Worldcrunch
It’s the most insipid kind of historical revisionism. Both in Argentina and Brazil, far-right leaders are denying the countries’ history of human rights abuses during the brutal dictatorships of the 1960s and 70s, and using it to rally support around their causes.
For decades Iran’s leaders have promoted the vision of martyrdom as a precept of the regime, but appear to have carefully weighed how much damage to try to inflict on Israel after its attack against its top military leaders in Syria on April 1. What does this say about the state and stability of the regime?
How the women’s partisan movement rose up from the southeastern city of Melitopol to carry out undercover operations in the occupied territories of Ukraine that undermine every step of the Russian troops.
Ecuador’s forced entry into Mexico’s embassy has been roundly condemned, but its worst effect in Latin America may be to undermine a regional tradition of dissidents seeking protection in an embassy in their country.
The UN and the international criminal justice system are failing to prevent and punish brazen aggressions and killings around the world. When this period of turmoil ends, states must find new rules and tools to prevent the return of totalitarian violence.
Russian officials, including President Vladimir Putin, viewed the confession of a detained militant as a “proof” that Ukraine was involved in the deadly attack. They employed it to facilitate comprehensive military mobilization ahead of a looming fresh large offensive on Ukraine.
Following his AKP party’s resounding defeat in the March local elections, Turkish President Erdogan called the results a “turning point”. But will he — and country’s political landscape — really change?
U.S. Congressmen and Iranian opponents want to know why Seyed Hossein Mousavian, a veteran official of the Tehran regime is working at Princeton University, when he is suspected of involvement with terrorist activities.
The success of the Netflix series 3 Body Problem, adapted from a famous Chinese science fiction novel, has rekindled hostility between Beijing and Washington. But what is really behind China’s attacks on American cultural hegemony?
Geopolitical analysts who view Russia as an unpredictable force tend to understand Moscow’s actions in purely worldly, political terms. German Professor of Theology Hubertus Lutterbach has uncovered a different message hidden in Putin’s religiosity — an implicit threat to his neighbors and the world.
Spain is leading the way on European recognition of the state of Palestine. Ireland, Malta and Slovenia have also signed a joint statement asserting readiness to recognize the warring region. Will other European Union countries follow suit?
A telephone call between French and Russian defense ministers on Wednesday gave rise to Russian accusations and threats against France. The terrorist risk shared by the two countries did not allow the slightest progress to be made: this is worrying just a few months before the Paris Olympic Games.
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.
NATO this week unveiled new plans to massively expand its support for Ukraine. A plan by Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg includes an additional 100 billion euros in military aid to be coordinated by the Alliance — together with weapons delivery and military training. The plan is meant to reverse the momentum in the defensive campaign against Russia. But it carries several major risks.
Turkey has more than a century of democracy and elections, and a bonafide opposition, which stands out from recent Russian and Iranian votes. We see it again in the victory in Sunday’s victory for Istanbul Mayor of the opposition party. Still, the increasingly authoritarian Turkish regime risks sliding toward a point of new return with its assault on rights and freedoms.
Updated April 5, 2024 at 1:05 p.m. The Siege of Sarajevo was a military siege of the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Sarajevo, that began on this day in 1992 during the Bosnian war. Who was involved in the Siege of Sarajevo? The siege was carried out by the Army of Republika Srpska, which was […]
Recent Cuban protests over fuel and food swiftly turned against the communist system but unlike the past, the state, which is asking the UN for food aid, refrained from giving a crushing response. Venezuela is no better off, and the age of symbiosis for Latin America’s leftist regimes is long gone.
Just because war appears more likely to spread to Europe or the Middle East than Asia, we should not forget China’s enormous weight. But does Beijing want to do with it?
Since Ecuador’s president declared a state of emergency in January, military violence has increased. For Agência Pública, Ecuadorian journalist Thalíe Ponce talks to the families of three of those who were killed by the military.
Israel’s colonial-settler project aims to kill this protective, familiar, and memory-preserving space called “home” in the Occupied Territories. This Palestinian heartbreak is documented for all to see, and ultimately, and paradoxically, squashes any attempt to dehumanize a people.
