When the world gets closer.

We help you see farther.

Sign up to our expressly international daily newsletter.

Already a subscriber? Log in .

You've reached your limit of one free article.

Get unlimited access to Worldcrunch

You can cancel anytime .

SUBSCRIBERS BENEFITS

Exclusive International news coverage

Ad-free experience NEW

Weekly digital Magazine NEW

9 daily & weekly Newsletters

Access to Worldcrunch archives

Free trial

30-days free access, then $2.90
per month.

Annual Access BEST VALUE

$19.90 per year, save $14.90 compared to monthly billing.save $14.90.

Subscribe to Worldcrunch
In The News

Kyiv In The Dark, China’s COVID Record, Stuttgart Christmas Market

Visitors walk through Stuttgart's Christmas market. More than 200 merchants provide a Christmas atmosphere in the city center with their stalls.

Time for mulled wine and kitschy Christmas tree decorations! Stuttgart’s Christmas market, one of the world’s biggest, has kicked off with 200+ merchants hoping to get back to pre-pandemic attendance levels when it would draw 3.5 to 4 million visitors a year.

Emma Albright, Renate Mattar, and Anne-Sophie Goninet

👋 Goedemorgen!*

Welcome to Thursday, where 25% of Kyiv remains without power after heavy Russian air strikes on energy infrastructure, China sees record COVID cases, and sorry Thanksgiving, t’is the season for German Christmas markets. Meanwhile, Portuguese news website Mensagem reports from the city of Sintra, in western Portugal, where single parents have banded together to create a new model of joint child care.

[*Flemish]

✅  SIGN UP

This is our daily newsletter Worldcrunch Today, a rapid tour of the news of the day from the world's best journalism sources, regardless of language or geography.

It's easy (and free!) to sign up to receive it each day in your inbox: 👉 Sign up here

🌎  7 THINGS TO KNOW RIGHT NOW

• One-quarter of Kyiv without power, as Putin steps up attacks on Ukrainian energy: Some 25% of the Ukrainian capital remained without power after one of the worst rounds of Russian attacks on civilian infrastructure. At least 10 people were killed in the air strikes, which have as their central aim to freeze and frighten civilians as winter arrives. French President Emmanuel Macron called the attacks war crimes.

• Record COVID infections in China: China is reporting a record number of new COVID-19 infections. The city of Chaoyang, thought to be the epicenter of the recent outbreak, shut down restaurants, gyms, and classes were moved online. This comes as a growing number of citizens are expressing discontent towards the country’s strict zero-COVID measures.

• Malaysia gets new Prime Minister: After five days of political deadlock in Malaysia, King Al-Sultan Abdullah has appointed longtime opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim as the new prime minister. His supporters hope that the new government will be able to appease ethnic tensions.

• 50 Policemen killed in Iran: The Iran Deputy foreign minister reported today that 50 police officers have died since the beginning of the protests in Iran. The UN human rights commission says that 300 protestors have died since the demonstrations began in mid-September.

• Bolsonaro vote results challenge dismissed: A Brazilian court rejected a complaint filed by Jair Bolsnonaro’s far-right party, which contested the results of last month’s presidential election over allegedly faulty voting machines. Bolsnoro, who lost to returning left-wing President Lula da Silva, was additionally slapped with a $4.3 million fine as the court judged the complaint was made “in bad faith.”

France mulls bullfighting ban: A proposal to ban bullfighting events was submitted to the French National Assembly, supported by the left Nupes coalition. Though best associated with Spain, bullfighting also remains a popular tradition in southern France.

• Orban given new scarf by Slovak PM: Following the controversy surrounding his “Greater Hungary” scarf that featured the borders of the country’s former kingdom, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban was given a new scarf by his Slovak counterpart Eduard Heger, who tweeted “winter is approaching.”

🗞️  FRONT PAGE

Colombian daily El Espectador celebrates on its front page the sixth anniversary of the Colombia peace agreement that ended decades of conflict with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) in 2016. The newspaper features drawings made by children of former fighters who are part of this “generation of peace.”

💬  LEXICON

Parastronaut

The European Space Agency made history by selecting an amputee, who lost his leg in a motorcycle accident, to be among its newest batch of astronauts. John McFall, the 41-year-old Briton, lost his right leg when he was 19 and went on to compete in the Paralympics. He called his selection at Europe’s answer to NASA “a real turning point and mark in history.” The new parastronaut joins five career astronauts in the final selection.

