Worldcrunch
In the wake of Hamas’s attack on Israel, the United States, often projected as no longer wanting to be the region’s policeman, finds itself deploying aircraft carriers in the eastern Mediterranean and conducting F16 raids against Iranian targets in Syria. But the epoch-shifting challenge is elsewhere.
Many of the contemporary philosophies that promise to help us improve our lives and well-being also require cutting off relationships with other people — one of the most important parts of living in a society with others.
Russian ambitions to expand its empire have existed for centuries. But are they doomed to be this way forever? Janusz Onyszkiewicz, the former defense minister of Poland, digs into the history — and the future.
As the Rugby World Cup final approaches, French writer Yves Bourdillon notes that the sport is popular almost exclusively in democratic countries. The reason? Its Anglo-Saxon origins, the complexity of its rules and its values, a miracle of balance between individualism and collective spirit.
Last week, Italy was caught in the uproar of Giorgia Meloni’s break-up, a swirl of TV scandal and political controversy. But now that the dust is settled, what does this mean for a single mother standing strong, though alone, on the political right.
Both Hamas and Israel should stop manipulating the language of faith and morals to justify extreme and indiscriminate violence, writes Islamic theologian Marwan Sarwar Gill. Religion (in good faith) ultimately offers a way out of conflict the bad faith has fueled.
The ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas has raised numerous issues under international law, including Israel’s unlawful siege of Gaza and Hamas being a non-state actor.
Poland’s historic parliamentary election had a record turnout of 74%, with an opposition coalition ousting the ruling conservative party, PiS, from power. With women voting in greater numbers than men, their votes were crucial in securing these results. Now, the opposition owes them policies that they demand.
The Indian government’s decision to move from its historic stance on the Israel-Palestine conflict and to actively support Israel following Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack is not only questionable, writes a New Delhi commentator, but it could also have consequences for the country on a diplomatic and geopolitical level.
There are obvious and not-so-obvious reasons that adult men tend to do a bad job in taking care of their health and well-being.
Italian philosopher Umberto Galimberti says it is a tragedy to photograph a life into existence rather than living it.
The American president succeeded in obtaining humanitarian corridors through Gaza, and supported Israel’s claims that it wasn’t responsible for bombing a Gaza hospital. But in the Arab world, he consolidated his image as Israel’s main supporter, and lost the political battle for public opinion.
There are very real risks that this conflict may expand and re-shape the entire region. Israel appears to have the means to win on the battlefield, but risks losing along the way the very principles of justice on which it was founded.
The EU must find a way to negotiate uncomfortable disagreements within its ranks. Ukraine can’t be seen as taking an unequivocal stand in support of any one side either.
Dozens of families from Gaza are now stranded in Egypt’s North Sinai, after they tried to cross into Egypt through the Rafah crossing. They tell Mada Masr about watching Israel’s brutal siege for afar — and their wish to go back home, in spite of the risks.
Worldcrunch’s editor tries to make some kind of sense out of a week that felt senseless and tragic, perilous and inevitable all at once.
Over the past week, Gaza has been officially under siege, even if the roots have long been planted in the confined territory. Others may say that Israel itself has long felt under siege, surrounded by hostile nations. It’s worth tracing the origins of this policy of war that targets entire populations, from Troy in ancient Greece to Leningrad in World War II.
Will the West stop coddling the Iranian regime now, or continue its mix of appeasement and a cat-and-mouse game that Tehran has deftly exploited to undermine peace in the Middle East?
The flood of pro-Israel support from right-ring Hindu nationalists reveals more about the nature of their political project, its aspirations and ideological directions through the decades, than it does about Zionism.
The Oct. 7 Hamas attacks are as devastating on Israel as the Sep. 11 were on the U.S. But like it did 20 years ago, such an attack also has the power to reshape politics inside Israel and around the region in a way that risks making everything worse.
Blaming intelligence and military failure for the Oct. 7 assault diverts attention from Israel’s real weakness — a distracted and divisive political leadership that ignored the fact that people just a few miles across the border are confined in a living hell.
