Worldcrunch
WINDHOEK — A train trip through Namibia? Several times a year, the Desert Express travels a loop through the most beautiful areas of Namibia, which is more than twice the size of Germany. The trip is far more comfortable than the alternative — a strenuous bus journey along dirt roads. We start out in Windhoek, […]
MUNICH — In many places in the northern Alps, the winter sports season is already over before Easter. Some view the mild winter as a kind of foretaste of climate change, but experts warn against reading too much into any single year’s weather. “What was extreme is that the weather this winter on the whole […]
As the West wastes time with endless discussions and threats of sanctions, Russian President Vladimir Putin continues to gain ground in Ukraine.
BOGOTA — Colombia’s National University is working on recycling used banknotes, by processing them into an absorbent material that cleans water and air of pollutants, El Espectador reports. Some 169 million banknotes in Colombia are replaced every year. And the University’s chemical engineering department found that shredding them creates “activated carbon,” a crystalline substance able […]
As Iranian envoys and representatives of world powers ended their last round of talks intended to define the scope of Iran’s contested nuclear program, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei told a gathering in Tehran Wednesday that Iran’s negotiators should not “give in to unjust demands.” Talks are set to resume during the first half […]
SEOUL — South Koreans undergo more plastic surgery per capita than anywhere else in the world. Some surveys show that one in five women there have undergone a procedure or received Botox injections. All around the Apgujeong subway station in Seoul, for example, there are advertisements for plastic surgery clinics, showing before and after images of women who have gone under the knife. Images like these are among the reasons why 19-year-old Woori had some work done about a month ago. But she says pressure from friends and family was an even stronger influence. “Whenever I saw pictures of my […]
Photographs that have caught our eye and captured events.
MOSCOW — During a recent meeting with a who’s-who of Russian retailers and grocery chains, Moscow’s regional investment minister was talking wine. The idea is simple: to urge such companies to promote Crimean wine as a way to boost the economy of Russia’s newest region. Such measures are necessary because Ukraine has blocked Crimean wines […]
BEIJING — Since Malaysian Airlines flight MH370 disappeared on March 8, two dozen nations have joined in the search and demonstrated a true spirit of international cooperation. But absent the timely release of information by certain countries — because of profound fear of compromising national security data — cooperating countries haven’t been able to wholly […]
As Wittenberg, Germany, prepares to celebrate the 500-year anniversaries of two major historic events, it has invested millions to transform itself into a world-class venue.
BERLIN — Anyone caught writing about Chuck Norris should tread very carefully because, according to one meme, the Texas Ranger has threatened to switch off the Internet if he finds any more stupid jokes about him posted online. This threat is not to be taken lightly: according to another post, the only reason why there […]
A Latin American writer describes a single moment in time in Miami, where the sad contradictions of American culture were on full display.
BEIJING — China is far from being a central character in the Ukrainian crisis drama. Still, it has the potential to become an important mediator on the global stage between Russia and the West. China’s influence in the past was limited to its vote in the UN Security Council, but since the Crimea crisis emerged, […]
ABDUL REHMAN GOTH — Ahmad Baloch couldn’t remember life ever changing much in this centuries-old fishing village just outside Karachi. But when two nuclear power plants started being built nearby, coast guard and naval security personnel arrived. “They don’t allow us free mobility in the waters,” he says of his fishing trade in Abdul Rehman Goth. “What are we going to do?” Fears about a terrorist attack on the nuclear power plants have led to massive security around them, leaving the fishermen locked out. “There are not enough fish recently,” Baloch says. “We’re just worried for our next generation.” Families […]
SINGAPORE — As a popular tourist destination and a place with a high-income and multicultural local population, Singapore is a particularly fertile place for dining. The British magazine Restaurant recently published its list of “Asia’s 50 best restaurants,” and eight Singapore establishments made the list. Singapore is a place where people are much more open-minded […]
Chinese tourists flood in, leaving behind filth and stretching public resources. And that’s just scratching the surface. A Hong Kong writer dissects growing tension between two cultures.
More than 61% of Greeks aged 25 or younger are unemployed amid the country’s economic crisis. They are educated and demoralized, writes one young woman lucky enough to have work.
Ethnic Tatars are deeply attached to their native Crimea, but risk again becoming the first victims of the maneuvering of greater powers.
