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Premium stories from Worldcrunch's own network of multi-lingual journalists in over 30 countries.
Indigenous woman wearing a traditional outfit.
In The News
Yannick Champion-Osselin, Chloé Touchard, Marine Béguin and Anne-Sophie Goninet

Zelensky Visits Breached Dam Area, Australia Bans Nazi Signs, Crocodile Gets Self Pregnant

👋 Сайн уу*

Welcome to Thursday, where Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky visits flood-hit Kherson, Australia announces a national ban on Nazi symbols, and a crocodile is found to have made herself pregnant. Meanwhile, we look at the increase of food counterfeiting around the world, from fake honey in Germany to Canada’s fish laundering.

[*Sain uu - Mongolian]

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🌎  7 THINGS TO KNOW RIGHT NOW

• Zelensky in Kherson region flooded after dam breach: After Tuesday's breach of the Kakhovka dam, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky has visited flooded southern Kherson. Yesterday, he said it was impossible to predict how many people would die from the flooding, and criticized aid agencies for failing to help. So far, five people have been reported dead and Ukraine has evacuated 2,000 people as hundreds of thousands have been left without drinking water.

• Southern Asia’s unprecedented heatwave: Across Asia, the latest heatwave has set temperature records as climate change creates serious issues. Southeast Asia has reached once-in-200-years temperatures, with locals buffeted with 46 °C (115 °F) heat. Meanwhile in Bangladesh, frequent power cuts due to fuel shortages have worsened the heatwave’s effects, forcing schools and businesses to close.

• EU nears unified migration deal: European Union interior ministers meeting in Luxembourg are expected to approve a major deal on migration and asylum rules. The ruling would manage the reception and relocation of asylum seekers, after years of European division on the subject.

• Knife attack in France injures four children: A knife attack in a French park has left at least four young children and an adult injured, with three in critical condition. A man has been arrested following the attack in Annecy, a town in the French Alps across the border from Geneva.

• Hundreds of children rescued from Sudanese orphanage: After being trapped in an orphanage while fighting raged outside for the past six weeks, some 300 children, including infants, have been moved to a “safer location”. The al-Mayqoma orphanage’s plight made headlines as 71 of its children have died from hunger and illness since the war in Sudan began on April 15.

• Australia to ban Nazi symbols nationally: In response to a rise in far-right activity, Australia has announced it will introduce a national ban on Nazi symbols. Australians could face up to a year in prison for displaying the swastika or SS symbols in public, reinforcing state laws. The law will not cover the Nazi salute, often used by neo-nazis.

• Virgin Marygator?: The first case of a crocodile virgin birth has taken place at a zoo in Costa Rica. The crocodile became pregnant after 16 years in captivity, separated from males of her species. The fetus, which was 99.9% genetically identical to its mother, was fully formed in its egg, but stillborn. Such births, which have been found in species of birds, fish and other reptiles, might come from a trait inherited from an evolutionary ancestor, like the dinosaurs.

🗞️  FRONT PAGE

Canadian daily Toronto Star devotes its front page to the orange smog shrouding Canadian and U.S. cities as Canada is facing its worst wildfire season in history. Due to the harmful smoke, air quality in New York has worsened, causing the city to briefly top the list of the world’s worst air pollution.

#️⃣ BY THE NUMBERS

+40.7%

According to data from China’s General Administration of Customs, bilateral trade between Russia and China has increased by 40.7% from January to May in 2023, compared to the same period last year, totalling more than $93.8 billion. China’s exports to Russia have also reached $42.96 billion since January 23 — a 75.6% jump compared to 2022 — making Moscow Beijing’s fastest-growing trade partner in the world. Following its invasion of Ukraine, Russia has been hit by unprecedented Western sanctions, shutting the country out of much of the global economy.

📰 STORY OF THE DAY

Bogus honey, olive oil remix: How fraudulent foods spread around the world

What you have on your plate isn't always what you think it is. As food counterfeiting increases in the food industry and in our daily lives, some products are more likely to be "fake," and it's up to consumers to be careful.

🍯 As German daily Die Welt notes, honey is one of the most counterfeited foods in the world. And Germany would know, as the country’s local honey production covers just one third of its consumption, which means that the rest is imported — and often of poor quality. Hence the rise of honey-like products made from glucose or other sugar syrups, containing added flavors, fillers, dyes and sugars — and possibly not even any bee honey at all.

