Worldcrunch
SITAKUND — Welcome to one of the most polluted and dangerous coastlines in the world. On this murky stretch just a few kilometers from Bangladesh’s main industrial port, Chittagong, are dozens and dozens of beached ships. Sea carriers, oil tankers and huge containers that at the end of their lives — many that can no […]
ROME — Way back in 1998, Bill Clinton bet on the young Assad. He was to be his father’s successor, and the United States believed that the young Bashar al-Assad, once he reached power, would be the person to bring Syria back into the fold among the civilized nations of the world. And so Clinton’s […]
VERONA — One honeymoon. 90,000 kilometers. 321 days. Two rules: 1) never take an airplane, and 2) never pay more than 15 euros for a meal for two. Elisa Bocca, a 32-year-old interpreter, and Alessandro Bocca, a 37-year-old photographer, are the Italian stars of this global honeymoon. They travelled through the United States, Mexico, South […]
–Op-Ed– MUNICH — We Germans have always struggled with the euro crisis. We talk about it a lot, muse about what would happen if the euro zone split up, bitch about those nasty countries frittering our money away. But there’s one thing we don’t do: suffer from the economic crisis. On the contrary. Even if […]
The eldest daughter of the disgraced prime minister controls the family businesses with an iron fist. The question is whether she’ll decide to bring the same passion to politics.
ANSA, TGCOM24 (Italy) Worldcrunch ROME – Italy’s former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi broadcasted an angry video late Thursday, after a high court upheld his four-year prison sentence in a tax fraud case. The center-right leader strongly denounced the jail ruling, claiming his innocence and accusing the Italian Justice of persecuting him. “No-one can understand the […]
BBC NEWS (UK) Worldcrunch AVELLINO – A bus has plunged off a viaduct in southern Italy on Sunday night, leaving at least 38 people dead, rescue services say. The bus hit several vehicles before smashing through a parapet and toppling down a steep slope near the town of Avellino, in the Campania region. At least […]
IL TEMPO, ANSA (Italy) Worldcrunch ROME – Italian police arrested at least 116 people Friday, in two major anti-mafia operations in Rome and the southern Calabria region. In pre-dawn raids along the coast near Rome, some 500 police officers apprehended 51 people. A helicopter, dog units and maritime police took part in what the Italian […]
MODENA – A place like this — where milk costs one point and olive oil four points instead of nine euros, where you can buy food even if you don’t have the money to do so — seems possible only here, between the Torre della Ghirlandina (the bell tower of the Cathedral of Modena) and […]
-Analysis- ROME – Countless attempts have been made to separate Silvio Berlusconi’s fate from that of the Italian government and economy. Above all, how can one man’s personal destiny be disentangled from the properly functioning relationships between the powers of the State. In the end, it seems, all attempts at such a separation have been […]
Exactly 100 years ago, the renowned Italian educator first landed in America with a method that pushes independent thinking. Today, the results are everywhere — notably at Google HQ.
NEW YORK – In the art world, auctions and mega galleries dominate. There are departed graffiti artists like Jean-Michel Basquiat who sell for tens of millions of dollars. Venice’s biennial tips its hat to ‘outsider’ artists, such as Antonio Ligabue, and mixes them with ‘insiders’, such as Richard Serra. Enter Thomas Hirschhorn, a creator of […]
Every night, Domenico Codispoti arranges his sleeping bag on a fixed patch of sidewalk in central Milan — and is not allowed to move until the next morning.
A view from Italy, where the Protestant revival-style musical festival never had a chance…
TURIN – It’s a little like Babel. In Italy, words can have one meaning on one side of the street and something entirely different on the other. From the mountains to the sea, from the north to the south, this is the land of endless dialects. But because families are using these local languages less […]
-Analysis- ROME – Silvio Berlusconi’s sentence to seven years in prison and a life ban from public office signals the end of his political adventures. More generally, it also marks the end of Italy’s so-called “Second Republic”: the political era that began in 1992 of which the ex-prime minister has been the ubiquitous figure, just […]
MILAN – “Prestanome for hire: thirty years old, good credit rating, permanent job…” More and more advertisements like this one are finding their way onto the Internet. Literally a “lend-name,” the prestanome has made the leap from mafia-esque dodgy dealings into the real world. “The only thing I had left was my name: so I […]
Being born in Italy doesn’t guarantee you citizenship. For those who grew up children of immigrants, proving you deserve a passport can be like a bus ride to nowhere.
