Worldcrunch
Here are the 10 most-read articles of the past year: Who Is Lauriane Doumbouya, The French Wife Of Guinea’s Coup Leader? During the recent inauguration of new Guinea president Mamadi Doumbouya, the presence of a female French police officer alongside the coup leader grabbed the public’s attention. But little is still known about the new […]
The capture of the city sealed last year’s Azerbaijani victory against the Armenians — the latest change of control after a century of war and ethnic cleansing.
The Iranian government is responding to peaceful protests with batons and bullets. Their brutality and criminal incompetence are galvanizing protestor solidarity and resistance, which might finally prove fatal to the ruling elite.
Economic stagnation, a polarized society, politicians losing the plot – German citizens’ opinion of their country seems to be going downhill, and we’re warned that many are planning to emigrate. However, the facts paint a very different picture.
Russia is increasingly labeling journalists and human rights organizations as “foreign agents.” It’s the Kremlin’s latest – and most effective – way of cracking down on any kind of opposition.
A decade after the Arab Spring, the Islamist political movement driven by the Muslim Brotherhood, from Egypt to Morocco and beyond, continues to flirt with more extreme Salafist elements to build popular support — and continues to show its utter incapacity to properly run a national government.
Unlike ISIS-K (Islamic State Khorasan), drug cultivation and trafficking are not an ideological matter for the new rulers of Afghanistan — more likely a bargaining chip in negotiations with the West.
? Ellohay!* Welcome to Wednesday, where the Omicron variant triggers toughened travel restrictions, Putin warns NATO of Ukraine “red line,” and school’s in for Santa. For Amsterdam-based daily De Volkskrant, Daphne van Paassen also reports on how some Dutch hairdressers are being trained to recognize signs of domestic violence among their customers. [*Pig Latin] […]
From afar, new Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson and incoming German Chancellor Olaf Scholz share much, both in their views and the political system where they rule. But subtle differences, which arose in the rubble of World War II, can be everything.
Can the countries the United States have invited to an exclusive summit on democracy safeguard and spread a system that is inherently flawed and fragile?
In spite of the toll sanctions have taken on its economy, Iran wants a deal on its nuclear program that addresses none of the West’s concerns about its military ambitions. It is also moving forward with new uranium enrichment technology.
Everything is collapsing: The zloty is sinking, a virus is spreading, diplomacy has disappeared, and so has the rule of law. And the government claims everything is going just fine.
Tunisian President Kaïs Saïed caused a stir by appointing Najla Bouden, the first female head of government in the Arab world. But as the president has assumed full powers a decade after the launch of the Arab Spring, it is a choice with a mixed message.
A German politician lashed out after Angela Merkel spoke on the phone with Belarus strongman Alexander Lukashenko. But like in other hot spots, avoiding the worst along the Belarus-Poland border means casting aside moral superiority and naiveté.
Over the past few weeks, the offspring of two of the 20th centuries most ruthless strongmen have announced they’d like to become the (democratically elected) leaders of Libya and the Philippines.
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.
Hundreds of migrants arrive in Germany every day from Poland, which makes the Belarus border a national issue for Germany. It’s long past time that Europe acknowledge that tough measures are needed — maybe even walls…
Energy issues are power issues. That is why the fight against climate change will also lead to geopolitical upheavals — to Europe’s detriment. China, one of the biggest climate sinners, is likely to benefit from this because the People’s Republic has a strategic ace up its sleeve.
The post-Brexit row of fishing rights is the last straw for not only France, but all of the European Union, who must put an end to the whims of Britain’s prime minister, who seems ready to toss out years of negotiations for the divorce between the UK and EU.
As global warming melts the ice covering parts of the Arctic Ocean, new opportunities are opening up for the exploration of natural resources, including oil. But the accelerating cooperation on climate objectives could wind up saving the Arctic from both business and military interests.
Whether out of cynicism, greed or basic lack of knowledge, the West has willingly embraced the fabricated vision of the Islamic Republic of Iran as a slightly unruly, but essentially legitimate government with which it can do business.
