Worldcrunch
Updated June 10, 2024 at 12:40 p.m. On this day in 1967, the Six-Day War ended, as Israel faced off against its Arab neighbors, including Egypt, Jordan, and Syria. How did the Six-Day War end? The Six-Day War ended with Israel achieving a decisive victory. Israel successfully captured and occupied territories from Egypt (Sinai Peninsula […]
Not for the first time in history, simplistic dualism is taking hold of people’s minds, often rooted in religious beliefs. Is this a prelude to even more violent intolerance and — in the worst scenario — another big war? asks Argentine poet and writer Miguel Espejo.
Updated June 7, 2024 at 11:00 a.m. On this day in 1938, the Yellow River experienced a major flood during the Second Sino-Japanese War when the Chinese Nationalist government deliberately destroyed the dikes along the river to halt the advancing Japanese forces. Why did the Chinese intentionally flood the Yellow River? The decision to intentionally […]
Updated June 6, 2024 at 12:20 p.m. The major military operation during World War II, also known as “D-Day”, occurred 80 years ago on this day in 1944, marking the beginning of the end of Nazi Germany’s control over Western Europe. Why was D-Day significant? D-Day was a significant turning point in World War II. […]
Palestinian women are suffering disproportionately in the Gaza conflict, where they represent 70% of casualties and more than half of the displaced people.
The U.S. president’s plan has been approved in principle by Hamas and the Israeli prime minister, but significant contradictions remain. In Israel, opposition voices are increasing, and the survival of Netanyahu’s government is at stake.
The French president wants to convince Vladimir Putin to halt military deployment around Ukraine. But some in Moscow believe the Russian president is only interested in negotiating with the U.S. about the wider global balance of power.
Russia is on the offensive, bombing the northern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv almost every day. Visiting the city over the weekend, President Zelensky again called for stronger, faster Western aid.
Literary scholar and fiction writer Mykhailo Nazarenko discusses the would-be cast of characters of fantasy writer JRR Tolkien in Ukraine’s war against the Russian invaders.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was taken to task by hostage families during his Memorial Day speech on Monday — just the latest sign of the deep divisions in Israeli society as the war enters its eighth month, with no vision for the future.
There have been countless graphic images circulating of the brutal Oct. 7 attack on Israel and the seven months of bloody retribution on the people of Gaza. Yet an image where you can’t see the victim has been recognized as the Photo of the Year.
Prime Minister Netanyahu felt the pressure to follow through on his threats to enter Rafah, which may have earned him the space to finalize a ceasefire and get the hostages back.
The Middle East’s militant and terror gangs, often described as Iran’s proxy forces, may have more in common with the cartels of a globalized war than with the fighters with a cause, more typical in the 20th century.
Updated April 29, 2024 at 1:15 p.m. In April of 1975, as North Vietnamese troops approached the southern capital of Saigon, U.S. President Gerald Ford ordered the evacuation of all Americans from the country. How did the fall of Saigon happen? After years of conflict, the North Vietnamese army launched a final offensive on South […]
Governments spent 2.3 trilllion euros on the military, a 6% increase over 2022, the highest growth recorded in over a decade. This is the first time spending jumps were registered on all five continents, and not just countries at war. What does it say about this inflection point in history?
Updated April 23, 2024 at 12:00 p.m. Roger Fenton’s photograph “the Valley of the Shadow of Death,” is considered the first-ever iconic war image, and was taken on this day in 1885. What is the Valley of the Shadow of Death? The area known as the “Valley of the Shadow of Death” is a narrow […]
As Putin’s Russian propaganda aims at Islamist terrorists now, justifying the use of torture, Russian literary critic Ilya Kukulin takes a step back to understand how we can keep our humanity amidst such violence. Human rights are perceived as something natural, akin to a birth right. But this is not so in reality: these rights can only be established by human will.
By helping to intercept Iran’s counter attack against Israel, the U.S. and Western allies, along with Jordan, have deprived Benjamin Netanyahu of a pretext to expand the war and to divert attention from his actions in Gaza.
The brother of Palestinian journalist Mohamed Abu Shahma chose to return home to Khan Younis despite Israel’s offensive on the city. He paid the ultimate price.
