Worldcrunch
Narendra Modi has officially overtaken Indira Gandhi to become India’s second longest-serving prime minister. But comparisons with the celebrated leader fall short: Modi’s centralized rule lacks the decisive leadership, democratic instincts, and historic legacy she ultimately commanded.
Europeans can never win if they face the relentless force of Donald Trump alone. With his sights fixed on Denmark, which controls Greenland, and the looming threat of tariffs, Trump is putting the rest of Europe to the test.
Its scenery is breathtaking, but there are also more strategic reasons that incoming President Donald Trump is pushing to force Denmark to sell Greenland to the United States.
Life is a constant transition — and so is parenthood. How do we find balance and meaning in the midst of chaos and uncertainty, asks journalist Ignacio Pereyra in the latest iteration of his “Recalculating” newsletter on parenthood.
Updated September 25, 2024 at 10:30 a.m. On this day in 1964, the Mozambican War of Independence against Portugal began. What was the Mozambican War of Independence? The Mozambican War of Independence was a protracted armed conflict that took place from 1964 to 1974 in the Portuguese colony of Mozambique. It was fought between the […]
Updated August 17, 2024 at 11:50 a.m. Indonesia declared its independence on this day in 1945. Who declared Indonesia’s independence? Indonesia’s independence from Dutch Colonial rule was declared by Sukarno and Mohammad Hatta, who were the leaders of the Indonesian nationalist movement at the time. Did the declaration lead to immediate independence? While the declaration […]
Cecchettin was stabbed to death by her ex-boyfriend in northern Italy, a murder case that quickly turned into a political movement. The supposed motive is chilling in what it says about the current state of male-dominated society.
While Ukrainians may be hoping for Russia to disintegrate, history shows otherwise. Only when Putin’s authoritarian regime will come down, will it be possible for Chechens, Dagestanis, Buryats, Yakuts, or Bashkortostans to gain any kind of autonomy or democracy vis a vis Moscow.
By electing William Lai, the Taiwanese people have reaffirmed their desire for sovereignty and independence from China in the face of Chinese threats. And meanwhile, Donald Trump’s comeback could reshuffle the cards again.
Time is the most precious resource when it comes to disaster relief, and yet French teams have been left waiting for Morocco’s approval for their aid. Looking at recent tensions might explain why the country is hesitating on accepting help in a time of such dire need.
It was typical of Gandhi to bring opposites together, by noting that the very experience of hatred had made love possible by allowing Indians to take responsibility for their own actions and so the future.
An exclusive visit inside Moldova’s breakaway pro-Russian republic of Transnistria, which many fear may be the gateway to the next war after Ukraine in the strategically important target.
First, the COVID-19 crisis, and now the need to respond to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, are forcing countries to confront the risks of global interdependence. In its place comes a rush to establish national autonomy for crucial resources, from masks to oil and gas. But at what price?
-OpEd- Chinese tanks have not rolled through the streets of Hong Kong, but Beijing’s legislative coup Tuesday, on the eve of the 23rd anniversary of the territory’s handover to China, is provoking a similar fear. Pro-democracy business owners have hastily removed the slogans that lined their storefronts and thousands are applying to emigrate, with Australia […]
Fariba Adelkhah, a French-Iranian expert on Shia society, has critics on all sides. Since June, she’s been jailed in Tehran’s notorious Evin prison. She and her companion have been on a hunger strike since last month.
DANTEWADA — Three times a day, Bharthi fetches grain and water in clean aluminum buckets to feed her black chickens. She unlocks the grilled doors of the rectangular cage, which at around 20ft (6m) long is occupied by 260 noisy young birds. After filling a dozen bowls scattered across the cage floor or placed on the waist-high cement pillars that double as perching spots, she checks the chicks, counting them and gauging their well-being. She pays special attention to the ones whose behavior has been out of character in the previous few weeks. Together with 10 other local women, Bharthi […]
DAMASCUS — It is across an immense desert, between oil fields and Mesopotamian archeological sites overlooking the Euphrates, where Syria’s future may be decided. The question, as Damascus makes more and more ground against ISIS and jihadists fighters, is the following: After seven years of a devastating war will the nation remain united? Or will […]
While the world is focused on Catalan and Kurdish movements for nationhood, Taiwan lives in the shadow of both mainland China and its own political contradictions.
Backers of Catalonia’s quest to break away from Spain had just eight seconds Tuesday night to savor the moment they’d long been waiting for. “I accept the mandate of the people that Catalonia become an independent state in the shape of a republic,” Catalan separatist leader Carles Puigdemont said in a highly anticipated address before […]
-Analysis- The fraught drama of politics landing in the arena of sports has popped up recently in several different places around the world. It also happens to date back (at least) as far as Ancient Rome, as historian Sarah Bond recently explained in Forbes. In the U.S., the NFL is currently roiling in controversy over […]
Historically for Madrid, there is no such thing as delicate diplomacy. But that approach has boomeranged in the face of the Catalan push for independence.
-Analysis- Is there ever a good time to hold an independence referendum? Of course the answer to that question, from Kurdistan to Catalonia, depends on whom you ask. For those looking to declare a new nation based on ethnic, economic or political claims, there’s no time like the present to take destiny into your own […]
Some 800,000 Catalans used Sunday’s annual La Diada, national day in Catalonia, to renew demands for independence from Spain. “Another spectacular Diada,” read Monday morning’s front-page headline of the Barcelona-based La Vanguardia daily. The newspaper noted the separatists’ determination to achieve independence, with Catalonia’s regional president Carles Puigdemont proposing that the government hold a secession […]
The editor-in-chief of top French daily Le Monde says the UK’s departure from the EU must be a wake-up call for the remaining 27 countries. But the answer may be more Europe, not less.
The Muslim majority Balkan nation, liberated from Serbia with the help of Western forces in 1999, is no longer immune to the worldwide nexus of radical Islamic forces.
Just how much help should parents offer to their children? Like anything, it’s a delicate balance, but a word with the school may also be a required assignment for mom and dad.
Activists on the small Pacific island, with their legendary statues, are taking concrete actions to obtain more autonomy from Chile. But does full independence make sense?
La Vanguardia, Sept. 28, 2015 “The ‘yes’ prevails,” the Barcelona-based daily La Vanguardia titled Monday, as pro-independence movements won the absolute majority in regional elections in Catalonia. The landmark victory is seen by separatists as a de facto independence referendum in favor of the northern region breaking away from Spain. The “Junts pel Sí” (“Together […]
Urged by her friends out of retirement, the 71-year-old retired judge surprised all by winning the mayor’s race on the wave of Spain’s rising protest movement. What will she do with her newfound power?
The dispute over the sovereignty of the Falkland Islands is unique. But Argentinians can still draw lessons from the way Britain averted the prospect of Scottish independence.
As Europe continues to be divvied up into smaller, ethnically homogenous nations, the burdern falls on larger countries, compromising the leverage and a united West.
-Editorial- PARIS — On the Iraq crisis as well as on the others around the world, the European Union is in disarray, hiding its divisions behind a discreet veil of consensus. At an Aug. 15 emergency meeting called by France and Italy, the 28 foreign ministers congratulated themselves … for each other’s stubbornness. Because a […]
MILOVE — This town located 900 kilometers from Kiev and Moscow is unwittingly embroiled in the bitter, and at times deadly, dispute between Russia and Ukraine. The border separating the two countries divides the town of Milove in half, and Ukrainian residents in this poor region vitally need to trade with the richer Russia to […]
Siberia provided 76% of Russian exports. And taxes on its mined resources account for over half the federal budget. As tension grows at the Ukraine border, some in Siberia want more control.