It’s more than just an easy target…
ROME – Italy won’t be the new Saudi Arabia, but few realize that it does have its own small treasure trove of oil and natural gas, underground and under the seabed. There is, however, one condition required to benefit from it – not saying “No, grazie!” Italians will only see the gushing of oil and […]
EUROSTAT, IL SOLE 24 ORE (Italy) Worldcrunch PARIS – The euro zone has registered yet another record high unemployment rate of 12.2%, European statistics agency Eurostat reports on Friday. Earlier in the day, Italy, the third-largest economy in the currency bloc, reported a first quarter jobless rate of 12.8%, the highest in the 36 years […]
GENOA – How do you bring the Dolce Vita Italian lifestyle to the Chinese without actually landing in China? Well, the Costa Cruises company will be offering all the top Made-in-Italy food, fashion and style with a new around-the-world “Italian” cruise geared to a Chinese public. The Italian cruise line opened its doors to the […]
-OpEd- ROME – Italy’s entire political establishment is working together to avoid the collision between addressing the urgent social and economic problems that are engulfing the country, and the personal and judicial destiny of Silvio Berlusconi. Every time there is a political statement, and on the regular talk-show circuit, it is repeated over and over […]
NEW YORK – Some people are hailing it as a culinary revolution. One thing is certain, the re-introduction of certain banned Italian pork products after 15 years represents some serious business opportunities. Italian businesses will now be able to sell “Made in Italy” pork products such as salami, pancetta, air-cured pork, and culatello Parma ham […]
This week’s selection of magazine covers from around the world.
Italy’s Giulio Andreotti died this week at the age of 94. His handling of the abduction of fellow politician Aldo Moro tells us much about the seven-time prime minister.
CORRIERE DELLA SERA, LA REPUBBLICA, RAI NEWS 24, LA STAMPA (Italy) Worldcrunch GENOA- A ship crashed into the control tower at Genoa’s port late Tuesday night, killing at least seven people. The ship had been turning to leave the harbor when it hit the tower, knocking most of it into the water, reports Corriere della […]
ROME – Springtime at her villa must have been something beautiful indeed. Livia was the wife of the emperor Octavian, also known as Caesar Augustus, and her villa was surrounded by a breathtaking landscape that was unparalleled anywhere in the surrounding areas of Rome: hills, fields, and the Tiber river flowing by. Built along the […]
Italy’s seven-time prime minister, known as one of the most powerful and intriguing post-War politicians, died Monday at 94.
Worldcrunch PARIS – La Stampa’s veteran war correspondent Domenico Quirico has been missing in Syria more than three weeks now. Our Turin-based partner released the news earlier this week after working quietly with the Ministry for Foreign Affairs to trace the journalist. Heading for Homs, he crossed the Syrian border through Lebanon on April 6 […]
ROME – Italy is a place of culture, beauty, and a well-oiled style of life — crisis or not. Foreigners always return for more. But in order to make sure that the tourists keep coming back — and telling their friends — some guidelines are needed. According to data from the federation of hotels “Fedalberghi”, […]
CORRIERE DELLA SERA, LA REPUBBLICA, LA STAMPA (Italy) Worldcrunch ROME – A day after a dramatic shooting outside Italian government headquarters, one of the two injured Carabinieri police officers remains in critical condition Monday as Italy’s entire political system attempts to begin its own recovery with a key confidence vote in Parliament. Sunday morning’s shooting […]
The Italian city’s decision to take away a modern sculpture of “wonder” says more about the present than the past.
ADNKRONOS, LA STAMPA (Italy), BIOSCIENCE TECHNOLOGY (USA) Worldcrunch MILAN – Great news for coffee junkies worldwide from the place where it’s brewed to perfection: Italian researchers say even three or four cups of espresso a day is actually good for you. A study at Mario Negri Pharmacological Institute in Milan showed the daily cup or […]
A mild-mannered centrist, Enrico Letta has a well-placed uncle.
CAIRO – Rafah and other cities on the Sinai peninsula’s north coast have been suffering from pollution of the Mediterranean Sea and its underground water reservoir, which has caused serious environmental and health issues for the local population, experts argue. Some blame Israel for the pollution, while others attribute it to domestic sources. The National […]
More and more immigrants think having “Western” features is a secret to success.
In the southern Italian region of Calabria, the organized crime syndicate known as the “Ndrangheta is known for its cruelty and ever more central role in the international drug trade. But in his book Rebelling Sweethearts, journalist Lirio Abbate is focused on a largely untold chapter in “Ndrangheta’s story: its women. Abbate, an award-winning chronicler […]
CORRIERE DELLA SERA, LA STAMPA (Italy) Worldcrunch VENICE – The city famous for its canals and occasional “high water,” has withdrawn its candidacy to become European Capital of Culture in 2019 because it is already flooded with tourists, reports Corriere della Sera Forrestn While other cities line up for all the residual payoff of getting […]
He was Benedict XVI’s right-hand man, and now runs daily operations for Francis, but it’s still not clear where German-born Georg Ganswein fits into other power struggles in Rome.