The Israeli blockade of food, water, fuel, and essential medicines and supplies is inflicting immense suffering on Palestinians. Women in the Gaza strip are forced to sell their jewelry to feed their children amid lack of humanitarian aid and soaring prices, reports independent Arab media Daraj.
The world watches as Netanyahu walks that fine line between deterrence and escalation.
Russia’s semantic war against Ukraine aims to create a discourse and future in which Ukraine never was and never will be. Ukraine — and its Western allies — must take this war as seriously as the military war.
After seven workers with the NGO World Central Kitchen were killed by an Israeli drone, we must ask what drives humans to give themselves to others, and risk everything. It should put any lingering cynicism to rest.
In late March, the Palestinian embassy in Cairo organized a crossing for Palestinians back into Gaza. Al Manassa talks with some of the Palestinians preparing to leave the safety of Egypt about their motivations for returning to the war-torn homeland.
With Israel blocking aid from entering Gaza, some are either resorting to force to get aid to feed their children or turning to a new black market where merchants and war profiteers exploit people’s needs.
With the Israel-Hamas war now in its sixth month and hunger worsening in Gaza, Palestinian have begun fasting for Ramadan. Al Manassa spent the first day of the Muslim holy month with a displaced family in their tent in Mawasi.
The “pearl of the Black Sea” was the scene of the single Ukrainian military victory in 2023, when the country broke the maritime blockade imposed by Moscow. But, as a third year under the bombs begins, the first cracks appear among the port city’s residents, who are torn between weariness, anger toward Ukraine’s leaders and an insatiable passion to live a full life.
The U.S. has joined several other countries in airdropping aid to the Palestinians in Gaza, but this showy international response is ill conceived and unlikely to avert the looming famine in the coastal enclave.
The fact that the Ukrainian army has been forced onto the defensive is mainly due to sluggish support from the West. However, there is another factor at play that is contributing to the dangerous situation: the leadership approach of President Zelensky is being increasingly called into question.
France is now officially part of the global “no sex” trend, notes French philosopher Gaspard Koenig, who sees a troubling connection between a rising neo-Puritanism and fears of World War III.
French President Emmanuel Macron crossed a line, at least rhetorically, in saying that the West doesn’t exclude sending troops to help Ukraine defend itself from Russia. Yet it may be time for the Western alliance to acknowledge that they’ve actually entered direct conflict with Moscow long before.
As the war in Ukraine enters its third year, results of a survey suggest that only one European out of ten thinks that Ukraine will come out of this war with a victory. While their support has not shifted towards Russia, the poll results give an insight into how fatigue is playing in citizens’ minds — and what European governments have to put up with if they want to continue supporting an expensive war.
The war in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo has been going on for decades, with ups and downs. An offensive by a Rwandan-backed armed group threatens to degenerate into a regional war. A forgotten war while the world looks away.
As the war in Gaza hits a critical juncture, the approaching Ramadan deadline adds urgency to international efforts, with Israel’s threat of an offensive on Rafah escalating tensions and raising the stakes for peace negotiations.
With Putin’s war in Ukraine, people may need reminding that Belarusian leader and Putin ally Alexander Lukashenko is a dictator in Europe’s midst, write German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock and Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya in an article for Die Welt.
The West’s passive response to Israel’s actions in Gaza is increasingly difficult to maintain in front of the looming humanitarian crisis in Rafah. The lip service of “deep concern” doesn’t bother Netanyahu at all.
Egyptian football legend Mohamed Salah’s careful positioning on the Israeli war in Gaza sparked discussions from fans and non-fans alike. Is it about ideology or sponsorships? And should any of it matter when his job is to score goals not play politics?
The gap between the positions of the two parties revealed itself to be too wide Wednesday, though talks are continuing in Cairo. When will Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu no longer be able to justify leaving the hostages in Gaza, and the damage of Israel losing its own allies?
Iran’s allies are attacking the West across the region. The Hamas massacre, attacks on U.S. troops and the Houthi targeting of ships are possibly just the beginning. The fact that the Middle East is so unstable today is due to a decision first made by the U.S. a generation ago.
As the Israel-Hamas war continues unabated, the U.S., Egypt and Qatar are pushing to quickly reach an agreement. Will internal divisions be overcome? But even if a deal is struck, the war is far from over.