Worldcrunch
Welcome to Tuesday, where Belarus hands down harsh sentence, protests erupt in Spain over the murder of a gay man and a Japanese woman tries to extinguish the Olympic flame with a squirt gun. Writing from Sarajevo for French daily Le Monde, Rémy Ourdan introduces us to Benjamina Karic, the youngest mayor in the history […]
Welcome to Monday, where the Pope is recovering from surgery, an indigenous woman helps Chile move past its Pinochet legacy, and the world record for competitive hot dog eating is broken. From Gaziantep, French daily Les Echos’ Catherine Chatignoux looks at the difficult integration of the four million Syrians living in Turkey. • COVID update: […]
Welcome to Friday, where new proof is revealed of China’s long-range missile silos, India surpasses 400,000 COVID deaths, and we meet the youngest chess grandmaster ever. El Espectador also looks at how the popular Hass avocado is threatening Colombia’s ecosystems and causing water shortages in areas once dominated by coffee bean cultivation. • China is […]
“The nation-state on its own has no future… ” Angela Merkel’s apparently ominous declaration in late May was actually part of what might be the strongest vote of confidence in recent memory to ensure the future of the European Union. After years of touting austerity and protecting national fiscal sovereignty, the German Chancellor has suddenly […]
Welcome to Thursday, where Bill Cosby is freed, a new study finds that COVID-19 is common in pets and China’s Communist Party celebrates its 100th anniversary. Le Monde also takes us in the kitchens where African-American soul food has become a thing in the capital of haute cuisine. • The Chinese Communist Party celebrates its […]
Let’s not forget that well before COVID-19, we often referred to the “revolution” underway in the workplace. Automation, digitalization, climate change and other seismic shifts were bringing upon major changes in the ways we work. Now, the economy — and life— as we know it seem more unpredictable than ever. Yet after several months of […]
Which leaders will be remembered from this moment in history? So asks Catherine Chatignoux.
Welcome to Tuesday, where Russia sees record deaths from the Delta variant, former South African President Jacob Zuma gets 15 months and Facebook becomes a $1 trillion company. Meanwhile, ahead of the Chinese Communist Party’s 100th anniversary, The Initium takes us to the “red village” where it all began. • Ethiopia declares unilateral Tigray ceasefire: […]
Welcome to Monday, where U.S. airstrikes hit Iran-backed militia in Iraq and Syria, Sweden’s prime minister resigns and a pet lion is rescued from TikTok fame. Die Welt also looks at the growing influence of a Russian mercenary group in several African countries. • U.S. airstrikes in Iraq & Syria: The United States military says […]
In France more than anywhere else, employees seem to find it difficult to give up teleworking to come back to the office. They have more or less valid reasons to hesitate. But employers also have their own.
Welcome to Friday, where dozens are still missing in the Florida building collapse, Dutch and Hungarian prime ministers clash, and tourists are confused about Mexico City. We also turn to Les Echos for an analysis of the Sudan-Egypt tensions generated by Ethiopia’s Great Renaissance Dam. • Dozens missing after Florida building collapse: A 12-story oceanfront […]
There is nothing like a highly contagious pandemic to remind us how each of our lives is connected to our neighbors — and the rest of the world. That takes on a different form in our digital age, where tracing applications hold the potential of both protecting us from one another and invading our personal […]
There has been plenty of debate and questions surrounding the use of masks since the coronavirus pandemic started. Should we wear them or not? What type of mask works the best? Should countries make them compulsory? But even as a general scientific consensus has emerged that masks are one of the most effective tools at […]
Welcome to Thursday, where software mogul John McAfee is found dead in his Spanish prison cell from apparent suicide, hundreds of indigenous graves are discovered in Canada and French soccer fans get very lost. Meanwhile, the Worldcrunch Express stops at iconic train stations around the world that are being kept alive in unusual ways. • […]
The most common symptoms are fever, a dry cough and loss of taste and smell. The majority of deaths are due to respiratory failure. But more studies about COVID-19 are now focusing on neurological factors in what is still a largely mysterious pandemic. In the last few weeks, findings from around the world give support […]
Reunited and it feels so…? In France, a number of young adults chose to spend the confinement period with their parents. Families butted heads, of course, but also bonded.
Welcome to Tuesday, where India sets a daily vaccination record, Spain’s prime minister seeks reconciliation with Catalonia and Australia’s Great Barrier Reef could join the list of endangered World Heritage sites. Les Echos also takes us to Japan, where the business model of its notorious yakuza crime syndicate is crumbling because of the COVID-19 pandemic. […]
While it may make sense from a business perspective, healthcare facilities should focus on more than just optimizing space. Hospital architecture lessons from a pandemic.
SAINT-BLIMONT — Two years ago, my partner and I set off across Europe in our campervan. We called it Foxy — and it was our home on wheels and ticket to freedom. In France, they still call it “la vanlife” — that ultimate mix of wanderlust and practicality that was popularized during the 1960s in […]
Welcome to Thursday, where Biden-Putin talks reinstate ambassadors but achieve little else, Japan lifts some COVID restrictions ahead of the Olympics and boy is the Rhine river filthy. We also turn to Berlin-based daily Die Welt to understand why hackers (from Turkey and Russia alike) keep targeting Germany’s Green Party. • Biden-Putin summit talks: U.S. […]
Building scientific beliefs is a long and arduous path that originates from a contradictory process. But facing a pandemic, it’s the best we’ve got.
