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Premium stories from Worldcrunch's own network of multi-lingual journalists in over 30 countries.
Europeans Are The World’s Heaviest Drinkers — Is Gen Z Finally Breaking The Habit?
Society
Katarzyna Skiba

Europeans Are The World’s Heaviest Drinkers — Is Gen Z Finally Breaking The Habit?

Young people across Europe are drinking less, which is driving a boom in non-alcoholic alternatives, and the emergence of new, more complex markets.

PARIS — From Irish whisky to French wine to German beer, Europe has long been known for alcohol consumption. Of the top 10 countries for drinking, nine are in the European Union, according to the World Health Organization.

But that may be starting to change, especially among Gen Z Europeans, who are increasingly drinking less or opting out entirely, out of concern for their health or problematic alcohol use. The alcohol-free trend is propping up new markets for low- or zero-alcoholic beverages, including in one of Europe’s beer capitals: Germany.

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Photograph of South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol saluting troopsas part of the country’s first military parade in a decade, which showcased an arsenal of advanced weaponry in the streets of Seoul.​
In The News
Michelle Courtois, Valeria Berghinz and Anne-Sophie Goninet

Fuel Depot Blast Kills 20 In Karabakh, Seoul Weapons, T. Swift Buzz

👋 Goedemorgen!*

Welcome to Tuesday, where an explosion at a fuel depot in Nagorno-Karabakh kills 20, South Korea flexed its military hardware, and Taylor Swift’s NFL rumored beau goes viral. Meanwhile, in independent Latin American journal Volcánicas, Sher Herrera considers the roots and ramifications of the “white savior syndrome” and how it lives on in modern times.

[*Flemish]

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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.

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🌎  7 THINGS TO KNOW RIGHT NOW

• At least 20 dead in Nagorno-Karabakh fuel depot blast, refugee count doubles: At least 20 people have been killed and hundreds wounded in an explosion at a fuel depot outside Stepanakert, in Nagorno-Karabakh. It is not yet clear what caused the blast. The incident comes as the Armenian government said 13,350 refugees crossed into the country from the defeated breakaway enclave on the first day of the exodus. Meanwhile, the U.S. has called on Azerbaijan to “take concrete steps to protect the rights of civilians” and let in aid.

• Ukraine and Russia trade drone attacks, Black Sea Fleet commander reported dead: Kyiv's air force said it destroyed 26 of 38 Russian drones fired overnight, adding the key Ukrainian grain exporting port of Izmail was hit again, while Moscow said it repelled several Ukrainian drone attacks over the Belgorod and Kursk regions. Meanwhile, Ukraine's special forces said on Monday that they had killed Admiral Viktor Sokolov, the commander of the Black Sea Fleet and Moscow's top admiral in Crimea, along with 33 other officers in a missile attack last week. The Russian Defence Ministry hasn’t confirmed the news. Here’s the exclusive account of a Ukrainian special forces soldier who survived after being thrown overboard in the Black Sea: Worldcrunch’s EN version of a Ukrainska Pravda reportage.

Joe Biden in Michigan to woo striking auto workers: U.S. President Joe Biden is set to join striking members of the United Auto Workers union on Tuesday on a picket line in Wayne County, Michigan, on the eve of a visit from former President Donald Trump. The union members are striking against the Big Three automakers, General Motors, Ford and Stellantis, for a second week, over wages and job security.

• South Korea hosts Japan & China diplomats, holds first military parade in decade: South Korea has hosted senior diplomats from China and Japan on Tuesday in a rare meeting aimed at kickstarting trilateral exchanges and ease Beijing’s concerns about Seoul and Tokyo’s deepening security ties with the U.S. The three countries agreed to revive a long-suspended three-way summit which last took place in 2019. On the same day, South Korea staged its first military parade in a decade, showcasing an arsenal of advanced weaponry in the streets of Seoul.

• Thailand activist jailed over calls for royal reform: Arnon Nampa, one of Thailand's most prominent political activists and human rights lawyer, has been sentenced to four years in prison under the country's lese-majeste law, after he called for royal reform during protests in 2020. Arnon’s lawyer said he would appeal the ruling.

