👋 Ke aal aee!*
Welcome to Monday, where the King of Jordan shares his doubt about the U.S. Gaza proposal, U.S. President Donald Trump targets a trade deal as he arrives in Tokyo and today’s quiz question comes from a new Guinness World Record. Meanwhile, Bahram Farrokhi writes about how Tehran is again caught between two competing powers: Russia and the West.
[*Dogri, Jammu and Kashmir, India]
✅ 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
Argentine daily Clarín dedicates its front page to the landslide victory of President Javier Milei’s party in Sunday’s midterm elections. His two first years of presidency were defined by radical spending cuts and free-market reforms. Before the vote, Milei’s ally Donald Trump made it clear that the U.S.’s recently announced $40 billion lifeline for Argentina would depend on Milei keeping political momentum.
🌎 7 THINGS TO KNOW RIGHT NOW
• Jordan warns against enforcing Gaza ceasefire plan. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday that Israel will determine which foreign forces are permitted to take part in a proposed international mission in Gaza, aimed at securing a fragile ceasefire outlined in U.S. President Donald Trump’s peace plan. The plan calls for Arab states and international partners to deploy stabilization forces to train and support vetted Palestinian police units in Gaza, in coordination with Jordan and Egypt. Meanwhile, King Abdullah of Jordan said that many countries would resist being asked to “enforce” peace in Gaza under the U.S. proposal, signaling skepticism toward the plan’s implementation.
• Trump targets China trade deal as he arrives in Tokyo on Asia tour. U.S. President Donald Trump received a royal welcome on Monday in Japan, the latest leg of a five-day Asia trip which he hopes to cap with an agreement on a trade war truce with Chinese President Xi Jinping. Trump, making his longest journey abroad since retaking office in January, announced deals with four Southeast Asian countries during the first stop in Malaysia and is expected to meet Xi in South Korea on Thursday.
• Cameroon’s 92-year-old president wins controversial eighth term. President Paul Biya, 92, has been declared the winner of Cameroon’s heavily contested presidential election. Opposition leader Issa Tchiroma Bakary had earlier claimed victory, accusing the Constitutional Council of preparing to announce a tainted result. Tensions remain high, with four people killed in clashes with security forces in Douala on Sunday.
• Suspects arrested over Louvre museum jewelery heist. French authorities have made arrests in connection with last week’s robbery at the Louvre museum week. One of the suspects was arrested at Charles de Gaulle airport as he was about to leave the country. According to French daily Le Parisien, the two suspects are in their 30s and were known to French police.
• Jamaicans urged to take shelter as Hurricane Melissa continues to strengthen offshore. The hurricane, which on Monday intensified to a Category 5 storm, was threatening to hit the Caribbean island nation hard. The slow pace at which it is moving, just 7 kilometers (4 miles) an hour, suggests that areas in the hurricane’s path could suffer extended punishing conditions and significant volumes of rainfall.
• King to attend first official LGBTQ event after veterans’ campaign. King Charles will unveil a memorial to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender military personnel at his first official engagement in support of the LGBTQ+ community. The government-funded “Open Letter” memorial is designed to honor those currently serving and commemorate veterans affected by the British military’s ban on LGBTQ officers, which was lifted in 2000.
• News Quiz! A marathon in Sweden held over the weekend entered the Guinness World Records. What was special about it?
A. All runners had to wear Viking helmets
B. It was held in a zinc mine
C. The course passed through an IKEA
D. Every kilometer marker played an ABBA song
[Answer below]
#️⃣ BY THE NUMBERS
$1.6 billion
Amazon plans to invest 1.4 billion euros ($1.63 billion) in the Netherlands over the next three years, the company said on Monday. The investment is its largest in the euro zone’s fifth biggest economy since it launched its activities there in 2020.
📰 IN OTHER NEWS
🇮🇷 Like two centuries ago, Tehran is caught between two competing powers: Vladimir Putin’s Russia and the West, led by the U.S. and UK.
— WORLDCRUNCH
🍔 “Every French person should be able to find a McDonald’s within 20 minutes of their home.” This was the fast-food giant’s goal by early 2025. In Tessancourt-sur-Aubette, a town under 1,000 inhabitants northwest of Paris, the rural area is now under American influence. Most locals are happy.
— LE FIGARO
🤰 Surrogacy’s health risks raise ethical issues over whether the practice is exploitative and should be banned.
— UNDARK
✍️ Newsletter by Emma Albright
Quiz Answer: B. A marathon organized in Sweden over the weekend entered the Guinness World Records for “The Deepest Marathon” and “The Deepest Underground Marathon Distance Run (Team).” The event gathered 55 runners from 18 countries in the Garpenberg zinc mine, 1,120 meters below the surface and in near-total darkness.
Let us know what’s happening in your corner of the world!