👋 Moien!*
Welcome to Friday, where Mahmoud Abbas passes the baton to longtime economic adviser Mohammed Mustafa as Palestinian prime minister, Russians head to the polls in a low-risk election for Vladimir Putin, and McDonald’s gets fried internationally. Meanwhile, writing for Arabic-language, Egypt-based news website Al Manassa, Salem al-Rayes spent the first day of Ramadan with a displaced family in their tent in Mawasi, west of Khan Yunis.
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🗞️ FRONT PAGE
São Paulo-based weekly news magazine Istoé lends its cover to the threat of artificial intelligence to elections and democracy. October this year will see municipal elections in Brazil, which Istoé says are being seen as “a possible global laboratory for new manipulation tools.” Brazil’s Superior Electoral Court President Alexandre de Moraes warned in February that candidates will face disqualification if they use AI to attack their opponents. Read more about AI on Worldcrunch.
🌎 7 THINGS TO KNOW RIGHT NOW
• Hamas issues ceasefire proposal as new Palestinian PM is appointed: Hamas has presented a Gaza ceasefire proposal to mediators and the U.S., demanding the release of Israeli hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners. Hamas said ceasefire negotiations had faltered in recent weeks due to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s rejection of its demands. On Thursday, his office said the new proposal was still based on “unrealistic demands.” Meanwhile, former Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas has appointed his longtime economic adviser, Mohammed Mustafa, to be the next prime minister. This follows U.S. pressure to reform the Palestinian Authority as part of Washington’s post-war vision for Gaza. Stay updated on the situation in the Middle East thanks to Worldcrunch’s international coverage here.
• Little suspense as Russians start to vote: Russia’s presidential election has begun, with polling stations welcoming citizens from 8 a.m. this morning. Ballots will be cast over three days. But it is almost certain that Vladimir Putin will win another six years in power, making him Russia’s longest ruler since Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin. Read more in this article translated in English by Worldcrunch: “Russian Election: How Navalny's "Protest Noon" Could Crash The Putin Victory Show.”
• Scholz, Tusk and Macron to meet in Berlin over Ukraine aid: French President Emmanuel Macron is heading to Berlin on Friday to meet with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk for urgent consultations on further European military backing for Kyiv. With the U.S. aid package still blocked by Congressional Republicans, Tusk said that it is now up to Paris, Berlin and Warsaw (the so-called Weimar Triangle), “to mobilize all of Europe” to provide Ukraine with fresh aid.
• Senegal’s opposition leaders freed ahead of elections: Ousmane Sonko, Senegal’s top opposition leader, has been freed from prison, ahead of the presidential election set for March 24. Released together with key ally Bassirou Diomaye Faye, Sonko is still barred from running for president. This comes after weeks of violent protests sparked by President Macky Sall’s attempt to delay the presidential vote, originally slated for Feb. 25 — an attempt that was eventually overruled by the country’s Constitutional Council.
• Donald Trump’s “hush money” trial to be delayed: U.S. prosecutors have said they are willing to delay Donald Trump’s criminal trial for up to 30 days so that his lawyers can review newly obtained evidence. The trial, which sees Trump accused of falsifying business records to hide hush money paid to adult performer Stormy Daniels, was set to begin on March 25.
• France to penalize fast fashion brands for environmental purposes: A bill imposing penalties on ultra-fast fashion products has been approved by France’s lower house of parliament to offset their environmental impact. The bill, which calls for a fine per product and a ban on advertising, was unanimously approved by all voting lawmakers. It will head to the senate before it can become law.
• International McDonald's outage: McDonald’s outlets in Japan, Hong Kong and Australia shut down after experiencing a large-scale system outage, which disrupted mobile ordering and self-ordering kiosks. The fast-food chain, which has some 40,000 restaurants worldwide, said it was aware of the outage and “the issue is now being resolved.”
#️⃣ BY THE NUMBERS
20.4 g
An Australian farm has broken the record for the world’s largest blueberry with a berry weighing in at 20.4 grams, 10 times heavier than the average blueberry. The blueberry, roughly the size of a ping pong ball, has broken the previous record, held by another Australian blueberry that weighed 16.2 g. The fruit is from a new variety that was developed by the Costa Group to meet growing demands for large berries.
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📰 STORY OF THE DAY
Ramadan in Gaza: How one displaced family broke their fast
With the Israel-Hamas war now in its sixth month and hunger worsening in Gaza, Palestinian have begun fasting for Ramadan. Al Manassa spent the first day of the Muslim holy month with a displaced family in their tent in Mawasi.
❌ Since the Israel-Hamas war began, 80% of Gaza’s 2.3 million people have been displaced, with more than half crammed into the far south, around Rafah, where many live in tents or schools that have been turned into shelters. Israel sealed off Gaza, barring the entry of humanitarian aid including food and fuel in the first weeks of the war, before allowing some aid to enter under strong international pressure. Amid these dire food shortages, UN agencies have warned about a looming famine.
☪️ With the war now in its sixth month, Palestinian have begun fasting for the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. Al-Manassa spent the first day of Ramadan with Abu Mujahid and his family. Their home east of Khan Yunis, Gaza’s second largest city, was destroyed, and the family has been displaced several times before arriving at Mawasi area, west of the city. Their exodus journey began at Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis. When the Israeli army besieged the hospital, they were forced to flee again through military corridors and checkpoints.
🤲 The family gathered around the table in the center of the tent and waited for the sunset call to prayer before breaking their fast in silence. As they ate their iftar, the silence was broken by the sound of explosions nearby. Abu Mujahid tried to reassure them. “May God protect us,” the mother says. The three sisters cleared the table and washed the dishes, using a gallon of the water intended for washing up. They worked together, took turns saying the evening prayer, and then prepared the coffee and qatayef.
➡️ Read more on Worldcrunch.com
📹 THIS HAPPENED VIDEO — TODAY IN HISTORY, IN ONE ICONIC PHOTO
➡️ Watch the video: THIS HAPPENED
📣 VERBATIM
“There needs to be a fresh debate about the future of Israel after Oct. 7.”
— U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer called on Thursday for an election in Israel, criticizing the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Schumer said that five months into the Israel-Hamas war, Netanyahu’s government “no longer fits the needs of Israel” and that “as a democracy, Israel has the right to choose its own leaders.” He also said negotiators in the conflict should do everything possible to secure a ceasefire, calling the prime minister an “obstacle to peace.” U.S. President Joe Biden has also put public pressure on the Israeli government, saying in an interview with MSNBC that Netanyahu was “hurting Israel more than helping.”
👉 MORE FROM WORLDCRUNCH
• Israel's Not Alone: The Other Middle East Players Blocking A Gaza Truce — DARAJ
• Modi, India's Influencer-In-Chief: A Reelection Campaign Designed Solely For Social Media — LES ECHOS
• "For The Curious Traveler" — A Peek Inside The Swinger Tourism Industry — CLARÍN
✍️ Newsletter by Agnese Tonghini and Ione Gildroy
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