Welcome to Tuesday, where Japan’s Prime Minister survives a vote of no confidence one month before the Olympic Games, the UK delays its reopening for fears of the Delta variant spreading and a devilishly high roller coaster opens in New Jersey. New Delhi-based news website The Wire also looks at the need for comprehensive development […]
Welcome to Monday, where Israel gets a new Prime Minister after Netanyahu’s 12-year tenure, more good news from another COVID-19 vaccine and a houseplant breaks a record in New Zealand. Ukrainian news website Livy Bereg also explains what’s at stake for Ukraine as Joe Biden meets with Vladimir Putin in Geneva later this week. • […]
Welcome to Friday, where an Amnesty International report accuses China of “crimes against humanity,” Israel’s government makes PETA animal activists happy and the Euro 2020 soccer competition kicks off after a one-year delay. Business daily Les Echos also reports on how hackers manage to use fake news to threaten big businesses and influence the stock […]
Forced to stay home from one day to the next, millions of quarantined people were suddenly faced with a rare luxury in our fast-paced world: time. That, of course, came with a question: What to do with it? Where others may have chosen to Netflix, garden, read, meditate or complete a 51,300 pieces-jigsaw puzzle, the […]
Welcome to Thursday, where President Biden has begun his first foreign trip, Aung San Suu Kyi faces new corruption charges and a South African woman gives birth to what may be a record number of babies. We also scrutinize how facial recognition is being used around the world, not just as a surveillance tool. • […]
When the coronavirus hit, Valérie, a rising business executive used to a grueling daily commute into Paris, realized her life needed to change. Now, she and her husband have revived a long dormant dream: a house in Normandy with an ocean view. “We have the impression of advancing — finally,” she told Le Monde, adding […]
Welcome to Tuesday, where an encrypted messaging app leads to a major global organized crime bust, many of the world’s biggest websites were hit by global internet outages and there’s a new basketball-court-long dinosaur in town. Jeune Afrique also dives into the Rastafari ital diet, a precursor to some current food trends. • Report: Intelligence […]
Welcome to Monday, where two Latin American countries await the results of key elections, a deadly train collision rocks Pakistan, and Turkey faces a worrying — not to say pretty yucky — sea of snot. We also look at some of the most creative vaccine incentives around the world. (Spoiler alert: They involve free food. […]
No crisis has ever hit the entire film industry as badly as the coronavirus lockdown. With sets empty, movie premieres postponed, screenings canceled and box offices closed, the global film industry has been largely frozen in time — and revenue. Even as activity is gradually resuming, it will take time for the movie business to […]
Welcome to Friday, where Biden toughens U.S. investment ban on China, the Belarus journalist forced to confess and a parking space sells for more than a million. We’ve also produced a short photographic video that tells the story of the pandemic in Italy — one closed (and open) storefront at a time. • Biden to […]
As more than 20,000 protesters in Paris reminded us last night, police violence against people of color is a global issue. Demonstrations have been held in cities across the world, including London, Auckland, and Berlin to condemn the killing of George Floyd, an unarmed black man, at the hands of police in Minneapolis. There is […]
Welcome to Thursday, where Netanyahu’s 12-year tenure as Israel’s Prime Minister appears to be coming to an end, Canada calls on Pope Francis to apologize and NASA is finally going back to Venus. Le Monde also takes us to Belarus where the shocking arrest of a dissident journalist brings new attention to the still ongoing […]
Welcome to Tuesday, where there’s a new country with the highest rate of COVID deaths, India registers its worst recession in almost 80 years, and Lithuania’s capital city goes full on science fiction. The Latin American business magazine America Economia shows us the massive new port in Peru that’s planned to be the gateway for […]
Some of the country’s eateries may not survive. Others are having to adapt — and quickly — to a still uncertain scenario.
Working remotely has its advantages. But it can also be tricky to manage, as countless people pushed out of their offices by the pandemic are now discovering.
By now, our regular readers know that Worldcrunch works hard at being of and for and about no one particular place or people or subject matter. Our beat and our audience are written in our name, and we work with journalists and newspapers everywhere to tell the stories (no matter how big or small) that […]
Skeptical. Overwhelmed. Disappointed. Exhausted. Helpless. Since the COVID-19 pandemic began, healthcare workers have felt it all. But in recent weeks, doctors and nurses around the world have added one adjective to their list of feelings: angry. In Europe, the mood has indeed shifted from the images of people applauding their medical heroes every night, from […]
Today, the European Commission will unveil plans for an unprecedented EU economy recovery package in the face of the coronavirus crisis. The proposed EU rescue fund comes on the heels of last week’s surprise announcement that French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel had agreed to a 500-billion-euro recovery package set out to […]
Welcome to Thursday, where Joe Biden calls for a deeper investigation into the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic, France recognizes its responsibility in the Rwandan genocide and six famous friends are reunited after 17 years. Persian-language magazine Kayhan-London also reports on how the pandemic, combined with dire economic conditions and government repression, has had a […]