Worldcrunch
Updated Jan. 3, 2024 at 12:30 p.m. Happy birthday to environmental activist Greta Thunberg, born on this day in 2003. Who is Greta Thunberg? Thunberg rose to prominence as a teenager after campaigning outside the Swedish parliament in 2015. She held a sign saying “School Strike for Climate.” Her campaign inspired thousands of young people […]
Updated Jan. 2 2024 at 12:00 p.m. Billed as “the trial of the century,” the case begins against Richard “Bruno” Hauptmann, accused of kidnapping and killing the 20-month-old son of renown aviator Charles Lindbergh. Who was Richard “Bruno” Hauptmann? Bruno Hauptmann was a German immigrant who was accused of breaking into famous aviator Charles Lindbergh, […]
Updated Jan. 1 2024 at 12:00 p.m. On January 1, 1959, Cuba’s military dictator Fulgencio Batista fled the country and the rebels, led by Che Guevara and Fidel Castro, celebrated in Havana, ending the Cuban Revolution. Why did the Cuban Revolution take place? The U.S. had been a major force in Cuba since the early […]
Updated Dec. 31 2023 at 12:00 p.m. After a referendum held in March 1991, the creation of the post of president of Russia was created. Boris Yeltsin was elected Russia’s first president in an election of that kind. On this day in 1999, he resigned and was succeeded by Vladimir Putin. Why did Boris Yeltsin […]
Updated Dec. 30 2023 at 12:00 p.m. The portrait of Winston Churchill was taken in 1941 by Armenian-Canadian photographer Yousuf Karsh in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, as he was set to address the Canadian members of Parliament following action taken in World War II. Why is the Roaring Lion such an iconic photograph? The portrait shows […]
The violence and anger depicted in films, such as RRR, Pushpa, Kabir Singh, or Animal, prompt contemplation on the underlying reasons for the increasing appeal of such violently toxic masculine representations in Indian cinema.
Updated Dec. 29 2023 at 12:00 p.m. Caused by Nazi bombing raids which set off a series of fires, the Second Great Fire threatened to destroy London. It was ultimately contained, symbolized by the saving of the famed St. Paul’s Cathedral. How did the Second Great Fire of London start? On the evening of December […]
Updated Dec. 28 2023 at 12:00 p.m. After serving in World War II as a Korean-contingent major in the Soviet Army, Kim Il-Sung became the first premier of the newly formed Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. Years later, he would become the nation’s supreme ruler. How did Kim Il-Sung become the first president of North […]
Updated Dec. 27 2023 at 12:00 p.m. Benazir Bhutto, twice Prime Minister of Pakistan, and then leader of the opposition Pakistan People’s Party, had been campaigning ahead of elections scheduled for January 2008 when she was shot, in a suicide terrorist attack. When Was Benazir Bhutto killed? After eight years in exile in Dubai and […]
Updated Dec. 26 2023 at 12:00 p.m. In 2004, a 9.1 earthquake struck off the coast of Sumatra in Indonesia, triggering a tsunami and series of tidal waves that became one of worst natural disasters in recorded history. What triggered the Indian Ocean tsunami? The initial earthquake is among the strongest ever recorded, estimated to […]
Updated Dec. 23 2023 at 12:00 p.m. On this day in 1979, the Soviet Union intervened in support of the Afghan communist government in its conflict with anti-communist Muslim guerrillas during the Afghan War, after Afghanistan’s centrist government was overthrown by left-wing military officers led by Nur Mohammad Taraki. Why did the Soviets invade Afghanistan? […]
Updated Dec. 25 2023 at 12:00 p.m. Serving since 2015, Justin Trudeau is the 23rd and current prime minister of Canada. His father was serving in the same job when he was born on Christmas day. How did Justin Trudeau get into politics? He is the eldest son of Pierre Trudeau, Canada’s previous prime minister, […]
Updated Dec. 22, 2023 at 11:45 a.m. In 1895, Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen took the first X-ray ever. What was the first X-ray taken of? Röntgen’s experiments revealed that this new type of ray was capable of passing through most substances, including the soft tissues of the body, but left bones and metals visible. How did […]
December 25 – December 31, 2023
The Made in Tunisia clothes industry for the European market consumes large amounts of water and pollutes Tunisia’s coastline. In Ksibet El Mediouni, the population is paying the price of the environmental cost of fast fashion.
Updated Dec. 21, 2023 at 12:15 p.m. It was 35 years ago that Pan Am Flight 103 was heading from London to New York City. Shortly after takeoff, a bomb that had been planted onboard detonated, causing an explosion while the plane was in flight over Scotland. How many people were killed in Lockerbie? All […]
Updated Dec. 20, 2023 at 12:00 pm On this day in 1973, Admiral Luis Carrero Blanco, the prime minister of Spain was killed in Madrid after a massive bomb exploded under his car. Why was Carrero Blanco killed? Carrero Blanco was killed in Madrid by the Basque separatist group ETA, targeted due to his support […]
Fedaa Zeyad is tired of seeing all the attempts to portray the people of Gaza as superheroes, somehow undeterred in the face of death. She prefers to present them simply as human beings: fearful, tired, desperate, objecting to the terms and conditions of this war.
