Worldcrunch
👋 Talofa!* Welcome to Thursday, where a suspect is in custody after a shooting in Washington, D.C., killed two Israeli embassy staff, a White House meeting between South African President Cyril Ramaphosa and Donald Trump goes awry, and today’s quiz question asks what piece of advice the Netherlands has against cyber crime. Meanwhile, as the […]
👋 A jaaraama!* Welcome to Tuesday, where the UK, France and Canada warn Israel over its Gaza offensive, the coup trial of former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro opens and our daily quiz question takes us to Paris’ most famous cemetery. Meanwhile, Jędrzej Słodkowski for Polish daily Gazeta Wyborcza shines a light on the lesser known […]
👋 Nyob zoo!* Welcome to Thursday, where Ukraine voices disappointment as Vladimir Putin sidesteps peace talks in Turkey, Israeli airstrikes on Khan Younis kill 54 overnight, and today’s quiz question will please National Treasure lovers. Meanwhile, for Italian daily La Stampa, Francesca Mannocchi reports from Chad, where she spoke to some of the 700,000 refugees […]
President Donald Trump has begun eroding the United States presence in Antarctica by announcing deep funding cuts to his nation’s science and logistics on the icy continent.
By challenging Putin to face-to-face talks in Istanbul, Ukraine’s president has reshaped the diplomatic game and forced Moscow into a high-stakes dilemma.
Vladimir Putin has offered a 72-hour ceasefire to begin on May 8, but signs on the ground point instead to plans for a major assault in eastern Ukraine. A key weapon would be specialized motorcycle brigades that could evade Kyiv’s defenses.
Should theaters be punished for showcasing Russian classics? What if their message undermines everything Putin believes?
The country supports some of the world’s most important satellites. But experts worry about its proximity to Russia.
Would you fight for your country? My generation hears this question a lot these days. But my generation was taught to fight for peace — so why aren’t we holding onto that aim, especially now?
Driven by a relentless pursuit of spectacle, Donald Trump embodies the “destructive character” — a figure who reshapes history through chaos and upheaval. But is destruction itself enough to sustain power, or will it leave behind nothing but rubble? For Die Zeit, historian Susan Richter looks to destroyers of the past for an answer.
Europeans may see seizing Russian assets as a financial and moral boost, they should resist the idea to avoid a triple boomerang effect.
Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin discussed Ukraine and other international matters during a call on Tuesday. What do the two leaders have in common? A shared worldview alone no longer explains it.
Russia announced that it has taken back Sudzha, the biggest town in Kursk, just hours after a surprise visit from the Russian president in the region and as a U.S. delegation arrives in Moscow to discuss a ceasefire proposal. All eyes are now on Putin.
With Trump’s return to power, Russia is rapidly moving closer to the United States; Putin has even agreed to mediate talks between Washington and Tehran. But can Iran still trust Russia? Or is it, like Ukraine, just another bargaining chip?
After an attack on soldiers by supporters of the former Assad regime, a wave of violence has left more than 1,300 dead in the Alawite region, the Assad stronghold. The transitional president is calling for unity, but he must reassure minorities and rein in his more radical supporters.
It is likely that there will not be a peace agreement between Ukraine and Russia this year — or ever one at all. If negotiations stagnate, they could resemble the post-World War II relations between Japan and the Soviet Union: A peace treaty was never signed, and the dispute over the Kuril Islands has persisted for more than 70 years.
The new U.S. tariffs on China have triggered a sharp response from Beijing. Both countries are convinced that a war between them is inevitable someday — and they’re preparing for it. While Europeans keep their eyes on Russia, Americans remain fixated on China’s rise.
Now that the U.S. has relinquished its role as “leader of the free world,” Europe is on its own. But that doesn’t mean it’s out of options, writes former German diplomat and ambassador Hans-Dieter Heumann.
Ukrainians are still processing Friday’s meeting. Donald Trump speaks about Zelensky’s “cards.” It’s as if he doesn’t realize what a war is.
An election victory, a literary debut, and the birth of a Baroque legend.
The fall of an empire, the birth of a nation, and a basketball milestone.
