Worldcrunch
👋 Ćao!* Welcome to Monday, where the U.S. is set to send military equipment to Ukraine as Trump criticizes Putin again, more civilians in Gaza are killed as talks falter, and our daily quiz question is about a mysterious item up for auction in New York. Meanwhile, Aliénor Vinçotte in French daily Le Figaro unpacks […]
After Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, it was South African President Cyril Ramaphosa who fell victim to the theater of cruelty staged by Donald Trump in the Oval Office. What is the American president seeking by humiliating his visitors? He is orchestrating a performance to glorify himself.
👋 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 […]
👋 Héébee!* Welcome to Wednesday, where fears of starvation mount as aid has yet to reach Gaza, China voices concerns over Donald Trump’s new $175-billion “Golden Dome” missile defense system, and today’s quiz highlights a slip-up by Japan’s farm minister. Meanwhile, in the wake of a very awkward moment involving the French and Turkish presidents, […]
Donald Trump calls the white Boer minority in South Africa “disadvantaged” and offers them asylum in the U.S. But they want no part of it, as quickly becomes clear on a visit to Orania, the most controversial white settlement in the country.
A historic art exhibition, the start of a revolutionary political movement, and the birth of one of the greatest scientific minds.
The death of a famous leader, an important symbol of the civil rights movement, and a deadly fog.
As Donald Trump prepares for a second term, African nations find themselves at a crossroads. With mixed reactions from leaders across the continent, the implications of his policies raise questions about future U.S.-Africa relations, human rights and climate action.
Mongolia is a signatory to the International Criminal Court treaty and should have arrested Vladimir Putin on his arrival in the capital yesterday. Of course, it didn’t — nobody believed it would. But for international affairs specialist Pierre Haski, this is only a setback for international justice.
Updated August 18, 2024 at 11:50 a.m. Steve Biko, a leader of the Black Consciousness Movement, is arrested on this day in 1977 in South Africa. Why was Steve Biko arrested? Steve Biko was arrested at a police roadblock under the Terrorism Act, for breaching a banning order. As an anti-apartheid activist and the co-founder […]
Harmless insects are named after nasty dictators, which doesn’t seem to bother zoologists. Botanists, on the other hand, want to banish the offensive word “caffra” from the realm of flora. There is an understandable reason why South Africa has managed to do so, writes correspondent Christian Putsch.
Updated June 24, 2024 at 11:00 a.m. The Rugby World Cup final between South Africa and New Zealand took place on this day in 1995 at Ellis Park Stadium in Johannesburg, South Africa. Who won the 1995 Rugby World Cup final? South Africa, known as the Springboks, emerged as the champions of the 1995 Rugby […]
As the Olympic flame of Athens prepares to illuminate the world of sports, Africa remains in the shadows. Yet the world’s youngest continent has an unparalleled potential to become a major hub for sports on a global scale.
After 30 years in power, South Africa’s leading party ANC has to form a coalition. This is a first for both the party and the country. A partnership with the white-dominated Democratic Alliance is likely to upset the base of both parties. But if they care about the future of South Africa, they have to take this risk.
As South Africa goes to the polls, Nelson Mandela’s African National Congress party is facing disillusionment among its voters, and risks losing its absolute majority in parliament. Corruption, crime and persistent social inequality are at the root of this disenchantment — and the memory of the liberation struggle is fading.
Updated May 10, 2024 at 11:40 a.m. Nelson Mandela was sworn into the presidency at the Union Buildings in Pretoria, South Africa on this day in 1994. What happened during Mandela’s president? Nelson Mandela led the end of apartheid and the transition to democracy in South Africa during his time as president. Mandela had been […]
Updated April 27, 2024 at 12:45 p.m. South African citizens of all races were allowed to vote in a general election for the first time on April 27, 1994. This was the first democratic election in South Africa after the end of the apartheid system. How did apartheid end in South Africa? The end of […]
South Africa’s genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice attempts to turn longstanding international law on its head, writes Kai Ambos, a top expert on international law, for German daily Die Welt.
Following South Africa’s genocide allegations against Israel, Netanyahu’s government now has to defend itself at the International Court of Justice. But the lawsuit does not come as a surprise. For decades, there have been tensions between Israel and South Africa, where there is great sympathy for the Palestinian cause going back to the times of apartheid.
Some pastors are teaching the gospel in Johannesburg communities plagued by gang violence and murder, even trying to win the souls of gangsters and helping some to rehabilitate. But this makes them a target for rival gangs.
