Worldcrunch
BOGOTÁ — Recent election defeats for the social-democratic Peronist candidate in Argentina, and for Bogotá”s unapologetic socialist mayor, may be part of a wider trend for leftist leaders across Latin America. Both those elections — not to mention several mass protests against Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff’s Workers Party — suggest voters are tired of business-as-usual […]
Since Turkey shot down a Russian military jet, discord between the two sides has escalated. The upshot could be unfreezing a war between Azerbaijan and an Armenian minority who have occupied its territories.
An EU report issued to member states seven years ago offered an eerily accurate warning of what was to come — that areas affected by global warming and political tension (Yemen, Syria, etc.) would be vulnerable to destabilization.
Tunisia is the birthplace of the Arab Spring democratic uprising, and the only to have seen democracy survive. But it is both a source and victim of homegrown terrorists.
LONDON — What’s a politician most afraid of? British Premier Harold Macmillan’s famous answer to the journalist’s question is more relevant than ever: “Events, dear boy, events.” If you add the Paris death toll to the number of victims who died after ISIS bombed a Russian plane over the Sinai, that’s 353. And the previous […]
Argentina’s next president, the center-right Mauricio Macri, must be deft in reforming the economy of a society that has moved beyond a developmental stage, to one that sees itself as “at risk.”
In the wake of wanton terror, psychology replaces practically everything, from social life to and information. Emotion is now political — and strategic.
Monica Maggioni, head of Italy’s Rai news service, recounts her meeting this week with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad inside his private Damascus villa: “He looks nothing like the defeated leaders of this era.”
WASHINGTON — In a pair of public appearances this week, CIA Director John O. Brennan made clear that he blames leaks by former intelligence contractor Edward Snowden for enabling terrorists to evade detection. “Because of a number of unauthorized disclosures, and a lot of hand-wringing over the government’s role in the effort to try to […]
-OpEd- ANTALYA — Opportunism may be one of the accepted facts of life in foreign policy, but that doesn’t mean it’s a good thing. The Turkish government is busy right now trying to make the most of two pieces of the Syrian crisis that have come to the fore: The recent flood of refugees to […]
Germany was already clashing over the country’s recent migrant crisis. Now, the nationalist PEGIDA group is playing with fire by using the Islamist terror attack to justify its extremist positions.
PARIS — As investigators follow possible leads from Syria to Greece and Belgium, Friday’s deadly and meticulously coordinated assault in Paris was no doubt very much a European attack. Governments across the continent are busy taking measures to enhance security against a growing threat of similar coordinated terror assaults. FRANCE French authorities carried out anti-terror […]
Paris Terror, How The Attack Was Seen Around… par Worldcrunch
Once focused solely on gaining Middle East territory for its caliphate, the terror group is now targeting “crusader nations,” those fighting it in Syria and Iraq.
-Analysis- PARIS — In terms of terrorist attacks on French territory, this was unprecedented: multiple suicide bombers blowing themselves up late Friday, after launching coordinated massacres in five locations in central Paris and near the Stade de France football stadium on the outskirts of the capital in Saint Denis. The Paris targets included Bataclan, a […]
A series of seemingly coordinated terror attacks left more than 120 people dead in Paris on Friday evening. In what has been described as the most deadly act of terrorism in French history, the attacks took place in seven locations, including shootings inside a concert hall and cafés in central Paris and a bombing outside […]
Faced with enormous challenges both at home and abroad, China reveals itself as a land of double standards and growing uncertainty.
BEIJING — Over the past month President Xi Jinping made a state visit to the United States and to the United Kingdom. In the U.S. he was welcomed with a 21-gun salute on the south lawn of the White House followed by a state banquet. In Britain he was greeted by the Queen, and rode […]
A century from now, the global population will finally begin to decline. But before that, the world must deal with the waste created by an exploding overpopulation: How do we hold on until then?
The strongest armed group in Douma, Syria, paraded caged detainees, including Syrian army officers and women and children, for several hours to try to deter future government attacks. Syria Deeply spoke with residents to get their reactions.
Where the Russian leader lacks any real strategy, his American counterpart is short on nerve. They’re playing two different games and following very different rules.
