Ten years of Narendra Modi’s leadership have contributed to create a personality cult around his person in India. But recent elections show that something is now changing, writes Harish Khare.
Month: June 2024
Vladimir Putin presents himself as the leading advocate for multipolarism, but continues to reveal his true world view, where we are divided among those that respect nothing but personal power — and fools.
Updated June 22, 2024 at 10:20 a.m. Operation Barbarossa was the code name for Nazi Germany’s invasion of the Soviet Union during World War II. It was launched on this day in 1941, and aimed to conquer Soviet territory, defeat the Soviet military, and ultimately establish German dominance in Eastern Europe. Why did Germany launch […]
The Venezuelan opposition and its leader Corina Machado may yet end 25 years of socialist rule with an against-the-odds election win in July, which would bring to mind that of Corazon Aquino in 1986 that toppled the Marcos regime in the Philippines.
Zionism shares with Nazism the claims of building what they call National Socialism, though the nationalism always takes over. There are lessons in the Oscar-winning film The Zone of Interest, and the current politics of the far right in Europe.
Categories
Dear Love Letter, Where Have You Gone?
Whatever happened to the love letter? Many are sitting in literary archives, while today’s youth prefers WhatsApps and emojis.
The Israeli army’s spokesman said that those talking about eradicating Hamas are “throwing sand in the eyes” of the Israeli public. It was a clear challenge to Benjamin Netanyahu, who counterattacked even as he remains under fire from all sides.
Updated June 21, 2024 at 12:50 p.m. Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, was born on this day in 1982 at St Mary’s Hospital in London, United Kingdom. Who are Prince William’s parents? Prince William is the eldest son of King Charles III, and the late Diana, Princess of Wales. What was Prince William’s childhood like? […]
Erasing the practice of midwifery through legislation seems impossible, yet fear persists in Mexico, which counts at least 16,000 midwives, trusted by thousands of women every year, especially peasant and indigenous women.
Even as technology could offer solutions to surviving as our planet gets warmer, humans themselves are innately adaptable creatures — and extreme heat could change our genes.
Brazil may become the last in a long list of countries to restrict legal access to abortion. However, the consequences here would be devastating for girls aged below 14, who represent more than 60% of victims of rape.
Satnam Singh, an undocumented laborer from India, was left dead after losing his arm in a work accident near Latina — just 50 kilometers from the capital, Rome. Could it be that no one in power saw the realities like the one that sealed Satnam Singh’s fate?
The Israel-Hamas war, now in its 9th month, has made the Eid al-Adha celebrations impossible for the Palestinians in Gaza. They spent the holiday amid relentless bombing, killing and destruction.
The Sierra Madre, a World War II cargo ship grounded 300 kilometers off The Philippine coast, was involved in an incident between the Philippine and Chinese navies on Monday. It’s the focus of a tug-of-war between Beijing and Manila, against the backdrop of the U.S.-China Cold War.
Updated June 20, 2024 at 11:30 a.m. The Hyde Park and Regent’s Park bombings were two separate attacks that took place in London on this day in 1982. The bombings were carried out by the Irish Republican Army (IRA), an Irish nationalist paramilitary group, as part of their campaign against British rule in Northern Ireland. […]
Scientists are testing new tools to spot the origin of cheetahs poached from the wild and smuggled for the pet trade.
This spring, Kharkiv has been under almost daily shelling. Yet cafes, beauty salons, theaters and shops are still open in Ukraine’s second-largest city, and residents are spending time in parks, jogging and maintaining elements of a normal life.
Technology is often blamed for our growing lack of focus. But our modern lifestyles — stress, a work system based on competitiveness and even our diet — also impair our ability to pay attention. Is this cause for concern or a natural consequence of our evolution? And what, if anything, can be done about it?
Spain, Norway, Ireland and Slovenia’s formal recognition of Palestine as a state highlights that Arab countries, many of which recognized Palestine in 1988, have not built upon that step.
A chapter of history is closing: that of the active French military presence on the African continent, which will soon be reduced to a bare minimum after being a central element of France’s presence in its former colonial empire.
