When the world gets closer.

We help you see farther.

Sign up to our expressly international daily newsletter.

Ideas

Reverse Aging, Mole In Iran, Precious Ukraine: The Year's Most Popular Worldcrunch Stories

Reverse Aging, Mole In Iran, Precious Ukraine: The Year's Most Popular Worldcrunch Stories
Worldcrunch

Here are the 10 most-read articles of the past year:

Escape From Foxconn: Inside The COVID Lockdown Chaos Blocking China's iPhone Production

THE INITIUM

Around China, Zero-COVID policy has shut down entire towns and workplaces. But in the high-tech Foxconn factory in Zhengzhou, famous for cranking out iPhones, employees were forced to work even if they tested positive. Exclusive testimony from some of those who fled Foxconn premises last week.

Wartime News And French Sunshine: A Cry In The Dark For My Precious Ukraine

WORLDCRUNCH

Our Ukrainian journalist has another job to help pay the bills: at a luxury hotel in the South of France. It brings the stark contrast of her life right now, and the risks facing her native country, into desperately sharp relief.

Benjamin Button For Real? Scientists Are Close To Cracking The Code To Reverse Aging

LES ECHOS

The discovery that earned Japan's Shinya Yamanaka the 2012 Nobel Prize in Medicine has paved the way for new research proving that aging is a reversible process. Currently just being tested on lab mice, will the cellular reprogramming soon offer eternal youth?

Syria, The Laboratory For Putin's Brutality In Ukraine

LA RAZON

Putin is increasing his attacks on Ukrainian civilians and may be preparing to use chemical weapons. But these horrific tactics are not new — they were perfected by the Russian army during a brutal war in Syria.

I Don't Want Children Because I Don't Want Children

LA STAMPA

Italy's low fertility rate and lack of support for young people have become a hot topic. But economic and social conditions are not what's stopping all Italian women from having children. Some simply want to do other things with their lives. Does that make them selfish, asks Italian writer Simonetta Sciandivasci.

Hu Jintao Ejected, My Grandpa's Advice — A Personal Reflection On Xi Jinping

WORLDCRUNCH

The 20th congress of the Chinese Communist Party ended as we knew it would: with Xi Jinping's well-choreographed anointment for a third term and the naming of a politburo completely loyal to him. Scary stuff for China's future, our journalist writes ...

Meet Karina Pintarelli: The First Recognized Trans Survivor Of Argentina’s Dictatorship

AGENCIA PRESENTES

Now 64, transgender poet and activist Karina Pintarelli suffered police torture under the military dictatorship of the 1970s and 1980s. After a long legal fight, she became the first trans victim of the regime to be granted monetary reparations by the Argentine Justice Ministry for persecution inflicted because of her gender identity.

Iran Protests, Dissent In The Ranks: Interview With A Mole Inside The Revolutionary Guard

KAYHAN-LONDON

A member of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards tells Kayhan-London that while they must stay hidden, "many" policemen, soldiers and officials sympathize with the mass protests against the Islamist regime. He also shares information about Iran's role in the Ukraine war.

​Crypto And Cannabis, Best Buds At Last

AMERICA ECONOMIA

As cannabis is legalized in more places, investors are taking note. One Luxembourg-based, Uruguayan-led fund has found an innovative way to bypass banking obstacles and raise capital.

​The Queen’s Death Is The Perfect Time To Talk About What's Wrong With The Monarchy

WORLDCRUNCH

Not everyone in Britain is mourning the death of the Queen. There is increasing concern about how the monarch's death is being used to repress freedom of expression and protest.

You've reached your limit of free articles.

To read the full story, start your free trial today.

Get unlimited access. Cancel anytime.

Exclusive coverage from the world's top sources, in English for the first time.

Insights from the widest range of perspectives, languages and countries.

Society

Tour Of Istanbul's Ancient Yedikule Gardens, At Risk With Urban Restoration

The six-hectare gardens in the center of Istanbul, which are more than 1,500 years old, have helped feed the city's residents over the centuries and are connected with its religious history. But current city management has a restoration project that could disrupt a unique urban ecosystem.

Photo of Muslims performing Friday prayer in the garden of Suleymaniye Mosque, Istanbul.

Last March, Muslims performing Friday prayer in the garden of Suleymaniye Mosque, Istanbul.

Tolga Ildun via ZUMA Press Wire
Canan Coşkun

ISTANBUL — The historic urban gardens of Yedikule in Istanbul are at risk of destruction once again. After damage in 2013 caused by the neighborhood municipality of Fatih, the gardens are now facing further disruption and possible damage as the greater Istanbul municipality plans more "restoration" work.

The six-hectare gardens are more than 1,500 years old, dating back to the city's Byzantine era. They were first farmed by Greeks and Albanians, then people from the northern city of Kastamonu, near the Black Sea. Now, a wide variety of seasonal produce grows in the garden, including herbs, varieties of lettuce and other greens, red turnip, green onion, cabbage, cauliflower, tomato, pepper, corn, mullberry, fig and pomegranate.

Yedikule is unique among urban gardens around the world, says Cemal Kafadar, a historian and professor of Turkish Studies at Harvard University.

“There are (urban gardens) that are older than Istanbul gardens, such as those in Rome, but there is no other that has maintained continuity all this time with its techniques and specific craft," Kafadar says. "What makes Yedikule unique is that it still provides crops. You might have eaten (from these gardens) with or without knowing about it."

Keep reading...Show less

You've reached your limit of free articles.

To read the full story, start your free trial today.

Get unlimited access. Cancel anytime.

Exclusive coverage from the world's top sources, in English for the first time.

Insights from the widest range of perspectives, languages and countries.

The latest