Jan. 13-14
- A history of women's rights in Iran
- Baby Yoda, the movie
- A headbanging granny
- … and much more.
🎲 OUR WEEKLY NEWS QUIZ
1. What country is taking Israel to court in front of the ICJ at the Hague, on genocide grounds?
2. Ecuadorian gang leader Jose Adolfo Macias managed to do what this week that sparked a wave of nationwide violence, including a live TV attack by gunmen?
3. What long-awaited mission has NASA delayed by a year?
4. What TV memorabilia went under the hammer in London, having been rescued from a bin back in 1998? Walker, Texas Ranger’s hat / A miniature UFO from The X-Files / Friends Season Four scripts / Ally McBeal’s prop gavel
[Answers at the bottom of this newsletter]
#️⃣ TRENDING
An U.S. restaurant influencer went viral after posting a TikTok titled “France made me cry” describing her nightmare trip to Lyon. Angela was traveling to Lyon for New Year’s to experience “a magnificent city” but ended up facing rude locals, a major language barrier and nowhere to eat. “All restaurants are closed, even Asian restaurants and pizzerias.” The Lyon tourist office has reached out and invited her back, saying “It would be a shame to stop at one bad experience; we invite you to contact the Office to schedule a new visit.”
🎭 5 CULTURE THINGS TO KNOW
• Russian propaganda film screening stirs controversy in Italy: The planned screening in Bologna, Italy of the Kremlin-backed propaganda film The Witness on Jan. 27 — which is also International Holocaust Remembrance Day — has sparked widespread condemnation from members of the public and city officials. The movie, which flopped at the box office in Russia last year, portrays a fictional narrative justifying Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine and its “denazification” argument.
• French actor accused of rape, Japan comedian to go on hiatus amid sex scandal report: French actor and film-maker Samuel Theis, known for his role in Golden Globe-winning film Anatomy of a Fall, was ousted from the shoot of his directorial film project Je Le Jure after a crew member accused him of rape. In Japan, comedian and TV personality Hitoshi Matsumoto will suspend his show business activities to “focus on the litigation trial” following the publication of several media reports related to sexual assault allegations against him.
• Madrid museum can keep Pissarro Nazi-looted painting, U.S. court rules: A U.S. appeal court said that Madrid's Thyssen-Bornemisza museum has the right to retain a painting by French impressionist Camille Pissarro that was stolen by the Nazis from a Jewish family, in a new development to the decades-long legal battle that has opposed the Spanish institution against the heirs of World War II-era Jewish refugees.
• Spice up your letters with special Spice Girls stamps: The UK’s Royal Mail celebrates the Spice Girls’ 30th anniversary with a special set of 15 stamps issued — the first time the postal service is dedicating an entire collection to a female pop group. The stamps feature various performance images of the band, including at the Brit Awards in 1997 and at the closing ceremony of the London 2012 Olympic Games, as well as individual portraits of the five members.
• Baby Yoda to get his own movie: Grogu (a.k.a. “Baby Yoda”) will make his debut on the big screen in a new Star Wars movie titled The Mandalorian & Grogu, which will go into production later this year and will be directed by Jon Favreau. The film will be the first from the franchise since 2019’s Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. Since his introduction in the Disney+ series The Mandalorian, the green alien child has become a fan favorite.
🇵🇸 For refugees in Rafah, only famine and exile on the horizon
Displaced Palestinian families are streaming into Rafah on Gaza’s southernmost border, with Egypt, fleeing Israel’s relentless bombardment. The city, which covers 55 square kilometers, had a pre-war population of around 280,000, a figure that has bulged to over 1 million in recent days. Conditions are dire as 47-year-old farmer Mohamed Abu Radwan describes: “There is no empty space, no food, no water. We’re starving.” Many fear another “Nakba” that would see them being pushed out of their homeland for good.