There will be a before and after to October 7, 2023, so unprecedented and traumatic have the events of the last 48 hours been for Israel, followed by massive retaliation. We can already draw several lessons from this.
Despite the panic on social media, at home and abroad, there is absolutely no evidence of a “bed bug invasion” in the City of Lights. French philosopher Gaspard Koenig explores why Paris (and the world) get sucked in to a bunker mentality of always fearing the worst.
As Armenians from Nagorno-Karabakh are forced to flee their homes, is culture or corruption or something more sinister forcing a people to suffer so greatly a century after a genocide tried to wipe them out?
Europe’s foreign ministers traveled together to Kyiv yesterday to reaffirm their support for Ukraine. It is necessary after the first signs of “fatigue” in Western support, from a Polish about-face to the victory of a pro-Russian prime minister in Slovakia.
An increasing number of male teens and young adults who’ve experienced feelings of rejection wind up in what’s been dubbed the “incelosphere,” a place where they can find mutual understanding in a world they think is against them. Two women Polish journalists spent two years on the online servers these “beta males” are flocking to in ever greater numbers.
The Germany-made thriller has made it to the “top 10” list of the streaming platform in more than 90 countries by breaking away from conventional tropes and mixing in German narrative techniques.
With multilateral diplomacy in tatters, the fighting gumption of weaker states against aggression by bigger powers is helping end the age of empires.
Tracing back to Christian colonialism, which was supposed to somehow “civilize” and save the souls of native people, White Savior Syndrome lives on in modern times: from Mother Teresa to Princess Diana and the current First Lady of Colombia, Verónica Alcocer.
In this editorial for Polish daily Gazeta Wyborcza, former Polish Senator, Solidarność activist, Member of Parliament, and Environmental Minister Antoni Tokarczuk examines what he calls the “true motivations” of ruling party Law and Justice leader Jarosław Kaczyński, and warns against his use of the Church for his party’s gain, especially ahead of the upcoming Parliamentary elections.
Horror films have a complicated and rich history with christian themes and influences, but how healthy is it for audiences watching?
Russia is hoping that the West’s support for Ukraine will begin to falter. Kyiv knows this, and is therefore trying to obtain long-term aid agreements — which have the potential to determine their future. But the current Poland-Ukraine row is a troubling sign.
The Canadian-born psychologist Jordan B. Peterson is one of the most prominent opponents of what’s been termed: left-wing cancel culture and “wokism.” As part of his mission , he serves as chancellor of Ralston College in Savannah, Georgia, a picturesque setting for a unique experiment that contrasts with his image of provocateur par excellence.
The practice of sending humanitarian aid to foreign countries has always been political, but Morocco’s decision to refuse offers of search-and-rescue teams raises questions about national sovereignty and politics in times of crisis.
North Korea lends its full support to Russia’s war in Ukraine, and will supply ammunition to Moscow, which in return will help Kim Jong-un with his space ambitions. With the whiff of a Cold War alliance, it shows how two regimes that have become so isolated they multiply the risks for the rest of the world.
A new biography of the Tesla, X (formerly Twitter) and Space X boss reveals that Elon Musk prevented the Ukrainian army from attacking the Russian fleet in Crimea last year, by limiting the beam of his Starlink satellites. Unchecked power is a problem.
Two different cases of hijab controversies in India show there is one thing that is consistent, which is to impose on people at the margins an idea of “uniformity.”
The signing of the Oslo Accords 30 years ago was followed by a failure that set back the very idea of peace between Israelis and Palestinians. A look back at this historic episode and the lessons we can learn from it today.
The cold arrogance of Henry Kissinger extends from Santiago de Chile half a century ago, where he helped orchestrate the violent overthrow of the leftist President Salvador Allende to his view today on Russia’s would-be “sphere of influence.”
It has been almost 12 years since the author left his hometown, which was at the center of the Syrian uprising. He’s made an academic career studying the impact of war on architecture and cities and researching acts of deliberate destruction.