March 30-31
- Gaza’s desperate search for food
- 18 Spanish nuns walk into a bar
- Shhhh mask
- … and much more.
🎲 OUR WEEKLY NEWS QUIZ
1. Out of 15 members of the UN Security Council, how many voted in favor of the resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza?
2. Which country is set to become the first in Southeast Asia to legally recognize same-sex marriage?
3. Canada’s reserves of which staple have hit an alarming 16-year low?
4. Saudi Arabia has announced it will build the world’s first theme park based on which famous manga and animated series? Dragon Ball / One Piece / Naruto / Saint Seiya
[Answers at the bottom of this newsletter]
#️⃣ TRENDING
The friendship between Peggy, a Staffordshire bull terrier, and Molly, a domesticated magpie bird from Australia captivated audiences on social media in 2020, amassing Peggy’s owners 2 million followers and a book deal. However, Australia’s Department of Science and Innovation seized the magpie on March 1, claiming that Molly was taken “illegally” from the wild and kept without a permit. Nearly 80,000 fans publicly protested the seizure by signing a petition to reunite the animal friends, an effort that gained support from Queensland’s premier. Steven Miles said “common sense needs to prevail,” and that authorities will work with Peggy’s owners to rectify the situation.
🎭 5 CULTURE THINGS TO KNOW
• Olympic flame to burn near the Louvre: The Olympic flame is set to burn in the Tuileries Garden in front of the Louvre Museum during the 2024 Paris Games this summer, after organizers abandoned the idea of the Eiffel Tower, an anonymous source told Reuters.
• In memoriam: U.S. sculptor Richard Serra, known for his massive rusting steel sculptures housed in museums and public spaces around the world, died at 85 from pneumonia; French writer and illustrator Laurent de Brunhoff, who continued his father’s popular Babar the Elephant picture book series, died at the age of 98; Maurizio Pollini, a Grammy-winning Italian pianist known for his interpretations of Chopin, Debussy, and Beethoven, died at 82.
• Pompeii home renovation sheds light on Roman construction techniques: Archaeologists in Pompeii, Italy uncovered an ancient building site, which revealed construction techniques that Roman builders used at that time. These include an original way to make cement using quicklime and pozzolanic ash. The building site, described as a home renovation, was probably active until the volcanic Mount Vesuvius erupted in 79 AD, destroying the city.
• British Museum sues former curator over alleged theft of 1,800 items: The British Museum in London has taken a former curator to court, alleging that he stole hundreds of artifacts from its collections and offered them for sale online. Peter Higgs was fired in July 2023 after the museum discovered that more than 1,800 artifacts were stolen or missing, including ancient gems and gold jewelry. The institution said it has recovered 356 of the missing items so far.
• Titanic’s controversial floating door sells big at auction: The much-debated door from Titanic, which kept Kate Winslet’s Rose out of the icy waters, has been sold for $718,750 at auction during a sale of props and costumes owned by restaurant and resort chain Planet Hollywood. Ever since the release of the 1997 film, fans have wondered whether the door was big enough to save Leonardo DiCaprio’s Jack as well, despite director James Cameron’s attempts to quash speculation.
🇵🇸 In Gaza, desperately looking for food
Israel’s blockade has led to severe food shortages in Gaza. Many families, like the Ziara family, are struggling to feed their children. With restricted and insufficient humanitarian aid, some are resorting to force or turning to black markets for food. Despite international calls to increase aid delivery, many civilians still cannot access necessary assistance, further exacerbating the crisis, reports Salem al-Rayes in Egypt-based news website Al Manassa.
Read the full story: Parents, Children, Black Markets: Inside The Desperate Search For Food In Gaza
🇫🇷🇩🇪 What the Ukraine-Russia war says about the Franco-German relationship
A gulf currently separates France and Germany in their perception of war in Ukraine, reflecting a historical and strategic divide. While France has shifted towards considering ground troops and a more assertive stance, Germany has opted for a cautious approach, emphasizing peace and military aid over direct involvement. Institutional disparities and divergent interpretations hinder coordinated action between Paris and Berlin. As tensions escalate and the geopolitical landscape evolves, bridging these gaps becomes increasingly challenging, writes Emmanuel Grasland in French daily Les Echos.