KAMAISHI — Tsukayo Ito lost everything in the tsunami three years ago. Since the 2011 disaster, the 88-year-old geisha has been living in a settlement of containers in Kamaishi. On the walls of her tiny living room are the few photos that could be salvaged from the rubble. She has almost no possessions, but still […]
Illnesses in children rise along with the stress levels of their parents, according to a new survey in Germany. Are households with two working parents sending more kids to the doctor?
BERLIN — Sonya* disappeared during the fall school vacation in the German state of Baden-Württemberg. The 16-year-old high school student, the daughter of an Algerian and a German, left her family’s house in Konstanz and never returned. Sonya’s parents called the police fearing the worst. Had their daughter been kidnapped? Was she possibly the victim […]
BEIJING — The continuous heavy haze over Beijing is an ever-present reminder of the country’s losing battle with pollution. But it may also have been the engine to jump start the Chinese government’s recent push to promote the sale of and use of electric vehicles. Beijing officials, who had instituted incentives for purchasing electric cars, […]
War, famine and poaching are taking direct aim at the signature five beasts of Africa’s savannah that Ernest Hemingway once made legendary. What can be done now to save them?
Outrage in China has followed the Kunming attack that killed 29, not just for the violence, but for the way the West has (and hasn’t) defined what happened. Making sense of the *T* word.
When she died of a brain tumor at the age of three, Naomi*’s parents, who were by her side until the end, decided to tell their story amidst a growing push to extend assisted death to children.
NAFTA has brought about practically everything that is positive about the Mexican economy. Unfortunately, good governance and stability remain elusive.
A visit to an abandoned corner of Istanbul, where 40 families who fled Syria live in squalor.
-OpEd- MUNICH — When the Winter Olympics ended Sunday evening, the second part of the Ukrainian revolution began. Now the country’s cohesion and its chances of economic survival will be decided. After a dramatic week in Kiev, a civil war was avoided when the Ukraine Parliament removed the president from power. And now even Ukrainians […]
-OpEd- BERLIN — Among the rituals that North Korea’s young dictator Kim Jong-un has embraced is saber rattling. And in the run-up to annual military maneuvers between South Korea and the U.S., he was at it again. He threatened an “unimaginable holocaust” or “catastrophe” that would destroy inter-Korean relations if the traditional army operations went […]
A recently opened McDonald’s franchise in Ho Chi Minh City is the first in Vietnam. Symbolism aside, the ubiquitous U.S. fast food chain also raises health questions for Vietnamese.
China has its fashionista culture, and it is increasingly original rather than a knock-off of someone else’s city chic.
After last weekend’s terrorist attacks that left four dead, Tunisia’s Interior Ministry has taken to Facebook to announce that it is cracking down on the niqab. Proponents of heightened surveillance suggest that jihadist men use the full-body garment and face veil to disguise themselves while traveling, especially when being pursued by police. One alleged male […]
MOSCOW — While the barricades in Kiev were still smoking, while the dead were being identified and the wounded were being treated, EU foreign ministers publicly declared for the first time that they held Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych responsible for the bloodshed. In Moscow, however, President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov stuck to Russia’s traditional […]
Stories making news, photographs turning heads…
Some hotel chains have moved beyond just adult-only accommodations to cater directly to women, including such options as man-free zones and champagne pajama parties.
MUNICH — The Israeli General Consulate in Munich has finally found permanent premises that sources say is likely next door to the former Nazi Party headquarters. The building’s location is virtually back-to-back with the so-called Führerbau that the Nazis built as a representation venue for Adolf Hitler, sources tell Süddeutsche Zeitung. Directly next door, built […]
A first-of-its-kind study last year found that one in 15 pregnant women is anorexic. Gaunt women are even posting cringe-worthy photos of their baby bumps on pro-anorexia forums.
Dane Dennis Aabo Sorensen lost his left hand and lower arm during a fireworks accident nine years ago. Now a new type of prosthesis has made it possible for him to feel sensation in his hand for the first time since then. “When I hold an object, I can feel if it’s hard or soft, […]
Since its inception, Israel has exempted ultra-Orthodox Jews from military service and offered them a host of subsidies. But as demographics change, many say the policy must end.
Waste nothing. Think creatively…And always be polite to the beast that you’ve slaughtered.