Worldcrunch
KASHGAR — The Matang nut cake and skewered kawap (mutton), an ancient Kingdom reduced to ruins in a desert, and the simple imagery of folk singing and dancing: These are the stereotypes most Han Chinese have of the Uyghur people. It made sense for me to travel to find out more in their native land, […]
BEIJING — The disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 has sparked rumors and conspiracy theories, and generally obsessed people — around the world. But with most of the passengers on board being from China, the most speculation is swirling around Chinese society, both on official news sources and in social media — particularly Weibo, China’s […]
Quotables and notables to quote and note from the past 10 days.
Given Europe’s dependence on Russian gas, Western diplomats and hedge fund managers alike are well aware of the risks of punishing Moscow with sanctions after its strong-arm tactics in Crimea. Tehran, meanwhile, may be calculating the stakes in a somewhat different way. The daily Aftab-e Yazd asked Thursday how could European states and the United […]
Tensions between China’s majority Han population and various ethnic minorities tend to simmer just below the surface. But the issue is now stirring open debate following this month’s coordinated knife attack on a train station in the southern city of Kunming that killed 29. The attack has been blamed on separatist extremists of the Uyghur […]
TEHRAN – A senior general in Iran’s Revolutionary Guards issued a blunt warning Tuesday to Israel, saying Iranian forces and weaponry “can destroy all points controlled by” Israel, with “any volume of firepower.” General Hassan Salami made the declaration during a conference on the role of the Islamic religion on global power relations, the official […]
Europe and the U.S. must respond to Russian President Vladimir Putin with neither war nor capitulation. There is a third option: total isolation.
A quick look back at notable deaths of the past month
From tumult in Kiev to the two Koreas from space, nine photographs of key events moving the world.
The Swiss are training the first generation of Mandarin-speaking ski instructors, part of a campaign to lure newly rich from China to come play in the snow — with help from Bollywood.
Following its 2011 revolution, Libya has struggled to establish a democratic rule of law as it navigates the political divisions sowed through the decades-long bloody reign of Muammar Gaddafi. Religion, per se, had not been seen as a major source of conflict in a country that is 97% Sunni Muslim. Roaming jihadist groups, however, would […]
The average man spends a year of his life waiting on women — outside bathrooms, in cars, beyond changing-room curtains. It may be the truest modern measure of gender politics.
The Chavez-Maduro regime has corrupted democracy and impoverished the nation in a perfect storm of political strong-arming, cheap oil, and public apathy. The time is now to react.
Since soon after the conflict began in 2011, Turkey has always been fiercely opposed to Damascus. Now opposition elements of al-Qaeda across the border may be another reason to act.
BEIRUT — Iran’s ambassador in Lebanon said he was confident the Islamic Republic would soon improve ties with longtime regional rival Saudi Arabia. Speaking at a Beirut conference to mark the 35th anniversary of Iran’s 1979 revolution, Ambassador Ghazanfar Roknabadi acknowledged that Iran’s calls for better ties had yet to receive “echoes” from Riyadh, but […]
CAIRO – From the popular upheaval of the Arab Spring to bloody wars to expanding global trade relations, Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu faced no shortage of challenges in his 10 years at the helm of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation that ended last month. On the most basic bureaucratic level, Ihsanoglu can point to the rebranding of […]
While northern Iran has been hit by record snowfall in recent days, snow has also covered for the first time in living memory, the district of Shahdad in southeastern Iran, which typically has desert conditions and scorching temperatures. The head of the Shahdad district, Mohammad Mo’meni, told Iran’s Mehr news agency snow began to fall […]
Looking at the heirs of Latin America’s major business families, it is the best and worst of times – but it’s just about time for them to take charge.
The former presidential candidate Mehdi Karrubi, detained since backing anti-regime protests in 2009, has reportedly been released from detention and given house arrest, following months of speculation over whether or not Iran would free certain dissidents or political prisoners. The politician’s son Hossein Karrubi told the semi-official ISNA agency that “in security terms conditions have […]
A few months back, it would have made front-page headlines around the world. Now, the encounter between Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on the sidelines of this weekend’s Munich Security Conference, is largely being presented as “routine” diplomacy in Persian newspapers. Monday’s edition of reformist Aftab-e Yazd […]
Is shooting dolphins for gastronomic delectation really worse than the way livestock are treated before becoming supermarket steak? A debate reaches from Japan to South America.
Two revolutions, two months apart, that launched the Arab Spring. Three years later, the respective quests for democracy in Tunisia and Egypt are in very different places.