🇮🇹 Like honey, the olive oil market is rife with food fraud. Extra virgin olive oil should mean that no product has been added during the production process — but is that always true? Forbes reports that around 80% of so-called Italian olive oil available in stores is actually not from Italy, nor made entirely out of olives. Instead, it’s often poor quality oil, a mixture of vegetable oils or oil from all over the world (often Turkey, Tunisia or Syria) — anywhere except Italy, but at the price of a 100% Italian extra virgin olive oil.

🐟 Fake fish is a rampant, illegal practice, and studies show that some fish are cheap, similar-looking species passed off as more expensive products, or sold as fresh when they’ve actually been frozen. In 2022, the Guardian Seascape looked at 44 studies on seafood in markets and restaurants in more than 30 countries and reported that, of the 9,000 samples studied, 36% were falsely labeled or otherwise fraudulent.

➡️ Read more on Worldcrunch.com

📣 VERBATIM

“I believe that anyone who puts themselves over the Constitution should never be president of the United States.”

— Former Vice President Mike Pence, now a candidate in the 2024 presidential race, slammed former President Donald Trump for his behavior that led to the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol rits. During a campaign speech in Iowa, Pence accused Trump of prioritizing his own desire for power over respect for the Constitution.

✍️ Newsletter by Yannick Champion-Osselin, Chloé Touchard, Marine Béguin and Anne-Sophie Goninet


Let us know what’s happening in your corner of the world!

info@worldcrunch.com

This Happened — June 8: Napalm Girl Photograph
This Happened

This Happened — June 8: Napalm Girl Photograph

On this day in 1972, photographer Nick Ut captured the devastating impact of the Vietnam War on innocent civilians, particularly children. The girl in the photo is Kim Phuc, a nine-year-old Vietnamese girl, running naked and severely burned from a napalm attack.

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Image of honey
food / travel
Marine Béguin

Bogus Honey, Olive Oil Remix: How Fraudulent Foods Spread Around The World

What you have in your plate isn't always what you think it is. As food counterfeiting increases in the food industry and in our daily lives, some products are more likely to be "fake", and it's up to consumers to be careful.

All that glitters isn't gold – and all that looks yummy isn't necessarily the real deal.

Food fraud or food counterfeiting is a growing concern in the food industry. The practice of substituting or adulterating food products for cheaper, lower quality or even harmful ingredients not only deceives consumers but can pose serious health risks.

Here's an international look at some of the most widespread fake foods – from faux olive oil to counterfeit seafood and even fraudulent honey.

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Residents of occupied Ukrainian towns flee flooding from the Nova Kakhova Dam explosion
FOCUS: Russia-Ukraine War
Anna Akage

Putin's Hidden Message In Dam Explosion: If Cornered, I Will Stop At Nothing

The Nova Kakhovka dam explosion was undoubtedly carried out by Putin, putting both Ukrainian and Russian lives at risk. The explosion makes clear that there are no limits to how far Putin will go. That has been his message since Day One of the war.

-OpEd-

Southern Ukraine is still reeling from the explosion at the Nova Kakhovka dam on the Dnipro River. The surrounding Kherson region, where Ukraine retook several key towns and cities last November, is flooding as water levels on both banks of the river rose by 10 meters, forcing thousands of Ukrainians to evacuate.

The catastrophe may lead to the shutting down of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, the nuclear reactors of which are cooled by water from the Dnipro.

With enormous consequences on a human, environmental and strategic levels, Kyiv and Moscow are blaming each other for the explosion. But it is simply unfathomable that Ukraine could be responsible for the attack — both, because it wouldn't make sense for Ukraine to attack its own people — and because the disaster is a major impediment from Kyiv's much-anticipated military counteroffensive.

Yes, the bombing of the dam was ordered by Russian President Vladimir Putin to try to slow down his coming military losses. But there is another, deeper explanation for this attack at this moment in time: it's a clear message to the world that there are no limits to Putin’s aggression. Especially when his back is against the wall.

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Smoke from multiple wildfires in Canada moved south, covering New York City in an orange haze
In The News
Emma Albright, Yannick Champion-Osselin, Chloé Touchard, Marine Béguin and Anne-Sophie Goninet

Ukraine Dam Evacuation, Canada Wildfires Reach NYC, About Ducking Time

👋 Bonġu!*

Welcome to Wednesday, where evacuations are underway in southern Ukraine following the destruction of the Nova Kakhovka dam, an earthquake strikes Haiti in the wake of deadly floods and Apple says goodbye to its “ducking” autocorrect feature. Meanwhile, Colombian daily El Espectador looks at the tension between teachers and the rising power of artificial intelligence.

