👋 Lasso fyafulla!*
Welcome to Friday, where the U.S. warns that it will abandon its Ukraine peace efforts if the parties don’t act quickly, Hamas has rejected an Israeli ceasefire proposal and Mexican bars are renaming a coffee drink with a geopolitical twist. Also, we meet Hans-Joachim Frey, a renowned German conductor with a particular fondness for autocratic Russia.
[*Tamang, Nepal]
✅ 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
Italian daily Il Riformista lends its frontpage to the amore between Italian far-right Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and U.S. President Donald Trump who met Thursday at the White House. Meloni, who so far has a privileged relationship with Trump compared to other European leaders, said she wanted to “make the West great again” and that she “shares a fight” with Trump against “the woke ideology.” “Everybody loves her and respects her,” Trump said, adding “I can’t say that about many people.” Although no precise agreement on tariffs was discussed during this meeting, Trump asserted that “there’ll be a trade deal, 100%,” and accepted Meloni’s invitation to Rome for a meeting with other European leaders, the date having yet to be set.
🌎 7 THINGS TO KNOW RIGHT NOW
- U.S. to abandon Ukraine peace efforts if no progress made soon. After meeting European and Ukrainian leaders in Paris, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned on Friday U.S. President Donald Trump would walk away from trying to broker a Russia-Ukraine peace deal within days unless there are clear signs that a deal can be done. “We’re not going to continue with this endeavour for weeks and months on end,” Rubio said. This comes as Kyiv announced the signing of the outline of a minerals deal with the U.S., which it aims to finalize by the end of next week. Meanwhile, a Russian missile attack on Ukraine’s northeastern city of Kharkiv left one person dead and wounded 82 others. For more, check this La Stampa analysis on “missile diplomacy translated from Italian by Worldcrunch.
-
Hamas rejects ceasefire proposal, far-right Israeli lawmakers call for escalation in Gaza. Hamas has rejected the Israeli ceasefire offer presented earlier this week and called for a “comprehensive” deal to end the 18-month-long war. The announcement prompted far-right Israeli lawmakers to issue calls for an immediate escalation in Gaza. This comes as rescuers in Gaza said new Israeli air strikes killed at least 40 people, most of them in camps for displaced civilians. Read more in this analysis translated from French by Worldcrunch: As Gaza Horror Only Gets Worse, Netanyahu Counts On Carte Blanche From Trump.
-
U.S. airstrikes on Yemeni oil port kill at least 38. Yemen’s Houthi rebels said early Friday that U.S. airstrikes on the Ras Isa oil port held by the group killed 38 people and wounded 102 others. This marks one of the deadliest days since the U.S. escalated its aerial military campaign against the Iranian-backed group in recent weeks. U.S. Central Command said the strikes were aimed at cutting off revenue to the Houthis.
-
Trump signals tit-for-tat China tariffs may be near end, Asian markets mostly higher. U.S. President Donald Trump hinted late Thursday at a potential end to the tit-for-tat tariff hikes between the U.S. and China that has shocked markets, saying he didn’t “want them to go higher because at a certain point you make it where people don’t buy.” Asian shares were mostly higher on Friday after a bumpy ride on Wall Street.
-
U.S. Senator meets wrongly deported migrant in El Salvador. Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen shared a photo on X of his Thursday night meeting with Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran man wrongfully deported to his home country by the Trump administration. The 29-year-old will remain in El Salvador’s custody following the meeting, Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele said. Garcia’s case has become a flashpoint in the fight over the Trump administration’s hardline deportation push. Check this reportage translated from Spanish by Worldcrunch: What Makes El Salvador’s Brutal Prisons Even Worse For Women Inmates.
-
Cable car crash near Naples leaves four dead. A mountain cable car cabin plunged to the ground at Mount Faito near Naples in southern Italy, killing four people, including three passengers and the driver. The cabin was near the top of the mountain when one of the cables supporting it snapped, local media reported, while people in a second cabin on the same line were rescued as it was located near the bottom of the valley.
-
News Quiz! Which saga will get a new movie in 2027 starring Oscar-nominated actor Ryan Gosling?
A. Harry Potter
B. Star Wars
C. Fast & Furious
D. Indiana Jones
[Answer below]
💬 LEXICON
Café mexicano
The coffee drink usually known as “Americano,” consisting of a shot of expresso with added water, has been renamed “Mexicano” in a growing number of cafés across Mexico, as an act of rebellion against unpopular U.S. government policies. “Words really carry power” said Mexico City café owner Scarlett Lindeman, who encourages her staff to rename the drink if they wish to. The Acapulco Chamber of Commerce had already officially adopted this new coffee name in March to reflect its local ingredients, in a nod to the U.S. President Donald Trump renaming the Gulf of Mexico the “Gulf of America”. This move was also observed in Canada where several coffee shops started offering “Canadiano” coffee on their menus in February, in defiance of new U.S. tariffs.
📰 IN OTHER NEWS
🇸🇾 A regime change in Syria has not led to the the end of the horrific practice of so-called “honor killings.”
— DARAJ
🎵 Hans-Joachim Frey directs concerts and balls across the globe, but with a particular fondness for autocratic Russia. A deep look at the German impresario who has acquired the moniker “Putin’s favorite” within the classical music scene.
— DIE ZEIT
⚽ For a dual-national soccer player, choosing a national team goes beyond the sporting sphere: It involves family, identity and geopolitical issues, pitting major European nations against Maghreb countries.
— INKYFADA
📸 PHOTO DU JOUR
For Easter celebration, Orthodox Russians traditionally head to churches to have baskets of festive foods, including Kulich (Easter cake), Paskha (sweet cottage cheese with raisins) and hand-painted eggs, blessed by a priest. Here, a priest blesses Easter cakes at the Sochi Bread Factory in Sochi, Russia on April 17, 2025. — Photo: Dmitry Feoktistov/TASS via ZUMA
📣 VERBATIM
“We must look history in the face.”
— French President Emmanuel Macron has acknowledged the historical injustice of France having imposed a harsh debt on the former colony for lost income when it recognised independence in 1825, that was only fully repaid in 1947. The countries are marking modern Haiti’s bicentennial with the creation of a Franco-Haitian commission to examine its impact. While Macron emphasizes truth and reconciliation, Haitian leaders continue to demand reparations, arguing that the debt’s legacy still hinders Haiti’s development.
✍️ Newsletter by Anne-Sophie Goninet and Cecilia Laurent Monpetit
Quiz Answer: B. Walt Disney’s Lucasfilm announced the release of a new Star Wars movie in May 2027, which will star Oscar-nominated actor Ryan Gosling. The film titled “Star Wars: Starfighter” will take place five years after the events of 2019’s “The Rise of Skywalker” and will be “an entirely new adventure featuring all-new characters set in a period of time that has not been explored on screen yet,” the company said.
Let us know what’s happening in your corner of the world!
