Worldcrunch
Welcome to Monday, where Tunisia’s prime minister is sacked over handling of pandemic, U.S.-China talks are off to a rocky start and a 13-year-old skateboarder wins the first Olympic gold medal. German daily Die Welt also looks at the geopolitics behind the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline deal between Russia and Germany. • Tunisia PM […]
PARIS — It was only back in May that experts palmed off the 12-month goal post for a COVID-19 vaccine as wishful thinking. Now, with more than 140 candidate vaccines being developed, including three already in the final phase-3 trial, it seems we may be sprinting towards a new speed record in medical development. “The […]
Welcome to Friday, where the 2020 Olympic Games finally kick off, Xi Jinping makes a historic trip to Tibet, and there’s some beef (or rather, chuletón) between Spain and the EU. We also take an exclusive look at how the so-called “salvage grocery stores’ popping up around the world are finding commercially viable ways to […]
Throwback ideas and the next big thing are working for some, even as many other parts of the economy slide into recession.
So far there’s been little obvious effort to hold authorities accountable for the rising number of people — especially Muslims, Dalits and other minorities — who die while in police custody.
There are some signs that China may be gaining economic concessions from Iran in exchange for giving it diplomatic, and perhaps military and security, backing against regime opponents.
Slovenian-born writer Andrej Mrevlje tries once again to get a read on the fiercely reserved first lady, this time with the help of new book called The Art of Her Deal.
Welcome to Tuesday, where Peru’s contested election finally gets a winner, the Olympics bubble system is broken and another billionaire is blasting off for space. German daily Die Welt also explains why Asian countries, which were previously considered successful COVID tamers, are now struggling with new waves of infections. • Pedro Castillo declared winner of […]
Welcome to Monday, where an international probe reveals spyware has been used to target thousands of journalists and activists around the world, South Korea’s president is protesting the Olympics after a diplomatic spat and a Slovenian cyclist wins the Tour de France for the second time in a row. The Initium also looks at how […]
Face mask policy has been a moving target since the COVID-19 pandemic hit. With some countries and localities facing shortages, and the World Health Organization itself initially suggesting that masks were not effective in containing the spread of the virus, governments were reluctant to implement rules to force people to wear face coverings. But since, […]
Welcome to Friday, where the European flood death toll tops 100, Lebanon’s prime minister steps down and a teenager gets a seat on Jeff Bezos’ trip to space. We also get a look from Kommersant on the rising hopes of the reformist revolution in the post-Soviet state of Moldova. • Germany death toll rises to […]
An outright ban on wildlife trade may exacerbate the situation. Could carefully controlling these animal markets be the best answer?
Welcome to Thursday, where severe flooding in Germany and Belgium has left dozens dead, Brazil’s Bolsonaro is in the hospital and a gun that looks like a children’s toy sparks backlash. Independent Egyptian media Mada Masr also tells us about a high-end supermarket that’s transforming Egypt’s grocery lists. • Dozens feared dead in European floods: […]
Welcome to Monday, where thousands of Cubans join rare protests against the government, Jordan arrests suspected coup organizers and it’s a full-blown festa in Italy after the national soccer team’s Euro win, as racists make loss even worse for England. With the Cannes Festival red carpet out, Les Echos looks at how Netflix and other […]
As coronavirus shut down businesses around the world, red-light districts from Amsterdam to Bangkok to Frankfurt turned off their lights. But many continued to work illegally, risking infection and potential legal consequences in order to support themselves. As one Dutch sex worker told Die Welt, “The confinement does not mean that people stopped wanting sex.” […]
-Analysis- NEW DELHI — In a discussion on NDTV about the contents of the third tranche of Prime Minister Narendra Modi”s stimulus package for the economy, Yogendra Yadav, one of India’s most respected psephologists, called it “entertainment.” Yadav is a gentle human being who goes out of his way to avoid giving offense, above all on TV. So “entertainment” was the most civilized word he could think of. I will be a little more blunt. Not just the third tranche, but the entire “stimulus package” advertised by Modi on May 12 is a gigantic confidence trick being played upon a […]
In normal times, we might be writing this month about the annual momentum gathering for the Plastic Free July challenge. Launched in 2011 by the Australia-based Plastic Free Foundation, the idea is simple: refusing single-use plastics, from bags to packaging, for 31 days. But in 2020, that simple desire to go fully plastic-free for at […]
Welcome to Friday, where Tokyo bans Olympic spectators, at least 28 people are thought to be behind Haiti President assassination and a 14-year-old girl makes Spelling Bee history. Worldcrunch also takes you on a world tour of dying languages that are being rescued by the very tech that puts them at risk. • Tokyo Olympics […]
-Analysis- LONDON — “We’re at the end of our rope,” is a phrase you may hear these days among lower-income Iranians struggling to survive in a country heaving under economic sanctions and the coronavirus pandemic. It’s also a statement recently issued by a national pensioners association, which has been seen as a “warning” to a […]
The COVID-19 crisis has been particularly disruptive for people who earn a living by moving from one place to the next. But companies who depend on those workers also struggle.