Updated June 19, 2024 at 12:00 p.m. On this day in 1953, Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were executed for espionage, accused of providing classified information about atomic bomb technology to the Soviet Union. What was the charge against Julius and Ethel Rosenberg? Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, a New York couple, were charged with conspiracy to […]
China will remain the elephant in the room when it comes to foreign policy during Narendra Modi’s third term too. Though he boasts of his closeness to many world leaders, Modi failed to charm President Xi Jinping.
Peru’s President Dina Boluarte is traveling to China to fine tune free trade with this vital, if overbearing, business partner. It will also help her flee the deep and wide popularity among Peruvians.
Facing a U.S. ban of the Chinese-owned social media, a TikTok power user makes his case for free speech and freedom to scroll.
Mediation efforts are ongoing to halt the escalation between Israel and Lebanon’s Hezbollah, which could degenerate into all-out war at any moment. But diplomacy seems powerless in the face of the logic of war.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s declaration labeling Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni as “extreme right-wing” is a politically charged move. But is this assessment fair, given Meloni’s strong support for Ukraine and responsible economic decisions — or is there some demonizing and distracting at play?
Updated June 18, 2024 at 1:00 p.m. Sally Ride became the first American woman to go into space on this day in 1983. She was a mission specialist on the space shuttle Challenger, during the STS-7 mission where she spent a total of six days, two hours and 23 minutes in space. What was the […]
In 19 years in Gaza, she always felt lost in her mind, body and even time. She was desperate to escape abroad, and made one attempt after another to find a way out. Eventually she did, for better or worse.
China’s Premier Li Qiang has offered to send Australia two new pandas during his visit to Adelaide Zoo, as “friendly messengers of China-Australia relations.” It’s the latest example of China’s enduring and unique “panda diplomacy.”
There is a striking paradox: the European elections, which were expected to cause a seismic shift, ended in relative continuity in most places. The crisis erupted where it was least expected: in France, snap elections could have serious consequences in the whole of Europe.
Updated June 17, 2024 at 11:50 a.m. U.S. retired football star and celebrity O.J. Simpson was arrested on this day in 1994 for the murders of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend, Ronald Goldman. The two victims had been found dead five days earlier. How did O.J. Simpson’s arrest happen? After the murders, […]
Once defined the most homophobic country in the Balkans, Kosovo’s queer community is now calling for more recognition and consideration from the authorities. But numerous obstacles remain.
As the U.S. presidential election draws closer, independent Russian-language media Vazhnye Istorii spoke with American politics specialists about the possibility of a second Trump term and what it would mean for the Russia-Ukraine war, traditional U.S. allies and China.
In his latest book, Spanish meteorologist and author José Miguel Viñas traces the history of painting, observing the skies of artists from different times and latitudes. Walking through a Madrid museum, he explains different types of clouds and historical climatological events.
The political project in the Arab world, both of tyrants and their opponents, has been focused on visions of glory and repeating slogans. But what is a movement if it doesn’t seek to improve the lives of those for whom it claims to speak?
While busy delivering the best international journalism, the Worldcrunch team also stumbles on a fair deal of downright strange stuff happening around the world, reported in every language.
Hamas attack on Oct. 7 created a deep rift in the confidence of Israel’s citizens, in their country’s security, military and moral superiority. The Zionist project may never recover.
From Trump in the U.S., Eurosceptics in the UK, the Catalan independence movement or the growing rejection of immigration in much of the developed world shows that a century after the founding of fascism, the darker instincts of humans are always lurking just below the surface.
As the Olympic flame of Athens prepares to illuminate the world of sports, Africa remains in the shadows. Yet the world’s youngest continent has an unparalleled potential to become a major hub for sports on a global scale.
The death of a 27-year-old hotel worker on the island of Kos, and the subsequent arrest of a suspect from Bangladesh, had set off a firestorm back in Poland that mixes anti-immigrant contempt with victim blaming. One year later, the storm hasn’t quieted down, as the investigation remains open.