[*Maltese]

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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

🌎  7 THINGS TO KNOW RIGHT NOW

• Tens of thousands at risk from flooding after Ukraine dam collapse: After the Nova Kakhovka dam was destroyed in southern Ukraine, around 42,000 people are at risk from flooding. Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky has warned that hundreds of thousands of people have been left without drinking water. Ukraine and Russia continue to blame each other for the dam collapse.

• UN Court rules Rwanda genocide suspect unfit for trial: A UN court has ruled that an 88-year-old man accused of being a major financier of the 1994 Rwandan genocide is unfit to stand trial. Félicien Kabuga's lawyers had argued that he suffered from dementia. He was arrested in Paris in 2020 after evading capture for 26 years, alleged to have financed ethnic Hutu militias who slaughtered about 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus.

• Earthquake kills three in Haiti following deadly floods: At least three people have been killed in an earthquake in the Haitian city of Jérémie. The 4.9-magnitude quake struck in the early hours of the morning, the U.S. Geological Survey said. This comes days after torrential rains have killed at least 42 people and displaced more than 13,000.

• Rishi Sunak-Biden meeting: UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak started a two-day trip to Washington, with the war in Ukraine as a priority and carrying the message that post-Brexit Britain remains an essential American ally. The breaching of a major dam in southern Ukraine has given the subject more urgency. Neither Washington nor London has officially accused Russia of blowing up the Kakhovka hydroelectric dam.

• Pope Francis to undergo surgery: Pope Francis will undergo surgery on his abdomen on Wednesday afternoon at Rome's Gemelli hospital. He is expected to stay in hospital for "several days" to recover from the hernia operation, the Vatican said. The 86-year-old has faced a series of health issues in recent years.

• Shooting in Virginia kills two after high school graduation ceremony: A man armed with four handguns killed two people and injured five when he fired into a crowd after a high school graduation ceremony in the United States city of Richmond, Virginia.

• Say goodbye to “ducking hell”: Apple has announced it will no longer automatically change one of the most common swear words to “ducking.” The autocorrect feature, which has long frustrated users, will soon be able to use AI to detect when you really mean to use the curse word. "In those moments where you just want to type a ducking word, well, the keyboard will learn it, too," said software boss Craig Federighi.

🗞️  FRONT PAGE

“Is Moscow behind the destroyed dam?,” asks the Belgian daily DeMorgen on today’s front page. Yesterday, the dam of the Kakhovka power plant was breached in the Kherson region of Ukraine, unleashing massive floodwaters in the area. Ukraine and Russia are accusing each other of destroying the infrastructure, which supplies water to Crimea and is used to cool off the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant.

#️⃣ BY THE NUMBERS

12.91 million

In China, a record-breaking 12.91 million students began the “gaokao” college entrance exam today, 980,000 more than the previous year. Pressure to perform is intense as Chinese youth employment is high and scoring well in the two-day long exam is students’ one shot to get into the country’s top universities. In preparation for the infamous exam, cities have banned cars from honking and installed facial recognition technology against cheating.

📰 STORY OF THE DAY

AI is good for education — and bad for teachers who teach like machines

Despite fears of AI upending the education and the teaching profession, artificial education will be an extremely valuable tool to free up teachers from rote exercises to focus on the uniquely humanistic part of learning. Julián de Zubiría Samper for Colombian daily El Espectador.

💻 Early in 2023, Microsoft tycoon Bill Gates included teaching among the professions most threatened by Artificial Intelligence (AI), arguing that a robot could, in principle, instruct as well as any school-teacher. While Gates is an undoubted expert in his field, one wonders how much he knows about teaching.

👩🏫 The pandemic showed what some technological optimists like Gates could not understand: that good education is not about quantitative learning, but development. It involves teamwork, communication, interaction, and even emotion and artistry. That means people gathered in a classroom.

🤖 Feedback is a part of the educational process, which is a dialogue between teacher and pupil. Here, AI will act as a singular monitor of students' progress in learning and absorbing skills in reading, thinking and conceptualization. With this information at hand, the priority for teachers will be to guide, or better guide, mediate, communicate and consolidate the relevant concepts. Our focus will be to advance the developmental process.

