Worldcrunch
Public broadcaster TV3 in the Spanish region of Catalonia has decided to air Dragon Ball, a ’90s anime classic that marked an entire generation in the autonomous community of Spain. But despite its cultural significance at the time — as the first series broadcast in the Catalan language — Dragon Ball’s return seems more like a comfortable wink to the past than a brave commitment to the future.
How Germany, like other countries in the West, can avoid sweeping judgments and take a clear-eyed approach to a complex reality.
Donald Trump has spoken little about China since becoming president, leaving both Beijing and Taiwan’s leaders on edge. And Trump’s maneuverings on Greenland are not a good sign.
In his first extensive interview since the ceasefire, longtime influential Hamas leader Mousa Abu Marzouk said the group is running Gazan affairs, despite Israel’s attempt to unseat it. Still, Abu Marzouk said Hamas is seeking a future Palestinian unity leadership that it doesn’t necessarily have to run on its own.
With striking photographs from Poland, the DR Congo, Gaza and the Shetlands, among other places.
A landmark U.S. amendment, the execution of a conspirator and the first astrochimp.
February 3 – February 9, 2025
For years there has been a visible increase in the percentage of so-called “nesters,” people entering adulthood who do not move out of their family homes. But is the explanation for this problem really limited to the lack of housing availability or the economy more broadly? Or are they some other factors at play?
The Trump administration sought to slash social aid in the U.S. but had to backtrack amid public outcry. However, it froze international humanitarian and development aid for 90 days, sparking confusion and panic in many affected countries and organizations. It is just the kind of narrative Beijing and Moscow are happy to spin across the world.
Cheap cocaine is flooding the European drug market, escalating conflicts in open drug scenes, everywhere except the historically drug-tolerant Zurich. A visit to this Swiss city — known as an open-air hotspot for crack and heroin in the 1990s — with a different approach for taking on drug addiction.
A recent video of a woman being tortured in Libyan refugee camps is further proof that agreements signed by the EU and Italy with Libyan and Tunisian authorities are doing more harm than good. But the work of associations like Refugees in Libya shows that there is still some hope for the future, writes Don Mattia Ferrari, a Catholic priest who works closely with these NGOs.
The year started without the tyrant of Damascus. Lebanon elected a president. Gaza has a ceasefire. Some of this progress is due to external geopolitical forces, yet there are signs that the region could be turning around from within.
The rise to power of a dictator, the assassination of one of India’s most influential figures and the final performance of an iconic British band.
The newly inaugurated U.S. president is missing the real strategic and economic value of the island, which is ultimately linked to world’s ability to reduce global warming.
The White House has showcased images of deported migrants in shackles. This deliberate display of humiliation is part of a broader strategy that combines cruelty with political messaging, undermining both personal dignity and democratic values, writes Caterina Soffici for Italian daily La Stampa.
In Syria the provisional government led by Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham has removed the term “gods” and images of statues from the school curriculum. Men destroy statues so that the statues do not destroy them. Removing these images and their rightful place in history is a dangerous call to war against truth and equality.
Palestinians in Gaza complain that they don’t receive enough aid to feed their children even after a surge of aid trucks entering the strip as part of the Hamas-Israel cease-fire deal.
Europeans can never win if they face the relentless force of Donald Trump alone. With his sights fixed on Denmark, which controls Greenland, and the looming threat of tariffs, Trump is putting the rest of Europe to the test.
The photos of athletes swimming in the Seine during the Paris 2024 Olympics seem to have convinced some that the river could become a swimming pool for Parisians. But as the Mayor of Paris’ office considers protecting the “rights of the Seine,” French chemist and academic Bernard Meunier argues that the Seine is above all a navigable waterway.
The origins of the modern automobile, the rise of a powerful african head of state and the first collection of an iconic French fashion label.
Having your own car means unlimited freedom. Right? A study shows that yes, it can increase life satisfaction. But freedom is a myth, and dependency on your vehicle will reduce overall happiness.