• First Lahaina residents return to charred neighborhood: The first of thousands of residents who lost their homes in the deadly wildfire that ravaged the Hawaii town of Lahaina were able to return to the charred remains of their properties on Monday. Last month, the flames had killed 97 people in Maui and destroyed most of the historic town of Lahaina.

• Nelson Mandela's granddaughter dies at 43: Author and activist Zoleka Mandela, granddaughter of Nelson and Winnie Mandela, died on Monday evening after a prolonged battle with breast cancer at the age of 43.

🗞️  FRONT PAGE

Brazilian daily Estado De Minas dedicates their cover to a weather record — Belo Horizonte, the capital city of southeastern Brazil’s Minas Gerais state and the country’s sixth largest city, recorded its highest temperature ever. The city, referred to as “BH” on the front page, saw the mercury rise to 38,6 °C (101,48 °F) on Monday, the highest in the mountainous city since 1961, when temperature records began.

#️⃣ BY THE NUMBERS

15.8 million


U.S. journalist Jarrett Payton’s video showing American pop icon Taylor Swift leaving with Kansas City Chiefs’ Travis Kelce has been viewed 15.8 million times within a day of posting on X, formerly Twitter. Payton described his four-second clip of the singer leaving Kansas City's Arrowhead stadium with her rumored new boyfriend, saying: “Talk about being at the right place at the right time!”

📰 STORY OF THE DAY

The colonial spirit and “soft racism” of white savior syndrome

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, writes Sher Herrera in independent Latin American journal Volcánicas.

🙏 Unlike overt racism, which defends white superiority through enslavement and annihilation, soft racism believes in the inferiority of racialized people but reaffirms white superiority through acts of benevolence and charity, adopting superhero attitudes. In essence, the white savior syndrome is a reaffirmation of whiteness that tends to benefit whiteness itself, as it assuages the conscience of white individuals, making them feel like better people than they actually are.

🔍 This phenomenon has also been analyzed by American psychologist Ramani Durvasula, who characterizes white saviors as community narcissists. She describes these individuals as enthusiastic leaders who always get what they want by manipulating and even exploiting other people who also want to save the world. How could anyone refuse to contribute even a small effort to save the world when they have everything?

👏 Their primary motivation for saving a racialized community lies in public validation, be it through likes and comments on social media or through praise from their family, partners, friends, or religious communities. Since white saviors fail to listen to the communities they claim to save, they often remain unaware of or fail to understand the needs and desires of these communities, or worse, simply do not care.

➡️ Read more on Worldcrunch.com

📣 VERBATIM

"What happened on the day should not have happened."

— Gymnastics Ireland issued a statement on their official website on Monday to apologize for the treatment of a young black gymnast in 2022. The video of the incident, which went viral on Friday, shows an official skipping the only black gymnast as she hands medals to a row of girls. The footage drew international attention, with U.S. star gymnast Simone Biles offering the Irish athlete support.

✍️ Newsletter by Michelle Courtois, Valeria Berghinz and Anne-Sophie Goninet


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

info@worldcrunch.com

Photo of Tarragona’s “Correfocs” (fire runners) setting off their fireworks amid a cheering crowd gathered for the Santa Tecla Festival in Catalonia, Spain.
In The News
Emma Albright, Valeria Berghinz and Anne-Sophie Goninet

Russia Targets Odessa, Hollywood Strike Deal, Spain’s Fire Runners

👋 Halo!*

Welcome to Monday, where Russia targets the Ukrainian port city of Odessa, Hollywood writers reach a tentative deal with studios, and an Ethiopian athlete shatters the women's marathon world record. Meanwhile, Ukrainian online newspaper Ukrainska Pravda tells the harrowing tale of “Conan”, a Ukrainian special forces operator who got lost at sea and survived 14 hours afloat, dodging Russian patrols, before being rescued.

[*Sundanese, Indonesia]

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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

• Russian shelling in Odessa port: The port of Odessa, in southern Ukraine, has sustained "significant damage" following Russian strikes overnight, which also left two dead. Russian shelling also killed at least three people and wounded nine others in the nearby regions of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia.

