Worldcrunch
👋 Сайн уу* Welcome to Tuesday, where Israel orders new strikes on Iran as it says Tehran violated a ceasefire announced by Trump, NATO leaders meet Tuesday in The Hague, and today’s quiz question comes from under the sea. Meanwhile, Gazeta Wyborcza’s Anna S. Dębowska tells the story of the Polish influencer suing Netflix for […]
For nearly a century, the West has approached the Middle East with strategic interests — but little genuine understanding. From coups to regime changes to failed red lines, each intervention has produced unintended consequences. Maybe it’s time we admit: the problem isn’t the region. It’s us.
👋 Elo!* Welcome to Monday, where Iran vows retaliation after U.S. air bombings on Iranian nuclear sites, Israel and Iran traded another wave of air and missile strikes, a suicide bombing in a church kills 22 in Syria, and our daily quiz question takes us to the shores of Thailand. Meanwhile, Valeria Quiroga for Latin […]
The intervention of American bombers in Iran has strengthened Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s position, allowing him to assert military supremacy over the Middle East. What comes next will be more difficult, as no solution is on the horizon for Gaza, and the Saudis are growing more skeptical than ever of Israel.
India’s inconsistent stance on Gaza reflects a broader diplomatic drift — from principled leadership to transactional alignment.
All of the complexities and competing interests in the Middle East are coming out during the current showdown between Israel and Iran, and Jordan has a strategic role to play.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said what others were thinking: Israel is doing the world a favor by trying to stop Iran’s nuclear program: Westerners and Arabs but also Russia and China, all would rather Tehran doesn’t get the bomb. But it may now be up to President Trump who is only concerned with his own interest.
By declaring that Israel was “doing the dirty work for all of us,” German Chancellor Friedrich Merz shocked many and cast an ambiguous shadow over Europe’s position in the conflict. At a moment when Europe should be upholding the rule of law, he appeared to align with Israel and the United States, who seem to rely solely on force.
In a world of stiff suits and scripted summits, Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni is standing out for her familiarity, warmth and an almost cinematic charm. But is it all just theater? Or is this her most authentic political power move yet?
Israel may be giving Tehran a taste of the havoc it wreaked on Gaza and Beirut, as it seeks to crush the very environment that has nurtured and sustained the hostile regime of the Islamic Republic.
The exchange of threats between Donald Trump and Ayatollah Ali Khamenei are increasing tensions, and everyone is waiting for the U.S. president to decide whether or not to commit his country to war alongside Israel. If Trump decides to do it, there are three main reasons why.
California Governor Gavin Newsom has challenged President Trump over the deployment of the national guard to address Los Angeles immigration protests. Echoing historic federal overreach, his stand challenges democratic norms and state sovereignty amid a polarized political landscape.
Europe’s long flirtation with anti-immigrant rhetoric is coming back to haunt it — this time with its own citizens in the crosshairs. With reports of Europeans facing detention at Guantánamo, the line between “us” and “them” begins to blur in the cruelest of ways.
After the bombs, Iran stands at a crossroads, torn between dynastic succession, military takeover and revolutionary implosion.
👋 Mari mari!* Welcome to Wednesday, where Iran’s Supreme Leader warns the U.S. of “irreparable” consequences should it consider military intervention, volcanic eruption has grounded flights in Bali, and today’s quiz question is about an 80 year-old man’s shenanigans in the Eternal City. Meanwhile, Giovana Girardi in Agência Pública analyzes Greta Thunberg’s views on climate […]
Donald Trump’s early departure from the G7 Summit highlighted his contempt for this type of meeting, but also had the virtue of pointing out that this institution has become an empty shell, embodying a world that has become obsolete. But what should replace it?
The assassination of top Iranian commanders proves again that few intelligence agencies in the world seem to be as effective as the Israeli Mossad. And few seem to have so little moral boundaries.
In Tamra, an Arab town in northern Israel, the fallout of Iran’s missile strikes has taken a devastating toll. As Israel and Iran trade blows, residents without proper shelters — especially in Muslim, Druze and Christian communities — are bearing the brunt of the escalating conflict.
👋 Salü bisàmme!* Welcome to Tuesday, where Israel and Iran trade more strikes as Trump says he is “looking at better than a ceasefire,” Russian airstrikes kill at least 14 in Kyiv, and tourists in Ibiza are scared to answer today’s quiz question. Meanwhile, Pauline Castellani in French daily Le Figaro takes a deep whiff […]
Benyamin Netanyahu made his point clear yesterday on ABC news: killing Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s Supreme Leader, “would not provoke an escalation. It would end the conflict” with Iran. Netanyahu reveals his end goal: the fall of the Tehran regime.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps, which Israel has been battering with increasing intensity, were inevitably a prime target after decades of violent subversion often enacted with the aid of that other enemy of the West: Russia. The IRGC may be in its final throes.
