👋 Halo!*
Welcome to Tuesday, where Hamas says it’s ready to negotiate over the details of a UN-backed ceasefire, Russia and Belarus kick off the second phase of joint nuclear drills, and New Zealand scraps plans to tax livestock “emissions.” Meanwhile, Worldcrunch’s Fabrizio La Rocca writes about how life in Naples, Italy, has always been shaped by the looming presence of volcanoes.
[*Sundanese, Indonesia]
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🗞️ FRONT PAGE
Berlin-based daily newspaper Die Tageszeitung dedicates its front page to German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and French President Emmanuel Macron, “European Blues Brothers” united in defeat after EU parliamentary elections. A major surge of far-right votes led Macron to call for a snap election; Scholz has said he would not follow suit, despite suffering the worst election setback for the Social Democratic Party (SPD) since World War II. *For more, read this recent piece by France Inter’s Pierre Haski, translated by Worldcrunch: Scholz And Macron: Stunning EU Election Defeats At The Heart Of Europe.
🌎 7 THINGS TO KNOW RIGHT NOW
• Hamas accepts UN ceasefire resolution as Israeli attacks continue. Senior Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri told Reuters on Tuesday that the group was ready to negotiate over the details, following a vote by the United Nations Security Council to support a U.S. resolution that sets out the conditions for a "full and complete ceasefire.” Meanwhile, at least eight people were killed in an Israeli attack on a residential apartment in Gaza City. Follow Worldcrunch’s international coverage of the situation in the Middle East.
• U.S. lifts weapons ban on Ukraine’s Azov Brigade. The high-profile Ukrainian military unit will be allowed to use U.S. weapons, the State Department said on Tuesday, reversing a decade-old ban. The U.S., which prohibits providing equipment and training to foreign military units or individuals suspected of committing gross human rights violations, had banned the regiment from using American weapons, citing the neo-Nazi ideology of some of its founders. The State Department said on Tuesday that it found “no evidence” of such violations.
• Russia and Belarus launch second stage of joint nuclear weapon drills. The two armies rolled out fighter jets and tanks on Tuesday in the second of three scheduled tests, which aim to demonstrate the countries’ “readiness to use so-called retaliatory weapons” and which are part of the Kremlin’s efforts to discourage the West from ramping up support for Ukraine.
• Jet carrying Malawi’s vice president has been found with no survivors. In a news briefing on Tuesday, President Lazarus Chakwera said that the plane, carrying 10 people including Saulos Chilima, had been located a day after it went missing in bad weather. No survivors were found after the aircraft reportedly crashed into the Chikangawa Forest, northern Malawi.
• Hundreds of animals die in fire at Bangkok’s famous Chatuchak market. Authorities said the blaze was started by an electrical short circuit early Tuesday, before quickly spreading across more than 100 shops in the market’s pet section. Birds, dogs, cats and snakes kept in cages died, but no human casualties or injuries have been reported.
• U.S. jury rules banana giant Chiquita has to compensate victims of Colombian paramilitary. A federal court in Florida found Chiquita Brands International liable for financing the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC), which has been designated a terrorist organization by the U.S. The company will have to pay $38.3 million in damages to the families of eight Colombian men killed by the AUC.
• New Zealand abandons “burp tax” plan. The country’s center-right government announced on Tuesday that it is scrapping a scheme to tax greenhouse gas emissions from sheep and cattle following backlash from farmers and that it will instead focus on “practical tools and technology” to reduce methane. For more on this, we offer this article from the Worldcrunch vault.
📰 STORY OF THE DAY
Naples, Vesuvius and me: How our city lives with the eruption that never comes
The lesser-known Phlegraean Fields, near Naples, are now making headlines in Italy because of intense volcanic activity. Together with Vesuvius, they evoke fears in the heart of Neapolitans, but they are also a part of who they are.
🌋 In Naples, Mount Vesuvius is more than just a volcano. Neapolitans like to say that they live “all’ombra” (in the shadow of) the massive crater that stands nearly 4,265 feet high, and can be seen from almost every corner of the southern Italian city. Lately, instead, a different volcanic threat is looming over the city. Located a few kilometers west of Naples, the lesser-known Phlegraean Fields are now making headlines in Italy because of intense volcanic activity detected in the area.
⚠️ On May 20, a magnitude 4.4 earthquake hit the Phlegraean peninsula at around 8 p.m. It was the strongest quake in 40 years, but only one of the thousands that have been recorded over the past year. On the same day, eight more major earthquakes were detected by the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology. Following the major quake, the area, located west of Naples, was gripped by panic.
😖 Growing up less than 30 kilometers away from Pozzuoli, I have had the privilege of learning to tame that fear, but it can still be found somewhere buried in the back of my mind. Living in Naples and the Phlegraean peninsula means living with the constant reminder that, before you know it, life could simply vanish. Looking up each day to see a volcano that might one day destroy everything you hold dear is bound to create a kind of diffused anxiety across the city, and constantly feeling the ground shaking under your feet understandably creates fear and panic.
➡️ Read more on Worldcrunch.com
💬 LEXICON
Front populaire
France’s main left-wing parties are rushing to form a coalition, following French President Emmanuel Macron’s call for snap legislative elections on June 30 and July 7. Considered a gamble after the far-right National Rally party’s major victory in Sunday’s European elections, Macron’s announcement has prompted the Greens, Socialists, Communists and far left-wing France Unbowed to announce the creation of a new Popular Front aimed at avoiding a far-right victory. The name is a throwback to the historic alliance of French left-wing movements in the interwar period, which oversaw major social reforms.
📹 THIS HAPPENED VIDEO — TODAY IN HISTORY, IN ONE ICONIC PHOTO
➡️ Watch the video: THIS HAPPENED
📣 VERBATIM
“It is the next big step for Apple.”
— Apple CEO Tim Cook unveiled “Apple Intelligence,” a new artificial intelligence-powered feature backed by a partnership with OpenAI. During the company’s annual Worldwide Developers Conference in California, he stated that “it is the next big step for Apple,” after admitting he was sensing a fall behind in the race to capitalize AI technology. An improved and better version of the virtual assistant Siri, now partnered with ChatGPT, will allow Apple’s iOS18 users to do hundreds more tasks than before.
👉 MORE FROM WORLDCRUNCH
• Far Right Surge In Europe: A Prelude To Trump's Victory? — LES ECHOS
• Iran's Presidential Candidates: One Straw Man And A Regime Without Legitimacy — KAYHAN-LONDON
• A Traveler’s Paradise, And The Impact Of The Gaza War On Jordan — DARAJ
✍️ Newsletter by Anne-Sophie Goninet and Agnese Tonghini
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