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 reach your limit of free articles.

Get unlimited access to Worldcrunch

You can cancel anytime.

SUBSCRIBERS BENEFITS

Ad-free experience NEW

Exclusive international news coverage

Access to Worldcrunch archives

Monthly Access

30-day free trial, 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

Ukraine Mall Terror, 46 Migrants Dead In Texas Truck, Sardinia Beaches

Ukraine Mall Terror, 46 Migrants Dead In Texas Truck, Sardinia Beaches

Greenpeace protesters projected the message ''G7: End Fossil Fuels Now'' onto the Waxenstein mountain in the Bavarian Alps, as Germany hosts the G7 summit.

Joel Silvestri, McKenna Johnson and Anne-Sophie Goninet

👋 你好*

Welcome to Tuesday, where at least 16 die as Russia strikes a shopping mall in central Ukraine, 46 people are found dead inside a truck in Texas and Bangkok airport authorities make a surprising discovery in two women’s luggage. From India, Banjot Kaur writes in news site The Wire about the dangers of yoga malpractice — and the need for nationwide regulation.

[*Nĭ hăo - Mandarin]

🌎  7 THINGS TO KNOW RIGHT NOW

Ukraine shopping mall bombed with more than 1,000 inside: The death toll is at 18, and is expected to climb, after two Russian missiles hit the Armstor shopping center in the central Ukrainian city of Kramenchuk. According to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, more than 1,000 people were inside the mall Monday at the time of the attack. At least 36 people are still missing, as rescue workers dig through the rubble. G7 leaders condemned the attack and suggested that it was a war crime in a joint statement.

NATO and UN summits: More than 2,000 people are protesting against European militarization in Spain’s capital ahead of a NATO summit which begins today. As war wages in Ukraine, more NATO members are expected to increase their defense expenditures. Meanwhile at a UN summit in Lisbon, Portugal, UN secretary general Antonio Guterres declared an “ocean emergency” and urged policymakers to make drastic changes to protect the oceans.

• 46 migrants found dead in Texas truck: 46 people were found dead inside a semi-truck abandoned on the outskirts of San Antonio, Texas, a major transit route for smuggling migrants across the U.S.-Mexico border. Another 16 people have been taken to the hospital.

• Iran applies to join BRICS ahead of U.S. nuclear talks: Iran has submitted an application to join the BRICS group, which includes Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. Iran’s bid to join the group of emerging economies comes alongside news that an Iranian negotiator is set to go to Doha, Qatar on Tuesday to revive nuclear talks with the U.S. after they were abandoned in 2018 by the U.S. government.

• Chlorine gas leak kills 12 in Jordan: At least 12 are dead and over 250 more are injured after an accident in Jordan’s Aqaba port led to a chlorine gas leak.

• Fuel sales banned in Sri Lanka: After months of food, fuel, and electricity shortages, Sri Lanka has announced a two-week ban on fuel sales. The country is currently unable to purchase imported oil and will only be allowing the sale of fuel for essential services such as airports, food distribution, agriculture, and health services.

• Sardinia to protect its beaches: Home to some of the world’s most famous beaches, Sardinia will now be putting new measures in place this summer to counter mass tourism. Among the restrictions are towel bans, as well as visitor caps with pre-booked tickets and entry fees to prevent overcrowding.

🗞️  FRONT PAGE

Portuguese daily newspaper Publico’s front page features fish-costumed protesters, a day after the UN Ocean Conference opened in Lisbon, with a focus on how to restore the health of the world's oceans.

#️⃣  BY THE NUMBERS

109


Authorities discovered 109 live animals during an X-ray scan of the luggage of two women traveling at an airport in Bangkok, Thailand. Two white porcupines, two armadillos, 35 turtles, 50 lizards, and 20 snakes were headed for India, where more than 70,000 wild animals were discovered at airports between 2011 and 2020.

📰  STORY OF THE DAY

Taking a position: a call to regulate yoga in India

Trained practitioners warn that unregulated yoga can be detrimental to people's health. The government in India, where the ancient practice was invented, knows this very well — yet continues to postpone regulation, writes Banjot Kaur in Indian news website The Wire.

