Worldcrunch
-Essay- PARIS —The rendez-vous was for last January 21, on the anniversary of Louis XVI’s death. A friend had tipped me off that hundreds of French citizens gather each year in Paris to honor their last king and lament their fallen monarchy. Les Royalistes held mass for Louis and Marie-Antoinette, followed by pro-monarchy street protests. […]
A leader can, in good conscience, conceal dysfunctions, hide problems or mitigate difficulties. Telling white lies allows him to restore hope for his allies, and rekindle their desire to act. But what happens when it is the very definition of self-serving
Every U.S. election carries consequences beyond America’s borders. But Nov. 3 stands out for multiple reasons: a lethal pandemic has killed more than one million people across the world, once thriving economies are in tatters, U.S. isolationism has created an international power vacuum that is allowing right-wing autocrats to thrive across continents. And then, there’s […]
The uncertainty around President Trump’s condition since contracting COVID-19 is part of a pattern when powerful politicians fall ill.
The news that Donald Trump has been infected with COVID-19 echoed around the world, making front pages and prompting a gush of wishes from leaders in all continents — and snark from many corners. In the night between Oct. 1 and 2, U.S. Eastern Time, the U.S. president confirmed on Twitter that he and his […]
-Analysis- LIMA — Last August, U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration published its Western Hemisphere Strategic Framework paper, which designated the Western Hemisphere — North and South America — as a “geo-political priority for the United States.” National Security Adviser Robert C. O’Brien, who presented the document, insisted the region was incredibly important to the United […]
Italian populist party leader Matteo Salvini’s disappointing results in regional elections is being blamed on his erratic handling of the health crisis in one of the worst-hit countries.
As Israel and the Arab world roll toward a major rapprochement, Iran continues to resist pressure to start talking to its own nemesis, the United States.
Long before his sex scandal took over the front pages, every Swede knew Paolo Roberto. The son of an Italian father and Swedish mother, Roberto gained some notoriety in his teens as a street fighter, eventually earning a place on the police’s national list of “10 most dangerous youths’. After turning things around following a […]
-Essay- PARIS — I do my best not to get pulled into the rabbit hole of U.S. election coverage. It’s hard to imagine, at this point, how any poll or tweet or scandal could possibly affect the outcome. Can our global news site really find a new angle to help explain Donald Trump? Can anyone? […]
The bombastic president seems to have little regard for precedence or decorum. But is he just an anomaly? And if not, what happens if he loses?
A self-described American aesthete has no good answers for her French friends aghast at the reality show in the White House.
The Islamic Republic foreign minister made a series of trips recently to shore up support among his country’s few remaining allies. He returned empty handed.
The chief foreign policy correspondent for Die Welt chimes in on Trump’s decision to reduce the number of U.S. troops in Germany from 35,000 to 25,000.
Beijing is stepping in to fill the leadership void left by a United States distracted and hobbled by its deep, structural divisions.
After more than two months headlines around the world focused on a single topic — COVID-19 — collective attention has turned to another story: the death of an unarmed black man George Floyd at the hands of four police officers in the American city of Minneapolis on May 25th, and the violent protests that followed […]
HONG KONG — The Beijing authorities have finally decided to set aside the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) Government and its Legislative Council and instead craft themselves a national security law for the former British colony. According to Wang Chen, deputy chairman of the National People’s Congress (NPC), the Chinese government’s rubber stamp agency, […]
Charles de Gaulle was the first world leader to truly understand the power of television, using regular presidential broadcasts as a way to circumvent French legislators, labor unions and other levers of democratic influence.
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.
When a virus sucks all the oxygen out of the public space — and then another arrives.
Welcome to Thursday, where WHO chides the EU’s slow vaccination rollout, two of Hong Kong’s best-known democracy leaders are convicted and Japan has a pricey solution for those missing airline food. Buenos Aires daily Clarin also has the scoop on the meat industry’s beef with a former Beatle. • COVID update: The world’s second most […]
Welcome to Thursday, where the world marks 10 years since the Fukushima disaster, Ivory Coast’s prime minister dies, and we meet one irate Paraguayan grandma. Le Monde reports on French terrorism victims who are now facing online abuse. • Biden historic COVID relief: The $1.9 trillion COVID relief bill has passed through Congress, and will […]
Public discourse seems to be dominated these days by political polarization and extreme positions, but it’s largely an illusion.
Allowing Beijing to have a hand in the new, faster mobile network would entail significant risks. But in Germany, debate about 5G is also a question of who you like more: China or the U.S.
