👋 Aang!*
Welcome to Monday, where U.S. strikes on Yemen reportedly kill dozens of African migrants, Canadians are heading to the polls, and today’s quiz question comes to us from Mount Fuji. Meanwhile, Raquel C. Pico takes a look at Gen Z and nihilism: no future, no problem?
[*Aleut, Alaska]
✅ 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
🗞️ FRONT PAGE
Canadian daily The Globe and Mail lends its frontpage to the mourning in Vancouver after a car drove into a crowd at a Filipino street festival, killing at least 11 people — including a five-year-old girl — on Saturday. A man named Kai-Ji Adam Lo, 30, was charged for the killing and appeared in court late on Sunday. A police chief said the attack is not believed to be an act of terrorism; the suspect is known to have “a significant history of interactions with police and healthcare professionals related to mental health.” This happened just before millions of Canadians are heading to the polls on Monday for a snap federal election.
🌎 7 THINGS TO KNOW RIGHT NOW
• Dozens of African migrants killed in U.S. strikes on Yemen. At least 68 African migrants have been killed in U.S. strikes that hit a migration center in Yemen’s capital city Sanaa, Houthi-affiliated media reported on Monday. The attacks also killed at least eight people around the city. This came hours after the U.S. announced that its forces had hit more than 800 targets since President Donald Trump ordered an intensification of the air campaign against the Houthis on March 15. Washington has pledged to continue its attacks on the militant group until they cease assaults on Red Sea shipping.
• “Very critical” week for U.S.’s future in Ukraine-Russia talks. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio told U.S. media that this week would be “very critical” for Russia-Ukraine war talks as Washington decides if it is an “endeavor that we want to continue to be involved in.” This comes after U.S. President Donald Trump said on Sunday he believes Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is willing to give up Crimea to Russia as part of a peace deal following a brief one-on-one meeting at the Vatican before Pope Francis’ funeral. Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin thanked North Korea on Monday for fighting alongside his troops against Ukrainian forces, only hours after Pyongyang confirmed its deployment for the first time.
• Canadians vote in pivotal elections dominated by Trump and U.S. tariffs. Canadians are heading to the polls on Monday to decide whether to grant interim Prime Minister Mark Carney a full four-year mandate or give the Conservative Party a turn at the wheel after over nine years of Liberal Party government. This year’s campaign has been completely transformed by U.S. President Donald Trump amid economic uncertainty and annexion threats.
• China urges restraint as India, Pakistan exchange small arms fire for fourth night. China said on Monday that it hoped India and Pakistan would exercise restraint after Delhi reported “unprovoked” small arms firing from Pakistan along the de facto border in Kashmir for the fourth consecutive night. India is deepening its search for militants in the region following last week’s attack on tourists in Pahalgam that left 26 dead. The country has identified two of the three suspected militants as Pakistani but Islamabad has denied any role. For more, check this This Wire piece: Pahalgam Lessons — Can India Avoid The Terror Attack Spiraling In The Most Dangerous Way Of All?
• Sistine Chapel closes to public, Vatican prepares for papal conclave. Following Pope Francis’ Saturday funeral in St. Peter’s Square that gathered world leaders and hundreds of thousands of others, the Vatican has closed the Sistine Chapel to prepare the conclave. After a nine-day period of mourning, cardinals will gather there to elect the successor of Pope Francis, who died on April 21 at age 88. Read more in this Die Zeit analysis, translated from German by Worldcrunch.
• Trial of “grandpa robbers” over Kim Kardashian jewel heist begins. Ten people nicknamed the “grandpa robbers” by French media are set to appear in court on Monday after they were charged with stealing jewellery worth millions of euros from the American reality TV star Kim Kardashian in the 2016 high-profile heist. One of the suspects, Yunice Abbas, 71, who has publicly acknowledged his participation in the heist, said he would apologize. Kardashian, is expected to testify in person at the trial scheduled to run through May 23.
• News Quiz! A 27-year-old university student who climbed Mount Fuji was rescued once after he lost his crampons while descending a trail. He was rescued a second time four days later after he did what?
A. He got lost
B. He climbed the summit a second time
C. He went back to look for his mobile phone
D. He drank too much sake
[Answer below]
#️⃣ BY THE NUMBERS
$2.7 trillion
📰 IN OTHER NEWS
🏍️ Russia launched an assault near Pokrovsk with a brigade of more than 90 motorcycles. The attack failed, but it offered a glimpse of the Kremlin’s new strategy to use two-wheelers to evade Ukrainian drones.
— LIVY BEREG
🇬🇦 Pope Francis had a profound impact on Africans. A visit with people in Gabon paying tribute to him, hailing a humble man, close to the marginalized, who knew how to speak to Africa from the heart. Could his successor be from nearby?
— LE FIGARO
❌ Amid global crises, political disillusionment, and economic precarity, younger generations are redefining nihilism as a coping mechanism and a consumer trend.
— ETHIC
📣 VERBATIM
“The Russian people will never forget the heroism of the DPRK special forces.”
— Russian President Vladimir Putin thanked North Korea Monday for fighting alongside his troops against Ukrainian forces and promised not to forget their sacrifices, hours after North Korea confirmed its deployment for the first time. This came two days after Russia said its troops had fully reclaimed the Russian Kursk region that had been seized in a surprise incursion by Ukrainian forces last year — a claim denied by Ukrainian officials who insisted that the operation in certain areas of Kursk is continuing.
✍️ Newsletter by Anne-Sophie Goninet & Cecilia Laurent Monpetit
Quiz Answer: C. A Chinese student who climbed Mount Fuji outside of its official climbing season was rescued twice in four days, after he returned to look for his mobile phone. The 27-year-old was first rescued by helicopter while on the Fujinomiya trail after he lost his crampons and again days later when he suffered from altitude sickness after he returned to the mountain to retrieve belongings that he left behind, including his phone.
Let us know what’s happening in your corner of the world! [email protected]
