LA REPUBBLICA (Italy), VATICAN RADIO Worldcrunch VATICAN CITY– Just four days before his historic resignation, Pope Benedict XVI delivered his final weekly Angelus prayer Sunday from the window of his Vatican apartment. A large crowd below in St. Peter’s Square interrupted several times with applause during the brief address as the 85-year Benedict alluded to […]
Author: Jeff Israely
Silvio Berlusconi bad-mouths Angela Merkel, while Mario Monti tries to woo her. But there are deeper reasons the German factor is at play as Italians go to the polls Sunday.
ANKARA – Huda lived in Mezza, a rich neighborhood of Damascus. Her husband, Sami, used to monitor the resistance movement for the regime from the Syrian capital. His daily reports weren’t supposed to harm anyone. His cooperation with the military and the police put food on the table. One day about a year ago, he […]
WASHINGTON POST, POLITICO (USA), REUTERS Worldcrunch WASHINGTON – U.S. President Barack Obama’s fourth State of the Union address — the first of his second term — is history. Politics aside, Obama was generally commended for his delivery of the hour-long discourse Tuesday night, which was described as both more “loose” than previous editions of the […]
With his historic resignation, Benedict offers a more modern vision of the Catholic Church. Otherwise, says a commentator from his native Germany, he was a man stuck in the last millennium.
BBC, AP Worldcrunch BAGHDAD – A series of car bombings in Iraq on Friday have left at least two dozen dead and scores injured. The targets of the attacks, which included a double bombing at a market in northern Baghdad that killed as many as 14, appear to be Shia population, reports the BBC. Officials […]
CNN, OPEN SOCIETY JUSTICE INITIATIVE Worldcrunch From Afghanistan to Zimbabwe, South Africa to Sweden, a new report identifies as many as 54 countries allegedly involved in the controversial CIA-run “extraordinary rendition” and detention program aimed at combatting terrorism after the September 11 attacks. The human rights watchdog group, the Open Society Justice Initiative took an […]
Israel’s January 31 aerial attack on a Syrian research facility and arms complex has raised once again the thorny question of when preemption against a developing threat may be justified under international law—as opposed to simply strategic calculation. Predictably, the Israeli bombardment elicited a hail of criticism from some regional and global players. Syria has […]
As President Mohamed Morsi wagged his finger at Egyptians in his televised address to the nation on January 27, my mind wandered back to the televised addresses former President Hosni Mubarak gave during his last 18 days in power. Back then, too, there were pitched battles in the streets of Cairo, Suez and Port Said. […]
HURRIYET (Turkey) Worldcrunch ISTANBUL – Alcohol sale bans in Turkey, which started in universities, have now been expanded to police-related offices, academies and training facilities. The Istanbul daily Hurriyet reported that the move by the Tobacco and Alcohol Market Regulatory Authority (TAPDD), is the first such ban on alcohol sales in public institutions. The TAPDD […]
POLITICO, WASHINGTON POST, CNN (USA) Worldcrunch WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama will outline his vision for comprehensive immigration reform on Tuesday, a day after a bipartisan group of U.S. senators outlined a proposal that could begin to move groundbreaking legislation forward on an issue that has long divided Americans. A key question is whether the […]
PORT SAID – Following an unpopular court ruling linked to a deadly burst of violence last year, clashes in this northern Egyptian city have left at least 30 dead on Saturday. The Ministry of Health announced the death toll in a statement, added that more than 300 people have been injured in the clashes. According […]
AL ARABIYA (Saudi Arabia/Egypt), MASRAWY (Egypt) Worldcrunch CAIRO – At least 16 people have been injured in and around Tahrir Square as both protesters and Egyptian police geared up for major demonstrations Friday to mark two years since the Arab world’s uprising coalesced in the region’s largest country on Jan. 25, 2011. Ahead of what […]
After UK Prime Minister David Cameron’s support for a referendum on pulling out of the European Union, a German viewpoint on what it means for a country and a continent.
WASHINGTON – It’s called the “curse of the second term.” American political commentators can go through each of the past two-term presidents and point to an unexpected phenomenon, a political error or some other trip wire set off in the second four-year stint in office. All the occupants of the White House have experienced it, […]
Facebook rolled out a new feature for the Messenger app on iPhone that lets you make free phone calls to your friends using a WiFi or cellular data connection. There are, of course, a few caveats: But the calling feature in Messenger hints at the grander plans Facebook has for you phone. Just like Facebook […]
EL WATAN (Algeria), LE MONDE, AFP (France) Worldcrunch Two people were killed and as many as 41 Westerners were taken hostage in an attack Wednesday by an Islamist group at a gas treatment facility in Algeria. A British citizen and an Algerian are believed to be dead and six other people wounded in the assault […]
From its founding, the Muslim Brotherhood has been hostile, yet not completely rigid, toward the Jewish State. Now, will President Morsi invite Egyptian Jews to return home?
The killing of three Kurdish activists in Paris shines new light on a longstanding fact of a millions of people spread across large swaths of terrritory, but with no nation of their own.