• Ethnic Armenians flee Karabakh: Thousands of ethnic Armenian refugees are reportedly fleeing Nagorno-Karabakh following Azerbaijan's seizure of the disputed region last week. More than 3,000 people have so far crossed into Armenia from the enclave, which is home to a majority of some 120,000 ethnic Armenians. Meanwhile, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is set to meet with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev to discuss the situation in the breakaway region. Read more about the “Nagorno-Karabakh Debacle” here.

• Hollywood writers and studios reach tentative deal: Screenwriters in the U.S. say they have reached a tentative deal with studio bosses. While the agreement still needs to be ratified by members of the Writers Guild of America (WGA), which represents more than 11,000 writers, this marks a significant turning point in the nearly five-month-long strike — the longest strike to affect Hollywood in decades. Insiders say a deal with the writers could also spur a resolution to a parallel strike with the industry’s actor guild that began in July.

France to withdraw ambassador and troops from Niger: President Emmanuel Macron announced that France will withdraw its ambassador and end all military cooperation with Niger, some two months after a coup in the West African country. The decision follows months of animosity and protests against the French military presence in its former colony. The military junta, which seized power in Niger in July, welcomed the move. For more, read this analysis by Pierre Haski for France Inter: France Leaves Niger: Exposing The Empty Shell Of Post-Colonialism.

• Four dead in Kosovo monastery stand-off: Kosovo and Serbia have traded accusations over a deadly stand-off between ethnic Serb gunmen and police in northern Kosovo. One policeman and three of the gunmen were killed during a siege of a Serbian Orthodox monastery in Banjska village on Sunday. Kosovo's Prime Minister Albin Kurti accused Serbia of supporting the armed group, while Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said Kosovo officials bore ultimate responsibility for the deaths.

• Italian Mafia boss Messina Denaro dies: Italian Mafia boss Matteo Messina Denaro, one of the country's most wanted men until his capture earlier this year, has died. The 61-year-old had been the reigning “boss of bosses” of the notorious Cosa Nostra Mafia and spent 30 years on the run before he was arrested in January. He was being treated for cancer at the time of his arrest and was moved from prison to hospital last month. After Denaro’s arrest, Worldcrunch translated this article from Italian daily La Stampa reporting from Campobello di Mazara, the small Sicilian town where he’d been living freely and openly, surrounded by neighbors who somehow never saw him.

• NASA capsule carrying largest asteroid samples lands on Earth: A NASA space capsule carrying the largest soil sample ever collected from the surface of an asteroid has landed in the Utah desert, some seven years after the mission’s launch. The capsule, released from the robotic spacecraft OSIRIS-REx as the mothership passed within 108,000km (67,000 miles) of Earth, touched down in a designated landing zone west of Salt Lake City.

🗞️  FRONT PAGE

Canadian daily Le Journal de Montréal covers the “big awkward blunder” by the Canadian Parliament, after 98-year-old Yaroslav Hunka, who was honored on Friday in a session attended by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and visiting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, was revealed to have been a World War II Nazi soldier. Speaker Anthony Rota hailed Hunka as a “Ukrainian hero” during the parliament session, and Hunka received applause from Parliament members. But on Sunday, the Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center, a Jewish human rights group, issued a statement outlining the crimes of Hunka’s division, the 14th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS, and demanded an apology to “every Holocaust survivor and veteran of the Second World War who fought the Nazis.”

#️⃣ BY THE NUMBERS

2:11:53

Ethiopia’s Tigst Assefa shattered the women's marathon world record in Berlin on Sunday, chopping off more than two minutes from the previous best, with an official time of 2 hours 11 minutes and 53 seconds. The previous record had been set by Kenyan Brigid Kosgei in Chicago in 2019. “I didn't expect to run this fast,” Assefa said after the race. In the men’s event, Kenyan athlete Eliud Kipchoge became the first man to win five Berlin marathons.

📰 STORY OF THE DAY

Black Sea survivor: tale of a Ukrainian special agent thrown overboard in enemy waters

Ukrainian online newspaper Ukrainska Pravda features a tale of a Ukrainian special forces operator who wound up surviving 14 hours at sea, staying afloat and dodging Russian air and sea patrols.

🎖️ The agent, who uses the call-sign "Conan," agreed to speak to Ukrainska Pravda, to share the details of nearly being lost forever at sea. Conan had worked in law enforcement, personal security and had a job as a fitness trainer when Russia launched its full-scale invasion on Feb. 24, 2022. That's when he signed up with the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Main Directorate of Intelligence "Artan" battalion. It was nearly 18 months into his service, when Conan faced the most harrowing experience of the war.