Updated Dec. 19, 2023 at 12:30 p.m. The Russian diplomat Andrei Karlov served as an ambassador to North Korea, and then Turkey. On this day in 2016, he was assassinated while giving a speech in Turkey — the moment captured by an Associated Press photographer who’d been assigned to cover the speech. How was Andrei […]
Shyamanand Singh crafts sculptures from discarded paper, bottle caps and other materials. He’s opened a free museum in his house to inspire others.
Updated Dec. 18, 2023 at 12:25 p.m. The United Arab Emirates is a monarchy, and had never allowed elections in its political system. That would change on this day in 2006. Why did the Arab Emirates decide to hold elections? The aim was to increase political participation among Emiratis through a “political empowerment program”, which […]
Updated Dec. 17, 2023 at 11:35 a.m. On December 17th, 1976, Australian prime minister Harold Holt disappeared after going for a swim. He was never heard from again. How did Harold Holt go missing? The Prime Minister of Australia from 1966-1967, Holt was an avid outdoorsman and loved to swim in the ocean near to […]
Members of the LGBTQ+ community escape discrimination, heal emotional wounds, and find family under the neon lights of the region’s voguing scene.
December 18 – December 24, 2023
PARIS – As WORLDCRUNCH continues to innovate and strive to make its exclusive content as widely available as possible, it has recently partnered with French tech company ODIA to integrate cutting-edge, AI-powered audio versions of its articles. The collaboration between Worldcrunch and Odia harnesses the power of cutting-edge neural speech synthesis and generative AI tech […]
Updated Dec. 15, 2023 at 12:40 p.m. Based on the novel by American writer Margaret Mitchell, first published in 1936, the epic film “Gone With The Wind” hit the screens on this day 84 years ago today. Set in the Confederate South, it would go on to win multiple Academy Awards and command a 30-year […]
Do wild varieties of overlooked grains, fruits, and vegetables hold the key to withstanding the uptick in extreme weather?
Updated Dec. 14, 2023 at 1 p.m. Arriving by ship, skis and dog-powered sleighs, Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen arrived where no human had ever set foot, exactly 111 years ago today. Why was Roald Amundsen trying to reach the South Pole? Amundsen’s initial plans had focused on the Arctic and the conquest of the North […]
Updated Dec. 13, 2023 at 12:10 p.m. It was exactly 20 years ago that Saddam Hussein was captured by the United States military in the town of Ad-Dawr, Iraq. Why was the U.S. at war with Iraq? In 2003, a coalition between the United States and British forces initiated war on Iraq to depose Saddam […]
Updated December 12, 2023 at 12:20 p.m. Often referred to as the Paris Climate Accords, the Paris Agreement is an international treaty aimed at forcing countries and companies to change their behavior to reverse climate change. It was signed on December 12, 2015 at the end of the COP21 United Nations Climate Change Conference near […]
Updated Dec. 11, 2023 at 12:10 p.m. After the death of his father, George V, on January 20, 1936, Edward VIII became the King of England at 42 years old, but shockingly announced his decision less than a year later to abdicate the throne on this day in history. Why did Edward VIII abdicate the […]
Updated Dec. 10, 2023 at 12:05 p.m. Considered one of the greatest singers in the history of American popular music and a seminal artist in soul music and rhythm and blues, Otis Redding, nicknamed the King of Soul, had a profound influence on other artists before his life was cut tragically short in a plane […]
Ending a pregnancy has become a major complication, and a crime, for Iranian women who cannot or will not have children in a country wracked by socio-economic woes and a leadership crisis.
Updated Dec. 9, 2023 at 12:20 It was on this day in 1987 that a series of Palestinian protests and violent uprisings began in the West Bank, Gaza and Israel in defiance of Israeli occupation. The confrontation would last for nearly six years. How did the first Intifada begin? An Israeli Defense Forces’ (IDF) truck […]
The author’s native country, India, is both a burgeoning world power and part of the Global South. And yet, its ambitious Prime Minister Narendra Modi hasn’t dared to say a single word against Israel’s actions in Gaza and the West Bank, even when countries in South America and Africa have severed their diplomatic relationships with Israel.
Updated Dec. 8, 2023 at 12:15 p.m. A deranged fan shot and killed former Beatles member John Lennon outside of his apartment on the upper West Side of New York City on this day 43 years ago. Lennon’s death shocked the world, and seemed to put a definitive end to the 1960s and 1970s idealist […]
December 11 – December 17, 2023
Putting the latest AI breakthroughs at the service of national security raises major practical and ethical questions for the Pentagon.
Updated Dec. 7, 2023 at 12:15 p.m. Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor was a day that U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt famously said “will live in infamy.” It would finally bring the United States into World War II, though with a decimated Pacific fleet from the Japanese surprise attack. Why Did Pearl Harbor Happen? The […]