👋 Yumalundi!*
Welcome to Tuesday, where Israeli forces kill at least 27 Palestinians in another deadly confrontation near a food distribution site in Gaza, Mount Etna erupts, and we’ve got one sour quiz question for you. Meanwhile, for La Stampa, Stefano Stefanini looks at Ukraine’s recent long-range drone strike deep inside Russia — and what message Zelensky is sending to Putin.
[*Ngunnawal, New South Wales and ACT, Australia]
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🗞️ FRONT PAGE
“IT BURST,” headlines Catania-based regional daily La Sicilia, using “Scassau” from the Sicilian dialect, after the massive volcano eruption at Mount Etna that forced tourists to flee in haste when a plume of high temperature gases, ash and rock “several kilometers high” billowed into the air. All tourists and trekkers on the volcano when it erupted have reportedly been evacuated safely. Mount Etna is a popular tourist destination visited by 1.5 million people a year; although it is one of the world’s most active volcanoes, this is the biggest eruption since 2014, according to the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology Observatory. From the Worldcrunch vault, we offer this piece: Why Stromboli Is Helping Predict When Other Volcanoes May Erupt.
🌎 7 THINGS TO KNOW RIGHT NOW
• Gaza officials say Israeli forces killed 27 heading to aid site. At least 27 Palestinians were killed and dozens wounded by Israeli fire near a food distribution site in southern Gaza on Tuesday, local health authorities said, in the third such incident in three days. The shootings have come after an Israeli and U.S.-backed foundation established aid distribution points inside Israeli military zones. Read more about the current situation in Gaza in this piece from Daraj: Starving Gaza, Still Smoking: Cigarette Smugglers Thrive Under The Blockade.
• Russia sets out punitive terms at peace talks with Ukraine. Russia told Ukraine at peace talks on Monday that it would only agree to end the war if Kyiv gives up new chunks of territory and accepts limits on the size of its army. The terms, formally presented at negotiations in Istanbul, highlight Moscow’s refusal to compromise on its longstanding war goals despite calls by U.S. President Donald Trump to end the “bloodbath” in Ukraine. Meanwhile, senior Russian security official Dmitry Medvedev said on Tuesday that the point of holding peace talks with Ukraine was to ensure a swift and complete Russian victory. Stay up to date on the war in Ukraine with this latest piece: Zelensky To Putin: If You Want War, You’ll Get It — And On Our Terms
• South Korea votes for new president after failed martial law bid. Voters in South Korea are choosing a successor to former President Yoon Suk-yeol, who was impeached and removed from office over his brief declaration of martial law in December. Opinion polls favour Lee Jae-myung of the opposition Democratic Party of Korea over Kim Moon-soo of the governing conservative People Power Party.
• Dutch far-right leader Geert Wilders’ PVV party left the governing coalition on Tuesday. This move is set to topple the right wing government and will likely lead to new elections. Wilders said his coalition partners were not willing to support his ideas on halting asylum migration.
• Earthquake sparks escape of 216 inmates from Pakistan prison. More than 200 inmates have escaped from a prison in Pakistan after they were moved from their cells for safety amid earthquake tremors. Several dozen of the prisoners that broke out of the jail in Karachi were quickly recaptured, police said on Tuesday, but at least 130 are understood to remain unaccounted for.
• Mongolian PM ousted amid corruption protests. Luvsannamsrain Oyun-Erdene announced his resignation on Tuesday after Parliament failed to back him in a confidence vote the previous day. Public frustration has been boiling over regarding the lavish lifestyle of the prime minister’s family, leading to persistent demonstrations in the capital, Ulaanbaatar.
• News Quiz! German candy company Haribo has pulled its bags of Happy Cola Fizz from shelves in the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg. Samples showed that some of the candy was…:
A. Not fizzy enough
B. Laced with cannabis
C. Misspelled “Sappy Cola Fizz”
D. Shaped like beer mugs
[Answer below]
#️⃣ BY THE NUMBERS
+25%
The supply of short-term rentals for tourists has jumped 25% in Spain over the last two years, according to a study by tourism lobby group Exceltur. This despite the local governments’ attempts to curtail them, amid massive local protests blaming overtourism for driving up property rental and purchase prices, fuelling the housing crisis. In Barcelona, the mayor banned all permits for short-term rentals by 2028, while Malaga, Madrid and the Canary Islands are restricting new permits. Last week, the government ordered Airbnb to withdraw more than 65,000 listings it said violated existing rules from its platform. The measures seek to push landlords towards longer-term rentals to residents amid a countrywide deficit of 450,000 homes, according to the Bank of Spain.
📰 IN OTHER NEWS
💥 With a long-range drone strike deep inside Russia, Ukraine sent a clear message: we are ready to keep fighting if Moscow insists on total victory.
— LA STAMPA
🇵🇱 In a tightly contested election night marked by twists and turns, Karol Nawrocki emerged victorious as Poland’s next president. But what does the rise of this conservative-nationalist, backed by the Law and Justice party, signal for the country’s future?
— GAZETA WYBORCZA
❤️ The 21st century has completely transformed how we deal with emotions, says sociologist Eva Illouz. In a conversation with Die Zeit, she talks about dating apps, love, emojis, and exploitation.
— DIE ZEIT
📣 VERBATIM
“[It] is assessed as incoherent and disjointed, very unrealistic, and with excessive demands.”
— A senior Iranian official told CNN Monday he had strong reservations about the latest U.S. nuclear deal proposal, blaming Washington’s inconsistent positions on uranium enrichment. This contrasts with President Donald Trump’s claim last week that the administration was “very close to a solution.”. For more on the topic, Worldcrunch has translated an article by Iranian analyst Mohammadreza Khoshhal : Beware, Mr. Trump: Iran’s Nuclear Game Has Entered Another Loop of Strategic Deception.
✍️ Newsletter by Emma Albright & Cecilia Laurent Monpetit
Quiz Answer: B. Haribo has recalled 1-kilogram bags of its Happy Cola Fizz candy in the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg, after traces of cannabis were detected in three Dutch bags. Consumers are urged not to eat the candy and to contact a doctor if they experience symptoms. Haribo is offering refunds and cooperating with authorities investigating how the contamination occurred.
Let us know what’s happening in your corner of the world!