Worldcrunch
A few weeks after an explosion at a military field in Belarus, Vladimir Putin announced plans to deploy tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus. There is a connection, even if Belarus leader Alexander Lukashenko is walking a tight rope of domestic control and keeping Putin satisfied.
Two presidents of Taiwan, the current serving president, Tsai Ing-wen, and her predecessor, Ma Ying-jeou from the opposition Kuomintang party, are traveling in opposite directions these days. Taiwan must choose whom to follow.
Sure, financial instability in the U.S. and the weaponization of the dollar have raised crucial questions about how long the dollar can remain the world’s de-facto currency. But France’s leading business daily says don’t expect major changes any time soon.
Journalists from Ukrainska Pravda report directly from the trenches near Avdiivka, one of the oldest settlements in the eastern Donetsk region of Ukraine, where troops are facing near-constant Russian fire.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin “Bibi” Netanyahu has backed down in the 11th hour on his plans to push forward on a major judicial reform bill that had sparked massive protests.
Two years ago, forests planted according to a method invented by Japanese botanist Akira Miyawaki, began to spread across in urban spaces in the Portuguese capital. It’s a way to bring real enclaves of nature to urban realities in record time.
Of course Russia’s announcement of moving tactical nuclear weapons to Belarus should not be underestimated. But the reality is that, since the beginning of the invasion, Russia’s nuclear situation has not changed. We should instead look hard at where both Minsk and Beijing have wound up.
March 25-26 OUR WEEKLY NEWS QUIZ What do you remember from the news this week? 1. Despite general support for Russia on his trip to Moscow, what important trade deal did Xi Jinping wind up not signing with President Putin? 2. The French government faces widespread anger over its decision to raise the legal […]
Why is it that this nation of a billion-plus has such problems with intimacy and romance?
Iran’s Supreme leader Ali Khamenei recently sent out a special envoy to ease tensions with wealthy Arab neighbors. He’s hoping to end the country’s international isolation and dismal economic conditions that contributed to last year’s mass protests.
Near the embattled city of Vuhledar, Ukrainian artillery reconnaissance units detect enemy positions. They work with drones, tablets and satellite internet — and they are often the last line of defense from a Russian onslaught.
“I did it all because basically, I’m an idiot.”
Putin really is meeting with Xi in Moscow — we know that. But there are credible experts saying that the person who showed up in Mariupol the day before was someone else — the latest report that the Russian president uses a doppelgänger for meetings and appearances.
In a speech in Paris, Bezalel Smotrich, Israel’s finance minister, denied the existence of the Palestinians, sparking angry reactions in Ramallah, Amman and Brussels. But Israel’s extreme right is not afraid of provoking a violent crisis with the Palestinians.
Reports have emerged of children, retirees, and workers being forced by the Russian military and occupying administration to obtain Russian Federation passports, or face prison, beating or loss of public benefits.
After the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Vladimir Putin, Chinese President Xi Jinping arrives in Moscow for a three-day visit. How far will he be willing to go to support Putin, a fugitive from international justice?
We may be about to see the emergence of a new kind of religion, where flocks worship — literally — at the altar of Artificial Intelligence.
March 18-19 OUR WEEKLY NEWS QUIZ What do you remember from the news this week? 1. Over what body of water did a Russian fighter jet collide with a U.S. drone? 2. Protests rocked Pakistan after whose attempted arrest? 3. How much did Europe’s biggest bank HSBC pay for SVB’s UK arm, after its […]
After Russian soldiers committed multiple war crimes last year during the attack on Kyiv and the surrounding region, some confessed to their crimes. But now they are being tried in Russia for spreading misinformation about the military.
Turkey heads to the polls in May, with a newly formed opposition bloc hoping to dislodge President Tayyip Recep Erdogan. Despite some party infighting, many remain hopeful they can bring an end to Erdogan’s 20 years in power. But first, clarity from within a complicated coalition is needed.
Israel’s judicial reforms by its far-right government have been met by widespread protests. Now the country risks breaking long-formed bonds with key allies in the West.
