Worldcrunch
Between Mexico and Guatemala lies the small, lesser known Belize, the only country in Central America whose official language is English. The former colony, once called “British Honduras,” was granted full independence only eight years before we visited.
As a border guard in 1989, Arpad Bella personally opened a portion of the Iron Curtain between Hungary and Austria to a crowd of East German refugees. Today, while migrants rush to the gates of Europe, he sadly watches history run backward.
Travelling on organized tours doesn’t necessarily mean being on auto pilot. When we went to Guatemala, our local guide suggested that, for a bit extra cash, we could take a detour and visit the Mayan site of Copán. Copán is in Honduras. We had no visas. So our guide grabbed two bottles of rum — […]
Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Sept. 14, 2015 Germany introduced temporary controls at its border with Austria Sunday in an attempt to slow down the influx of refugees into the country, as the daily Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung wrote on its front page Monday. Shortly after Berlin’s unexpected move, border control officers started conducting passport checks near Austria. […]
Tunisia is building a wall along the border with Libya to defend itself against terrorist infiltrations, but it is stirring up hostility from locals on both sides.
MOSCOW — A new crackdown has begun on food illegally imported from Western countries that have imposed sanctions on Russia. But rather than just targeting goods brought in across the border, Russian officials now have the go-ahead to raid shops, warehouses and grocery chains throughout the country. Although most prohibited goods are stopped at the […]
Getting past the Israeli checkpoints into Palestine is a humiliating experience. Reflections of an Egyptian writer.
CAIRO — There are two smiling European-looking 30-somethings waiting to welcome you to the new website, Liberland.org, while a hopeful-sounding logo proclaims, “Live and let live.” Formerly referred to as Gornja Siga, the seven square-kilometer state (slightly larger than the Vatican and Monaco) came into existence following a border dispute between Croatia and Serbia. The […]
Separated families, refugees and a deeper sense of national loss for Ukrainians who saw an entire region of their country taken over by Russia last March.
This footbridge between two of the Thousand Islands in the Saint Lawrence River is often hailed as being the “shortest international bridge in the world.” The border that separates Canada from the U.S. is said to pass exactly between Zavikon Island and Little Zavikon Island, making for a great anecdote told by many tour guides. […]
India and Pakistan are arch enemies whose ongoing Kashmir conflict shows no signs of ending. So will the film kiss between a beloved Pakistani actress and an India heartthrob be censored?
As war has made regular work scarce, Ayham has trafficked in anything that has a buyer. But lately he says the face of the black market has started to change.
In Poland, after criticism of the treatment of asylum seekers, the government has responded with some very practical training for those who come face-to-face with immigrants every day.
SRINAGAR – An eagle boldly splits the air, to and fro, between disputed territories. On the ground, an electrified fence hurtles down the jagged flank of the mountain, bumps into the river, then resumes its straight race up heights. In the Uri district, in Silikot, the fence sharply cuts an odd borderline: dividing the Muslim […]
On April 15th, India announced that an “intrusion” of around 50 Chinese military personnel had crossed onto the Indian side of the Line of Actual Control in Ladakh, and set up a tent camp. The Indian military immediately responded with tit for tat camp of tents nearby. Thus started the so-called “Tents Confrontation” standoff. The […]
KOREA TIMES, CHOSUN ILBO, YONHAP (South Korea) Worldcrunch PYONGYANG – A “large number” of soldiers are deserting the North Korean ranks due to the growing tensions with its southern neighbor, US sanctions and insufficient food supplies, according to a South Korean official source. The number of deserters stationed in the frontlines has multiplied by seven […]
Some Mexican leaders say immigration reform is simply a domestic matter to be left for Washington to resolve. But the stakes for Mexico are simply too big.
KIGALI– Beginning in January, every African visitor to Rwanda will be granted his or her visa upon arrival in the country from any border post. This “on-the-spot” visa process, according to Ange Sebutege, communications officer at the Rwandan Immigration Services, is designed to bring in more Africans tourists. Until now, visitors had to fill out […]
TIJUANA – There is a party going on across the wall. You can hear the sounds of families and friends, and good fun. Adriana walks towards the fence and explains that further away, some kids are flying kites. But the wind is blowing in the opposite direction. From where we stand, we won’t be able […]
PETRA (Jordan), INDEPENDENT, GUARDIAN (UK), AGENCE FRANCE PRESSE (France) Worldcrunch AMMAN – Jordanian police say they have arrested 11 suspected terrorists who had crossed the border from Syria and were planning a major attack against foreigners in Jordan’s capital. The U.S. embassy in Jordan was among the targets, an embassy spokesman confirmed to the Independent. […]
BWERA – It’s market day in Bwera, a Ugandan city on the banks of the Rubirihiya river that separates the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Uganda, east of the Beni region. Ugandans and Congolese sell from the same stalls. It is hard to distinguish them because they all discuss products and prices in “Kinande,” […]
ASSOCIATED PRESS (U.S.), KHAAMA PRESS (Afghanistan) Worldcrunch The Associated press reports that three grenades were thrown into a mosque in the eastern Afghan Khost province, injuring nine on Wednesday, a day after a string of suicide bombings killed at least 46 people in southwestern and northern Afghanistan. The Taliban did not acknowledge the attack, even […]
HAARETZ (Israel), BBC NEWS (UK), AL JAZEERA (Qatar), ASSOCIATED PRESS (US) Worldcrunch JERUSALEM – Israel says it has found the bodies of eight gunmen who attacked a checkpoint on the border with Egypt on Sunday, killing sixteen Egyptian guards, reports BBC News. The attack was launched at around 8pm on a security checkpoint in the […]