Worldcrunch
July 22-23 OUR WEEKLY NEWS QUIZ What do you remember from the news this week? 1. Moscow has seized control of the Russian subsidiaries of Danish beer company Carlsberg and which other food giant 2. The current heatwave across Europe is partly due to an anticyclone named after which Greek mythological figure? 3. An […]
East African concerns about food security are accompanied by farmers’ concerns that they will not have sovereignty over their own crops in the wake of a push toward GMOs.
Many Russians have tried to avoid being conscripted to join the war in Ukraine, but many others believed deeply in the constant campaign of state propaganda. Here are some of the stories of the lucky ones who made it back — and those who didn’t.
Polish Judge Joanna Knobel has became the victim of a hate mail campaign targeting, among other things, her Jewish background. With new threats being sent to other judges in recent weeks, the country is faced with a dangerous deepening of the divide that puts the institution of a free judiciary.
For the author, the biggest surprise in living in Paris has been the city’s efficient metro system. Her hometown of Los Angeles has an addiction to cars that is more than just unpleasant.
July 24 – July 30, 2023
A year after scientific academies called for rebuilding the country’s intellectual infrastructure, not much has changed, as many researchers fled the country and still aren’t planning on coming back to a landscape of destroyed equipment and underfunded programs.
Our Naples-based psychiatrist looks back on the abuse some of her female patients were subjected to — at the hands of those who should understand most of all.
Two synods by the Catholic Church, to be held in Rome in late 2023 and 2024, are to debate possible and even radical changes to the Church’s practices and rules in line with the Argentine pope’s vision of a social and inclusive Church.
Surprising as it may seem, Brazil is also seeking a future in wine. Driven by legendary families and ambitious new winemakers as ambassadors, the country is eager to play in the same league as its famous South American neighbors.
The last of the former convicts who served under the Wagner mercenary are heading home. According to private Telegram chats of the soldiers’ relatives, many are currently staying in resorts and hotels along the Black Sea awaiting pardons, and behaving badly. Some may end up staying on with Wagner in Belarus.
A 15-year-old girl is murdered by her parents in Iran, three years after her arranged marriage, in yet another possible “honor” killing the Islamic Republic is loath to punish.
The French dairy group Danone and Denmark’s Carlsberg brewer were in talks with buyers to limit their financial losses in Russia. But the Kremlin’s sudden “temporary” takeover of the two companies Sunday night (involving the seizure of Danone by Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov’s “favorite” nephew) may in fact be a sign that business is over once and for all for Western subsidiaries that have pulled out since the war began.
India goes to the polls next year, with a united opposition hoping to unseat Prime Minister Modi after 10 years in power. Mallikarjun Kharge, who may be the best candidate, is from India’s “lowest” caste system.
A bill introduced to the Russian State Duma this week would allow the National Guard of Russia to receive tanks and other heavy military equipment and could turn the structure directly under Putin’s command into a second army.
A week has passed since the passing of the Czech-born author of the novel The Unbearable Lightness of Being Milan Kundera in his Paris apartment. Having emigrated to France in 1975 after being ostracized for criticizing the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia, his relationship with his homeland would remain complicated for decades.
Russia has occupied of parts of Ukraine for almost a decade, busy promoting a pro-Russian narrative in those territories. Moscow’s aim is to ensure loyalty and deliberately create tensions among Ukrainians in free territories. It is a formula that has been
In Nepal, local schools are encouraged to offer instruction in the first languages of their students. But even in linguistically diverse regions, the only words they still hear and read are in Nepali.
Ukraine was promised fast-tracked NATO membership last week. But promises often are overtaken by politics, and voices in and around the U.S. government are looking for softer ways out of the Ukraine war, including freezing the conflict like what was done between the two Koreas 70 years ago.
Veteran Italian Maestro Alberto Veronesi protested what he believed was the politicization of the La Bohème production that he was set to conduct. In accordance to the opera’s tradition of backstage melodrama, the situation only escalated from there.