As the Rugby World Cup final approaches, French writer Yves Bourdillon notes that the sport is popular almost exclusively in democratic countries. The reason? Its Anglo-Saxon origins, the complexity of its rules and its values, a miracle of balance between individualism and collective spirit.
On this day in 1986, Desmond Tutu was named Archbishop of the Anglican Church in South Africa. What was Desmond Tutu’s role in the Anglican Church? Desmond Tutu was a South African Anglican bishop and social rights activist. He became known for his vocal opposition to apartheid, a system of racial segregation and discrimination in […]
The BRICS economies’ inclusion of new members like Iran may not make business sense, but it fits with the Sino-Russian strategy of drawing states of the Global South into their orbit in open confrontation with the U.S. and the rest of the West.
The war in Ukraine has become globalized, with its effects being felt from Africa to China. The only hope of de-escalation is in a potential diplomatic summit between the U.S. and China this autumn.
The best tables near Table Mountain!
Saudi Arabia is set to host non-Western countries to discuss how to initiate peace talks between Russia and Ukraine. Moscow-based daily Kommersant takes an in-depth look at what the high-level talks, slated for Aug. 5 in Jeddah, mean for Russia — who wasn’t invited to the summit —, Ukraine and the world.
African leaders traveled to both Kyiv and Moscow to discuss a potential “peace plan” for the war in Ukraine. Predictably the envoys failed, and others will likely meet the same fate as Ukraine’s counteroffensive kicks into gear and Putin keeps digging in.
Recent allegations by the U.S. ambassador to South Africa that the African nation gave ammunition and weapons to Russia in December 2022, amid Russia’s war on Ukraine, illustrate the complexity of U.S.-Africa relations.
After Beijing’s dubious push to lead negotiations on settling the war in Ukraine, now it’s South Africa’s turn. But its “ambiguous” neutrality on the war — and reports of secret weapons sales to Russia — raise serious skepticism in Kyiv and the West.
The Brazilian president, back in power after more than a decade later, has not lost his vision of a post-Western world in which the BRICS would occupy a central place. Lula’s visit to Beijing puts such a vision front and center on the global agenda.
Russia’s Foreign Minister is in South Africa for the second time in a year. In spite of the West’s best efforts, Vladimir Putin’s delegation is still welcomed in large parts of Africa, which still harbors colonial resentment toward Europe.
As Moscow and Kyiv direct their troops toward the southern Ukrainian city, the strategic and symbolic value cannot be overstated.
Welcome to Worldcrunch’s LGBTQ+ International. We bring you up-to-speed each week on the latest news on everything LGBTQ+ — a topic that you may follow closely at home, but can now see from different places and perspectives around the world. Discover the latest news from all corners of the planet. All in one smooth scroll! […]
It took firefighters nearly three days to extinguish the blaze at the historic building in Cape Town, and the damage will persist as South Africans try to figure out how this happened, and what it says about the country’s struggle to reinforce its young democracy.
? Kia ora!* Happy New Year! Welcome to Monday, where Sudan’s embattled prime minister resigns, Australia sees record daily COVID cases and Venice says ciao to its Instagrammable footbridge for safety reasons. Meanwhile, we look at what could bring down the budding alliance between China’s Xi Jinping and Russia’s Vladimir Putin. [*Maori] SPOTLIGHT 2022: […]
? ສະບາຍດີ* Welcome to Monday, where the first ever meeting took place between leaders of Israel and the United Arab Emirates, BoJo declares an “Omicron emergency” and Vladimir Putin shares a side hustle from his past. And for the insomniac and the lonely, we tune in to Taiwan’s new app that connects you to a […]
? Håfa adai!* Welcome to Thursday, where new Omicron findings arrive from South Africa, abortion rights are at risk at the U.S. Supreme Court and Tyrannosaurus rex has got some new competition. From Germany, we share the story of a landmark pharmacy turned sex toy museum. [*Chamorro – Guam] SIGN UP This is our […]
Having shared the Nobel Peace Prize with Nelson Mandela, former President Frederik Willem de Klerk was largely credited with courageous leadership and a key role in dismantling apartheid. But his legacy, both before and after the transition, is decidedly mixed.
As many parts of the continent face a brutal third wave, the urgency to vaccinate is growing. But the obstacles are many, including a stubborn strain of vaccine hesitancy.
The killing of a white farmworker near Senekal is dividing people once again along racial lines, even if most victims of violent crime — and not just in urban areas — are black.