BEIJING – After a five-year hiatus, Shinzo Abe is back as Japan’s Prime Minister. What will this mean for China-Japan relations, which are at a historic 40-year low because of the Senkaku Islands dispute? According to observers, Chinese officials had been expecting the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) to step down from power, so they […]
CAIRO – “Hey there, Number 28!” – A friend texts me using my new nickname. Indeed, for at least one day of every month that’s what I answer to; Number 28. That’s where I fall in the list of 43 defendants on trial for working in what the government deemed “illegal civil society organizations.” It’s […]
OUEST FRANCE, DIRECT MATIN (France) Worldcrunch PARIS – Some might say that McDonald’s in France is getting just a wee bit too, well, French. A year after introducing various “McBaguette” offerings using the famous French bread, the American fast food chain has just introduced its version of France’s national sandwich: jambon-fromage. If that sounds chic, […]
MUNICH – A major research project set up to shed light on sexual abuse by Catholic priests in Germany has been shelved, according to information obtained by Süddeutsche Zeitung. Germany’s Catholic Church has cancelled the project, and a letter to that effect has been sent by the German Bishops’ Conference to the Criminal Research Institute […]
VATICAN CITY – The last few days before he was ordained archbishop at St. Peter’s Cathedral in Rome, “Don Giorgio” Gänswein was without his iPhone or PC, and also well away from the landlines and fax machines and the Vatican’s old-fashioned pneumatic and courier mail systems that are still so much a part of his […]
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Brennan And The Targeted Killing Legacy
John Brennan as CIA Director: What It Means
A new L.A. exhibit shows the legendary director’s concern that IBM, which advised him on “2001: A Space Odyssey,” would not be happy with the 1968 classic’s scary tech storyline.
BEIJING TIMES (CHINA) CHINA TIMES (Taiwan) Worldcrunch BEIJING – Over the last few days, China’s blogosphere has been heating up with spicy rumors that could stretch all the way back to Silicon Valley: a female director of the China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation (SINOPEC) has been accused of accepting gigolos as bribes from an American […]
CAIRO – The Muslim Brotherhood has been accused of illegally receiving 10 billion Egytian pounds ($1.5 billion) from the United States government. Prosecutor General Talaat Abdallah ordered an immediate investigation into the charges on Thursday. Lawyers Mohamed Ali Abd al-Wahab and Yasser Mohamed Sayab filed the complaint, in which they quoted Mitt Romney — the […]
ISTANBUL – Fatih Birol, the chief economist of the International Energy Agency, has offered some notable insights into the future of global energy markets. His presentation of the “World Energy Outlook 2012” report that focused on “energy efficiency” will undoubtedly be studied closely by the Turkish Industry & Business Association (TÜSÄ°AD). But to better understand […]
LA STAMPA (Italy) Worldcrunch PISA – This story is a yawner. You’ve been there before: standing in line or sitting around the conference table when some sleepy-eyed dude lets loose a big ol’ yawn, and you – tired or not – start yawning too. Yes, yawns are indeed contagious. Research has shown that some 50 […]
HAMBURG – When a Chinese customer with a lot of money buys a Ferrari, as soon as the salesperson hands over the keys, the fun can begin. When a Chinese with a lot of money buys a Steinway, the grand piano is delivered, placed in the living room – and then what? “Friends come over, […]
Americans started eating out a lot more over the past thirty years, a trend that likely caused obesity rates to skyrocket, according to a new USDA report. The study tracked caloric and nutrient consumption at home versus restaurants, fast food establishments and schools between 1978 and 2008. Their results: Over the past 30 years, food […]
NEW YORK TIMES, AP (USA) Worldcrunch Gen. H. Norman Schwarzkopf, who commanded the U.S.-led forces that stormed to victory in the first Persian Gulf War against Iraq in 1991, has died at the age of 78. The New York Times called Schwarzkopf the “most acclaimed military hero since the midcentury exploits of Generals Dwight D. […]
REUTERS, CNN Worldcrunch HOUSTON – Former President George H.W. Bush has been in a Houston hospital for more than a month, and in intensive care since Sunday, a family spokesman has revealed. He has been in the intensive care unit at Methodist Hospital since Sunday, spokesman Jim McGrath told CNN late Wednesday. Bush is in […]
For investors just getting into the game, the process can seem a little bit like a middle school dance. Awkward and inexperienced, they suction-cup themselves to the walls and poke around the punch bowl while bullish professionals stampede the floor and steal all the good deals. Ever thought you might be selling yourself a little […]
DIE WELT (Germany) Worldcrunch Over the past three years, U.S. lifestyle brand Hollister has opened 17 retail outlets in Germany opened during the last three years. According to information acquired by Die Welt, a number of former employees of the stores have sued the German subsidiary of the U.S. mother company Abercrombie & Fitch for […]
CAIRO – President Mohammed Morsi has reportedly signed a decree Wednesday that activates Egypt’s new Constitution, after nearly 64% of voters approved its adoption in a referendum that concluded this past weekend. Opposition leaders have vowed to try to overturn the new Constitution, saying its language is vague and does not protect freedom of speech […]
LOS ANGELES TIMES, NEW YORK TIMES Worldcrunch News spread over the Christmas holiday that the acting trade had lost two of its most ordinarily recognizable faces, Jack Klugman and Charles Durning. Klugman, who died at the age of 90 on Monday, broke through with supporting movie roles in Hollywood, but was mostly remembered for his […]
DIE ZEIT, SÜDDEUTSCHE ZEITUNG (Germany) BERLIN – Lotte, the daughter of German Family Minister Kristina Schröder, is not yet two years old, but her mother is already busy helping her grow up to be a modern woman. Toward that end, Schröder says she is very selective when choosing her classic children’s books, including the legendary […]
NASA and others have chimed in on the likelihood of black holes, solar flares striking on Dec. 21.