Pope Francis, just out of hospital last week after abdominal surgery, received Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva at the Vatican for the first time since his re-election in 2022.
👋 Dumela!*
Welcome to Thursday, where Ukraine says it has struck a road in Russian-occupied Ukraine that leads to Crimea, time is running out in the search for the missing submarine and Lula meets Pope Francis, just back from the hospital. Meanwhile, Alfonso Masoliver, for Spanish daily La Razón, travels with Rwandan fishermen on the silent waters of one of Africa's largest lakes.
[*Tswana, Botswana and South Africa]
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🌎 7 THINGS TO KNOW RIGHT NOW
• Ukraine takes aim at Crimea: Ukrainian forces reportedly fired four missiles at the Chonhar road bridge linking Crimea to Russian-held parts of Ukraine's Kherson region, one of the few links between Crimea and mainland Ukraine. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told the BBC that the counteroffensive was not a "Hollywood movie." The EU, meanwhile, agreed on an 11th set of sanctions against Russia, banning the transit through Russia of an expanded list of goods and technologies. The new measures also aim at punishing countries suspected of helping Moscow evade current restrictions.
• Israeli drone kills three Palestinian militants: An Israeli drone killed three armed Palestinian militants in the West Bank near the town of Jenin, the first strike by the Israeli army in the West Bank since 2006. The operation follows an attack by Jewish settlers in a Palestinian towns in retaliation for a deadly attack by Hamas gunmen the previous day.
• Time running out for Titanic sub search: The search for the missing submarine near the Titanic enters a decisive phase, as time is running out, with only a few hours of oxygen left. According to submersible experts, the submarine's small size is preventing surface vessels from finding it with sonar, and the noises heard have not narrowed the search area.
• As Modi visits, U.S. to facilitate visas for Indians: The Biden administration will facilitate the granting of H-1B visas to Indians with high skills to work in the U.S., a new policy announced as Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi makes his first state visit to the U.S. Indian citizens represent 73% of the 442,000 H-1B workers in fiscal year 2022, the most active users of the H-1B visa. Yet human rights activists are calling on Biden to publicly rebuke Modi over India's deteriorating human rights record.
• Gas leak explosions in China, Kyiv and Paris: At least 31 people died in an explosion at a Chinese barbecue restaurant in the city of Yinchuan, caused by a leak from a liquefied gas tank inside the restaurant. In Ukraine’s capital Kyiv, at least three people were killed in an explosion that officials say was caused by a gas leak; meanwhile a blast of similar origin shook central Paris, destroying buildings and injuring dozens, with one person still reported missing.
• U.S. accuses Amazon of tricking millions to sign up for Amazon Prime: U.S. regulators have filed a case against online retail giant for duping millions of consumers into signing up for its paid subscription Amazon Prime service without their consent and making it hard for them to cancel.
• Big Tech’s big fight? Billionaires Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg have agreed to face off in a cage match in exchanges that have gone viral on Twitter. The "Vegas Octagon" will pit the two rivals against each other, which has set the web on fire as social media users debate who would win the fight.
🗞️ FRONT PAGE
Buenos Aires based daily newspaper La Prensa dedicates its front page to the survivors of Tuesday’s prison riot in Honduras, where 46 women were killed during a clash between the Barrio 18 and the Mara Salvatrucha gangs. According to the former head of the penal system Julissa Villanueva, the riot was likely in reaction to a government crackdown in recent months on corruption within prisons.
#️⃣ BY THE NUMBERS
135
As part of his U.S. visit, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi led a yoga session at the UN headquarters which broke a Guinness World Record for most nationalities. The event, held on International Yoga Day, included people from 135 different countries — as well as a few familiar faces like actor Richard Gere and New York mayor Eric Adams.
📰 STORY OF THE DAY
Fill my nets, row me home: The fleeting fortunes of Lake Kivu fishermen
Rwandan fishers dive into the silent waters of one of Africa's largest lakes. The rhythms are relatively calm, but a lifetime of hard work rarely adds up to much where earning even a euro a day is a long shot, reports Alfonso Masoliver in Spanish daily La Razón.
🇷🇼🎣 At first glance, the life of the fishermen in the villages surrounding Lake Kivu seems easy enough. They don't have to face the dangers of the sea that threaten their saltwater counterparts, nor do their boats suffer the pounding waves. Every evening, they go out to fish, secure in the knowledge that they will not end up shattered against foam-camouflaged reefs. Here, in northwest Rwanda, few widows mourn lost fishermen, unless their husband was particularly clumsy.
🛶 The captain sings: "Row, row, I keep rowing, row, row, I never stop rowing, row, row, I keep rowing!" They continue like this until they stop paddling and cast their nets. This emphasis on rowing is actually the ultimate prayer to ancestors who rowed with the same patience long ago, an adoration based on the continuity of their struggle, a generational pursuit of fortune plunged in the depths of the lake.
💸 The fishermen's haul is meager, which makes their life difficult: on the best of days, they catch no more than five kilos of these puny fish, sold per kilo at 4,000 Rwandan francs. In other words, on the best of days, the crew earn €17 between them. One euro per person per day, considering that the captain is paid more than the rest. A euro each on their best days, or €365 per year, if every day were like Christmas and the moon never shone brightly.
➡️ Read more on Worldcrunch.com
📣 VERBATIM
“We are in a moment that is equal to World War II with respect to climate.”
— Speaking ahead of the Summit for a New Global Financing Pact in Paris, Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley pushed for financing to help poorer nations like hers fight climate change. Many nations who have done little to cause climate change will suffer dramatically from its consequences, so at the Paris summit, world leaders are gathering to discuss how funding could help countries afford expensive projects like renewable energy. "We are all in this together", Mottley said "If we don't realize that, we will not act with the urgency that's necessary to save the planet and save lives."
👉 MORE FROM WORLDCRUNCH
• The De-Russification Dream: How A Ukraine Victory Could Remake Central Asia — LIVY BEREG
• Navalny To Khodorkovsky, The Painful Limits Of Russia's Opposition — FRANCE INTER
• Dog Cloning, E-Collars, Cat Seafood: China's Over-The-Top Pet Market Is Booming — LES ECHOS
✍️ Newsletter by Marine Béguin, Yannick Champion-Osselin, Sophie Jacquier and Anne-Sophie Goninet
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