Former mayor of Istanbul, Erdogan had once theorized that a victory in the capital meant an easier path to a national victory. Following this theory, having lost by ten points to the Republican People’s Party means an even tougher defeat for the 70-year-old president. Is this the beginning of the end?
As Israel prosecutes its war on Gaza, Lebanon found itself caught in the daily attacks between Israel and Hezbollah. Lebanese know that Israel has made its position clear, which leaves the big question mark with the regime in Tehran, which largely guides Hezbollah in its response to Israel.
Moscow “killed” the body charged with overseeing the sanctions regime against North Korea — now Putin’s ally against Ukraine — dealing yet another blow to the edifice of global governance inherited from the post-war era.
While Germany’s Scholz has chosen to walk a tightrope, France’s Macron has made a major U-turn on. While differences between Berlin and Paris are not new, the intensifying war in Ukraine has changed the situation.
Tajiks are responsible for numerous Islamist terrorist attacks in recent months. Suspects in the devastating attack in Moscow also come from the Central Asian country. Open access to Russia, difficult economic conditions, and a secular dictatorship that has repressed religion at home are among the factors that contribute to the radicalization of Tajiks.
Violence against women, including rape, has been widespread in the war in Sudan, especially in the western region of Darfur. Now the women who led the uprising that toppled Omar al-Bashir in April 2019 are fighting to stop wartime sexual violence.
The surprise election of Bassirou Diomaye Faye appears to be a wakeup call for French President Emmanuel Macron.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, now 84, has been in power since 1989. What will happen when he dies? His death may lead to a hybrid military-Islamic regime, with members of the Revolutionary Guards imposing a more pragmatic yet equally corrupt regime. It is time for the opposition to find a unified leader they can rally behind and that can help mobilize Iranians in the transition.
As Poland considers lowering the voting age to 16, what can other countries’ experiences with reducing the voting age teach us about political trends and ralling young constituents?
By abstaining from a UN resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, Washington has not only angered Benjamin Netanyahu — it has potentially altered the dynamics of the whole Israel-Hamas war.
As Russia mourns the victims of the worst terrorist attack in the Moscow area in more than two decades, differing narratives about the attack are spreading, as well as questions about why Putin addressed citizens just once in three days and did not acknowledge ISIS as the perpetrators.
Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic cooperates closely with Russia, including on security and arms issues. Now he is threatening to invade Kosovo, which Serbia does not recognize as an independent country. If Donald Trump were to win, and NATO to weaken, Vucic may be ready to move.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken meets with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, just as Washington has submitted a stunning resolution at the UN pressuring Israel into a ceasefire. But is there a way out?
China’s richest man, Zhong Shanshan, has been pursued for weeks by an online nationalist campaign claiming he is not patriotic enough. Official tolerance questions this ideological hardening, at a time of economic slowdown, strong international tensions and built-in contradictions of China’s statists-capitalistic economy.
Pope Francis appears incapable of grasping that for Ukraine to “raise the white flag” would be to concede defeat, and accept the victory of evil over good. Is he a poor theologian or a poor global strategist, or both?
The American billionaire and founder of Tesla and SpaceX is increasingly openly supporting the ideas of the radical right and Donald Trump. Long gone are the days when Silicon Valley voted Democrat: Elon Musk is the embodiment of this openly self-assured “tech right”.
Since the start of the war in Ukraine, NATO has drastically upgraded its focus on the Black Sea. A visit to the Romanian air base that NATO uses as a base to monitor its southeastern flank, and the open questions even among allies.
Celebrating his reelection and the 10th anniversary of the annexation of Crimea on Monday, Vladimir Putin showed that he is not backing down. And he signaled that he will redouble his efforts in the invasion of Ukraine as well as his psychological war with the West.
Recent changes in Syria’s security apparatus are yet another step in President Bashar al-Assad’s years-long effort to escape the shadow of his father and predecessor, Hafez al-Assad, more than two decades after his death.
In a quarter of a century under the regime of the former KGB agent, members of the Russian security forces have imposed their growing stronghold on politics and the economy. But the Russian presidential election is also an admission of their weakness with their president failing to build a state strong enough to carry on without them.