Peru, one faster way to fight global warming is to steer investors away from oil and gas, and bet instead in clean energy. The planet depends on it.
The so-called congestion charges that have been levied in London and other major cities are being closely considered in the Chinese capital, which has serious pollution and traffic issues.
BUENOS AIRES — Cycling is catching on in this bustling city of taxis, buses and cars, especially since the bike-lending program EcoBici was launched in 2010. In fact, it’s currently one of the few systems in the world in which the stations are operated by trained personnel and the service is free. But the differences […]
The current series of kissing protests in India are indicative of a country and a culture in transition.
News in images…
Generali will be Europe’s first insurer to link use of personal digital applications and ‘big data’ to insurance rates. But in Germany, fears about privacy and ‘atomization’ of insurance.
TEHRAN — One of this country’s most prominent conservative clerics has chided Iranians for an array of modern “vices,” including divorce and choosing to marry later, which he said could draw God’s wrath on Iran. In his Friday sermon in the capital, Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati also singled out Marlboro cigarettes that he said were imported […]
The kidnapping of a Colombian general is the clearest sign that FARC guerrillas may have entered in peace talks, but have yet to give up their war mentality and false populist ideology.
With its 391 units spread among 46 floors, the glass tower has transformed south Manhattan’s skyline. But it has been an utter business failure.
BUENOS AIRES — A Buenos Aires public registry gave new identity papers this week to 10-year-old Mauro, the first Argentine youth born a girl to change his official gender identity to male under a landmark “Gender Identity Law.” Last year, Lulu, a 6-year-old girl, had her sex change made official pursuant to the new 2012 […]
Meet the Burial Boys of Monrovia, whose role is no less important than medical staff in trying to stop the disease from spreading further.
Learning Mandarin is just part of the Facebook founder’s ambitious but subtle strategy to return to the Chinese market. Huo Yuanjia (and Ang Lee) would be proud.
Increasingly, the general American public and even anti-Castro businessmen now seem to agree that less hostility toward Cuba is the best road to take.
Argentine President Kirchner’s recent praise for the way Vladimir Putin handles the press signals a broader shared view on leadership, which does not bode well for liberal democratic values.