Once meant to protect the royal family, the century-old law has become a tool for the military-led government in Bangkok to stamp out all dissent. A new report outlines the abuses.
A virtual unknown to most of the world a few days ago, Belarusian sprinter Kristina Timanovskaya is now at the center of an Olympic drama that has spilled over into the realm of geopolitics.
Azerbaijan’s flourishing ties with Turkey and Israel threaten Iran’s regional trade and strategic security after Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei overestimated his ability to woo Azerbaijan leader, Ilham Aliev, because both nations are predominantly Shia Muslim.
As the Taliban closed in on Afghanistan, the European Union co-signed a joint statement with dozens of nations agreeing that “the Afghan people deserve to live in safety, security and dignity” and that the international community was “ready to assist them”. As someone who has been researching the refugee crisis on Europe’s borders for years, I found the statement surprising. Before it was making bold statements about events in Kabul, the EU had spent years failing to help thousands of Afghans seeking help at its borders. Since 2015, more than 570,000 Afghan citizens have sought protection in the EU. Thousands […]
Institute for Science and International Security concludes that Iran is enriching uranium at a 60% level, with new centrifuges meaning that Tehran is a month away from obtaining arms-grade material to move toward its first weapon.
Germany’s anti-immigrant far-right party has so far been unable to benefit from the decline of the Merkel’s CDU party and find new voters.
The French military announces the killing of Adnan Abou Walid al-Sahrawi the head of the jihadist group Islamic State in the Great Sahara (ISIS-GS). In its long involvement in the northwest African region of the Sahel, France.
The September 11 attacks both mobilized America and showed its fragility. Twenty years later, the United States is withdrawing from the Middle East. The greatest beneficiary is not the Muslim world, as Bin Laden dreamed, but two powers reborn in the East.
Both al-Qaeda and ISIS openly complain about the difficulty in finding new members ready to give everything for the cause.
Kim Jong-Un, Supreme Leader of North Korea, has been summoned to appear in a Japanese courthouse. Five people who moved to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) between 1959 and 1984 are seeking 500 million yen (3.8 million euros) in damages from the North Korean government for deceiving them with promises of a prosperous […]
Welcome to Friday, where a “terrorist attack” in New Zealand leaves at least six dead, the New York flooding toll multiplies and an iconic Swedish 70s disco band is making a comeback. Italian daily La Stampa also looks at the unlikely rise in China of gray-haired influencers trending on social media.
Welcome to Thursday, where double vaccination is found to halve the chances of long COVID, a near-total abortion ban comes into effect in Texas and Brussels doctors know what’s good for you (it’s not sprouts). French daily Les Echos also *dives* deep to see if the miraculous powers of algae can save our lives and the planet.
China has big business interests in Afghanistan and security concerns on its western border; and following the U.S. pullout and Taliban takeover, Beijing will not tolerate the country becoming a source of regional unrest.
Welcome to Wednesday, where Joe Biden defends his decision to pull out troops from Afghanistan, a new COVID variant of interest has emerged in South America and the Paralympics gets a dramatic late arrival. We also feature a Le Monde report from Jordan’s sputtering economy, where women are finally breaking into professions barred in the past by a “culture of shame.”
Welcome to Tuesday, where the final U.S. soldiers have left Afghanistan, a snap lockdown in New Zealand looks to be working and Nike employees get a “mental-health week.” We also visit the French capital to hear what local residents really think about the filming of the Netflix show Emily in Paris in their chic neighborhood.
The fall of the Afghan national government may be a calamity for the Afghans but not for the world’s big-money interests, which prefer to deal with ruthless, incompetent regimes that will sell out their countries.
Welcome to Friday, where evacuation flights resume at Kabul airport after yesterday’s deadly attack, dozens of kidnapped Nigerian students are freed, and female hummingbirds evolve so that males get off their feathers. We also boldly explore the surprising crossroads between science fiction and real-life military strategy.
The legendary soccer star of FC Barcelona has signed up with the Parisian club, owned by the Emirate since 2011…and just in time for the World Cup slated next year in Qatar.