We know them from the movies: the heroes who save the world from disaster in the nick of time. In real life, you sometimes look for them in vain. But the Russian invasion of Ukraine shows that the West needs new heroes.
Month: June 2022
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Far From The Tree
“Mamma, do you know that when I grow up I want to be a surgeon?” “And wouldn’t you like my job instead?” “Mamma, fixing broken heads is impossible. That doesn’t interest me at all!” Elias is 5 years old. He has already understood everything. Learn more about Worldcrunch’s exclusive Dottoré! series here.
The murder of Brazil indigenist Bruno Pereira and British journalist Dom Phillips is shocking. Still, once looking more closely, it is not necessarily a surprise considering both the violence in Brazil and the situation in the rain forest under President Jair Bolsonaro.
The prospects of Ukraine and other countries joining the EU force Europe to rethink the very basic way it functions. This moment of crisis can be a bonafide opportunity for the European Union, but will require a level of courage and ambition that has been lacking.
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Kyiv Targeting Crimea Bridge
The Ukrainian Defense intelligence says it has obtained documents containing detailed technical information about the bridge, which connects Crimea to the Russian mainland since it was built after the 2014 annexation. Kyiv sees it as a key target for its role in Russian logistics.
Ukrainians assess their friends, enemies and frenemies…
Welcome to our new exclusive weekly round up of LGBTQ+ news from around the world.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, French President Emmanuel Macron and Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi made a joint visit to Ukraine on Thursday to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to discuss the country’s EU membership aspirations and further arms supplies to repel Russia’s invasion. Stay up-to-date with the latest on the Russia-Ukraine war, with our exclusive […]
As Britain begins the world’s largest trial of the four-day work week, other European nations are experimenting with the idea too. Could a permanent three-day weekend be in reach for workers elsewhere?
Kyiv wants the West to hit at the heart of the Russian economy, especially its energy exports, as the best weapon Ukraine and its allies may have. But with the EU preparing its 7th package of sanctions, it must strike a delicate balance as the global economy is on the brink of a major crisis.
Russians are besieging Severodonetsk, the eastern Ukrainian city, and urging troops there to surrender as they offer a shaky evacuation corridor for civilians. The siege and symbolism recalls the siege of Mariupol, which didn’t end well for Ukrainians.
Two years of restrictions and millions of deaths brought on by the pandemic might have had us reflect on the reality of suffering and death, but as booming pharmaceutical and retailing figures suggested, nothing can distract modern folk from their love of distraction. A view from an Argentine physician.
For years, Vladimir Putin’s regime has been pushing its agenda into schools. With the start of the invasion of Ukraine, the pressure on the education system has intensified on a massive scale. Here’s a peek inside the means of control over students’ minds.
The Gulf region’s public reaction to the controversial comments on Prophet Muhammad made by two senior officials from India’s ruling party is worrying Muslim Indians who feel this intervention might do more harm than good. For the author, the BJP’s “ideology of Islamophobia” is the center of the problem.
While there are Moscow backers across Europe and even in the U.S., they mostly remain on the margins. In Italy, however, support for the Kremlin runs surprisingly wide, and deep.
For Europe’s top leaders, travel details have not been confirmed ahead of what could be a momentous visit to Kyiv. But Ukrainian President Zelensky also had some frank words for German Chancellor Olaf Scholz
In the last 100 days, street art murals supporting Ukrainian resistance have appeared everywhere from Kyiv to Syria. Here’s a look at the most moving and powerful murals.
Labor strikes are forbidden in the Emirates, but two consecutive work stoppages by food delivery drivers have made news lately. Could it be a sign of challenges to the UAE’s unequal and authoritarian economic model?
Amnesty International has accused Russia of committing war crimes, causing “widespread death and destruction by relentlessly bombarding residential neighborhoods of Kharkiv” since the war began on February 24.
A new generation of Muslims want to do things differently. This is especially true for women — Muslim feminism has never been as visible as it is now.
