👋 བཀྲ་ཤིས་བདེ་ལེགས།*
Welcome to Monday, where Iranian state media confirms President Ebrahim Raisi and Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian have died in a helicopter crash, an Israeli airstrike kills at least 27 in central Gaza, and Kyles are nowhere near as good as Ivans at getting together. Meanwhile, Luis Rubio in Latin American business magazine América Economía writes about the “dangerous” proposal by a major Mexican presidential candidate to turn self-reliant Mexico into a welfare state.
[*Tashi delek - Tibetan]
✅ 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
Tehran-based newspaper Ham-Mihan dedicates its front page to the deadly helicopter crash of Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi and Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian near the Azerbaijan border, and Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei assuring the nation of continued stability. A government cabinet statement also emphasized that the government's operations will proceed uninterrupted.
🌎 7 THINGS TO KNOW RIGHT NOW
• Iran president Ebrahim Raisi killed in helicopter crash. State media confirmed the helicopter, which was heading to the city of Tabriz on Sunday, crashed in heavy fog in the north of the country after a “hard landing” incident. Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and several others were also killed in the crash that left no survivors. Iran declared five days of national mourning, with the funerals expected to be held on Tuesday in Tabriz. Iran’s supreme leader appointed the country's first vice president, Mohammad Mokhber, as acting president on Monday, while an election is expected to take place in the next 50 days.
• Israeli airstrike kills 27 in central Gaza, with plans set to broaden ground operation in Rafah. Defense Minister Yoav Gallant was quoted as saying to visiting U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan that Israel was committed to expanding its military operation there “to the end of dismantling Hamas and recovering the hostages.” Over the weekend, Benny Gantz, a key member of Israel’s war cabinet, threatened to quit the government on June 8 if Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu didn’t formulate a new post-war plan for Gaza.
• London court to decide whether Julian Assange is extradited to the U.S. Two High Court judges could decide in a hearing Monday to uphold the UK government’s 2022 extradition decision, allow the founder of WikiLeaks to appeal or even release him. Assange has been indicted on 17 espionage charges and one charge of computer misuse following the mass leak of secret U.S. documents almost 15 years ago. Read more in this analysis translated from Spanish to English: Navalny And Assange: Exposing Crimes Of The Powerful Like No "Ordinary" Journalists Could.
• Jacob Zuma barred from running in South Africa general election. The country’s constitutional court disqualified the 82-year-old disgraced former president from standing in the May 29 ballot to elect parliament members because of his 15-month jail sentence for contempt of court in 2021. South Africa's electoral commission originally disqualified Zuma in March, but a month later a court had overturned this decision.
• Two killed in knife attack at Chinese primary school. Police said a 45-year-old woman used a fruit knife, injuring 10 people at the school in Guixi city in the southern Jiangxi province on Monday. It is unclear whether children are among the casualties. The suspect has been arrested.
• Dominican Republic President Abinader wins second term amid Haiti migrant crackdown. Early results showed the 56-year-old won nearly 60% of the vote in Sunday’s elections, prompting his closest rivals to concede defeat. During his campaign, Abinader had pledged to continue his government’s tough policies towards migration from violence-stricken neighbor Haiti. For more, check this article on Worldcrunch: The Dominican Republic Builds A Wall At Haiti's Border — Sounds Like An Election Issue.
• A lot of people named Kyle fail to break a world record. The city of Kyle, in Texas, wanted to beat the world record for the largest gathering of people with the same name, which was set in 2017 by a town in Bosnia that got 2,325 people named Ivan together. Well, let’s just say that the 706 who showed up this weekend in Texas missed the record by more than a Kyle…
#️⃣ BY THE NUMBERS
$6 billion
The UK government will spend an estimated £4.7 billion ($6 billion) on post-Brexit border arrangements due to repeated delays in implementing new rules, according to the National Audit Office (NAO). The new Border Target Operating Model phases will require additional certifications, physical checks, and safety declarations by October. The delays since the EU transition period ended in December 2020 have caused business uncertainty, extra costs, and increased biosecurity risks. Follow our international coverage of Brexit here.
📰 STORY OF THE DAY
A defense of the Mexican work ethic — and critique of “Peronist” politics
An often dysfunctional state has turned Mexicans into a vigorously self-reliant, hard-working nation. But plans by the leftist presidential candidate to create a welfare state seem like the sure-fire way of pushing Mexico toward "Argentine-style" reliance on the government, writes Luis Rubio in Latin American business magazine América Economía.
💼 Mexican entrepreneurship and creativity are evident in all aspects of life. Resolved to earn their living, Mexicans work more hours than people in similar situations in other OECD countries. It is a testament not just to a willingness to work but to the country's dismal socio-economic setup, which inevitably lowers productivity. The contrast is stark with other OECD countries where the quality of education, healthcare and investments in infrastructures undoubtedly boost productivity. Mexicans have thus had to come up with their own way of creating things and solving problems.
🇦🇷 In the early 20th century, Argentina was one of the world's wealthiest countries, comparable in its prosperity to Europe or the United States. A combination of natural resources, an essentially middle-class population and an inclination to work forged a successful nation at the time. One hundred years later, Argentina's profile is very different, with a markedly lower GDP and evident decline that is in part the legacy of the Peronist movement's social democracy model. Its welfare and pension policies encouraged broad swathes of the population to stop looking for work.
⚠️ That is why the recent proposals on the future of work by Claudia Sheinbaum, the ruling party's candidate for the June presidential elections, so dangerous. The former Head of Government of Mexico City and front-runner in the polls says "it is not true but false" that you cannot have "good living standards" if you do not work. That, she has said, "is the discourse of the past. The government, the Mexican state, must give its support here."
➡️ Read more on Worldcrunch.com
📹 THIS HAPPENED VIDEO — TODAY IN HISTORY, IN ONE ICONIC PHOTO
➡️ Watch the video: THIS HAPPENED
📣 VERBATIM
"China's ambition to annex Taiwan will not disappear."
— Taiwan's new President Lai Ching-te, in his inauguration speech, urged China to cease its military and political threats, emphasizing peace and mutual respect. China, viewing Taiwan as its territory, condemned Lai's comments as dangerous and separatist. Lai reiterated Taiwan's commitment to democracy and self-defense, stating that peace is the only option.”We also want to declare this to the world: Taiwan makes no concessions on democracy and freedom,” he said. For more on Taiwan, we offer this recent piece from Chinese-language digital media outlet The Initium, translated by Worldcrunch.
👉MORE FROM WORLDCRUNCH
• The Voices Inside Gaza Turning Against Hamas — And Al Jazeera — DARAJ
• The Two Sides Of European Populism — A Threat To The Whole World — LES ECHOS
• France To Iran To Japan: How Governments Try (And Fail) To Make People Have Babies — WORLDCRUNCH
✍️ Newsletter by Anne-Sophie Goninet and Cory Agathe
Let us know what’s happening in your corner of the world!