Read the full story: Rafah, Gaza Border Town Swells With Refugees Facing Famine And Forced Exile
🇪🇨 Why Ecuador’s response to drug cartels “terrorism” might not be enough
Ecuador has declared war on drug gangs, following an intimidatory wave that included murders, jail flights and most recently the assault on a television studio. For Ecuadorian journalist Jorge Imbaquingo, writing in Argentine Clarín, the surge in crime follows years of permissive attitudes that allowed the drug business to settle in the South American country. And the presidential measures taken this week might at best sever the fingertips of a criminal hydra, as big as the world itself.
Read the full story: Ecuador Declares War on Cartel "Terrorism" — But Is War The Right Response?
🧕 Iranian women are uniting to get their rights back
In 1936, Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi of Iran banned women's veils and headscarves in public, including schools, universities and offices. More than 80 years later, the Islamic Republic's radical Shia regime is doing everything to ensure women never leave home without a headscarf. In Persian-language media Kayhan-London, Roshanak Astaraki looks at the history of Iranian women’s rights and their fight to recover them.
Read the full story: Hijabs, Whips And Liberation: The Twisted History Of Women's Rights In Iran
🎾🤖 BRIGHT IDEA
The Consumer Electronics Show (CES) was back this week in Las Vegas with tech innovations and gadgets, giving us a glimpse of what the future of tech has in store. European startups shined at this year’s edition, showcasing — to name but a few — gloves that reduce hand tremors for Parkinson's patients, a masseur robot or a transparent camera. Among all the AI-infused products, Samsung presented Ballie, its spherical robot companion who can feed your pet, dim the lights, and is equipped with a built-in projector.
🤘 SMILE OF THE WEEK
Lauri Norris, an elderly Shinedown fan, has gone viral after she was captured headbanging in the front row at a gig by the U.S. rock band earlier this month. The clip of the super fan garnered 6 million views and sent the 2008 hit album Sounds of Madness back up to No. 1 on iTunes rock chart. Norris commented in a later TikTok: “Just wanted to take a minute to say how humbled and empowered I’ve been by all of your gracious comments.”
📹 THIS HAPPENED VIDEO — TODAY IN HISTORY, IN ONE ICONIC PHOTO
➡️ Watch the video: THIS HAPPENED
⏩ LOOKING AHEAD
• Bernardo Arévalo, son of former president Juan José Arévalo, is set to be inaugurated as Guatemala’s new president on Sunday despite facing legal challenges to prevent him from taking office since the anti corruption crusader’s unexpected win in August 2023, against a candidate favored by conservative elites.
• The Swiss town of Davos will host global leaders for the 54th Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF), scheduled from Jan. 15 to 19. This year’s event, under the theme “Rebuilding Trust,” will revolve around four pillars: security, employment and growth, artificial intelligence and climate.
• Denmark’s Queen Margrethe is set to step down on Sunday, abdicating in favor of her oldest son, Crown Prince Frederik. With a 52-year reign, she had become the longest-serving monarch in Europe after Britain's Queen Elizabeth died in 2022.
👓 WORLDCRUNCH MAGAZINE
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News quiz answers:
1. South Africa accused Israel of committing genocidal acts in Gaza, calling on the ICJ to order the Israeli military to cease its attacks. Israel rejected the accusations and said South Africa distorted the truth and ignored the events of October 7.
2. José Adolfo Macías, better known as “Fito,” escaped from his high-security cell in Guayaquil. Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa declared a state of emergency and a night time curfew, and said the military would hunt 22 gangs he labeled as terrorist organizations. From this statement followed gunmen storming a TV station on-air in the city.
3. NASA announced a postponement of its first crewed missions to the moon in decades. Initially set for 2024 with Artemis II, the mission has been rescheduled to September 2025, and the attempted moon landing with Artemis III is now slated for September 2026. NASA explained that the adjustments to the schedules are necessary to address challenges related to novel developments, operations, and integration, ensuring the safe execution of these missions.
4. The original scripts from two 1998 episodes of Friends Season Four, namely “The One With Ross's Wedding I” and “The One With Ross's Wedding II,” were scheduled for auction on January 12 by Hanson Ross, an auction house based in Hertfordshire, England. These scripts were discovered in a trash bin 26 years ago after the episodes were filmed at Fountain Studio, Wembley.
✍️ Newsletter by Worldcrunch
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*Photo: Royal Mail