Worldcrunch
Political battle lines are becoming increasingly entrenched, and opposing views are being pushed towards ever greater extremes. Language has become a battlefield. If morality pushes us apart, and religion does not help in the process, we may find a solution in our sense of humanity, writes German psychiatrist Manfred Lütz in Die Welt.
A debate about the Spanish entry for this year’s Eurovision prompts one woman writer to challenge the benefits of re-appropriating the word “slut.”
The late Nobel Prize-winning Colombian author’s sons have published his draft novel Until August against his will. Yet no work of art is ever really finished. And excerpts and fragments are suited to our anxious times.
The Israeli prime minister appears dead set against a ceasefire, with the leak of a new 10-year plan for “occupation from afar” for Gaza. All of this to avoid the fate that awaits him if he leaves office.
The threats posed by advanced AI are serious and varied. Among them is a direct threat to capitalism so much that in the end we will be faced with a choice between two systems: a new form of communism or unchecked chaos.
The release of “En agosto nos vemos” as a posthumous novel by Gabriel García Márquez would have horrified Colombia’s Nobel laureate, who had described it as useless and wanted it to be “destroyed.”
Child psychiatrist Joseph Knobel Freud, a Barcelona-based descendent of Sigmund Freud, says modern parents are far too loose.
Conspiracy theories about France’s involvement in every twist and turn of African politics abound. Yet, writes Adama Wade for Dakar-based Financial Afrik, using leftover grievances of colonial influence is often a way for Africans to make excuses for their political failings.
This is a debate that must challenge those in our region who benefit from the perpetuation of the male culture of violence.
As the world mourns the Putin critic and the WikiLeaks founder faces extradition to the U.S., Spanish journalist Juan Carlos Laviana argues that while the men may not be “ordinary” journalists, they both used investigative means and technological capacity to shine a light on those in power. And they were right.
France is now officially part of the global “no sex” trend, notes French philosopher Gaspard Koenig, who sees a troubling connection between a rising neo-Puritanism and fears of World War III.
An Argentine writer in Sweden was shocked to see pets as quiet and orderly as people there, quite in contrast with pet owners at home. Did that say all there is to say about the contrasting states of two countries?
In keeping with the pseudo-democratic style of certain autocracies of our time, Venezuela’s leftist ruler is not averse to holding a general election, to be held when he says and once he has the results readied in advance.
Why join in on a presidential debate when you can start a war or eliminate political opponents. That’s how to get your “policy” prescription across. But in a sham of a democracy, you need elections and you need debates — with the comfort of knowing the other candidates will make your talking points for you.
The Italian Ministry of Transport promoted a commercial to raise awareness about the dangers of texting and driving, and all is good except for the part where it forgot rule number one of road safety.
Western diplomacy shows the West will tolerate the Iranian regime’s repression at home and violent intrigues in the Middle East and beyond, but it might clarify to the public why liberal democracies should want to keep the mullahs in power in Tehran.
Donald Trump is not creating the U.S. malaise any more than Putin is creating the Russian malaise or Netanyahu the Israeli identity crisis. But all three illustrate the inescapable risk if a “me-first” attitude is taken to an extreme degree by individuals who’ve accumulated power.
Based on a true story, Society of the Snow, offers an example of a well-managed community in the face of extreme hardship. The film, which is nominated for Best International Feature Film at this year’s Oscars, highlights that morality and friendship are necessary to survive.
Women are used to getting advice about how they’re dressed, their unattended glass — and their route to get back home on Saturday night. This is what rape culture looks like. “Text me when you get home” is part of the silent sisterhood pact that we cherish, but also wish we didn’t need.
After posting online her answer to a homophobic comment about her restaurant near Milan, Giovanna Pedretti lived the peak of fame in its ups and mostly in its downs that lead to her drastic decision of ending her life.
We’re renouncing books to gorge ourselves on digital imagery and short texts. If we continue like this, ditching the written word of the past, we may soon become fitting descendants of the cringing, timorous masses of the dark ages.
“If heroes were to ask themselves each time about the risks they face, then they would never accomplish their feats…”
Argentina’s rabidly privatizing president, Javier Milei, had a curiously warm meeting with “socialist” and fellow Argentine Pope Francis. As both have an emotive side and abhor the technocratic élites, it could even open the door to an unlikely entente, and even a long-awaited papal visit.
Longtime Putin critic Alexei Navalny has died in prison at the age of 47, sparking outrage inside and outside of Russia. While widely esteemed for his courage challenging the Kremlin, the Russian politician’s views on Ukraine were more ambiguous. Here’s a commentary by a Ukrainian writer after a documentary last year about his struggle won an Academy Award.
The advent of digital technologies has made us increasingly lonely and isolated. In the virtual world, none of us participate in decision-making, but we all receive one-sided messages that influence our behavior, including our political beliefs. If this is the case, what will the democracy of tomorrow look like?
As the far-right propagates a simplified and emotionally resonant message, the lack of coordination and a shared vision among the “non-far-right” strengthens the far-right’s illusion of representing the entirety of “the people.”
In Germany, the Ministry for Family Affairs came up with a strategy to combat loneliness: university chairs, initiatives and even a “loneliness barometer.” But one no-filter boomer writer for Die Welt says it’s all unnecessary — and today’s young people should focus on having more children and stop pathologizing every feeling.
Francesco Profumo, a former Italian education minister and the current rector of the Open Institute of Technology, explains why artificial intelligence needs a voice like Father Paolo Benanti, the only theologian on the UN Committee on Artificial Intelligence.
As nearly half of the world prepares to vote in elections this year, Turkish journalist and author Ece Temelkuran warns, in the Istanbul-based weekly Oksijen, that many countries are following Turkey’s path from democracy to dictatorship.
The author was at university with the future monarch, who was evidently an object of fascination for many on campus, and a seemingly decent person. It’s also where he met Kate Middleton, as recently portrayed in the final episodes of “The Crown.”
The far-right AfD party chief has threatened a “Dexit” referendum, where Germany (Deutschland) leaves the European Union. But just ask the British people what they think about how that turned out. Right wing leaders in Italy and France seem to have understood the message.
With Monday’s consecration of the controversial new Hindu temple, Ayodhya Ram, Indian Prime Minister Narenra Modi declared that God had “made him the representative of the people of India” to be present at the ceremony. This is a dark watershed in modern India’s attempt to reconcile church and state.
Iran’s revolutionary regime is believed to have aided Russia against Ukraine and goaded Hamas into attacking Israel. Could its insidious backing for Houthi attacks on Red Sea shipping finally end the West’s appeasement of a hooligan state.
South Africa’s genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice attempts to turn longstanding international law on its head, writes Kai Ambos, a top expert on international law, for German daily Die Welt.
The leaders of key EU countries have been on the phone with Vladimir Putin since the war in Ukraine began. Weighing the costs, benefits…and morals…of leaving the door open to a man who brutally invaded a sovereign nation — and taking Munich 1938 as a starting point.
Rationalism and technology are no longer tools in our hands but govern our lives, in a depressing world of our own making.
Martin Luther King Jr. never directly addressed the Israel-Palestine conflict. But I think I know how he would feel today.
To avoid succumbing to machines, we must understand the difference between risk and danger, argues noted Italian technology ethicist Paolo Benanti.
For decades, countries like Germany have resisted implementing school uniforms. But dress codes in schools are not just for the elite. They can help reduce social stigma for students living in poverty, as well as helping fight the climate crisis.
For almost two years, since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the West has been trying to salvage its relationship with the countries of the so-called Global South, unconvinced by the sincerity of its discourse on international law.