👋 Yokwe!*
Welcome to Monday, where U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is set to meet with Saudi leaders before heading to Israel, Brazil marks one year since Bolsonaro supporters attacked the country’s Congress, and the next Moon mission is off to a good start. Meanwhile, Traver Pacheco in Spanish online media outlet Ethic follows Madrid-born art collective Boa Mistura’s expansion around the world.
[*Marshallese, Marshall Islands]
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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.
🌎 7 THINGS TO KNOW RIGHT NOW
• Blinken on Middle East tour: U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Monday opened his third day of meetings on an urgent Middle East diplomatic mission to prevent Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza from extending into a broader regional conflict. Blinken's visit came as Israel air strikes hit the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis and across its border with Lebanon. The U.S. official will meet Saudi Arabian leaders on Monday before heading to Israel. For more, we offer this recent analysis of “Blinken’s faceless diplomacy” by Alberto Simoni for Italian daily La Stampa, translated by Worldcrunch.
• Bangladesh PM Hasina secures fourth term: Bangladesh's Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has secured her fourth straight term in a controversial election. Hasina will serve another five years in office with her party winning almost 75% of the seats in a general election that was boycotted by the main opposition after the prime minister refused their demands to resign and allow a neutral authority to run the general election.
• Indian court overrules early release of 11 men in gang rape case: Eleven men freed early after being found guilty of the gang rape of Bilkis Bano and murdering her relatives during anti-Muslim riots in the western state of Gujarat in 2002, must be returned to prison. India's Supreme Court ruled on Monday that the men were to surrender to prison authorities in Gujarat within two weeks.
• U.S. Congress leaders reach $1.66 trillion spending deal ahead of feared shutdown: U.S. Congress leaders have reached a deal over the total amount of spending for the rest of 2024 as they seek to avoid a partial government shutdown. The $1.6 trillion figure includes $886 billion for defense and more than $704 billion for non-defense spending, according to Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson.
• Japan earthquake toll rises to 160: The death toll from Japan's New Year's Day earthquake has risen from to more than 160. Efforts are ongoing to find more than 100 people who remain missing a week later. But bad weather is hindering rescuers, with heavy rain and snow triggering warnings of landslides and building collapses.
• Australia outlaws Nazi salute and hate symbols: The Nazi salute and associated hate symbols have been criminalized in Australia. Legislation banning the salute and the display or sale of symbols associated with terror groups took effect on Monday, as the Australian government responds to a rise of hate speech and anti-Semitic incidents in recent months, since Israel’s war on Gaza began.
• Oppenheimer and Succession win big at the Golden Globes 2024: Oppenheimer was the big winner at the Golden Globe Awards, taking home five awards including the top prize. Succession scored the most wins in the TV categories following its acclaimed fourth and final season. Meanwhile, Barbie won the inaugural box office achievement award, after grossing $1.4 billion worldwide. There were two wins each for Anatomy of a Fall, The Holdovers and Poor Things, and one for Martin Scorsese's Killers of the Flower Moon.
🗞️ FRONT PAGE
“01/8, the day barbarism made democracy stronger.” Brasília-based Correio Braziliense dedicates its front page to the one-year anniversary of the attack on the Congress, Supreme Court and Presidency which followed Lula’s presidential victory over far-right Bolsonaro. A day engraved in every Brazilian mind, says the daily which insists on the fact that this attempted coup only deepened the country’s commitment to democracy and its Constitution.
🔢 BY THE NUMBERS
171
The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has ordered the temporary grounding of 171 Boeing 737 Max 9 planes, after Friday’s in-flight incident on an Alaska Airlines aircraft flying from Portland, Oregon, to Ontario, California. Pilots were forced to perform an emergency landing after a hole was ripped into the side of a Boeing plane midair; a door plug, seemingly torn off from the aircraft shortly after takeoff, has since been found by a Portland school teacher in his garden. The FAA decision to ground the planes has caused Boeing shares to slide down 8% in pre-market trading.
📰 STORY OF THE DAY
Boa Mistura, international: How a Madrid street art collective reimagines world cities
Born in Madrid but working around the world, art collective Boa Mistura explores creativity as a powerful force to inspire dialogue and transform urban environments into canvases of hope, reports Traver Pacheco in Spanish online media outlet Ethic.
🖌️ The name “Boa Mistura,” which means “good mix” in Portuguese, reflects the diversity of styles and perspectives that characterizes the collective’s work. Since its first projects on the walls of Madrid, the collective stood out for presenting a different and fresh approach, but fundamentally for its commitment to art as an instrument of social change. Its ability to mix diverse influences and techniques has been key to creating works that have become vehicles of transformation in the communities they touch.
🏙️ One of Boa Mistura's most iconic projects is “Madrid Gráfica", which started in the Madrid neighborhood of Tetuán in 2015. The artists created geometric patterns and inspiring messages with the inhabitants, allowing the neighborhood itself to contribute to the visual narrative which aimed to transform its gray facades into colorful illustrations. The intervention not only changed the physical appearance of the buildings, but also created a feeling of pride and a sense of belonging, giving the neighborhood a new energy.
🌎 Boa Mistura's social commitment does not translate into artistic projects only. The collective is also involved in talks, workshops and community events, as well as in exhibitions in art galleries and renowned international festivals, where its creations have achieved global recognition. Its work has been exhibited in places such as the Tate Modern in London and has been recognized with prizes and mentions in the field of art and culture, thus reinforcing its position as an influential force in the contemporary scene.
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📹 THIS HAPPENED VIDEO — TODAY IN HISTORY, IN ONE ICONIC PHOTO
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📣 VERBATIM
“They cannot, they must not be pressed to leave Gaza.”
— U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken condemned Israeli ministers' calls for Palestinians to leave Gaza, following recent airstrikes on the Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza that killed at least 70 civilians. During a stop in Qatar on his latest whirlwind tour of the region, Blinken also said that “far too many innocent Palestinian men, women and children” had died in the war, and that civilians who have been forced to relocate must be able to return home as soon as conditions allow.
👉 MORE FROM WORLDCRUNCH
• The West Has Lost All Credibility In Gaza — And May Never Get It Back — FRANCE INTER
• Munich 1972 Lessons: Why Mossad's Assassination Campaign Won't Defeat Hamas — WORLDCRUNCH
• In India, Political Satirists On Social Media Are Last Bastion Of Press Freedom — THE WIRE
✍️ Newsletter by Emma Albright, Chloé Touchard, Laure Gautherin and Anne-Sophie Goninet
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