👋 Häj ą̊ dig!*
Welcome to Thursday, where Russia says it has taken over the biggest town in the Kursk region, G7 foreign ministers are headed toward a tense meeting in Canada, and today’s quiz question comes from a microbrewery in Singapore. Meanwhile, Simone Kamhuber provides us with a snappy guide on how to transform from a couch potato into a “high-energy” individual.
[*Elfdalian, Sweden]
✅ SIGN UP
This is our daily newsletter Worldcrunch Today, a rapid tour of the news of the day from the world's best journalism sources, regardless of language or geography.
It's easy (and free!) to sign up to receive it each day in your inbox: 👉 Sign up here🗞️ FRONT PAGE
Karachi-based, English-language daily The Express Tribune lends its front page to the end of the “Jaffar Express siege” in the southwestern Balochistan region of Pakistan, which saw separatist militants attack a train carrying an estimated 440 people, taking hostages and killing at least 21. The Balochistan Liberation Army claimed responsibility, demanding the release of Baloch prisoners and activists. The Pakistani army ended the siege, killing 33 militants and rescuing more than 300 passengers.
🌎 7 THINGS TO KNOW RIGHT NOW
• Russia claims to have retaken Kursk’s biggest town ahead of talks with U.S. Russian forces have driven the Ukrainian army out of Sudzha, the biggest town in Russia’s Kursk border region, officials said on Thursday. The announcement came hours after a surprise visit from Russian President Vladimir Putin to Kursk, his first since Ukraine’s incursion over the border, where he reportedly ordered the military to “fully liberate” the region. Meanwhile, U.S. officials have landed in Moscow on Thursday morning to discuss a potential 30-day ceasefire in Ukraine.
• G7 foreign ministers meet in Canada amid tensions with Trump’s foreign policy. Foreign ministers of leading Western democracies are meeting for two days in La Malbaie, Quebec, after several weeks of tensions with U.S. President Donald Trump over his contentious foreign policy and tariff impositions. For more, check this OpEd translated from Spanish by Worldcrunch: Viva American Democracy! A Foreign Take On Why The "Trump Interlude" Will Pass.
• Trump threatens further tariffs following retaliation from EU and Canada. The U.S. president has pledged to impose more tariffs after the European Union and Canada said they would retaliate against his 25% import taxes on steel and aluminium. “Whatever they charge us, we're charging them,” Trump told reporters at the White House. Read more in this piece by French analyst Pierre Haski: U.S. And China: Here's How A Trade War Could Stumble Into A Hot War.
• Syria creates national security council, Canada announces plan to ease sanctions. Syria’s interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa issued a decree on Wednesday to form a national security council — a body which did not exist under ousted leader Bashar al-Assad. The council will make decisions on challenges facing the state, including “coordinating and managing security and political policies.” Meanwhile, Canada’s government announced plans to ease sanctions on Syria and to provide 84 million Canadian dollars ($59 million) in new funding for humanitarian assistance.
• South Korea charges pilots with criminal negligence over accidental bombing of village. Two Air Force pilots were charged with criminal negligence by South Korean military investigators on Thursday, following an accidental bombing of a village last week during a training exercise that left 29 people injured. Errors from the pilots when they entered coordinates into the aircraft systems were “direct factors” behind the accidental bombing, the ministry’s Criminal Investigation Command said in a statement.
• Argentine retirees and soccer fans clash with police at pensions march. At least 15 people were injured and more than 100 arrested in Buenos Aires after retirees and fans of several soccer teams clashed with police Wednesday during a protest against economic policies implemented by President Javier Milei, including pension cuts. Buenos Aires retirees have held weekly protests demanding higher pensions, as they have dried up since libertarian Milei took office in late 2023. Read more in this Clarín OpEd translated from Spanish by Worldcrunch.
• News Quiz! A Singaporean microbrewery has just entered the Guinness World Records. What record did it set?
A. It serves 742 brands of beer
B. It can only accommodate one customer
C. It’s the world’s highest microbrewery
D. It brews the world’s spiciest beer
[Answer below]
#️⃣ BY THE NUMBERS
$3.5 billion
Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) struck a deal to buy Pokémon Go, one of the world’s best-performing mobile games with 30 million monthly players. The PIF said it would buy the game from its current owner, San Francisco-based company Niantic, for $3.5 billion. Saudi Arabia has been taking an increasingly important role in the gaming industry, acquiring shares in major companies like Nintendo and purchasing some top games like Monopoly Go, which has generated more than $3 billion in revenue alone.
📹 ON THIS DAY VIDEO — 4 HISTORY-MAKING EVENTS, IN 57 SECONDS
➡️ Watch the video: ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY
📰 IN OTHER NEWS
🎖️ With Trump's White House warming to Putin on international matters, Europe must rethink its military independence — and that may mean closing the many U.S. bases on its soil before they become threats rather than safeguards.
— LA STAMPA
🇷🇺 Known in France and on social networks under several false identities, the daughter of a Russian millionaire was born in 2003 from an extramarital relationship with the Russian president, who never recognized her.
— LE FIGARO
🏋️ Some people seem to breeze through a 40-hour workweek, housework, workouts, and personal projects, while others barely make it to the couch after work. But what if you, too, could become one of those high-energy people?
— DIE ZEIT
📣 VERBATIM
“I will be responsible for everything.”
— Former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said in a video uploaded to his Facebook account that he takes full responsibility for his government’s deadly “war on drugs” after being arrested on a warrant issued by the International Criminal Court. The warrant was issued over the execution of thousands of people suspected of taking part in the illegal drug trade without trial, which would constitute murder as a crime against humanity.
✍️ Newsletter by Anne-Sophie Goninet & Jacob Shropshire
Let us know what’s happening in your corner of the world!
Quiz Answer: C. The Singaporean LeVel33 microbrewery was recently named the “world’s highest microbrewery” by Guinness World Records. The venue, which opened in 2010, is located 33 floors up — hence the name — in Singapore’s Marina Bay Financial Centre Tower. Its brewing equipment was too big to fit into the building’s elevator and had to be brought up to the top floor by crane.