BEIJING — The setting is Singapore, where the two sides had a semi-official contact in 1992, giving the news a pleasant whiff of nostalgia. The summit on Saturday between Ma Ying-jeou of Taiwan and Xi Jinping of China is historic indeed: It is the first meeting between leaders of both sides of the Taiwan Strait […]
Unlike Nicolas Maduro in Venezuela, Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa manages to keep his political crackdowns below the international radar.
BEIRUT — An Italian diplomat once said that “the darkest corners of a crisis can be the most illuminating in understanding geopolitical dynamics.” This is where Lebanon finds itself: One of the few Middle Eastern countries that is not at war, yet one suffering in the trenches nonetheless. These days Lebanon is far from the […]
ALEPPO — Like many boys his age, Muhammad loves to draw. Already known for his artistic talents in his hometown of Aleppo, the largest and probably hardest-hit city in Syria, the 14-year-old boy now has something to show the world. When the armed conflict intensified in Aleppo in 2012, Muhammad, then a sixth-grader, was forced to quit school. After the Syrian government began to bomb his neighborhood in the city’s Salah al-Din district, Muhammad and his family moved into the cramped student dorms of Aleppo University. Seven months later they were able to return home, but unfortunately for children like […]
-Analysis- ISTANBUL — Why did those who gave 60% of the vote to opposition parties in the June 7 parliamentary elections turn to the ruling AKP on Sunday? The message to the various forces of the opposition was clear: “You couldn’t find a ruling coalition with 60% of the vote. You made a mess of […]
Accused of one of Syria’s worst atrocities in 1982, and then exiled after a falling out with his brother’s regime, Rifaat al-Assad may again be eyeing power, and with Moscow’s help.
The terror group has made its Syrian headquarters in the northern city of Raqqa, where those doing business with it report mounting ISIS financial difficulties and flagging morale.
Born in Egypt and educated in journalism at university, Mohannad Ghallab became an extremist and joined al-Qaeda after 9/11. He went on to become an influential voice for the terror group before being killed by a U.S. drone strike.
The top leaders of China’s Communist Party are gathering this week to develop the latest roadmap for the country, which could supercede the U.S. in economic and military might as soon as five years from now.
Hundreds of Syrian university degrees are reportedly being forged every day, putting the reputation of Syrian academics at serious risk. But counterfeiters say their only concern is helping their countrymen find a “safe way out.”
TEL AVIV— The recent wave of violence and Mahmoud Abbas’ threats to dismantle the Palestinian Authority could represent not just a security emergency for Israel, but also an economic nightmare. More than 1,000 factories in the West Bank rely solely on the manpower of Palestinian workers. And they’re just a small part of the financial […]
Bangkok and other urban areas in Thailand are home to some 8,000 refugees who have fled religious persecution in their home countries. But since the deadly shrine bombing in August, the government has been harassing and arresting illegal immigrants.
As students return to school this month in the rebel-held areas of Aleppo, they won’t be heading back to the same classrooms they left last year. Instead, they’ll be studying in basements and other “secure areas” across the devas
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has sparked outrage with his thesis that a Palestinian gave Adolf Hitler the idea to annihilate the Jews. It is, of course, utter nonsense. But from a German perspective, there is another problem.
-Editorial- TOKYO — Both to deter North Korea’s military provocations and to ensure regional stability in Asia, it’s vital that the United States and South Korea maintain their solid alliance. South Korea should be mindful not to get too close to China, or risk weakening its collaboration with the United States. U.S. President Barack Obama […]
Daniel Scioli, candidate closest to the outgoing Argentine President Cristina Kirchner, is leading the polls. But whoever wins, the future of the country is a wide-open question.
A group of well-educated Afghans with credentials to work in Europe are instead committing to stay in their troubled homeland – and using Facebook to encourage others to do the same.
This week we shine the spotlight on Malaysia: CURRENCY AND CARS While other emerging-market currencies in Asia are halting their slide, the Malaysian ringgit is continuing its precipitous fall, Malaysian financial newspaper the Edge reports. The Malaysian currency has experienced a steady depreciation for months against the U.S. dollar. Despite a minor rally recently, it’s […]
Suspended for three months by FIFA’s Ethics Committee for a 2 million Swiss franc payment from Sepp Blatter, the former French soccer star denies any wrongdoing, and still says he’s the right man to be the next president of the global soccer org