📰  STORY OF THE DAY

Single parents in Portugal turn “it takes a village” into a practical reality

The death of a young child left alone at home while his single mother was out shocked a community. Now, single parents have banded together to offer support to each other. And they're succeeding in the face of overwhelming challenges, reports Maíra Streit for Portuguese news website Mensagem.

👩🤝 Started in 2021, the Colo100Horas project is a self-organized network of women who came together to help immigrants with their immense daily challenges in Sintra, in western Portugal. The long list of problems meant they banded together to look for a solution: the strenuous routine of caring for children (still imposed in most homes as the responsibility of women), low salaries, the overcrowding of daycare centers, excessive work and the difficulty with shift schedules, which is common in jobs in the catering and cleaning industries.

🧒 Accidents involving children who, for one reason or another, are left alone at home without adult supervision are not uncommon. This is the kind of incident that the Colo100Horas project wants to avoid at all costs. During the school break period, the space was open from 9 am to 5 pm for a holiday camp with trips to the zoo, museums, parks and beaches. With the start of the school year in September, the idea is to offer a babysitting service every day, including weekends, at affordable prices.

📚 Learning and training are also key to the program. So, the association turned to partners such as the Aga Khan Foundation and the Instituto do Emprego e Formação Profissional (IEFP), to train participants in the area of early childhood education and other areas, such as first aid, health and well-being. Coordinator Liliana Soares proudly says that mutual support doesn't just exist between mothers, but also spills over to the children. In a community where 27 nationalities coexist, respect for differences is a priority.

➡️ Read more on Worldcrunch.com

📣 VERBATIM

A running wild dog gnawing on a bone given by the U.S.

— Along with this unflattering canine comparison, Kim Yo Jong, the sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, called the administration of South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol “idiots” for considering new unilateral sanctions against the North over its recent missile tests. She also warned these sanctions would add fuel to North Korea’s “hostility and anger” and “serve as a noose” for the South and the U.S.

✍️ Newsletter by Emma Albright, Renate Mattar, and Anne-Sophie Goninet


Let us know what’s happening in your corner of the world!

info@worldcrunch.com

You've reached your limit of free articles.

To read the full story, start your free trial today.

Get unlimited access. Cancel anytime.

Exclusive coverage from the world's top sources, in English for the first time.

Insights from the widest range of perspectives, languages and countries.

FOCUS: Israel-Palestine War

Why The U.S. Lost Its Leverage In The Middle East — And May Never Get It Back

In the Israel-Hamas war, Qatar now plays the key role in negotiations, while the United States appears increasingly disengaged. Shifts in the region and beyond require that Washington move quickly or risk ceding influence to China and others for the long term.

Photograph of U.S Secretary of State Antony Blinken  shaking hands with sraeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.

November 30, 2023, Tel Aviv, Israel: U.S Secretary of State Antony Blinken shakes hands with Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.

Chuck Kennedy/U.S State/ZUMA
Sébastien Boussois

-Analysis-

PARIS — Upon assuming office in 2008, then-President Barack Obama declared that United States would gradually begin withdrawing from various conflict zones across the globe, initiating a complex process that has had a major impact on the international landscape ever since.

This started with the American departure from Iraq in 2010, and was followed by Donald Trump's presidency, during which the "Make America Great Again" policy redirected attention to America's domestic interests.

For the latest news & views from every corner of the world, Worldcrunch Today is the only truly international newsletter. Sign up here.

The withdrawal trend resumed under Joe Biden, who ordered the exit of U.S. forces from Afghanistan in 2021. To maintain a foothold in all intricate regions to the east, America requires secure and stable partnerships. The recent struggle in addressing the Israeli-Palestinian conflict demonstrates that Washington increasingly relies on the allied Gulf states for any enduring influence.

Since the collapse of the Camp David Accords in 1999 during Bill Clinton's tenure, Washington has consistently supported Israel without pursuing renewed peace talks that could have led to the establishment of a Palestinian state.

While President Joe Biden's recent challenges in pushing for a Gaza ceasefire met with resistance from an unyielding Benjamin Netanyahu, they also stem from the United States' overall disengagement from the issue over the past two decades. Biden now is seeking to re-engage in the Israel-Palestine matter, yet it is Qatar that is the primary broker for significant negotiations such as the release of hostages in exchange for a ceasefire —a situation the United States lacks the leverage to enforce.

Keep reading...Show less

The latest