Russia has introduced new history textbooks criticized for replacing facts with propaganda. Students preparing to teach history are torn between “patriotic” and “liberal” narratives, even as they refuse to accept the state’s version without debate.
Month: October 2023
Journalist Noor Swirki writes about what its like for Palestinian journalists working from Gaza, with everything on the line, every night and day.
In the wake of Hamas’s attack on Israel, the United States, often projected as no longer wanting to be the region’s policeman, finds itself deploying aircraft carriers in the eastern Mediterranean and conducting F16 raids against Iranian targets in Syria. But the epoch-shifting challenge is elsewhere.
Three years after a landmark ruling severely restricted abortion rights in Poland and sparked massive protest movements, the public mood has shifted in favor of liberalizing the law. With a centrist political party poised to take power, will legal abortions return to Poland, asks Anita Karwowska in Polish daily Gazeta Wyborcza.
French multinational insurance company AXA has just published the new edition of its Futures Risk Report — and if climate change remains the top concern, many are keeping a close eye on Big Data and Artificial Intelligence’s worrying rise in the list.
The kidnapping of more 200 Israelis by Hamas suggests that its patron, the Islamic Republic of Iran, is exporting its terrifying and lucrative methods at home to the rest of the Middle East.
The synod had promised to bring forth revolutionary ides for both members of the LGBTQ and women within the Church. But looking at the first session’s conclusion reveals that hopes for change may have come too early.
Evoking the anti-Semitic mobs of the 19th century around Russia and Eastern Europe, several hundred young men descended on an airplane on the tarmac of an airport in the Russian republic of Dagestan. It is part of a series of anti-Jewish and anti-Israeli attacks in the Muslim-majority region since the war in Gaza began.
Many of the contemporary philosophies that promise to help us improve our lives and well-being also require cutting off relationships with other people — one of the most important parts of living in a society with others.
Russian ambitions to expand its empire have existed for centuries. But are they doomed to be this way forever? Janusz Onyszkiewicz, the former defense minister of Poland, digs into the history — and the future.
Dubbed by some as the ‘Eiland plan,’ after a retired Israel general, Egypt is vehemently opposed to any attempt to transfer Palestinian refugees from Gaza, which could turn Sinai into a launch pad for operations against Israel, and ultimately redraw the map of the Middle East again.
As the Rugby World Cup final approaches, French writer Yves Bourdillon notes that the sport is popular almost exclusively in democratic countries. The reason? Its Anglo-Saxon origins, the complexity of its rules and its values, a miracle of balance between individualism and collective spirit.
A recent study shows the tens of billions of dollars spent to decontaminate land following the areas affected by the 2011 Fukushima nuclear accident may not have been worthwhile and have encouraged only a minority of residents to come back. A better option could be to declare the zone a natural reserve. (new subheadline)
Death count rises above 100 in the West Bank, as sources reports weapons flooding in through Iran.
Hamas has dug an enormous network of tunnels under Gaza that may turn out to be the biggest challenge for the impending Israeli ground offensive.
Ten years after the publication of this award-winning photographic series of daily life in the Palestinian Territories, Tanya Habjouqa’s “Occupied Pleasures” is a poignant testimony to both the living and the dead.
Categories
Worldcrunch Magazine #56 — Escalation
October 30 – November 5, 2023
Even as casualties are mounting and bombs keep falling on civilians in Gaza, Western countries fail to reach a consensus and unambiguously call for a ceasefire. It’s a mix of history, alliances and being too careful.
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva won the presidency in Brazil on this day in 2002. Who is Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva? Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, commonly known as Lula, is a Brazilian politician who first served as the 35th President of Brazil. He served two terms, from 2003 to 2010, and he was […]
A Hamas delegation arrived in Russia, as Putin warns Israel that the war could spread beyond the Middle East.
As Russian casualties in Ukraine mount, a Ministry of Defense-supervised mercenary company is recruiting women for combat roles, for the first time ever.
The French president expressed his solidarity with Israel while calling for a political solution for the Palestinians; but he also made a surprise proposal for an international coalition against Hamas, which faces several obstacles — but is also a way to “frame” the conflict so that the dormant two-state solution can return.
Argentines readily discuss their moods and states of mind — and that’s a good thing, as long as we don’t pretend to actually diagnose each other, writes a psychologist.
The growing rift between Israel and the United Nations, since Secretary-General António Guterres’ statement that the Oct. 7 Hamas attack did not happen in a “vacuum.”
While everyone acknowledges the civilian toll is climbing in Gaza, a new doubt has begun to spread in recent days about the reliability of the death counts given by Gaza’s government, which is run by Hamas. U.S. President Joe Biden now says he doesn’t believe the numbers at all, which has set off criticism about his lack of both sources and “empathy.”
No significant breakthroughs, growing skepticism about optimistic claims, and a war with no end in sight add to the psychological struggles of Ukrainians already facing the prospect of energy and heat shortages.
Mohammad Reza Pahlavi crowned himself Emperor of Iran on this day in 1967. Who was Mohammed Reza Pahlavi? Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, also known as Mohammad Reza Shah, was the last Shah (monarch) of Iran. He ruled from 1941 until the Iranian Revolution in 1979. He was the second and last monarch of the Pahlavi dynasty. […]
In an undercover investigation for Polish daily Gazeta Wyborcza, journalist Dominika Klimek discovered the brutal reality of Poland’s sweatshops, which produce clothing for some of the biggest brands and best known designers in Europe.
Trailing only China in the widespread use across the nation of security cameras equipped with facial recognition technology.
Many Iranians fear unchecked immigration, mostly by Afghans but also Iraqis, will overwhelm a fragile economy that is weakened by the many qualified employees leaving Iran.
Last week, Italy was caught in the uproar of Giorgia Meloni’s break-up, a swirl of TV scandal and political controversy. But now that the dust is settled, what does this mean for a single mother standing strong, though alone, on the political right.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’ comments on the Oct. 7 attacks on Israel by Hamas, which he said “did not occur in a vacuum,” constitute an incomprehensible relativization of a barbaric mass murder. Shameful, but not surprising, writes Die Welt‘s editor-in-chief Jennifer Wilton.
Since the beginning of Israel’s attacks on Gaza, journalists on the ground have been on the front lines, and many of them have already lost their lives. Meanwhile, the media machine in the rest of the world has gone wild, with even the most prominent media outlets spreading fake news.
The French president is expected to call for a “humanitarian pause” in Israel and the opening of a “political perspective” for the Palestinians, while displaying his solidarity with Israel. A singular voice, which recalls France’s past commitments, but in a radically changed context.
Among the victims of the recent conflict in Israel are many Ukrainian citizens who fled the Russian invasion and are now finding themselves at the center of another war.
Both Hamas and Israel should stop manipulating the language of faith and morals to justify extreme and indiscriminate violence, writes Islamic theologian Marwan Sarwar Gill. Religion (in good faith) ultimately offers a way out of conflict the bad faith has fueled.
There is no doubt that the old museums in Europe and America bear deep imprints of the colonial era; in a mirror image, “protecting treasures” has become a transcendental reference for the new China.
Today, it’s sometimes difficult to distinguish between professional and casual wardrobes. Sneakers at the office, double-breasted jackets at the bar. What’s the reason for this stylistic and societal shift? A French look at all the mixing and matching in the post-pandemic era.
In its latest parliamentary elections, Poland opted to oust the ruling party, PiS, from power. Now will Viktor Orbán’s Hungary, a victim of democratic backsliding, be able to do the same. Political scientist and economist Bálint Madlovics and sociologist and former Hungarian Parliamentarian Bálint Magyar investigate.