The fall of Silicon Valley Bank revives memories of Lehman Brothers’ bankruptcy. The two situations have some fundamental differences, but there is enough in common that the risks that SVB could spark a new global financial crisis is very real.
AUKUS, the security pact between the US, the UK, and Australia, is beginning to take shape. Its aim is to deter China, but it risks drawing the Indo-Pacific region into a military conflict.
The effects of the fall of Silicon Valley Bank show the limits of the tech world, but also the current fragility of the international financial system a generation after the 2008 global financial crisis that was sparked by U.S. bank failures.
The move is seen as a coup for China in its efforts to assert itself as a global superpower, while also presenting itself as a responsible and peaceful nation in the eyes of the non-Western world. The agreement is expected to help reduce tensions in the region and revive hopes for peace in Yemen, where the two countries have been fighting a proxy war.
Former canine athletes forced by war to become rescuers, a squad of dogs searches for survivors in ruined homes destroyed by rockets, and for unmarked graves in liberated Ukrainian territory.
Humans and animals have strategies to deal with their surroundings, including the impacts of climate change. But what about trees? Researchers in Spain have identified mechanisms in plant life to learn over time from unfavorable environmental situations.
Without drawing attention to public executions like it did last year, the regime has quietly continued to mete out capital punishment: increasing both death sentences and the carrying out of executions, on pace in 2023 to double from the previous year.
March 11-12 OUR WEEKLY NEWS QUIZ What do you remember from the news this week? 1. What footage from social media has Ukraine asked the International Criminal Court to investigate? 2. Which country saw mass protests that led to the withdrawal of a controversial “foreign agents” draft law? 3. What update has Apple announced […]
Vladimir Putin has used what’s believed to be the world’s only bonafide hypersonic missile battery, which are capable of evading air defenses. So, what are the missiles, and what do they mean for the war?
Former South Korean President, Park Geun-Hye was removed from office on this day in 2017 following her impeachment by the South Korean National Assembly on charges of corruption and abuse of power. She was the first South Korean president to be impeached and removed from office. Why was Park Geun-Hye impeached? Park Geun-Hye was accused […]
Every year thousands of young Italians apply for a Working Holiday visa and escape to Australia. They have many reasons for leaving — but many seek a better work-life balance down under. And then, there are those who cut their adventure short to return home to the bel paese.
The Barbie doll made its debut at the American International Toy Fair in New York City on this day in 1959. What inspired the creation of the Barbie doll? Ruth Handler was inspired to create the Barbie doll after watching her daughter play with paper dolls and imagining a three-dimensional version that would allow girls […]
March 4-5 OUR WEEKLY NEWS QUIZ What do you remember from the news this week? 1. To which eastern city has Ukraine decided to send reinforcements? 2. Which country has started the construction of a 200-kilometer wired fence on its border with Russia? 3. What “radical change” did Kim Jong-un say North Korea needed? […]
When Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan tried to reassure his fellow citizens that they could safely donate to help earthquake victims, many were skeptical. It’s a sign of a longstanding mistrust of institutions that affects the nation on the deepest level.
Putin has stated in the past that Ukraine and Belarus should be a part of the Russian Federation. But his plans in Belarus have been postponed by war on the other neighbor, and the shrinking room for maneuver of Minsk’s strongman Alexander Lukashenko
While the IOC decides whether to let Moscow’s athletes compete in the 2024 Summer Games, Russian film directors will again be fighting for the right to show their films.
The father of a four-year-old boy thought the idea of colors and toys for boys and girls was a thing of the past. Turns out he was wrong.
Before Lula’s re-election in Brazil, fake news spread widely online about “gay kits” in schools and Marxism in schools. Here’s how Brazilians can use the moment to convince moderate voters of the dangers of disinformation.
To some, tensions between the U.S. and China look like a remake of the U.S.-Soviet Cold War. Yet the West’s nemesis this time is more sophisticated and tied to us commercially in ways Moscow never was. There are, however, also new kinds of danger.