Russia has deployed more than 100,000 troops in the northeastern regions of Ukraine that were liberated by Kyiv late last year, which appears to come in response to the Ukrainian counteroffensive.
While the 1,600-kilometer border between India and Myanmar has seen waves of Burmese refugees fleeing to India as the civil war and air strikes have intensified, the Chinese government has been vocal about its support of Myanmar’s military junta. Inevitably, already tense relations between China and India
Madrid is the place to be if you want to experience the full variety of Spanish cuisine. Since it became the capital of Spain in the 1500s, Madrid has been a melting pot for culinary traditions from all over the peninsula. Its main dishes are simple, easy fares — often fried — prepared in bar […]
The Crimean bridge was attacked in the pre-dawn hours by two Ukrainian sea drones, the Russian National Anti-Terrorist Committee reported. The attack has impressed military analysts who spoke with Russian independent media agents.media (Agenstvo) about the weapons used and the potential next target.
Numerous studies in the past have shown how holidays are important for human health and well-being. Now, researchers say even the anticipation of your break is good for your body (and mind).
From the work of Dostoevsky, all the way to modern-day psychology’s concept of resilience, the idea that human beings can adapt to any event or situation persists in popular thought. But biology and history itself show it’s not quite the case.
In a deep-rooted divide that has plagued Poland for years, the role of non-Jewish citizens in the Holocaust remains a much debated issue. But now the increasingly popular far-right party Konfederacja is toeing the line of blatant Holocaust denial.
Funk is a music genre that originated in Rio and is inspired by social consciousness. Women have been overlooked in the genre, but a new generation of women funk artists are changing that.
Copenhagen is a great example of the positive impacts of pedestrianization: it provides €400,000 in profit for every kilometer of bike lane, and helps to decrease the deadly effects of air pollution.
For many observers, Ukraine’s counteroffensive seems to be progressing too slowly, with losses leading some critics to call it a “suicide mission.” Yet the view from the frontline makes clear that Kyiv is pursuing a strategy that has already proven successful.
July 15-16 OUR WEEKLY NEWS QUIZ What do you remember from the news this week? 1. Which two countries have backed Sweden’s NATO membership bid after months of negotiations? 2. New protests in Israel this week against the government of Benjamin Netanyahu were sparked by the reform of what institution? 3. Which world leader […]
The Salton Sea is a 316-square mile, shallow glaze of water in Southern California that has been receding in recent years. Scientists believe the toxic dust kicked up from the exposed lakebed is contributing to respiratory disease in the region. It now offers a tableau of dead wildlife, toxic dust, and neglect.
Iran can expect few real economic benefits from joining the China-dominated SCO, but its leaders hope China and Russia will help the regime tighten its grip at home.
Five years ago, Agnese DeCarlo received treatment for cancer, but the psychological effects stayed. She found a unique and pioneering treatment for women just like her — psychotherapy on the ocean.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is the guest of honor for the July 14-Bastille Day celebrations in Paris, a choice that has benefits and risks for both France and India, two medium-sized powers cultivating their relative independence.
On this day in 2016, an attacker drove a truck into a crowd gathered to celebrate Bastille Day on the Promenade des Anglais in Nice, France, killing 86 people and injuring hundreds more. Who was responsible for the Nice attack? The attack in Nice was carried out by Mohamed Lahouaiej-Bouhlel, a Tunisian-born French resident. He […]
July 17 – July 23, 2023
Our Naples-based Dottoré catches a serendipitous chill amid the summer’s heat.
Brazilian President Lula da Silva’s goodwill toward the Venezuela’s President Maduro, in spite of the signs Maduro might hijack the 2024 general elections, suggests Lula has a problem with Western-style liberal democracy, even after he has criticized his predecessor for the same thing.
The prospect of Ukraine joining NATO has been postponed. Vladimir Putin will be pleased, knowing that Russia’s best hope is for a long war.