April is here, when many a sports fan’s fancy turns to the Major League Baseball opening game Honozumo sumo tournament at the Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo. All the sport’s heavyweights were at the ceremonial meet-up on Friday, the top sumo wrestlers from Mongolia, Georgia, Bulgaria and Estonia who currently dominate this quintessentially Japanese sport.
Here are some of the highlights and controversies:
The Papal conclave has elected Pope Francis. He’s from Argentina, and since 217 of the previous 265 pontiffs have been Italian, this is a big deal, right?
Not as much as you might think. The new Holy Father, born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, is the son of Italian immigrants. He is italo-argentino, like 60 percent of Argentina’s population.
More:
“Pope Francis feted in Italian ancestral village,” Antonella Ciancio, Reuters
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Rhythm & Blues great Tina Turner has successfully petitioned local authorities for Swiss citizenship. Born in Nutbush, Tennessee 73 years ago as Anna Mae Bullock, she has lived in Kuesnacht, on Lake Zurich, since 1995. If Swiss federal and state authorities approve the application as expected, Frau Turner will surrender her U.S. Passport.
Starbucks opened its first coffeehouse in the People’s Republic of China in 1999. It just opened its 500th java joint there and plans to open another thousand by 2015.
But let a thousand coffee shops bloom. True to the market principles of 21st century China, the British chain Costa Coffee is expanding into the country as well. Will this mean the War of the Beans?
Coffee is a pretty hard sell in China, where tea has been king for 5000 years. There are other challenges, too. Not only does coffee need explanation, so does milk.
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