It’s as if, before our very eyes, the president of the United States were reading a script written by the Kremlin. French political analyst Dominique Moïsi, says the reversal on Ukraine is an ally’s betrayal of historical proportions.
French President Emmanuel Macron spoke of a “turning point” after his discussions with his U.S. counterpart at the White House on Monday. But Donald Trump did not confirm. The United States remains ambiguous, especially as, at the United Nations, it voted with Russia and against the European Union and Ukraine — an unprecedented move.
It is now clear that Germany needs to invest a lot more money in defense. Friedrich Merz, who is likely to be Germany’s next chancellor, has yet to come up with a plan to do this.
The fall of a dictator’s statue, the opening of a world-renowned museum and the debut of a legendary ballet.
Ahead of Germany’s crucial national elections Sunday, Russia is actively working to destabilize the country through cyberattacks, agents, and disinformation campaigns. Can anything be done to stop or at least counter these attacks?
A nation gaining independence, the passing of a key Chinese leader, and a book that sparked a feminist revolution.
Around the world, the left and progressive media are serving Russia’s interests against the West when they lambast Israel. Since the Cold War, Russia has exploited and distorted the Palestinian cause to serve its ideals. And Iran is pursuing it on a smaller scale and with its own proxies, as Moscow’s geopolitical tool in the region.
Washington increasingly lukewarm. EU security is not a priority, so the future of NATO is at stake. Trump asks allies to increase military spending but the EU remains disoriented and uncertain.
U.S President Donald Trump appears to be pushing forward his pledge for a quick peace in Ukraine, following his surprise call Wednesday with Russian President Vladimir Putin. But what would a ceasefire look like? And how doe we get there?
Donald Trump spoke with Vladimir Putin for 90 minutes and announced “immediate” negotiations on Ukraine. But will Ukraine be a topic of discussion or an active participant in these talks? Will Europe have a seat at the table? And what security guarantees will remain for a Ukraine left diminished by the outcome?
Leaving no room for diplomacy, Donald Trump is ramping up aggressive moves toward the rest of the world — tariffs, cutting international aid, threats. But there’s a big risk: playing right into the hands of China, which already has a foothold on every continent.
The post-liberal world needs an added dose of cautious and realistic diplomacy, and the United States remains its natural promoter. Yet there is little evidence, for now, that the Trump administration has an interest in diplomacy to keep the collective peace.
In another sign of changing power relations in the ‘post-Western’ world, the BRICS group of emerging economies could frustrate the United States’ bid to sink communism in Cuba by strangling its economy.
As a candidate, Donald Trump promised to end the war in Ukraine within his first 24 hours in office — a deadline the US president has now missed. Even so, negotiations to end the three-year conflict are expected to accelerate. What are Russia, Ukraine and the United States’ current positions? And what do experts think will happen?
Both Russia and Ukraine are waiting to see what stance the new U.S. president and his administration will take on the war and aid to Kyiv. Within Russia’s pro-war factions, some are eagerly anticipating a potential shift in U.S. policy. But regardless of Washington’s decisions, Ukraine’s main allies are those ensuring Moscow’s military is corrupt and inefficient.
Will America become revisionist, unilateralist and expansionist under Donald Trump’s second term? In the early 1970s, French philosopher Raymond Aron spoke of the United States as an “imperial republic,” Now, in 2025, there is potentially much less “republic,” and much more “imperialism.”
Elon Musk is hosting Alice Weidel in an interview on X, having tried to convince the American tech billionaire she’s not an extremist. But who is Weidel, really? She’s described the Germans as “slaves” of the U.S. and quotes the infamous text of a nationalist philosopher that is a dog-whistle for the far right in Germany.
Drones and other new technologies are important, but the foundation of success remains the mobilization of the economy, numerical superiority, and artillery. A military expert reflects on three years since Russia’s invasion.
The emerging geopolitical paradigm is one of a kind of “armed peace” led by states equipped with nuclear weapons as the ultimate guarantee of security. The battlefield now spans the range of hybrid threats and technological breakthroughs, introducing the potential for “strategic surprises.”