In Canada’s Western province of Alberta, hospital beds are running out and forcing officials to “triage” to decide who does and doesn’t get care. The same formula should not apply to those who have chosen not to get the COVID vaccine.
Month: December 2021
? སྐུ་གཟུགས་བཟང་པོ།!* Welcome to Thursday, where the UK reports highest daily COVID cases, one of the biggest storms of 2021 hits the Philippines and Australia’s new musical hit makers are… birds. And for German daily Die Welt, writer and historian Karl-Heinz Göttert looks at how the Nazis attempted to use Christmas for their own ends. […]
The jail sentence against the opposition leader is a clear sign that strongman Lukashenko is not looking back.
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When The Nazis Stole Christmas
Both the Nazis and East German Communist Party tried to use Christmas for their own ends, and distance it from its Christian meaning. Writer and historian Karl-Heinz Göttert looks at the attempts to hijack Christmas throughout German history, and why it matters today.
? Halito!* Welcome to Wednesday, where the WHO says vaccines may be less effective against the Omicron variant, a spacecraft “touches” the Sun for the first time and the Berlin metro is offering edible tickets. Warsaw-based daily Gazeta Wyborcza also looks at shocking practices multiplying in Poland’s booming and unregulated funeral business. [*Choctaw, Native American] […]
There is a charming little sector of central Madrid where towering figures of Spanish literature lived, loved, wrote … and mocked each other.
Mongolia built an extensive road network on a permafrost foundation. Now, the permafrost is melting.
A total lack of regulation has meant that virtually anyone can sell funeral service, even people without refrigerated rooms, hearses or pandemic safety measures.
Unlike ISIS-K (Islamic State Khorasan), drug cultivation and trafficking are not an ideological matter for the new rulers of Afghanistan — more likely a bargaining chip in negotiations with the West.
? Hallo!* Welcome to Tuesday, where Omicron now looms over the upcoming Beijing Winter Olympics, Philippine strongman Duterte unexpectedly quits his Senate race, and the NFT world witnesses a very costly slip of the keyboard. In French economic daily Les Echos, Adrien Lelièvre wonders whether the jig is up for the “gig economy.” [*German] […]
Even as it celebrates this year’s literature prize going to Tanzanian author Abdulrazak Gurnah, Africa is again completely absent from the list of Nobel winners in science. In research as elsewhere, money is the key.
Tehran authorities have drafted a list of “luxury” imports it will block, citing both financial and religious motivations.
Startups that offer to deliver groceries in less than 15 minutes have learned from the past and are hiring full-time employees, even if they need temporary workers to meet demand.
? ສະບາຍດີ* Welcome to Monday, where the first ever meeting took place between leaders of Israel and the United Arab Emirates, BoJo declares an “Omicron emergency” and Vladimir Putin shares a side hustle from his past. And for the insomniac and the lonely, we tune in to Taiwan’s new app that connects you to a […]
Facing biodiversity loss, hunting can be seen as not only cruel but also damaging to natural ecosystems. Yet hunters argue that their activity is a natural way to “replace” animal predators and a tradition that should be preserved. Can there be a happy hunting medium?
Do you long for bedtime stories told remotely? Or miss the companionship a voice provides? There’s an app for that, which also responds to special COVID-19 needs of dating apps that allows for more direct online communication.
The Ukraine government’s official Twitter account is using memes and GIFs to poke Moscow and draw attention to the risk of a Russian invasion. It is one of just a few institutional accounts that has decided not to be careful
Language is an ultra sensitive subject in Spain , especially in Catalonia, where a schoolboy and his family found themselves at the center of online hate campaign and a constitutional storm.
The growing environmental movement in the West, wittingly or not, has given no attention to mass protests in Iran against the clerical regime, most recently focused on the drought conditions and other ecological risks. Had ecologists been hoping to sign a green pact with Tehran?
With a personal history of suffering and a humane discourse, the liberal Ingrid Betancourt’s return to Colombian politics, even if not a presidential candidate next year, may prompt voters to shun the extremes.