➡️ Read more on Worldcrunch.com

📣 VERBATIM

“I don’t support war. I don’t support Lukashenko right now.”

— Belarusian tennis player Aryna Sabalenka declared she does not support the actions of President Alexander Lukashenko, a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin. This is her strongest condemnation to date, having previously been called out for her reluctance to speak against the Russian invasion of Ukraine, dodging political questions in several press conferences. One of Belarus' most prominent athletes — currently ranked No. 2 in the world —Sabalenka has reached the semifinals of the French Open in Paris by defeating Ukraine's Elina Svitolina. Sabalenka made recent headlines when a photo of her hugging the Belarusian president resurfaced.

✍️ Newsletter by Emma Albright, Yannick Champion-Osselin, Chloé Touchard, Marine Béguin and Anne-Sophie Goninet


Let us know what’s happening in your corner of the world!

info@worldcrunch.com

This Happened — June 7: Yellow River Flood
This Happened

This Happened — June 7: Yellow River Flood

On this day in 1938, the Yellow River experienced a major flood during the Second Sino-Japanese War when the Chinese Nationalist government deliberately destroyed the dikes along the river to halt the advancing Japanese forces.

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Screenshot of a video showing the Nova Kakhovka dam
FOCUS: Russia-Ukraine War
Emma Albright

Nova Kakhovka Attack — Dams Are A Favorite Target Of War

Stunning images of the attack of Nova Kakhovka dam, which had been described as a strategically important target, serve as a reminder that military forces in past wars have set off similar disasters to take out dams' power.

A major dam and hydro-electric power plant in Russian-occupied southern Ukraine was destroyed on Tuesday, prompting fear and mass evacuations as Ukraine accused Russian forces of committing an act of “ecocide.”

Videos posted to social media showed the destroyed dam and torrents of water flowing out into the river and flooding populated areas downstream, where people were forced to evacuate.

Stay up-to-date with the latest on the Russia-Ukraine war, with our exclusive international coverage.

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As stunning as the images are, the attack of Nova Kakhovka is not a complete surprise. The dam had been described as a strategically important target since the beginning of the war, and the Ukrainian government warned in 2022 that destroying it would cause a "large-scale disaster."

Indeed, the attack is just the most recent example of military forces seeing the massive potential energy stored behind hydroelectric dams as an offensive weapon. Destroying these critical pieces of infrastructure can destroy cities and spread terror, as well as disrupt agriculture and industry, and cripple power generation.

Here are some of the most notable wartime dam attacks in history:

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Photo of a burnt forest in Kharkiv
FOCUS: Russia-Ukraine War
Anna Akage

The Dam Attack Adds To Ukraine's Huge Environmental Toll, Already Estimated At $54 Billion

The blowing up of the Nova Kakhovka dam has unleashed massive flooding in southern Ukraine. The damage is sure to be staggering, which will add to the huge toll the government estimated in March that takes into account land, air, and water pollution, burned-down forests, and destroyed natural resources.

-This article was updated on June 6, 2023 at 2 p.m. local time-

The blowing up of a large Soviet-era dam on the Dnipro river, which has sparked massive flooding, may turn out to be the most environmentally damaging of the Ukraine war.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has blamed Russia for the attack on the Nova Kakhovka dam, calling it "ecocide," with the flooding already estimated to affect over 16,000 people in surrounding villages, many of whom have been told to evacuate immediately. So far, eight villages have been flooded completely by water from the dam's reservoirs.

Moscow, meanwhile, says Kyiv is behind the blast in occupied areas of Ukraine. But even before knowing who is to blame, environmental experts note that is just the latest ecological casualty in the 15-month-long conflict.

Stay up-to-date with the latest on the Russia-Ukraine war, with our exclusive international coverage.

Sign up to our free daily newsletter.

In March, for the first time, there was an estimate of the cost of the environmental damage of the war on Ukraine: $54 billion.

Ruslan Strilets, Ukraine’s Minister of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources, explained that experts have applied a new methodology based on environmental inspection to tally the cost.

“This includes land, air, and water pollution, burned-down forests, and destroyed natural resources,” he said. “Our main goal is to show these figures to everyone so that they can be seen in Europe and the world so that everyone understands the price of this environmental damage and how to restore it to Ukraine.”

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