Worldcrunch
Welcome to Tuesday, where deadly warfare erupts in Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the Indian COVID variant is “cause for concern,” and NASA gets its hands on some seriously old space dust. Le Monde“s Joan Tilouine also explains how the initial excitement surrounding Beijing’s so-called “Stadium Diplomacy” in Africa has turned. • Israel responds to Palestinian rockets with […]
The pandemic is prompting changes in politics, culture and personal conduct. Could these shifts be glimpses of a better, post-pandemic society?
PARIS — The rate of transmission and death toll of the coronavirus finally seem to be slowing, and various national and local lockdown measures are beginning to loosen. In a best-case scenario, both commerce and public confidence pick back up and social distancing measures help the virus to fade away by the summer. But even […]
Last year 1.5 billion international tourist arrivals were recorded globally. In 2020, with borders closed and airplanes grounded, the tourism industry has been decimated and its recovery could take years. The Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development anticipates a 45% to 70% decline in the tourism economy — amounting to losses between $295-$430 billion for […]
Ageism at its most inhumane.
Tucked away in a isolated corner of Germany, the owners of a rural restaurant have somehow managed to make ends meet for 17 years. But that was before the coronavirus outbreak.
After weeks of denial and manipulation, China wanted to play the role of a caring superpower. But something about its soft-power push went awry.
The pandemic and the response to it threaten to exacerbate entrenched economic and social disparities.
Not surprisingly, early indicators point to a less bleak future for Sweden’s still-open economy than for that of its European counterparts. A recent study by Swedbank shows that private consumption in Sweden shrank 17% between April 6 to April 19 compared to the same period last year, while revenue from hotel and restaurants was down […]
Vietnam and Slovakia are among those that have stood out in the response, though the apparent reasons vary.
The coronavirus pandemic has only exacerbated tensions between Beijing and Washington. It’s time that cooler heads prevail, and Germany has just the right person for the job.
Japan’s notorious yakuza — “gangsters’ — have displayed (in addition to their trademark tattoos) a peculiar sense of civic duty in the face of past natural disasters, having donated money to victims of the Kobe earthquake in 1995 and the 2011 Fukushima tsunami. Now, Japanese news site News Postseven reports that yakuza bosses are publicly […]
Fewer seats, fewer trains, more masks. A quick world tour from Milan to Paris, Beijing to Tehran finds the wheels (tentatively) ready to roll on subways and buses.
For most of human history, the best way to protect personal privacy was to simply stay at home. Lock yourself in your room, or the proverbial closet, and nobody can find out a thing. In little more than a decade, those walls and doors have vanished as digital technology invites us to take large chunks […]
Given its reliance on both oil and tourism, the Mexican economy is in major trouble. So far, though, President López Obrador has refused to have the state take on new debt.
As the coronavirus has spread across the world, so too have an array of fake remedies and cures that promise to protect people. Social media have been flooded with claims about foods, products and other assorted concoctions that can allegedly cure or prevent the virus. Up to the point that the World Health Organization had […]
Cuba could repay part of its $2 billion of debts to Argentina by sending some of its renowned medics to treat coronavirus patients in the Buenos Aires province.
In a number of countries around the world, the pandemic pulled the plug on street protests. But demonstrators have been quick to find digital alternatives.
Our Slovenian writer’s bygone trip through a China still not plugged into the global economy reveals some clues for how the pandemic has brought us to this point.
With a large chunk of the world’s population forced still to stay at home, local communities and entire nations are recording steep drops in overall crime rates. Burglars are generally less likely to prey on a home that’s occupied, and most theft and assault hotspots such as sporting venues and pubs are shuttered. Still, it’s […]
Are we “at war” with COVID-19? That’s what we might believe from a quick tour of the planet’s most powerful leaders, from the presidents of the United States and France to the director general of the World Health Organization to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who declared that we are in the middle of “a […]
French super chef Philippe Etchebest was simply describing reality when he called coronavirus a “national nightmare” in a recent article published by La Croix. He was referring specifically to France’s shutdown restaurant owners and workers, but the metaphor can also describe the collective, surreal sense of uncertainty and fear currently permeating the world’s subconscious like […]
It’s tempting to imagine the pandemic as a turning point. The thing that undoes the EU, perhaps, or challenges the capitalist hegemony. But that may just be wishful thinking.