? Сәлем!* Welcome to Friday, where the U.S. wins bid to extradite whistleblower Julian Assange, Nicaragua breaks off ties with Taiwan to align with China and Sweden takes issue with IKEA branding. In the wake of New Zealand’s plans to ban all future cigarette sales, we take a look at toughening smoking laws around the […]
We’re nearly two years into a global pandemic that has seemingly changed everything in our economy from how we shop to where we eat. COVID-19 indeed may transform our economic lives entirely – except how we work.
Categories
Self-Cure In The Kitchen
I pass by the old lady who lives downstairs. “Dottoré, yesterday I wanted to knock on your door because I wasn’t feeling well”. “What was wrong?” “I don’t know. I felt a strange sadness, like a void inside, then started having palpitations! So, to distract myself, I prepared a nice parmigiana.” “Well done! And how […]
A new program that settles paternity disputes has become the most popular television show in Zimbabwe. Not everyone is happy.
? Sveiki!* Welcome to Thursday, where boosters appear to work on Omicron, Jimmy Lai is found guilty and there’s a mind-blowingly bad idea for a new wine. We also see how Ukrainians are measuring the Russian threat of an invasion. [*Latvian] SIGN UP This is our daily newsletter Worldcrunch Today, a rapid tour of […]
For an Indian growing up in the UK in the 1960s, racism was an everyday experience ranging from schoolyard taunts to threats of violence and persecution. And with the recent revelations of abuse suffered by Pakistan-born cricket star Azeem Rafiq, overt racism is still very much alive. in British society.
Icy roads, electricity outages, whiny city folk … There’s only one solution to ending winter chaos.
? Ellohay!* Welcome to Wednesday, where the Omicron variant triggers toughened travel restrictions, Putin warns NATO of Ukraine “red line,” and school’s in for Santa. For Amsterdam-based daily De Volkskrant, Daphne van Paassen also reports on how some Dutch hairdressers are being trained to recognize signs of domestic violence among their customers. [*Pig Latin] […]
The racy pastry scene in the holiday shop window in the city of Seville is no joking matter in the traditional Catholic country. Now “Josephallus” and family might land this local wafflemaker in court.
? Dydh da!* Welcome to Wednesday, where Merkel makes way for Scholz, Biden threatens Putin and a Botox scandal has hit Saudi Arabia’s camel beauty pageant. We also tune in to London-based Kayhan, which unpacks the geopolitics of last week’s reported clashes on the border of Iran and Afghanistan. [*Cornish, UK] SIGN UP This […]
From afar, new Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson and incoming German Chancellor Olaf Scholz share much, both in their views and the political system where they rule. But subtle differences, which arose in the rubble of World War II, can be everything.
Can the countries the United States have invited to an exclusive summit on democracy safeguard and spread a system that is inherently flawed and fragile?
The deaths of 27 migrants off the French coast of Calais is one more tragedy on a long list in the European Union. After the initial shock, however, we tend to forget, get used to it and in the end, become indifferent.
? Mbote!* Welcome to Tuesday, where Biden and Putin go face-to-face on Ukraine, China threatens U.S. over Olympic boycott and the world marks 80 years since Pearl Harbor. Meanwhile, we go back to the small town that recorded Italy’s first coronavirus death back in February 2020, which is now a stronghold for vaccine skeptics. [*M-boh-teh […]
This small Italian town is remembered well for being on the front line in the fight against COVID-19. Now it faces vaccine hesitancy.
A determined student’s victory for freedom of hair in conservative Colombia.
Migrant associations and activists are saying there are not enough politicians of migrant origin in the new German Bundestag. But are such politicians guaranteed to support policies that benefit migrants? There are prominent examples that suggest otherwise.
? Xin chào!* Welcome to Monday, where Aung San Suu Kyi gets sentenced to four years, there’s some positive news about the Omicron variant and a one-time Bill Clinton rival dies at the age of 98. We also explore the growing battles between parents and teachers in Tunisia, once hailed for its “golden age of […]
Essam El-Haddad, a senior adviser to President Morsi, was jailed more than eight years ago. His son Abdullah continues to fight for his father’s liberation, which he says is a necessary path toward national union in post-Arab Spring Egypt.
Violence against teachers, poorly received educational reforms, conflicts with parents: In Tunisia, the entire education sector is in crisis.