💥 In mid-August, we carried out a special operation in the Black Sea. An enemy plane began firing 30-caliber bullets from an automatic cannon in our boat. We retaliated, but our team had already used most of our ammunition. Our saving grace was having an exceptional skipper who skillfully navigated us out of the danger zone. However, during one of the extreme maneuvers, I was tossed overboard. I found myself around 130 kilometers from the shore, with no way to call for help.

🌊 My initial emotion was absolute panic. Stranded at a huge distance from the shore with only the dark ocean beneath me, I was taken over by fear. I fixated on my only reference point in the distance — the constant flame of one of the gas production towers, visible both day and night, approximately 20 kilometers (12.4 miles) from where I had entered the water. I understood that I had to collect my thoughts and adapt to the grim likelihood that no rescue would arrive anytime soon.

➡️ Read more on Worldcrunch.com

📣 VERBATIM

“It’s like trying to make a bike out of wood rather than steel.”

— In the pages of the Financial Times, LEGO’s head of sustainability Tim Brooks has justified the Danish toymaker’s decision not to proceed with efforts to make its trademark bricks from recycled plastic bottles, saying the new material would have caused higher carbon emissions. In 2021, LEGO had announced it was looking at more sustainable alternatives to the oil-based ABS the company mainly relies on. CEO Niels Christiansen also commented on the decision, saying that “In the early days, the belief was that it was easier to find this magic material” but that after testing hundreds of materials, “that doesn’t seem to be there.”

✍️ Newsletter by Emma Albright, Valeria Berghinz and Anne-Sophie Goninet


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

info@worldcrunch.com

This Happened — September 24: Barbara C Harris Becomes First Female Episcopal Bishop
This Happened

This Happened — September 24: Barbara C Harris Becomes First Female Episcopal Bishop

On this day in 1988, Barbara C Harris of Mass became the first woman to be elected as an Episcopal bishop.

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Le Weekend: Gustavo Petro Memes, Danish Museum v. Blank Canvas, 3D-Printed Salmon
In The News

Le Weekend: Gustavo Petro Memes, Danish Museum v. Blank Canvas, 3D-Printed Salmon

Sept. 23-24

  • Russian army sexual crimes
  • Manet in the USA
  • BMX big brothers
  • … and much more.

🎲  OUR WEEKLY NEWS QUIZ

What do you remember from the news this week?

1. What is the name of the separatist region at the center of clashes between Azerbaijan and Armenia?

2. India is in a diplomatic spat with which country, over the June killing of a Sikh leader?

3. In what sport has Swedish track & field champion Mondo Duplantis broken his own world record for the seventh time?

4. An Australian man was slapped with a hefty fine for going surfin’ with… his two-month-old baby / his pet snake / his 6-ft cactus?

[Answers at the bottom of this newsletter]

#️⃣  TRENDING

Colombian President Gustavo Petro delivered a long and very memorable — or rather, meme-able speech at the 78th General Assembly of the United Nations in New York on Tuesday. His passionate 20-minute-long intervention included a call to put an end to all wars, support for developing nations, protecting the environment — and ended with Petro formulating a wish of “spreading the virus of life to the stars of the universe.” Posts on X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram circulated in a matter of minutes after the over-the-top quote was broadcast, with many memes going viral.

🎭  5 CULTURE THINGS TO KNOW

• Sean Penn releases Ukraine war documentary: Superpower, a documentary directed by two-time Oscar winner Sean Penn about Ukraine before and after Russia’s invasion, premiered this week. The film, now streaming on Paramount+, was originally meant to tell the story of how a comedian, Volodymyr Zelensky, became Ukraine’s president, and led to the two men meeting on Feb. 23, 2022 — one day before Russia launched its invasion.

• Manet’s Olympia in the U.S. for the first time: Édouard Manet’s 1863 masterpiece Olympia has traveled from Paris to New York for its first American showing, as part of the “Manet/Degas” exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The show, which had a run at France’s Musée d’Orsay, focuses on the artist’s rivalry with fellow French painter Edgar Degas, throughout more than 160 artworks.