There seemed to be confusion among Iranian politicians about the Supreme Leader’s “real” position on Iran’s negotiations with the West on its nuclear program, the Persian language edition of Radio France Internationale is reporting, citing several Iranian press reports. The Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has the final say on Iran’s key domestic and […]
TEL AVIV — Frida Issa knew from the age of 11 that she’d one day work in the world of computers. But it was with her first job at a Tel Aviv startup that she first nurtured ambitions to do something on her own — and something built for the future. “We’re not into building […]
It was just one snippet on the sidelines of the Davos summit, but President Hassan Rouhani’s comments to CNN last week are making news back home. Several Iranian news outlets have reported on Rouhani’s statement that “nobody remains in jail forever,” responding to a question about when several dissidents and political prisoners jailed in recent […]
As talks between the Syrian regime and rebels continue in Switzerland, the “Iranian Question” isn’t going away. Though Tehran, which is a key supporter of President Bashar al-Assad’s regime, was barred from attending the Geneva 2 talks for refusing several pre-conditions, it has made its voice heard from back home. Ali Akbar Velayati, a former […]
Change is afoot again in Tunisia, with a new constitution, a new technocratic government, and a Parliament in full celebration mode. Three years after triggering a wave of popular upheaval across North Africa and the Middle East, marked by decidely mixed results, Tunisia is again offering a snapshot of democratic hope. “Nothing can describe my […]
-OpEd- BOGOTA – Permit me to be direct and frank, but also practical. What do we see from the outside when we look at Europe? We see a Europe that is languishing, despondent, self-absorbed and self-satisfied, and to some extent both tired and apathetic. I know these are words that are both harsh and ugly, […]
There is power, and there is truth. Then it’s up to you what to say and do. An essay to mark Jan. 25 in an Egypt where things change and stay the same.
MUNICH – After soccer star Robert Enke took his own life in November 2009, public dismay at the news was considerable. At a memorial service in the Marktkirche church the next day, followed by a funeral march in Hannover attended by some 35,000 people, fans were out in force for the German national soccer team’s […]
Like others around the world, Iranians have watched the evening news’ bloody scenes of civilians targeted by terrorists in places like Iraq, Syria and Afghanistan. But now, the BBC’s Persian-language channel is reporting on growing concerns among Iranian officials about the threat of Al-Qaeda-type terrorism on their own territory. Judiciary Chief Ayatollah Sadeq Larijani recently […]
For more than half a century, my grandfather has spent every spare moment exploring the world, and photographing his journey. 80 countries. 20,000 high-quality, old-fashioned slides. Now each day, thanks to our digital world (and with a little help from his grandson!) he can share those places and faces and memories of a life well-traveled. […]
Iranian officials have spent plenty of time recently in Geneva to negotiate a deal with the West on its nuclear program. The next pressing question is whether Iran will be back in the Swiss city for the so-called Geneva 2 conference to discuss ways to try to end to Syria’s civil war. Officials in Tehran […]
Ten of thousands of Saudis die every year from smoking-related causes, and the government is taking notice. A public awareness campaign alongside heavily increased tariffs is working to discourage the purchase of cigarettes. Some of these ads – as well as some homemade additions – are showing up on twitter under the hashtag “#smoking in […]
More than 13,000 families have been evacuated from areas of Iraq no longer under government control, including the city of Fallujah. The Al-Qaeda linked Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant ISIS has gained control of strategic swathes of the country, actively seeking to create divisions among jihadist Syrian rebel groups. ISIS has earned a […]
ISTANBUL — Racism and discrimination have become a constant in Turkey’s top soccer league. The latest reminder are tweets from Umit Cinarli’s, a leading referee from the Turkish Football Federation (TFF), on the second anniversary of the Uludere Massacre where Turkish fighter jet bombs killed 34 Kurdish smugglers: “Happy second anniversary of the Uludere incident. […]
China is asking hard questions about what it takes to make a big nation a great nation.
From the four corners of the planet, the 7 most-read articles that Worldcrunch published over the past year.
A widening corruption probe has been consuming Turkey in recent days. Figures close to the leading Justice and Development Party (AKP), including sons of cabinet members, are facing serious allegations of bribery and money laundering. The government is denying all accusations and claims the charges are part of a conspiracy with roots both foreign and […]
Much has changed in the past 10 years. Oligarchs have been replaced by networks as the real challenge to Vladimir Putin’s power.