Worldcrunch
Man’s best friends have long followed their owners through hard times and stormy weather — and now, even into rehab. Germany’s Schloss Tessin center is the first of its kind in the country and integrates pooches as part of the therapeutical process, Die Welt reports. The center has even been adapted to accommodate its four-legged […]
SAFED — Two unarmed UN peacekeepers stand beside a rusty telescope observing the Syrian border from the Golan Heights on the Israeli side of the 1974 ceasefire line. The air is cold and wintery. Nearby, in the Coffee Anan store (anan, meaning cloud in Hebrew), an Israeli intelligence officer points down towards the bottom of […]
Nicknamed the “atheists’ cafe,” police say there was evidence of devil worship at the shop. Twitter users are now mocking Cairo authorities, asking when the war on vampires begins.
Ahead of the anniversary of Macau passing under Beijing’s control, and a delicate visit from Xi Jinping, a closer look at the troubling formula of the former Portuguese colony.
Where have you gone, Casanova? A new book surveys the dark side to the myth of the Italian male’s seductive gifts, from ribald ancient Rome to Berlusconi’s bunga bunga. But don’t give up on him yet.
In the mountains of central Sardinia, the Giara horses are at risk again. The total population is estimated at around just 700 horses, and the breed has been considered at risk of extinction since 1971. Named for the Giara plateau on which they roam, the steep cliffs, difficulty of access and the isolated location have […]
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BOGOTA — Authorities in Bogota are banning road and building construction across 14 square kilometers (5.4 square miles) in the Colombian capital, in a bid to create the largest urban nature reserve in Latin America. New restrictions will turn a sector of the existing Thomas van der Hammen Reserve into a “biodiversity corridor” spanning Guaymaral, […]
Groundbreaking on the much heralded Central American project is said to be imminent. But huge doubts linger, including the bankrolling of the project by a mysterious Chinese businessman.
Can fish get sore scales? Without a doubt, says the Federal Ethics Commission for Non-Human Biotechnology domaine (CENH), in a report released this week. It found that there is “no reason to conclude that fish are insensitive” to pain. Until the 1980s it was commonly believed that fish behaved more or less like machines and […]
When snow falls on Monesi di Triora, a ski resort in the Alps, it can seem like a perfect winterland paradise. But any kind of winter sports activity has now been prohibited — just because of a big bird. The black grouse in question, say naturalists, could be bothered by excessive human presence, because during […]
Referred to as ‘sponsored content,’ it is the Internet’s way of blurring lines between information and advertising – and Outbrain is leading the charge ahead of a reported $1 billion IPO.
TURIN — How many times have you shopped at a market and found yourself admiring a bag or wallet, wondering whether it was really made by the famous brand displayed on its label? Thanks to the camera on your smartphone and a forthcoming app, it soon will be possible to verify, in real time, whether […]
Auberta, the bear cub abandoned by her mother in April in the Catalan Pyrenees, was found dead earlier this week in her 5,000-square foot enclosure. The 10-month-old cub was going to be released into the mountainous region, where there are believed to be just 30 other brown bears. CCTV cameras in the enclosure had captured […]
In Jabel Mukaber, in East Jerusalem, relatives of Oday and Ghassan, the two Palestinians who attacked a synagogue this week, are ready to continue their fight.
VIGEVANO — For one traffic warden in this northern Italian city, “a structure with a circular base, 30 centimeters in diameter and 30 centimeters in height, with an attached tray containing water” was illegally occupying public land. For the bar owner who put it there, it was just a doggy water bowl left as courtesy […]
Peru, in particular, has had a key role since 1992, when it became the site of China’s first foreign investment. China also likes the fact that Lima puts so few ‘controls’ on commerce.
This neighborhood on the Italian capital’s outskirts has erupted in clashes between longtime residents and undocumented migrants. It is part of a long and toxic history.
BUENOS AIRES — Cash-strapped amid a deepening recession but still, in many cases, reluctant to take public transportation, Argentines are turning to car sharing or carpooling to move about. This relatively environmentally friendly practice is well-established in some U.S. and European cities, but is still embryonic in car-loving Latin America. In Argentina it is catching […]
RAQQA — Ever since ISIS captured the Syrian city of Raqqa in early 2014, residents have been consumed by fear and caution. The terrorist group has banned a dangerously long list of goods and behaviors, all of which carry a heavy punishment if violated. Most noticeably, ISIS has forbidden women from leaving their homes without the supervision of a male relative, and they must wear what is deemed proper attire, dubbed “the shield” — a long, loose dress that covers them from head to toe. Smoking is banned, while it is also illegal to sell tobacco, recordings of secular music, […]
The Vatican has revised its public restroom renovation to include showers for the homeless, as Pope Francis’ ambassador to the poor launches similar projects across Rome.
