Worldcrunch
Once dismissed as a tragic anomaly of the post–Cold War era, the 1995 massacre of 8,000 Bosnian Muslims now echoes through today’s wars and ideologies. From Gaza to Ukraine, the logic of ethnic violence is back, and the world is once again looking away.
The Kremlin accuses Ukraine of persecuting the Russian language as propaganda to justify the Ukraine War. But on the home front, Vladimir Putin uses language oppression as a power play — endangering Russia’s diverse native languages as a means of consolidating his rule.
Very few people actually need two liters of water a day. But how much do they really need? What changes in the heat, whether coffee counts – and why many amateur athletes drink dangerously large amounts.
Hunt Priest, a former Episcopal pastor from Mt. Sterling, Kentucky, shares how a psychedelic experience deepened his faith and inspired him to start a Christian organization exploring the healing and spiritual potential of psychedelics.
Tehran’s revolutionary regime is suddenly turning to Iranian nationalism hoping to rustle up public support for itself as it faces Israeli and U.S. threats. But who in Iran could believe it now, when everything it has done for years has shown its contempt for the very notion of historical roots and national interests.
As a European court rules that the iconic toy can’t be trademarked, we go back to an earlier interview with Erno Rubik, who explained what inspired him to design that singular brain-and-fingers toy that has sold billions. And why it may be more relevant than ever in our digital world.
From cloud dependence to AI policy retreat, the European continent faces a stark choice: play by America’s rules or build a radically different model of technological sovereignty. How it plays out is likely to shape how the digital economy and society looks for the whole world.
As Poland reinstates border checks with Germany and Lithuania over immigration concerns, experts warn that the situation at the Polish-German border increasingly unregulated, threatening the life and health safety of migrants.
While Mattel’s Barbie doll is the world’s most popular fashion doll, she faces competition from local and regional dolls: from Mimi in South Korea to Steffi Love in Germany, Worldcrunch takes a look at her past and present counterparts around the world.
From unpaid caregiving and beauty routines to the hidden burden of emotional support, some women are starting to demand compensation for the work they do in relationships — work that often benefits men for a lifetime.
In Putin’s Russia, dissent is silenced. Yet pro-war “Z” bloggers and influencers insult and lambast military failures constantly, and go unpunished. The state tolerates them because without these defiant voices knitting the war machine’s lifelines, Russia’s offensive would stall.
A cable car project to Nepal’s Pathibhara temple threatens the livelihood of porters and is seen by the indigenous Limbu community as a desecration of sacred land. Their protests reflect broader struggles over development and indigenous rights in the country.
Russia has carried out its largest missile and drone bombardment since launching its invasion of Ukraine. And it is preparing its summer offensive, while Donald Trump remains ambivalent about the continuation of his military aid, when the contracts signed by Joe Biden expire over the summer.
In Japan, people not only live long, they stay remarkably fit. The secret? Ten minutes of exercise every morning. A routine that’s been working for nearly a century.
As Netanyahu visits Washington, Israel’s intelligence gears up for a covert campaign against Iran, aiming not just at military targets but at the very core of the regime’s power.
VTubers generate YouTube content that now draws three times more views on YouTube as it did five years ago. The phenomenon, originating from Japan, is seen as a safeguard against cyberbullying – and is steadily gaining ground in France and beyond.
The so-called “liberal international order” was neither very orderly nor very liberal, nor even very international. Rebuilding from the current troubling state of the world means being clear-eyed about interests and influence, both past and future.
The devastating effects of rising temperatures include denying to people across the world their favorite staple sweet. While 2050 is the date cited for the risk of chocolate disappearing, there are efforts to reverse the effects of climate change on the production of cocoa.
Some 17 years since its founding, BRICS+ (now including Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, the UAE and Indonesia — beyond founding members Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) continues to struggle with delivering on its promise to reform global governance and represent the Global South.
After turning his war on crime into a global spectacle, El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele has reportedly cut deals with the Mara gangs, like his predecessors, possibly in return for their quiescence in order to keep Donald Trump happy.
He ran “for fun,” filmed every step, and turned controversy into content. Now, from the back row of Brussels, Panayiotou is rewriting what it means to be an MEP in the age of the algorithm.
As international research projects are upended, European leaders say they will fill the funding void. Is that realistic?
Citing the costly or disastrous cases of Afghanistan, Iraq and Libya as warnings to the West to steer clear of regime change in Iran is mistaken and cynical. If transitions failed before, it was for a lack of planning and vision, not because toppling tyrants is a bad idea.
As Europe baked in extreme heat, even a rescue mutt knows how to adapt and avoid danger. So why are humans still arguing over what’s staring us in the face?
How are you feeling? Is it time to stop? Is it me or my therapist? Here are the questions to ask if you’ve taken that plunge.
Putin is happy to go around the Europeans, and just needs Trump to stay out of the way.
Literature is filled with characters suffering from mental health issues… and with authors who weren’t necessarily much better off. In a fascinating book, a psychiatrist and a journalist attempt to unravel the mysteries of these minds.
With remarkable shots from Waterloo, Wimbledon and Crete, among other places.
Between the defeats of June 1967 and June 2025 — both ironically hailed by some as victories — history seems to repeat itself. But now that Arab habit of declaring victory has also spread to Benjamin Netanyahu’s Israel, still haunted by Oct 7.
Donald Trump has scored a number of domestic and international victories. But his failure to reign in either Vladimir Putin or Benjamin Netanyahu does not bode well for the future.
Lavish dinners and alcohol-fueled networking among China’s civil servants face strict new limits, as Beijing imposes austerity measures to curb rising public debt — leaving the catering sector reeling.
Even four cups a day! Coffee can be good for you, and not just for waking you up. A series of recent scientific studies show drinking abundant good brew can prevent heart disease and dementia and help you live longer. But how and when you prepare are key.
Some women say cash transfer schemes are paternalistic. Others say they’re the only way to get the money they need.
A new phone, a fancy car, a full fridge: for a long time, politicians assumed that prosperity was all it took to keep democracies running. But that view of human nature is now having serious consequences.
In 1979, Iran was seduced by a cleric who promised freedom and delivered tyranny. In 2025, a chaotic U.S. president may be using lies of his own to help dismantle that same regime.
The Dalai Lama has warned his followers against any attempt to name his successor outside the traditions of Tibetan Buddhism, a veiled reference to the Chinese Communist Party, which seeks to control the reincarnation process of the 90-year-old spiritual leader.
Despite a migrant population of 700,000 — including 250,000 Vietnamese, who are largely Buddhists, followed by 240,000 Indonesians, who are predominantly Muslims, and 149,000 Filipinos, who are mostly Catholics — migrant workers do not enjoy opportunities to worship like local employees.
Iran’s revolutionary regime imagined it could assure its survival by becoming an armed bunker like North Korea, ready to shoot if threatened. They seemed to forget that, for its location and resources, Iran is too important for the world to tolerate a “crazy” regime threatening vital oil routes.
While billionaire Jeff Bezos turns Venice into a vanity set, the Prado museum in Madrid is currently featuring a major exposition of legendary Venetian painter Paolo Veronese. What was true in the Renaissance is almost true today: Art, power and decadence intertwine in the city that learned to live from its own sinking.
Just as Trump did not read Leo Tolstoy, he most likely also never thought to look to Muammar Gaddafi as his model. Yet in both their cases, absolute narcissism is a requirement for their power and inimitability.