Welcome to Tuesday, where Myanmar files new charges against Suu Kyi, Guinea reports an Ebola outbreak and bitcoin value is about to cross a major threshold. We also look at a new business booming in China during the pandemic: student ghostwriting. • COVID-19 latest: The World Health Organization has authorized the AstraZeneca vaccine for emergency […]
Welcome to Monday, where the Myanmar generals are tightening their grip, new COVID variants are identified and a very ancient watering hole is discovered in Egypt. We also have a Die Welt piece on the dark side of the dream of moving out to the countryside. • COVID-19 latest: Researchers have identified seven new variants […]
Welcome to Wednesday, where Myanmar police side with protesters, the Senate votes to continue Trump’s trial and Europe’s oldest person survives COVID. We also look at the reasons why the “capital of Canadian humor” isn’t laughing so much lately. • COVID-19 latest: Ghana parliament shuts down over outbreak that leaves 17 MPs and 151 support […]
Welcome to Tuesday, where Myanmar’s junta hints at new elections, Trump’s impeachment trial (part II) gets started, and Motown loses a star. Meanwhile Bogota-based daily El Espectador explains how Pablo Escobar’s hippos have sparked an ecological debate in Colombia. • COVID-19 latest: Iran begins using Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine as part of the vaccination campaign, […]
President Trump’s scuppered impeachment may provide a cue to regional leaders working to undermine their own democracies.
Welcome to Friday, where it’s been a year since the first COVID lockdown began in Wuhan, ISIS is back in Iraq and James Bond fans get a license to kill some more time. Die Welt also takes us on a typographic journey through the infamous story of the Gothic typeface, a.k.a. the “Nazi font.” Biden […]
Welcome to Thursday, where the world reacts to the beginning of the Biden-Harris era, Baghdad is hit by its worst terror attack in more than three years and Dublin cancels its St. Patrick’s Day parade (again.) We also visit the Paris Opera for a taste of the grim global zeitgeist. Behind Biden’s message of unity, […]
Welcome to Wednesday, where Biden will be inaugurated as the 46th U.S. president, Italy’s prime minister hangs on, and the Tokyo Olympics may be cancelled again. We also visit six iconic businesses around the world, which have survived wars and depressions, but are now at risk of closing down due to the pandemic. Joe Biden […]
Welcome to Monday, where Navalny is arrested upon his return to Moscow, Brazil starts its mass vaccination campaign and there are signs of life from China’s trapped miners. Meanwhile, Le Monde travels to the French port city of Calais to see how high-tech is being used to ease post-Brexit commerce with the UK. SPOTLIGHT: ON […]
Welcome to Friday, where Joe Biden announces a huge COVID relief package, North Korea boasts “the world’s most powerful weapon” and Wikipedia turns 20. Les Echos also explains how the pandemic response is quietly helping us prepare for the next big bad thing. SPOTLIGHT: TRUMP DIDN’T INVENT THE SPREADING PLAGUE OF NARCISSISM When I was […]
Welcome to Thursday, where Trump becomes first president impeached twice, China goes back into lockdown, and a 45,000-year-old wild boar makes news. We also scan what sets “Made in Africa” ID tech apart. SPOTLIGHT: D.C. TO ROME TO KAMPALA, DEMOCRACY IS A COUNTING QUESTION At 6 p.m. local time Wednesday in Rome, while much of […]
Welcome to Monday, where impeachment looms for Trump, a new COVID strain is identified in Japan, and cases spike in China to the highest level in five months. Also, find out what made sharks’ ancestors even scarier … SPOTLIGHT: SWEDEN REVISITED, FROM NORDIC MODEL TO PANDEMIC PARIAH On one of the final Fridays of 2020, […]
Welcome to Friday, where a cop dies in the aftermath of Capitol mayhem, Boeing’s fraud won’t fly, and Norway hits an electrifying record. Meanwhile, Les Echos weighs the possibility that Asian populations are genetically more resistant to COVID. SPOTLIGHT: FROM PINOCHET TO TRUMP, WHEN DEMOCRACY IS UNDER ATTACK A dictator-in-waiting orchestrates a violent assault on […]
Welcome to Thursday, where chaos rocks Washington, South Africa worries about a new COVID strain, and a Nicaragua zoo celebrates the birth of an exceptionally rare animal. Meanwhile, as many vaccination rollouts are delayed, we look at what’s slowing down the jabs around the world. SPOTLIGHT: AMERICAN DEMOCRACY UNDER ASSAULT, THE WORLD WATCHES The raid […]
With a battered economy and recent anti-government street protests, can Iran fulfill its promise to avenge the U.S. killing of Qasem Soleimani? Can it afford not to?
Welcome to Monday, where the UK blocks Assange’s extradition, vaccinations are moving too slowly (almost) everywhere and the Asian business world is asking: Where’s Jack? We also follow Le Monde to Casablanca where Moroccans are rethinking what it means to be a man. SPOTLIGHT: DEMOCRACY HAS MORE GRIT THAN YOU MIGHT THINK There are more […]