👋 Lumela!* Welcome to Monday, where Tehran launches fresh strikes on Tel Aviv as the conflict between Israel and Iran enters its fourth day, U.S. police arrest a suspect in the Minnesota lawmakers’ shooting and our daily quiz question is about a British woman breakthrough. Meanwhile, German weekly Die Zeit reveals the inside of the […]
A first-hand account of how the war began on the ground in Tehran, as a massive explosion shattered the silence. West Tehran’s high‐rises trembled as homes crumbled to rubble. Amid fierce flames and choking smoke, residents and rescuers confronted a war that had invaded their once peaceful city.
Poland is the EU country that is most afraid of adopting the euro. But why are Poles so afraid, and what economic prospects could help them change their mind?
No externally-induced regime change has produced positive results for more than 30 years: not in Afghanistan in 2001, nor Iraq in 2003, nor Libya in 2011. And even if the current rulers were expelled from Tehran, a particularly dangerous kind of chaos would likely take its place.
As he launches the unprecedented attacks against Iran, much seems to be going Netanyahu’s way, from the decimation of both Hamas and Hezbollah leaders to the toppling of the Assad regime and softening of Gulf states. But a closer look shows a much more ambiguous picture across the region.
From a vanished child in 1974 to systemic injustices unraveled decades later, Tak-un’s story exposes the fraught past of international adoption in South Korea and the profound impact on separated families.
In a bold move, Israel targeted Iran’s nuclear infrastructure and leadership in an operation that may have been years in the making, much like last year’s attack on the pagers of Hezbollah members.
Though he tried to keep Washington’s hands clean, U.S. President Trump necessarily gave his green light for the unprecedented operation against Iranian nuclear targets. It’s a victory for the foreign policy hardline faction, led by Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
👋 Ǹdéèwō!* Welcome to Friday, where Israel intercepts all Iranian drones launched in retaliation for its unprecedented strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities and top military leaders, one black box is found on the site of the Air India crash that killed 241 in western India yesterday, and today’s quiz question and today’s quiz question is […]
Israel bombed Iranian nuclear and military facilities last night, killing the head of the Revolutionary Guards and several Iranian scientists. It may appear as a strategic victory, but it also appears to be a choice to live with war across the region for years to come.
👋 Grüss Gott!* Welcome to Thursday, where Iran braces for a possible Israeli attack, a UK-bound plane carrying 242 people crashes in India and today’s quiz question comes from Denmark’s two biggest cities. Meanwhile, Piero Negri Scaglione in Italian daily La Stampa revisits seminal filmmaker Sergio Leone’s oeuvre, particularly in light of how he viewed […]
👋 Shlamalokhoun!* Welcome to Wednesday, where hundreds of protesters are arrested in Los Angeles amid a partial curfew, violence flares up across Colombia in the wake of the assassination attempt on presidential hopeful Miguel Uribe, and today’s quiz question comes from an auction house in Beijing. Meanwhile, Delphine Minoui in French daily Le Figaro shows […]
Five countries have imposed sanctions against the two most important far-right ministers in Israel’s Netanyahu government — Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and Internal Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir — a first that marks the deterioration in relations between Israel and its allies. But with the Trump administration standing behind Netanyahu, little can be actually be done.
The brutal assassination attempt on Colombian presidential hopeful Miguel Uribe Turbay has reopened decades-old wounds in the country. Amid grief and urgent investigations, the nation is wondering how unchecked rhetoric of hate that only breeds violence can be replaced by the defense of democracy with genuine compassion.
One month after the imprisonment of Ekrem Imamoglu, the mayor of Istanbul and a key rival to President Erdogan, the Silivri penitentiary — where political opponents are crowded together — has come to symbolize a country where justice bows to the shifting winds of politics.
👋 Alii!* Welcome to Tuesday, where at least eight people were killed in a school shooting in Austria, Israel is set to deport Gaza aid boat activists including Greta Thunberg, and today’s quiz question looks into a small marble sculpture that sold for nearly 900,000 euros in central France. Meanwhile, La Marea’s Juan Samaniego reports […]
The days of talking about ceasefires feel like a distant memory. Each side is now intent on making the other pay for not giving in. Donald Trump didn’t back up his promise with any pressure on Moscow.
As a child in the 1970s, German journalist Kirsten Küppers found joy, freedom and ease on the U.S. Army base in Mannheim. With Trump asserting his power, it may be simply impossible for that America to be found today in Germany.
👋 Ushé-ushé!* Welcome to Monday, where Israel forces intercept a Gaza-bound aid ship with Greta Thunberg onboard, Donald Trump sends in National Guard troops as clashes escalate in Los Angeles over immigration raids, and today’s quiz question sees two iconic singers together on stage. Meanwhile, Thomas Assheuer in German weekly Die Zeit is wondering whether […]