Worldcrunch
Photo: Redcarpetboy Italian rapper Amir Issaa’s new song “Ius Music” dives straight into the country’s heated debate over immigration. And without missing a beat, conservative Italian politicians have accused the 35-year-old of inciting hatred. The Lega Nord party has called for the resignation of Khalid Chaouki, a member of the Italian Democratic Party of Moroccan […]
“Hit It!” is Worldcrunch’s music blog, your global source of anything music-related: news and novelties, albums and songs, videos, charts, events, you name it. While we’ll leave most of the mainstream London and L.A.-generated news to the various Rolling Stones and NMEs, our focus will be what’s happening everywhere else. The name of this blog […]
BEIJING — Obesity is a worldwide problem. The latest confirmation comes from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington, which conducted a study in 188 countries that found one-third of the global adult population and one-fourth of all children are overweight or obese. That includes no fewer than 671 million […]
By Patrick Randall On June 21, the Swedish Barbecue Team won the European Barbecue Championship that took place in the heavenly town of Znin, in Poland. With 24 teams participating in eight different events that included cooking pork ribs, beef briskets or fish, this competition was one of the high points of the year for […]
Rebel fighters are no match for Bashar al-Assad’s superior military might. But underground, they use tunnels to travel safely and plant bombs close to the president’s seats of power.
A sharp critique against the government by an insider shows the ranks of the Bolivarian movement may be set to turn on President Nicolas Maduro. What’s lost without Hugo Chavez.
MUNICH — Citing the failure of antibiotics to work effectively in their patients, a group of German doctors and other healthcare providers are laying blame on the factory farming industry — and calling for reform. The doctors say that antibiotics no longer work because of multi-resistant germs that patients carry, at least some of which […]
Below are some of the songs currently topping charts around the world. But first … Worldcrunch Pick To the great delight of neo-psychedelic rockers worldwide, the Texas-based band Black Angels confirmed this week the release of their new album Clear Lake Forest, on July 21. On Record Store Day (April 19), the authors of last […]
The trafficking of young men as soldiers is on the rise in Syria. One mother thought her 16-year-old was being taken to find medical treatment, until she saw a photo of him in uniform.
One hundred years ago, the Archduke of Austria was assassinated by a Serbian ideologue. Today, the threats are different but, like in 1914, conflicts are multiplying and leaders failing.
Gislaine Nunes, 47, is the most prominent soccer attorney in Brazil. From Pelé to Ronaldinho, she has defended many stars, and her success has earned her as much fortune as hostility.
Facing advancing jihadist fighters, the Iraqi army fled without fighting, and the city of Mosul fell on June 10. Kirkuk, a multiethnic oil city, has been saved by Kurdish fighters. So far.
Helped by access to social media, environmental activists are calling for efficient measures against the scourge of pollution and degradation. A whiff of Western-style protest in the air.
Compared to ancient times, the world is a relatively peaceful place right now. Strangely, this has begun to push economists to study the historical costs and returns of war.
Below are some of the songs currently topping charts around the world. Worldcrunch Pick It’s music festival season and last weekend saw a heavy lineup at the Isle of Wight, including Red Hot Chili Peppers, Kings of Leon and Biffy Clyro. On Saturday, the Specials performed their classic “Ghost Town” as night was settling in: […]
Mexico seems to be returning to more regulations, paperwork and taxes, which fuels the underground economy and encourages the government to overspend.
A look at the rapidly evolving experimental electronic music scene in Cairo.
The growing tendency to say ‘there is no just war’ is just a way to keep one’s hands clean, while leaving it to others to pay the consequences for your freedom. A view from Germany.
The main opposition parties have chosen Edmeleddin Ihsanoglu to run against Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the Aug. 10 presidential election. A summer campaign is about to heat up.
The ISIS assault in Iraq is spectacular proof that the U.S. has failed in the Middle East. It’s time for a return to power politics and a bloc of former enemies to take on the extremists.
The Islamist radical group’s conquests in Iraq could help it take control of parts of eastern and northern Syria it had been forced to abandon.
BEIJING — With President Barack Obama’s recent announcement that the United States will remove all military forces in Afghanistan by the end of 2016, American foreign policy is preparing to turn a page full of blood and tears. But this also may mark the beginning of another era: when China will play a prominent role […]
Below are some of the songs currently topping charts around the world; but before that: Worldcrunch Pick Jack White performed two tracks — “Temporary Ground” (watch below) and “Alone In My Home” — from his new LP Lazaretto on Conan Wednesday. Cover photo: Incase
Below are some of the songs currently topping charts around the world. Worldcrunch Pick This week, one of the most misunderstood songs of all time turned 30 years old. Bruce Springteen’s “Born in the U.S.A.” was released with its eponymous album on June 4, 1984, before becoming one of the Boss’s most popular songs. With […]
Newsmaking images that caught our eye.
France and the entire European continent, but also the U.S. and Russia, all look very different than they did at the last commemoration 10 years ago. Ghosts of the past indeed.
AUNAY-SUR-ODON — Will there ever be a place for the civilian victims in the commemoration of French liberation and of the air raids that helped hasten the end of Nazi occupation? On June 6, France, along with other European and North American countries, will celebrate the 70th anniversary of the Normandy landings, and will rightly […]
In order to maximize profits, the German automaker wants to eliminate paid 15-minute breaks for its workforce.
KIRI SAKOR — It was 8 in the morning, and families living in Cambodia“s Kiri Sakor district were desperately fleeing from their homes. Backed by the military, a company called the Union Development Group was systematically burning down people’s houses. Children were crying while their parents fought authorities, who marched on their community with guns. Nearly 2,000 families had been living in the area since the 1980s. Local farmer Prak Sareth, who is 30, says her 49-acre piece of land was seized by the Chinese-owned company last year and now their houses have been burned down. “This is our parents’ […]
A reported multi-billion-dollar U.S. fine against BNP Paribas, the eurozone’s biggest bank, puts the very heart of transatlantic relations at risk, writes France’s leading business daily.
Much has changed, but some has not, in the complicated relationship between Israel and Turkey.
Below are some of the songs currently topping charts around the world. Worldcrunch Pick A never-before-released Led Zeppelin instrumental has surfaced online this week. The track, simply called “La La,” was recorded in 1969 and starts with an interesting mix of gospel organ, savage drumming, acoustic guitar, followed by the classic Jones-Bonham groove and Page’s […]
Tan Dinh is the oldest Vietnamese restaurant in the French capital, and may still be the best. Lately, the focus is on matching the perfect bottle of Burgundy with a spring roll or bowl of pho.
The European establishment has a decade-long listening problem, and it won’t be solved by shaming the anti-EU populist parties that scored big in this week’s election.
Some bits and bytes of news in numbers…
Some 15 million, mostly Spanish-speaking quiz junkies may right now have their heads deep into Preguntados. Its 28-year-old founder is building a mini tech empire in Buenos Aires.
Token tough questions are drowned out by heaps of praise for the general-turned-presidential candidate, and even some Hosni Mubarak nostalgia.
Information technology was supposed to usher in a new borderless utopia, but instead new walls are reappearing.
ARMENIS — Much to the delight of the residents of Armenis, a small village in the Romanian Carpathian Mountains, 17 bison were released into a local acclimation enclosure Saturday. The operation, carried out by the WWF and Rewilding Europe, is part of an international effort to restore the emblematic animal in the region, more than […]
Honduras, Guatemala and Nicaragua offer vivid proof of the ravages that narco-trafficking inflicts on the environment, from clandestine landing strips to roads built to transport illegal drugs.