Worldcrunch
The daily spectacle of Donald Trump and his minions striking at institutions and backstabbing allies may be depressing, but the United States is more than that. Once the fever subsides, that vibrant, inclusive country will recall that greatness does not rest on meanness, thuggery or wealth.
Breaking through where no one expected it, the UAE is becoming a major power in AI. MGX, Abu Dhabi’s dedicated fund, has just joined Donald Trump’s gigantic Stargate project. It’s a new golden age for the Gulf.
While the U.S. President has mostly focused on his real estate vision of a new “Riviera” along the coastal enclave, there are also untapped off-shore gas fields that Trump may be after.
The war in Ukraine has reached a stalemate, and a ceasefire appears increasingly likely. Painful compromises with the aggressor may be inevitable. But what comes next?
An analysis of all election programs shows that German political parties have never been more right-wing than today. Of course, there’s the AfD — but other groups have also toughened their stance.
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?
U.S. President Donald Trump’s vile proposal to take over Gaza has led to a shift in discourse Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Jordan. This moment could mark a new beginning, with Arab regimes aligning their politics with those of their peoples. That is the only safeguard against Trump’s blackmail and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s ambitions.
Vladimir Putin says he is “ready” to talk with Volodymyr Zelensky. But it’s a feigned openness to dupe Trump, since he continues to question the legitimacy of the Ukrainian president and does not alter one iota his demands for a kind of capitulation by Kyiv and a reversal of Baltic entry into the Atlantic Alliance.
One month after his return to the White House, Donald Trump’s second term is proving far more ideological, imperial and aggressive than the first, awakening memories of the 1950s communist witch hunt at home and shaking relations with European allies abroad.
President Donald Trump’s proposal for the United States to take over Gaza and resettle the 2.1 million Palestinians living there has pushed Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi to delay his trip to the White House. But Trump holds some big cards that Cairo knows it will have to face.
Europe’s back is against the wall — Putin’s wall. The meeting in Paris of European leaders who are ready to defend Ukraine in the face of U.S. withdrawal was an opportunity for Europe to rebuild itself to preserve its interests and its honor.
With many of Gaza’s banks and ATMs destroyed, Palestinians are turning to money brokers to obtain cash — and paying commission fees of up to 30% . While the practice is criminalized under the Palestinian law, many say agencies in Gaza are not taking action against the brokers, allowing their businesses to flourish.
There isn’t much holding Europe and the U.S. together anymore: neither interests nor values. It’s time to start envisioning what comes next.
In the span of just a few hours last week, Donald Trump turned Putin’s Russia from a pariah state to a partner. For French political analyst Dominique Moïsi, the “useful idiot” role that Trump is playing does however raise a fundamental question for Europe about its own global autonomy in the future.
With the tremendous power it wields, the U.S. does not have, in real terms, any allies. All it has are servants. But
The reelection of U.S. President Donald Trump is the most recent act in the spectacular, and so far unstoppable, rise of fascism. Faced with his full-blown offensive, Europe must fully invest in its vision as an alternative to Trumpism by defending those most in need.
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.
Trump could succeed in portraying himself as “unpredictable and unrestrained” without seeming unhinged. But if he comes off as hopelessly irrational, he is unlikely to get what he seeks.
Ukraine isn’t backing down after the Trump-Putin exchange. It’s fighting to ensure that any negotiated plan includes strong security guarantees to prevent another Russian attack — and that Europe, sidelined by Trump, has a seat at the table.
For years, “Caesar,” who leaked photos providing evidence of the torture and killing of civilians by President Bashar al-Assad’s government, seemed like a legend or a symbol who transcended reality for Syrians. Now Assad is gone, and we know who Caesar is. So why are some now accusing Caesar of being responsible for starving Syrians and worsening their economic crisis?
that there are currently 26 monarchies in the world? Whether they already reign or will get their crown in the coming years, these figures represent a new generation of monarchs who are bound to continue to fascinate the public.
The number of Israeli citizens applying for a Polish passport has quadrupled, and law offices as well as provincial citizenship offices have been struggling to keep up with the rising demand. But why have so many people suddenly taken an interest in Poland?
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?
The U.S. is largely to blame for exploitative migration policy. But while Colombian President Gustavo Petro is upset that the United States is handcuffing the Colombians it deports, he and many other South American presidents are not as upset by the mistreatment that makes people leave their home countries in the first place.
While the U.S. President has mostly focused on his real estate vision of a new “Riviera” along the coastal enclave, there are also untapped off-shore gas fields that Trump may be after.
Displaced Palestinians have been returning to northern Gaza following the Israel-Hamas ceasefire deal. Yet no official or international body has provided these refugees with temporary shelters, drinking water or humanitarian aid, despite these provisions being part of the ceasefire agreement. The poor conditions are pushing many to return to the South in a “reverse displacement.”
The United States did not sign the Paris AI Summit Declaration, with Vice President JD Vance taking a stand against what he called the EU’s “excessive regulation.” It’s yet another sign of the Trump administration’s rejection of multilateralism — Washington now seems to believe in the survival of the fittest.
India’s silence on Trump’s imperialistic notions about taking over Greenland and Gaza does not sit well with its growing relative strength in the world.
Following President Trump’s shocking proposal for the U.S. to redevelop Gaza, leaders in Cairo are seriously considering canceling the 1979 Egypt-Israel peace treaty. An Egyptian official has said that the U.S. plan, which would displace the Palestinian people, would will push the entire Middle East into a military confrontation whose scope and repercussions are unknown.
After Colombia’s president took on U.S. President Trump and lost, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has managed this new complex relationship with remarkable deftness and clarity of purpose. But can this strategy be maintained with Trump’s mind set on tariffs everywhere?
In a major move for sovereignty, the three Baltic states have cut their electricity supply from Russia and connected to the European grid. A collateral casualty of this shift is the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad, now cut off from Russia and forced to generate its own power.
As the war in Sudan, between the military and the notorious paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, approaches its two-year mark, there is no sign of a peaceful solution or military resolution on the horizon. And the latest developments have raised concerns that the conflict will slide into a stalemate, with two administrations running the country.
Burkina Faso, Mali And Niger, three military-led Sahel countries, recently withdrew from the ECOWAS regional bloc and established a new military alliance to tackle jihadist violence in the region. But the new forces’ prospects for success are slim.
From war zone risks to head-scratching tourists, the manipulation of the GPS navigation system by hackers (jamming and spoofing) can wreak havoc on our modern habits of relying on real-time digital mapping apps. The surest alternative may be going back to paper maps.
A number of international humanitarian organizations, local associations, and organizations operate within the al-Hol refugee camp in northern Syria. Most of these organizations are primarily funded by the U.S., meaning that three sectors and several community segments are directly affected by the U.S. State Department’s decision to halt foreign aid.
Donald Trump touts the delusion of turning Gaza into the Riviera of the Middle East. Hamas would seem satisfied to continue to lord over a land turned to rubble after the folly of its Oct. 7 massacre. Where does that leave two million Gazans?
Following U.S. President Donald Trump’s flurry of tariffs on Canadian, Mexican and Chinese products, Europe is expecting similar announcements. France, whose wines and spirits are a traditional target in trade conflicts with the EU, is particularly at risk. Its cognac is already being targeted by China.
This week, the Taliban closed a radio station broadcasting from Kabul and aimed at women — yet another act in its unprecedented isolation of half of Afghanistan’s population. While the world is not turning a blind eye, it lacks the means to put pressure on the Taliban.