• BTS’ Suga starts military service: Suga, a member of Kpop band BTS, has started his mandatory military service on Friday, with the group’s label asking fans to “refrain” from visiting the artist at his place of duty. Suga is the third member of BTS to join the military, as South Korean law requires all able-bodied men to enlist for about 18 months between the ages of 18 and 35.

• Danish artist to repay museum: Jens Haaning has been ordered by a court to repay 500,000 kroner ($72,000) lent to him by the Kunsten Museum in Aalborg, after the Danish artist submitted empty frames as his artwork, for a project he named “Take the Money and Run.” The museum had intended for Haaning to embed the aforementioned sum, in banknotes form, in two pieces of art meant to represent average incomes.

Oppenheimer beats Bohemian Rhapsody’s record: Christopher Nolan’s movie about J. Robert Oppenheimer has passed $912 million at the box office, overtaking 2018 Bohemian Rhapsody, which told the life story of Queen’s frontman Freddie Mercury, as the highest ever grossing biopic.

🇷🇺🇺🇦 The hundreds of sex crimes committed by Russian soldiers in Ukraine

Since the full-scale Russian invasion began in February 2022, the Ukrainian Prosecutor General’s Office has recorded 231 instances of conflict-related sexual violence, though the actual number is likely 10 times higher. Survivors often hesitate to speak out due to fear, trauma, and the social stigma attached to such incidents. Ukrainian news website Livy Bereg explores how the nation is documenting the crimes and responding to support victims and bring perpetrators to justice.

Read the full story: Fighting The Russian Army's Systematic Campaign Of Sexual Violence In Ukraine

🎓 In Savannah, with the uni students learning from Jordan Peterson

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. For German daily Die Welt, Sandra Ward travels to the city of 147,000 in the U.S. state of Georgia and takes a tour of the college which “claims that it is neither left-wing or right-wing but dedicated to freedom.”

Read the full story: Inside Ralston College, Jordan Peterson's Quiet New Weapon In The Culture Wars

🤤 Even the land of butter is all about oil

Spanish, Italian, Greek, Provençal: in the land of butter and cream, olive oil is all the rage! Buoyed by the wave of the Mediterranean diet, demand has soared in recent years. In France alone, 100 million liters are consumed every year. But production is threatened by drought in Spain, the world's leading producer. The harvest looks set to be a complicated one this year, reports Laurent Guez in Paris-based daily Les Echos.

Read the full story: Butter Beware, Olive Oil Is Conquering French Kitchens

🐟 🖨 BRIGHT IDEA

Revo Foods, a food-tech startup based in Austria, has announced that its 3D-printed salmon is about to hit European store shelves. The vegan fish filet, made from mycoprotein and plant proteins and “inspired by salmon,” marks the first time a 3D-printed edible product is available for purchase in grocery stores.

🚴❤️  SMILE OF THE WEEK

West, a three-year-old BMX racer found himself on his own when no one else from his age group signed up for the race in south Ottawa, Canada. But as the event was about to get canceled, a group of teenagers stepped up so the young racer could show his BMX skills and win a medal by taking first place. The heartwarming video shared by his mother went viral on social media, with the teenagers earning praises from users.

⏩  LOOKING AHEAD

• The first U.S.-made Abrams tanks are expected to be delivered to Ukraine next week, U.S. President Joe Biden announced, after meeting with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky in Washington, DC. The shipment will be part of a larger package that includes ammunition, anti-tank weapons, and artillery.

• Starting Monday, residents of Lahaina, Hawaii, will be allowed to return to their properties for the first time since the island’s historic town was devastated by wildfires last month.

• Paris’ Techno Parade is celebrating its 25th anniversary on Saturday, with a 6-km itinerary through the streets of the French capital and dozens of floats dedicated to electronic music.

News quiz answers:

1. The Nagorno-Karabakh region is at the heart of a long simmering dispute between Azerbaijan and Armenia, which has escalated this week when Baku launched an “anti-terrorist” operation in the breakaway area this week. Both sides agreed to a ceasefire and started peace talks in the Azeri city of Yevlakh.