Welcome to Wednesday, where we’re following the breaking news of the assassination of Haiti’s president. Also Iran acknowledges it is enriching uranium and the ship that blocked the Suez canal is finally free to sail away. In other news, we look at the rock’n’roll statue controversy that pits Paris greens vs. Harley-Davidson. • Haitian President […]
Anti-Muslim attitudes are ‘eating away at the idea of India’ and finding expression even among the country’s cosmopolitan elite.
Welcome to Monday, where the Pope is recovering from surgery, an indigenous woman helps Chile move past its Pinochet legacy, and the world record for competitive hot dog eating is broken. From Gaziantep, French daily Les Echos’ Catherine Chatignoux looks at the difficult integration of the four million Syrians living in Turkey. • COVID update: […]
“The worst is yet to come…” So warned World Health Organization Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus in his assessment earlier this week of the status of the COVID-19 pandemic. The grim picture globally comes as many countries appear to be succeeding in greatly reducing the number of new cases, and quarantine and social distancing restrictions […]
Like so many before him, João took a bus to Rio de Janeiro in search of the kind of hope and economic opportunity that only big cities promise. “I came looking for something better, then the worst happened,” he told a Globo TV crew. The worst was COVID-19. As deaths skyrocketed in the city and […]
Welcome to Friday, where new proof is revealed of China’s long-range missile silos, India surpasses 400,000 COVID deaths, and we meet the youngest chess grandmaster ever. El Espectador also looks at how the popular Hass avocado is threatening Colombia’s ecosystems and causing water shortages in areas once dominated by coffee bean cultivation. • China is […]
Welcome to Wednesday, where the toll of Canada’s record heatwave is multiplying, Tigray rebels dismiss a government ceasefire and a British rock legend gets to keep his railroad jingle. As Pride Month draws to an end, we also look at how LGBTQ+ activists in several African countries confront the challenge of overcoming conservative attitudes and […]
For some, anti-Chinese rhetoric following the killing of 20 Indian soldiers is conjuring up memories of a dark and mostly forgotten chapter in India’s history.
Welcome to Monday, where U.S. airstrikes hit Iran-backed militia in Iraq and Syria, Sweden’s prime minister resigns and a pet lion is rescued from TikTok fame. Die Welt also looks at the growing influence of a Russian mercenary group in several African countries. • U.S. airstrikes in Iraq & Syria: The United States military says […]
Here in the Italian region of Lombardy, which has been one of the pandemic’s deadliest epicenters, months of grief have now turned to anger. It began as relatives of COVID-19 victims formed a Facebook group Noi Denunceremo (“We will sue”), where 55,000 members are demanding the truth about Italy’s fumbled coronavirus response, La Repubblica reported. […]
Welcome to Friday, where dozens are still missing in the Florida building collapse, Dutch and Hungarian prime ministers clash, and tourists are confused about Mexico City. We also turn to Les Echos for an analysis of the Sudan-Egypt tensions generated by Ethiopia’s Great Renaissance Dam. • Dozens missing after Florida building collapse: A 12-story oceanfront […]
There is nothing like a highly contagious pandemic to remind us how each of our lives is connected to our neighbors — and the rest of the world. That takes on a different form in our digital age, where tracing applications hold the potential of both protecting us from one another and invading our personal […]
Welcome to Wednesday, where Hong Kong’s pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily officially announces its closure, new clashes have broken out in Ethiopia’s Tigray region and the number of millionaires continues to increase despite the pandemic. Latin American business magazine America Economia also reports on how business schools around the world are now adding the environment to […]
Beginning last month, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security has tightened access to media visas for any journalist holding a Chinese passport. The validity period of each visa delivered will be shortened to 90 days, instead of being unlimited as before. Journalists who are citizens of Hong Kong or the Macao Special Administrative Region are […]
Welcome to Monday, where Iran’s new leader has tough words for Joe Biden, Olympics athletes will get a live audience after all and Russia is developing a chewing gum form of its Sputnik vaccine. Italian news magazine Internazionale also reports on the harrowing living conditions for migrants in the country’s pre-deportation facilities. • Iran’s new […]
Zooming in on the territory in question and the shifting history between Asia’s (and the world’s) two biggest nations.
Welcome to Friday, where the global COVID-19 death toll exceeds 4 million, ousted Ivory Coast leader Laurent Gbagbo is back in town and Joe Biden makes Juneteenth official. We also go to Hong Kong where so-called “vaccine hesitancy” is particularly high as a direct result of rising mistrust of the government. • Global COVID-19 death […]
-Essay- MEXICO CITY — Confinement has had few consolations, in spite of all the efforts to sell it as an “opportunity for personal growth.” The good news from where I sit is that I can see beer showing up again in Mexico City’s supermarkets and convenience stores. When the country imposed a nationwide shutdown, the […]
Three months ago, as the pandemic began to spread beyond Asia, many worried that Africa was particularly vulnerable to COVID-19. Yet, so far, the toll has been relatively contained across the continent. In Africa, there have been a total of circa 200,000 recorded cases, compared to over two million in Europe and more than three […]
Welcome to Monday, where Israel gets a new Prime Minister after Netanyahu’s 12-year tenure, more good news from another COVID-19 vaccine and a houseplant breaks a record in New Zealand. Ukrainian news website Livy Bereg also explains what’s at stake for Ukraine as Joe Biden meets with Vladimir Putin in Geneva later this week. • […]