🧘 Yoga is one of the five kinds of alternative Indian medicine listed under India’s AYUSH efforts — standing for "Ayurveda, Yoga, Unani, Siddha and naturopathy, and Homeopathy." Yoga and naturopathy are taught at the undergraduate level in 70 medical colleges across 14 Indian states. The Mangalore University in Karnataka first launched this course in 1989; today, these subjects are also taught at the postgraduate level. Yet, despite this history of formal training, yoga and naturopathy practitioners aren’t required by any national Act to register before they start practicing.

💊 It is not difficult to understand why yoga needs to be regulated, the president of Indian Naturopathy and Yoga Graduates’ Medical Association (INYGMA) Naveen Visweswaraiah says, comparing yoga to a drug. Just as a drug has contraindications and dose limits, so does the practice of yoga. "More is better" doesn’t work and is often harmful. But in the absence of registration — let alone a law governing the practice of yoga — discussing dosage, indications and side-effects is off the table right now.

⚖️ The AYUSH ministry said that yoga and naturopathy were not fit to be considered Indian “systems of medicine” because, once again, they don't involve drugs. This is a strange argument, especially since Prime Minister Modi has made yoga a staple of his message of national pride. This said, the ministry created a "Yoga Certification Board" through a simple communiqué in 2018. This board introduced multiple certificate courses ranging from a few hours to a couple weeks. The courses have no prerequisite qualifications, except having graduated from high school. “This is like certifying quacks even if they don’t become doctors,” Visweswaraiah said.

➡️ Read more on Worldcrunch.com

📣 VERBATIM

It is what’s right and of course it would have been what was right 70 years ago.

— Thomas Will, who heads Germany’s office in charge of investigating Nazi-era crimes, reacted to the conviction of a 101-year-old former concentration camp guard for being an accessory to more than 3,500 murders and sentenced to five years in prison by a German court Tuesday. The man, identified as Josef S., has denied working at the Sachsenhausen camp just north of Berlin, and it is unclear if he will serve any prison time. “We go by the simple principle that murder does not have a statute of limitations,” Will said.

✍️ Newsletter by Joel Silvestri, McKenna Johnson 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.

Geopolitics

The Widest Europe: The Meaning Of Moldova In The Face Of Russian Aggression

Europe's leaders are in Moldova as tensions increase with Russia and in Kosovo. The summit is already making an impact as Europe pushes back against Russian interference.

European Political Community Summit in Moldova

The heads of state and government with Volodymyr Zelensky (front, center r), President of Ukraine, and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD, second row, center r), stand together for the family photo at the European Political Community (EPC) summit in Moldova.

Pierre Haski

-Analysis-

CHISINĀUOne should never underestimate the power of symbols. All of Europe has gathered on Thursday in Moldova, just a few kilometers away from the separatist region of Transnistria, where Russian troops are stationed. The Balkan countries, the United Kingdom, Turkey, and of course, Ukraine, are present as well.

The European Political Community (EPC) is an unprecedented entity launched last year on a French proposal and currently in its second summit. No one knows for sure yet what the future holds for the EPC, but everyone benefits from its informal nature, allowing for valuable exchanges at a crucial moment for Europe.

Stay up-to-date with the latest on the Russia-Ukraine war, with our exclusive international coverage.

Sign up to our free daily newsletter.

The summit comes at an opportune time, as a crisis has erupted between Kosovo and Serbia, leading to the deployment of NATO reinforcements following street clashes. The issue at hand is the appointment of ethnically Albanian mayors in Serbian neighborhoods, a misstep by Kosovar Prime Minister Albin Kurti, which has drawn criticism from NATO allies.

The summit has already made an impact, as the Kosovar Prime Minister mentioned the possibility of holding new local elections in the tense areas. His intention was to try to defuse the crisis before Thursday's summit. Yesterday, French President Emmanuel Macron announced that he would meet with the Kosovar Prime Minister alongside German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. That’s what summits are for!

Keep reading...Show less

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.

Already a subscriber? Log in.

You've reach your limit of free articles.

Get unlimited access to Worldcrunch

You can cancel anytime.

SUBSCRIBERS BENEFITS

Ad-free experience NEW

Exclusive international news coverage

Access to Worldcrunch archives

Monthly Access

30-day free trial, 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

The latest