2. A diplomatic rift has emerged between Canada and India, after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the country was investigating “credible allegations” linking Indian government agents to the murder of Sikh leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar on Canadian soil. In response, India expelled one of Canada’s top diplomats.

3. Swedish athlete Armand Duplantis broke his own world record for the seventh time in the pole vault, clearing 6.23 meters on his first attempt during the Diamond League Final in Eugene, U.S.

4. Australian surfer Higor Fiuza was fined AUS$2,322 ($1,495) by the country’s wildlife authorities for taking with him his pet snake in the water, a python named Shiva. Officers said the man endangered the reptile and breached his permit by taking her out in public.

✍️ Newsletter by Worldcrunch

Sign up here to receive our free daily Newsletter to your inbox (now six days/week!)

*Photo: Niels Fabæk/Kunsten Museum of Modern Art

This Happened — September 23: Women Enter The King Fahd International Stadium
This Happened

This Happened — September 23: Women Enter The King Fahd International Stadium

On this day in 2017, women were allowed to enter the King Fahd International Stadium in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, for the first time ever. The women attended the stadium’s 87th anniversary celebrations and a qualifying World Cup match.

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image of a rooftop bar with a view of the harbour
food / travel
Michelle Courtois

Gùsto! How · What · Where Locals Eat (And Drink) In Hamburg

Sausages, potatoes and sauerkraut ... Ja, but not only! Let us take you on a culinary tour of Hamburg, where hip vegan cafes meet sushi and ramen bars, and Bavarian beer flows aplenty.

It’s the Northern German city where the Beatles got started, a vital trade hub for centuries — and a city where you can get a delicious curry wurst mit pommes. Willkommen to Hamburg.

German cuisine is usually thought of as sausages, potatoes and sauerkraut. And while those foods are popular and culturally significant, there is so much more to be found in Hamburg. The city's old brick buildings now house hip vegan cafes, sushi and ramen bars, beer houses, döner restaurants and more!

When going to Hamburg, be prepared to try cuisine that may be completely new to you. The city’s restaurant and bar culture is diverse and deeply multicultural, with restaurants mixing German culinary traditions with other European cuisines and tastes and techniques from the kitchens of Asia, South America, Africa and beyond.

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More U.S. Aid To Ukraine, Armenian Amnesty?, Hollywood Strikes Marathon
In The News
Anne-Sophie Goninet, Valeria Berghinz and Michelle Courtois

More U.S. Aid To Ukraine, Armenian Amnesty?, Hollywood Strikes Marathon

👋 खुरुमजरी*

Welcome to Friday, where the U.S. agrees to a new military package for Ukraine, Azerbaijan considers amnesty for Armenian separatists, and a Guinean student rides his bike to his dream university some 4,000-km away. Meanwhile, Ukrainian publication Livy Bereg helps us understand the significance of the so-called “Surovikin line” in Ukraine's counteroffensive.

[*Khurumjari - Manipuri]

✅  SIGN UP

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

• Ukraine to get U.S. aid, Zelensky in Canada: Ukraine secured a new $325-million military aid deal from the U.S. after President Volodymyr Zelensky met with his U.S. counterpart Joe Biden in Washington on Thursday. A larger $24-billion package is still held up by political disagreements in Congress. Both countries also agreed to launch joint weapons production. Zelensky landed in Ottawa late Thursday night in a surprise official visit to Canada, his first since the start of the Russian invasion.

• Azerbaijan envisages amnesty for Armenian separatists who give up arms: Hikmet Hajiyev, foreign policy adviser to Azerbaijan's president, told Reuters that the country was considering an amnesty for Karabakh Armenian fighters who give up their arms, although some groups have said they “will continue resistance.” Peace talks which started on Thursday in the Azeri city of Yevlakh didn’t conclude with an agreement but Azerbaijan vowed to send petrol and water to villagers in Nagorno-Karabakh.

• Trudeau asks New Delhi to cooperate in murder probe in India-Canada row: Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has reiterated there were “credible reasons” to believe Indian agents were behind the murder of a Sikh separatist leader on Canada soil and called on India to collaborate with the investigation. The leader added Canada would not release its evidence.