With a passion that recalls the aftermath of World War II, politicians and commentators are demanding a global order that takes seriously the rules of the United Nations Charter — notably on respect for sovereignty and fundamental human rights.
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Peter The Great And Putin The What?
In the context of the war in Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin and his team have repeatedly made references to a glorious figure of Russian history: Peter the Great. But the current would-be tsar’s selective memory tells us all we need to know.
UK has called the trial in Russian-occupied Donetsk a “sham” after the death sentences of two UK citizens and a Moroccan who were fighting in the Ukrainian army. Other breaking stories include Putin’s Peter The Great comparison and a new post-McDonald’s logo in Moscow.
Israel’s vocal support for Iranians protesting the regime will lay the grounds for ties with a future democratic Iran, whenever that may come.
For many countries, the global food crisis has already begun. As enough food to feed the world for several weeks remains trapped in Ukraine, Russia and Turkey met to discuss the problem. But they cannot solve it alone, says independent Russian media Kommersant.
As a war reporter, Ibrahim Naber has seen unimaginable suffering. But he has also seen the Ukrainians’ unbroken will to resist. He reflects after more than three months since the Russian invasion – and explains how his generation’s illusion of peace has been shattered.
Both Pakistan’s and Sri Lanka’s leaders have resigned recently. Their fates should be a reminder to politicians in Asia and around the world: good economics might not be enough to get re-elected but bad economic decisions can hasten your fall.
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Photographic Memory
Flipping through the pages of an old photo album with my nonna, I asked her, “Grandma, why were you all in black and white when you were young?” She replied, “The war broke out. One morning we woke up, and all the colors were gone.” Learn more about Worldcrunch’s exclusive Dottoré! series here.
It was another fierce night of combat in the eastern Ukrainian city, where Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the fate of the battle could be decisive.
Putin’s brutal attack on Ukraine has turned the world on its head. As shocking as it is, those closer to Russia sense something familiar in the past three months. This personal dispatch is about the Russians and the Slavs (I am the latter).
It’s been exactly 50 years since the photograph was taken that many say is the most powerful image of innocent war victims ever. “Napalm Girl,” which was captured at the height of the Vietnam War in 1972, is also the story of that girl at the center of the image.
In her first interview since the end of her 16 years as German Chancellor, Merkel said she had “nothing to apologize for.” Asked why she had opposed plans for NATO membership for Ukraine and Georgia in 2008. “Ukraine was not the country that we know now.”
The United Kingdom is seen by migrants as the promised land. Many are prepared to embark on a perilous journey to get there. But on arrival, they often find that life is not what they expected. Some even discover working conditions resembling slavery.
There is perhaps nothing more foreign about America than its “gun culture,” and of course its plague of mass shootings. For a French-American who has lived her life in Paris, there is a search for understanding with her family in Louisiana.
Those calling for Kyiv to negotiate away part of its territory, understand neither history nor the current reality of Ukrainian democracy.
After fleeing the war, many Ukrainian teachers have found new jobs in Poland. But their work involves more than just teaching — they’re helping Ukrainian children adapt to a whole new life.
Ukrainian officials say a fleet of Russian ships has been forced more than 100 kilometers from the Ukrainian coast, which could be used to alleviate the economic pressure of the Russian blockade.
Polish-born French writer Marek Halter, who fled the Nazis to the USSR, has known Vladimir Putin for 30 years. Halter sent the Russian president a long letter on May 18, and later shared a copy of it with Les Echos. In the letter, he lays out the path for Putin to renounce the war without undermining Russia’s standing.
The U.S. and Europe have again committed to supplying weapons to Kyiv, whose gratitude has its limits in the face of the life-and-death struggle against the Russian invasion.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine changed the rules of diplomacy. As Russia and China show budding unity, the world’s diplomats must look at the effects of Eastern Europe on East Asia — and Taiwan specifically.