South Africa is facing its seventh consecutive yearly increase in rhino poaching and an unusual proposal for tacking the issue has come to light: legalizing the rhino horn trade. A rhino’s horn is made of keratin — the same material in our hair and nails — and is highly valuable in Asia, purportedly for its […]
BEIJING — The world now produces over four billion tons of waste every year. China buys some of it — mainly scrap metal, plastic and paper — to feed demand from factories and construction companies. Here on Dongzhimenwai, a street in downtown Beijing, people gather to sell their waste. Old ladies line up with carts of plastic bottles, stacks of newspapers and even bits of toys and metal kitchenware they’ve collected. The plastic bottles are melted down to make everything from acrylic clothing to electronics. Buyer Liu Aiguo explains what happens to this so-called trash once it’s in his hands. […]
From the Israeli side of the border, a view of how the whole of the Middle East seems to be maneuvering.
MUNICH — It began nearly a year ago, on the weekend after Christmas. On Saturday night, unidentified individuals broke into a church in the Cologne district of Porz-Urbach. They broke open the safe in the sacristy and got hold of the key to the church. They ended up stealing money from the collection boxes, liturgical […]
Coravin, which allows you to sample the finest bottle without uncorking it, is being hailed as a game-changer for the wine industry. It was greeted with mixed reviews in the city that may still matter most.
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SEOUL — Six South Korean soldiers have been accused of killing one of their fellow conscripts. Yoon Seung-joo, 20, died earlier this year after being force-fed and beaten. Abuse within South Korea’s military ranks has long been a problem. A recent survey of soldiers revealed about 4,000 allegations of violence that went unreported. It’s a time that almost all South Korean men dread. The moment when they begin their mandatory service in their country’s armed forces. Kim Tae-Haw joined the ranks of Korea’s riot police when he began his conscription ten years ago. “I didn’t want to go to the […]
A dozen baboons escaped Sunday from Benghazi’s zoo and roamed around the city amid deadly clashes between the army and anti-government militias that have killed more than 300 people in the past three weeks. All but two were returned to their enclosures by Tuesday — but not before they baffled residents and posed for pictures […]
Especially since the breakthrough on the Higgs Boson particle, running CERN in Geneva may be the most influential job in physics. For the first time it will be filled by a woman.
The recent purchase of the Waldorf Astoria by a Chinese company recalls Japanese companies’ buying sprees 30 years ago. And that didn’t end well.
Laughter in hospitals can actually help ease pain for patients, particularly children. Experts in the field, from doctors to red-nosed clowns, gathered in Florence to trade notes … and gags.
LUBHU — How do you celebrate your birthday? By throwing a party and cutting a cake? In Nepal some people plant a tree instead. Making tea at home in her village 11 kilometers outside Kathmandu, Sunita Poudel says, “Forests are everything for us. We are dependent on wood and grass. Some of my neighbors cook with small sticks from the forest — they are very poor and can’t afford gas stoves. I have some cows and goats, so I also need grass from the forest every day.” But due to mismanagement, the forest around the village of Lubhu is in […]
A second Obica location has now opened in New York, bringing the global chain’s high-end authentic mozzarella experience to a new level of global expansion.
Walking down a Cairo street with an adopted stray dog can elicit a range of reactions, from surprise to rebuke. Their skittish behavior and curled-up tails make them easily distinguishable from the more preferred purebred pets, says Mada Masr. If these animals, commonly known as baladi dogs, are not rescued, they are at risk of […]
The fact that people are buying cars is touted as a good sign for the economy, which you can think about while you’re stuck in traffic or breathing in rising pollution.
A New Delhi cab company is only for females, a response to India’s ongoing problems with violence toward women. The benefits are enjoyed by both drivers and passengers.
While elsewhere the ‘Obama factor’ may hurt Democrats, in South Dakota the Sioux tribe may tip the scales in the president’s favor as control of the U.S. Senate hangs in the balance.
Bidding farewell to those who died this past month…