👋 A jaaraama!*
Welcome to Tuesday, where the UK, France and Canada warn Israel over its Gaza offensive, the coup trial of former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro opens and our daily quiz question takes us to Paris’ most famous cemetery. Meanwhile, Jędrzej Słodkowski for Polish daily Gazeta Wyborcza shines a light on the lesser known stories of Nepalese soldiers Russia has funneled into the war in Ukraine.
[*Fula, West and Central Africa]
🗞️ FRONT PAGE
Caracas-based daily Periodiquito de Aragua lends its frontpage to Venezuela’s ban on flights from neighboring Colombia after authorities detained more than 30 people who were allegedly plotting activities to destabilize the country ahead of Sunday’s election. The Interior Minister said the anti-government plans involved placing explosives at embassies and other facilities in Venezuela, without providing evidence. The ban is announced to last at least until the day after the election, when voters across the country are expected to elect governors and National Assembly members.
🌎 7 THINGS TO KNOW RIGHT NOW
• UK, France and Canada threaten action against Israel as Gaza airstrikes continue. Israeli strikes pounded Gaza overnight and into Tuesday, hitting a family home and a school-turned-shelter, and killing at least 60 people, Palestinian health officials said. The attacks came as the UK, France and Canada warned Israel to stop its “renewed military offensive” in Gaza and increase the flow of aid. For more on the consequences of Israel’s blockade on goods in Gaza, read this reportage from Mada Masr, translated from Arabic by Worldcrunch.
• Trump says Russia, Ukraine agree to immediate ceasefire talks, Kremlin offers no timeframe. U.S. President Donald Trump said after his call on Monday with Russian President Vladimir Putin that Russia and Ukraine will immediately start negotiations for a ceasefire. But the Kremlin said the process would take time, and Trump indicated he was not ready to join Europe with fresh sanctions to pressure Moscow. Follow Worldcrunch’s international coverage of the Russia-Ukraine war here.
• Former President Bolsonaro’s coup trial opens in Brazil. The trial of former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has begun, with charges that he plotted a coup d’etat and led a “criminal organization” to overturn the result of the October 2022 election, in which he was defeated by current President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. More than 80 witnesses are expected to testify via videoconference over the next two weeks.
• Australia’s opposition coalition splits after election loss. Australia’s National Party has split from its conservative coalition partner of more than 60 years, the Liberal Party, citing policy differences over renewable energy and following a loss in the national elections this month.
• U.S. Supreme Court lets Trump end deportation protection for Venezuelans. The temporary protected status was granted to hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans in the country by former U.S. President Joe Biden. The court granted the Justice Department’s request to lift a judge’s order that had halted Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s decision to terminate deportation protection conferred to Venezuelans under the temporary protected status, or TPS, program while the administration pursues an appeal in the case.
• Spain has ordered Airbnb to withdraw more than 65,000 listings for holiday rentals. This is due to the fact they violated existing rules from its platform as part of a general crackdown on a business blamed for contributing to the housing crisis in the country. Read more about Spain targeting short term rentals in this piece from Spanish daily La Marea.
• News Quiz! An item that was stolen from Paris’ iconic Père Lachaise cemetery back in 1988 was just found by the police during an unrelated investigation. What is it?
A. Oscar Wilde’s headstone
B. A bust of Jim Morrison
C. A miniature bronze of Chopin’s piano
D. Edith Piaf’s marble portrait
[Answer below]
#️⃣ BY THE NUMBERS
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British ultra-endurance athlete William Goodge, 31, says he has broken the world record for running across the width of Australia. He finished on Monday afternoon at iconic Bondi Beach in Sydney after a 35-day journey, completing a 3,800 kilometer (2,361-mile) run which he had started at Cottesloe Beach in Perth on April 15. Goodge’s team says he ran the equivalent of two-and-a-half marathons — about 100 kilometers — every day. The record is yet to be verified by Guinness World Records, which certified Chris Turnbull’s record-breaking dash across the continent over 39 days in 2023.
📰 IN OTHER NEWS
🎖️ As the war in Ukraine has continued for years now, reports have surfaced of international soldiers, including those from China and North Korea, fighting for the Russian side. Less known but perhaps no less significant is the example of Nepalese soldiers.
— GAZETA WYBORCZA
🇷🇴 Could the Romanian election be seen as a test between liberal democracy and far-right nationalism?
— FRANCE INTER
🌳 Tobacco farming in Uganda has resulted in the loss of trees key to the diets of chimpanzees and baboons, increasing human-primate interactions — and the risk for disease spillover.
— GLOBAL PRESS JOURNAL
📸 PHOTO DU JOUR
Palestinians receive a free meal at a displacement camp in central Gaza City on May 18, 2025. The enclave is facing widespread famine after nearly three months of an Israeli blockade of food, medicine and other supplies. Israel’s military said five UN trucks carrying humanitarian aid were allowed into Gaza on Monday — a move UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher welcomed but called “a drop in the ocean of what is urgently needed.” — Photo: Saher Alghorra/ZUMA
📣 VERBATIM
“ I, too, am committed to peace.”
— Taiwan’s President Lai Ching-te said on Tuesday that he wanted peace and dialogue with China, but that his island nation must simultaneously strengthen its defences and prepare for war. “Peace is priceless and war has no winners. But when it comes to seeking peace, we cannot have dreams nor illusions,” Lai said in an address to mark his first year in office. China has ramped up military drills and war games around Taiwan in the past 12 months. And Taiwan’s defence ministry said it had detected several Chinese planes and vessels near the island in the past 24 hours.
✍️ Newsletter by Emma Albright & Cecilia Laurent Monpetit
Quiz Answer: B. The bust that once sat on top of Jim Morrison’s grave in Paris has been found by accident during a search linked to a case of fraud. It remains to be determined whether the Père Lachaise cemetery will get the sculpture back. The statue, created by Croatian sculptor Mladen Mikulin and representing The Doors’ frontman, was stolen from the famous cemetery on May 9, 1988 and had been missing ever since.
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