• No end in sight for Hollywood strike: The Writers Guild of America (WGA) and Hollywood studios are set to continue negotiations on Friday to end a strike that has lasted for nearly five months, after no agreement was reached during a “marathon session” on Thursday. If the strike continues to October, it will be the longest in WGA’s history and the longest Hollywood strike since 1945.

• Big win for Brazil’s Indigenous in land claim case: Brazil’s top court has ruled in favor of Indigenous rights in a case that questioned the constitutionality of setting a time limit for making claims to ancestral territory. The policy, which pitted business owners and farmers against Indigenous land communities, would have required Indigenous groups to prove they were on the land they claimed in 1988 (when Brazil’s current constitution was ratified) to reassert their rights.

• Studio Ghibli sold to Nippon TV: Television network Nippon TV has bought Studio Ghibli (of Spirited Away, Mononoke, My Neighbor Totoro fame) after the iconic Japanese animation company failed to find a successor for its legendary co-founder and director Hayao Miyazaki.

• 4,000-km bike ride to uni: The BBC shares the story of Mamadou Safayou Barry, a 25-year-old student from Guinea who reportedly cycled for some 4,000 kilometers to Egypt, to study at his dream university. Unable to afford the Islamic Studies course at the prestigious Al-Azhar university, he hopped on a bicycle and crossed Mali, Burkina Faso, Togo, Benin, Niger and Chad in a span of four months. He was offered a full scholarship when he reached Cairo.

🗞️  FRONT PAGE

The Financial Times marks the “end of an era” as media mogul Rupert Murdoch announced his decision to relinquish control of his firms after 70 years. Murdoch, 92, will step down as chairman of Fox Corp. and News Corp., leaving his son, Lachlan, in charge of his media empire.

#️⃣ BY THE NUMBERS

16,803

The southern white rhino population has increased for the first time since 2012, as reported by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) on Thursday. “White rhinos now number around 16,803 animals, an increase of 5.6%” from the previous year. The black rhino population also increased and reached nearly 6,500 last year. However, Michael Knight, the chair of the IUCN said that despite the growth of Africa’s rhino population, conservation was still very much necessary as poaching remains high. In 2022, Africa lost 561 rhinos to poaching, 448 of which were killed in South Africa.

📰 STORY OF THE DAY

Piercing the “Surovikin line” — inside the biggest win of Ukraine's counteroffensive

The area around Robotyne, in southeastern Ukraine, has been the center of a fierce two-month battle. Ukrainian publication Livy Bereg breaks down how Ukrainian forces were able to exploit gaps in Russian defenses and push the counteroffensive forward.

🇷🇺🇺🇦 Since the fall of 2022, Russian forces have been building a series of formidable defensive lines in Ukrainian territory, from Vasylivka in the Zaporizhzhia region to the front in Vremivka in the Donetsk region. Such an extensive and intricate defensive network had not been seen in Europe since World War II. Spanning 130 kilometers (81 miles), this formidable barrier earned the name "Surovikin Line," after the former commander of Russia's aerospace forces.

💥 The region around Robotyne became the epicenter of a fierce two-month battle, garnering significant attention due to its pivotal position on the front, since the launch of Ukraine's counteroffensive late last spring. Despite the formidable defense, the Russian forces eventually crumbled. After two months of intense fighting, Russia retreated this week to the south of Robotyne and began constructing new defenses along the nearby forested areas and the outskirts of Novoprokopivka in the Zaporizhia region.

🎯 One significant factor contributing to the Russian retreat was the lack of infantry support for their elaborate defensive infrastructure. While they used ATGM teams, drone operators, and concealed artillery positions effectively, they could not maintain a continuous line of motivated infantry along the entire Surovikin Line. This vulnerability allowed Ukrainian forces to exploit the gaps in the defense.

➡️ Read more on Worldcrunch.com

📣 VERBATIM

“We must not leave Haiti behind.”

— Kenyan President William Ruto addressed the United Nations Security Council on Thursday to formally support a security support mission to Haiti. Diplomats have stated that the council may already vote next week on a U.S. drafted resolution backing a multinational police development. Ruto urged the general assembly to not forget Haiti whilst mobilizing for countries in crisis such as Ukraine, Libya, Morocco and Hawaii.

✍️ Newsletter by Anne-Sophie Goninet, Valeria Berghinz, Michelle Courtois and Bertrand Hauger


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