A Chinese startup is shaking the U.S. supremacy in generative artificial intelligence. Are we heading towards a collapse of barriers to entry accelerating the deployment of this technology? Could Europe offer a third way to the future?
Since 2021, Poland has been facing a humanitarian and migration crisis along its border with Belarus. In the meantime, several collectives of volunteers have sprung up, providing aid to migrants stuck between the two borders, such as food, water, and emergency blankets. Now, facing a harsher Pan-European border policy, and security pressure at home, some of these volunteers may be prosecuted for their efforts.
Supporters of the Assad regime rallied around the slogan “Assad forever.” But we have now seen what happens the day after “forever.” Egyptian writer Ezzat el-Kamhawi considers what that means for Syria and the region.
Rwanda is under scrutiny for the advance of M23 rebels in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo and the capture of the regional capital, Goma. However, the international community remains powerless to halt the escalation of conflict in this mineral-rich region.
The Indian middle class has a stake in the West’s future and must pick a side in its culture wars. The BJP should catch-up on MAGA’s long-term implications.
The construction of a French landmark, a fatal spacecraft accident and the anniversary of an iconic little plastic brick.
DeepSeek has become the most downloaded free app in the U.S. just a week after it was launched. Its sudden rise has triggered shockwaves on Wall Street, where U.S. stocks dropped sharply on Monday. With equivalent performances to rival ChatGPT but at the fraction of the cost, the startup is threatening the aura of invincibility surrounding the U.S. technology industry.
Funding for planetary defense has long had strong bipartisan support both inside and outside of U.S. Congress. But with the change of administration, could it be under threat?
Trump’s politics of mass deportation have long been associated with migrants coming from Latin America and the Caribbean. However, as the first roundups begin in Chicago, home to the largest Polish community in the U.S., Warsaw-based looks at thousands of Polish immigrants who have been there for decades without proper documentation.
Back in 2022, the world-class Angoulême International Comics Festival cancelled the participation of leading French cartoonist Bastien Vivès over accusations that some of his drawings justified pedophilia and incest. Still facing investigation, the author is slated for book signings at this year’s edition.
Following the collapse of the Assad regime, Tunisia and other countries are concerned about the return of thousands of jihadist nationals believed to have been held in Syria. Amid overcrowded prisons and fears of extremism, what are governments in Tunis and other Arab countries doing to prepare for their potential return?
Donald Trump’s proposal to send Palestinians from Gaza to Egypt and Jordan has been embraced by the Israeli far-right but rejected by Palestinians and the countries involved. It amounts to illegal ethnic cleansing and revives an ugly history of Nakba. But it today’s world, it might even happen.
The Holocaust was based on the same ultranationalist ideas that the New Right refers to today. Even if Elon Musk, Donald Trump and Germany’s AfD leader Alice Weidel try to distance themselves from the words associated with Nazism, their politics cannot fool us.
The signing of a decisive peace treaty, the liberation of a Nazi camp and the birth of one of the greatest composers of all time.
As ski seasons grow increasingly shorter and irregular, the Cetursa company and Andalusia Regional Government are asking to extract twice as much water from the Monachil River to produce more artificial snow for the Sierra Nevada resort. The official argument is that this will have no environmental impact. Experts disagree.
The discovery of a precious stone, the birth of one of the greatest ice hockey players and the ban of a worldwide dance craze.
After more than 20 months of fighting across Sudan, nearly half the country’s population entering a worsening food shortage crisis. Inexpensive and easy to implement, starvation is a weapon being used by both sides of the conflict: the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces.
Life has resumed its course in the large industrial city in central China, where the virus first appeared at the end of 2019. Five years after confinement, the 14 million people of Wuhan are drowning in economic difficulties. Meanwhile, China has erased this period from its history.
The secret royal wedding, the start of a revolution and the first of many papal trips around the world.