👋 Oraire ota!*
Welcome to Tuesday, where Benjamin Netayahu reacts to the International Criminal Court’s requesting an arrest warrant for alleged war crimes in Gaza, Iran begins five days of mourning after the death of President Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash, and OpenAI “pauses” its synthetic voice because it sounds too much like Scarlett Johansson. Meanwhile, Dominique Moïsi in French daily Les Echos wonders how a deeply divided European Union can overcome fears of migration and war to unite against the Russian threat.
[*Nkore, Uganda]
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🗞️ FRONT PAGE
“Broken heart,” titles Argentine daily El Ciudadano after Argentine President Javier Milei made incendiary comments about Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez and his wife, Begoña Gómez, at a far-right rally in Madrid on Sunday. Milei accused Gómez of corruption and criticized Sánchez for his delayed response to the allegations, which Sánchez has dismissed as part of a far-right smear campaign. Relations between Spain and Argentina have deteriorated sharply since, with the Spanish government demanding an apology and withdrawing its ambassador from Buenos Aires.
🌎 7 THINGS TO KNOW RIGHT NOW
• Netanyahu condemns ICC bid to arrest him over alleged war crimes in Gaza. The International Criminal Court said there were reasonable grounds to believe that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his defense minister, as well as three Hamas leaders, bear criminal responsibility for alleged war crimes in Gaza. Netanyahu said he rejected with disgust that “democratic Israel” had been compared with “mass murderers.”
• Iran enters period of mourning following death of President Ebrahim Raisi. Thousands of people have taken to the streets in Tabriz, in the northwest of Iran, where the helicopter crash that killed the president and seven others happened. As part of the five days of mourning, Raisi’s body is expected to be buried in his birthplace, Mashhad, in the northeast, on Thursday. Global leaders have offered condolences. The U.S. said on Monday that, due to largely logistical reasons, it had been “unable” to answer an Iranian request for assistance. Read more about what Raisi’s death means for the Middle East with this piece translated from French by Worldcrunch.
• Trump hush money trial nears close. The defense appears likely to rest its case today, after four days of testimony from Donald Trump’s former lawyer Michael Cohen wrapped up on Monday, with Cohen acknowledging that he stole thousands of dollars from Trump’s company. Lawyers for former U.S. President Trump hope the testimony of a defense witness, Robert Costello, whom the judge threatened to remove from trial over his behavior, will help to undermine Cohen’s credibility when he returns to the stand today. Closing arguments in the case are expected next Tuesday.
• Protests continue as Taiwan parliament pushes reforms. New president Lai Ching-te took office on Monday, facing an angry China and fractured parliament. Lawmakers in Taiwan jostled, raised banners and shouted at each other in the dispute about efforts to widen parliament oversight pushed by the opposition. Several hundred people also gathered outside parliament to protest. Protests haven’t reached the level seen on Friday, when politicians physically fought in the chamber.
• Australia and New Zealand send planes to evacuate nationals from New Caledonia unrest. At least six people have died and hundreds have been injured in the violence which began last week following electoral reforms passed in Paris which affect France’s Pacific territory. Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong said Australia had received clearance from France for two flights to evacuate citizens, with the first flight arriving Tuesday. France has sent more than a thousand security personnel to the archipelago, with hundreds more due to arrive today. Learn more about the situation in New Caledonia, translated by Worldcrunch.
• Nine accused of coup to overthrow German government go on trial. A former judge and parliamentarian, and retired military officers are among those who stand trial today for the suspected “Reichsbürger” plot to topple the German government and install property investor and aristocrat Heinrich XIII Prinz Reuss as head of state. The case will be held in a maximum-security courtroom outside of Frankfurt, and is the second to open in the conspiracy involving at least 27 people.
• OpenAI to “pause” voice that sounds like Scarlett Johansson. The American actress said on Monday she was “shocked” by a synthetic voice which sounds like her, released after she declined to work with the company behind ChatGPT on such a project. Johansson, who previously voices an AI character in Spike Jonze’s 2013 movie her, said the voice was so “eerily similar” to her own that even her “closest friends couldn’t tell the difference.” OpenAI denies that the voice of “Sky” is an imitation of Johansson. Read more about AI, ethics and danger, translated from Italian by Worldcrunch.
#️⃣ BY THE NUMBERS
$294 million
U.S.-based restaurant chain Red Lobster filed for bankruptcy and plans to close some underperforming restaurants and sell the remaining to a group of lenders, as burdened with $294 million in debt. Among other things, the company is investigating its majority owner, Thai Union, regarding the "endless shrimp" promotion that resulted in $11 million in losses: This promotion, initially a limited-time $20 dish, was made permanent by former CEO Paul Kenny in May 2023, against the advice of other managers — leading to shrimp shortages and higher costs.
📰 STORY OF THE DAY
The two sides of European populism — a threat to the whole world
Ahead of the June's EU elections, Europeans are deeply divided between fears of migration and of the Ukraine war, between emotion and reason. How can the EU respond in the most united and credible manner to the Russian threat? asks Dominique Moïsi in French daily Les Echos.
🇪🇺 “Tell me what you fear most, and I’ll tell you who you are.” To get straight to the point — at the risk of oversimplifying — in Europe today, there are two camps when it comes to fear. In one camp, are those who are most afraid of migrants and more generally of migratory phenomena, for security and identity reasons. In the second, are those who believe the war in Ukraine has radically transformed the situation on the European continent, and who put Russia at the top of the list of threats to Europe.
🇷🇺 At a time when Russia — feeling time may play against it in Ukraine, with the planned arrival of U.S. weapons — is playing more than ever with the nuclear threat, a geopolitical theme should prevail. And it should lead Europeans to come up with simple answers to a simple question. How can Europe respond in the most united and credible manner to Russian President Vladimir Putin's intimidation attempts? The more Russia threatens, and the more the U.S. hesitates, the more Europe there has to be, both qualitatively and, no doubt, quantitatively.
🤝 Exactly 20 years ago, EU enlargement to include previously communist countries in the east and center was, despite some very real difficulties, a resounding success. Today, to grow stronger and be united in freedom, Europe must prepare for a new enlargement that would increase its membership from 27 to 35. Whatever the difficulties, sticking points, delays, contradictions, hesitations, the EU continues to act by capillarity, through the power of attraction it has always had on all those who dream of becoming a member.
➡️ Read more on Worldcrunch.com
📹 THIS HAPPENED VIDEO — TODAY IN HISTORY, IN ONE ICONIC PHOTO
➡️ Watch the video: THIS HAPPENED
📣 VERBATIM
"What’s happening is not genocide."
— U.S. President Joe Biden has criticized the International Criminal Court (ICC) for seeking arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, and three Hamas leaders, denying claims of genocide in Gaza and defending Israel's actions. Gallant also condemned the ICC's action, calling it a "disgraceful" interference in the Gaza war. Meanwhile, Israel plans to intensify military operations in Rafah, southern Gaza. The humanitarian situation remains dire, with aid blocked at the Rafah crossing.
👉MORE FROM WORLDCRUNCH
• Iranians React To Raisi Death: Mourning, Cheering, Succession Whispers, Israel's Role — WORLDCRUNCH
• Queer Vintage: Italy's First LGBTQ+ Winery — LA STAMPA
• For Chiapas Indigenous, Justice Gets Lost Without Translation — GLOBAL PRESS JOURNAL
✍️ Newsletter by Ione Gildroy and Cory Agathe
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