The health crisis is real. But so too are the economic costs of an extended lockdown, which will soon become unmanageable on all sides.
Shortage of masks and respirators, lack of hospital space, muddled government action: inadequate responses to the COVID-19 outbreak are evident even in the world’s most stable countries. So what happens when the virus arrives in places already under the weight of war? Yemen: Given the ongoing stalemate, many had hoped Saudi Arabia would take the […]
The COVID-19 outbreak is a scourge like no other, but not because of the dangers that this particular pathogen presents.
The insidious path of COVID-19 across the planet reminds us how small the world has become. Worldcrunch is delivering a daily update on this crisis from the best, most trusted international news sources — regardless of language or geography. To receive the daily Coronavirus global brief in your inbox, sign up here. SPOTLIGHT: CHINA’S BOGUS […]
The insidious path of COVID-19 across the planet is a reminder of how small the world has become. For the coming weeks, Worldcrunch will be delivering daily updates on this crisis from the best, most trusted international news sources — regardless of language or geography. To receive the daily Coronavirus Global Brief in your inbox, […]
The colossal impacts of that tiny virus are visible from space. Wired magazine reported about a Colorado-based space technology company Maxartaking low-Earth orbit satellite photographs of COVID-19 hotspots, capturing images of empty cities, make-shift hospitals being constructed and airport rental car lots suddenly filled with cars as people stopped traveling. But the flipside question to […]
Quarantines, closed borders, grounded airlines, crowded beaches … It may be a summer to forget, that we’ll always remember.
Welcome to Monday, where Iran vows revenge for the attack on one of its nuclear sites, Ecuador elects a new president and Russia celebrates the 60th anniversary of its pioneering space mission. French daily Le Monde also takes us on the Myanmar-Thailand border where the military coup has reignited a longstanding simmering war. • Black […]
The 1968 pandemic was the first spread by mass air travel on its way to a toll of 1 million dead. Yet somehow it has been largely ignored by history, even if its lessons raise many questions for the COVID-19 world.
A surprising visit Thursday from French President Emmanuel Macron multiplies the questions around controversial microbiologist advocating the use of hydroxychloroquine to treat COVID-19.
NEW TAIPEI CITY — The Catholic priest, Father Giovanni Rizzi of the Camillians religious order, has been well known in Taiwan for his decades of work helping to set up hospitals on the island nation. But in recent days, Rizzi humbly asked for some help in return: for contributions to purchase face masks for hospitals […]
Communities across the globe are all grappling with the same scourge. And yet, the pandemic is also fueling an every-nation-for-itself mentality. Where will it lead us.
The insidious path of COVID-19 across the planet is a blunt reminder of how small the world has become. For the coming weeks, Worldcrunch will be delivering daily updates on this crisis from the best, most trusted international news sources — regardless of language or geography. To receive the daily Coronavirus Global Brief in your […]
Welcome to Friday, where Prince Philip dies, Kim Jong-un warns of upcoming hardships, and archeologists unearth a “lost golden city” in Egypt. German daily Die Welt also looks at the problematic white hegemony in the world of western classical music. • Prince Philip dies aged 99: Buckingham Palace has announced the death of the Queen’s […]
As the death toll in the U.S. marked a new global high, topping 1,900 dead on Wedneday alone, President Donald Trump is back on the hunt for someone to blame. Facing criticism for initially downplaying the severity of the coronavirus crisis, Trump continues to point fingers at supposed enemies, both foreign and domestic: WORLD HEALTH […]
Welcome to Thursday, where Myanmar turmoil reaches London, violence flares in Northern Ireland, and Superman sets a super record. Meanwhile, Italian weekly magazine L’Espresso uncovers how criminals, mafias and hackers are finding new ways to profit from the pandemic. • Myanmar ambassador locked out: Ambassador Kyaw Zwar Minn was reportedly locked out of his London […]
As the coronavirus pandemic tightens its grip, Moscow is struggling to put together a coherent strategy to repatriate Russian nationals and allow foreigners to leave.