Read the full story: Ukraine, A Mirror Of The French-German Divide
♀️📺 Not-So-Marvelous Mrs. Maisel? The feminist TV shows that aren’t that feminist
We've seen some strong female leads in major TV series in recent years: Fleabag, Daenerys Targaryen or Mrs. Maisel. Women are no longer two-dimensional — as they always were in patriarchal culture. But how feminist are these emotionally distant characters who have a disastrous love life, a trait that just sits right next to the fact that they stand up for themselves? asks Valentina Pigmei in Internazionale. “They are accomplished at work but submissive in love life, lead extraordinary enterprises but are betrayed by charmless men, shine in public, but desperate in the private sphere,” the journalist writes in the Italian weekly magazine.
Read the full story: Mrs. Maisel To Fleabag: Why TV's Strong Female Leads Aren't As Feminist As You Think
🔇 BRIGHT IDEA
Nosy people eavesdropping? Skyted, a young company based in Toulouse, in southern France, is set to put on a groundbreaking silent mask on the market. The innovative voice sound absorption device, designed by European researchers who took inspiration from jet engine silencer technology. Skyted aims to make it possible to make virtually silent phone calls in busy places like trains or planes, without disturbing other passengers.
✝️🍺 SMILE OF THE WEEK
In northern Spain, a congregation of Catholic nuns have reopened a bar in an ancient sanctuary in the hopes of preaching to visitors of the 11th-century site. The nuns took over operations of the bar from a group of Benedictine monks, who had let a local association run the venue after they left the sanctuary in 2022. The group of 18 nuns moved in last year and renamed the bar Amaren Etxea, meaning “House of the Mother” in Basque. Sister Guadalupe said that it is “not a sin to drink beer” and that the bar is an “open door to evangelize.”
📹 THIS HAPPENED VIDEO — TODAY IN HISTORY, IN ONE ICONIC PHOTO
➡️ Watch the video: THIS HAPPENED
⏩ LOOKING AHEAD
• Turkish local elections are being held on Sunday, where millions of voters are going to choose their new administrators and mayors. The vote is set to be a test for President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's popularity as his ruling party tries to win back key cities it lost five years ago.
• U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken will discuss support for Ukraine in Paris next week with French President Emmanuel Macron. It will be their first meeting in nearly two years, after Macron flew to Washington in December 2022.
• Starting April 1, Barcelona will increase its tourist tax by 0.50 euros per night to €3.25 euros, in an effort to attract “quality” tourism. Spain’s most-visited city, Barcelona struggles with overtourism. It first introduced the extra tourist tax in 2012, which visitors must pay in addition to a regional tax.
• This weekend, participate in a different kind of Easter egg hunt: the Great Eggcase Hunt. Organized by The Shark Trust, this project encourages people around the world to document shark egg cases they may find on the shoreline to help scientists learn more about sharks and rays.
👓 WORLDCRUNCH MAGAZINE
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News quiz answers:
1. UN Security Council resolution calling for a ceasefire passed on Monday, with 14 members voting in favor, and the U.S. abstaining.
2. Thailand is a step closer to legalizing marriage equality after the country’s lower house passed a bill giving legal recognition to same-sex unions.
3. Canada's maple syrup reserve has reached a 16-year low, raising questions about the future of a globally loved sweet staple in the face of climate change. The reserve, located in Quebec, is designed to hold 133 million pounds of maple syrup; in 2023, the supply fell to 6.9 million pounds.
4. Saudi Arabia announced the construction of a theme park near the capital city of Riyadh, the first to be based on the Japanese manga and animated series Dragon Ball, whose creator Akira Toriyama died on March 1, at age 68.
✍️ Newsletter by Worldcrunch
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*Photo: Peggyandmolly via Instagram