👋 ନମସ୍କାର*
Welcome to Monday, where Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says the "intense phase" of fighting in Rafah almost over, several shootings at churches and a synagogue in Russia's republic of Dagestan kill at least 19, and an accordion concert goes a bit long. Meanwhile, Stefano Lupieri in French daily Les Echos explores very down-to-earth sustainable farming solutions in a bid to save soil and its rich biodiversity.
[*Namaskār - Odia, India]
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🗞️ FRONT PAGE
“Klarsfeld slaps antifascists,” titles Berlin-based daily Die Tageszeitung dedicates its front page to French Holocaust survivor Beate Klarsfeld, known for having slapped then Chancellor Kissinger back in 1968 over his Nazi party ties. Together with her husband Serge, she hunted down Nazi criminals to bring them to justice — but the couple is now siding with France’s far-right Rassemblement National. “How did we get to this?” asks Die Tageszeitung, as it features an interview with Beate who says she no longer considers the French far-right as an enemy but as an ally against anti-Jewish sentiment and the threat of Islamism.
🌎 7 THINGS TO KNOW RIGHT NOW
• Intense fighting in Rafah near end, says Benjamin Netanyahu. The Israeli prime minister said that this does not mean an end to the war which would continue until Hamas was completely driven from power. He indicated that he is open to a “partial” deal that would facilitate the return of some hostages still held in Gaza, even if not all. Meanwhile, an Israeli air strike at a medical clinic in Gaza City killed the director of Gaza's Ambulance and Emergency Department while Israel's military said the strike had killed a senior Hamas armed commander. More on the war in Gaza here.
• Nineteen dead in attacks on churches and synagogue in southern Russia. Attacks on police posts, churches and a synagogue in Russia's North Caucasus republic of Dagestan have left 19 police officers and several civilians dead. Six gunmen were also killed. Three days of mourning have been declared in Dagestan, a predominantly Muslim republic in southern Russia which neighbors Chechnya.
• South Korea battery plant fire kills 22 people. A powerful explosion set on fire a lithium battery factory in South Korea on Monday. The fire, which has largely been extinguished, ripped through a factory run by battery manufacturer Aricell in Hwaseong. Eighteen Chinese workers and one Laotian were among the dead.
• Protests reignite in New Caledonia. This comes after seven pro-independence activists were detained and taken to France for their alleged role orchestrating riots against a controversial voting reform bill in the French territory in the South Pacific. A town hall, police station and several other buildings were set on fire overnight in response to the arrests of the activists. Read more about the violence going on in New Caledonia in this piece from France Inter.
• Deadly crush at rally as Rwanda election campaign starts. One person has died and dozens were injured during a crush at an election rally for Rwanda's President Paul Kagame. Campaigning for July's general election began on Saturday, with Kagame holding two rallies in northern Rwanda over the weekend. The crush happened on Sunday in Rubavu district, where 37 people were injured, four of whom were hospitalized with serious injuries.
• Iranian rapper's death sentence overturned. Toomaj Salehi was arrested in October 2022 after making public statements in support of protests that had exploded across Iran. His lawyer, Amir Raesian, said the Supreme Court has now ordered a retrial, and that the judges decided that Salehi's previous prison sentence of six years and three months went against Iran's multiple-offenses rules, and was in excess of the legal punishment. Read more about Toomaj Salehi in this article translated from French to English.
• A possible cure to epilepsy. A 13 year-old boy from southwestern England with severe epilepsy has become the first patient in the world to trial a new device fitted in their skull to control seizures. The neurostimulator, which sends electrical signals deep into his brain, has reduced Oran Knowlson’s daytime seizures by 80%. His mother, Justine, told the BBC he was happier and had a “much better quality of life.”
#️⃣ BY THE NUMBERS
80 hours 53 minutes and 28 seconds
The record for the longest accordion concert was broken by Frenchwoman Christelle de Franceschi over the weekend, who played for 80 hours 53 minutes and 28 seconds. She beat her own 2022 record, when she played for almost 76 hours.
📰 STORY OF THE DAY
To save the planet, French farmers are working to save soil
Impoverished by decades of intensive farming, soils are losing their capacity to store carbon and retain water. Today, alternative farming methods try to offer a solution to the problem, but the results are far from ideal, reports Stefano Lupieri in French daily Les Echos.
🪱 The precious services that soil provides, including carbon storage and rainwater retention, are under threat. And they are being undermined by human activities that are dislocating their astonishing and oftentimes hidden richness. It is hard to imagine, but 25% of the world's biodiversity hides underground. A living capital that we must learn to protect, an effort that requires knowing and studying it.
☣️ A subsequent study on French soils, found that 98% of the 30 analyzed sites contained at least one pesticide. A total of 67 molecules were found, mainly fungicides and herbicides. "Some of them have been banned for years," says microbiologist Marc-André Selosse, who points to the deleterious effect of synthetic nitrogen fertilizers, which have been feeding conventional agriculture for decades.
🚜 “We have to show [farmers] that it is more profitable for them to change their model and start farming sustainably," says Jean-Christophe Girondin-Pompière, founder of the AgroLeague platform. But toward which model? 100% organic farming? Desirable but not realistic. In France, many farmers who switched to organic are now turning back; the recent purchasing power crisis has shown the limits of the model. Not to mention that, while organic farming is undoubtedly the best for preserving human health, it is not necessarily what’s best for soil life.
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📹 THIS HAPPENED VIDEO — TODAY IN HISTORY, IN ONE ICONIC PHOTO
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📣 VERBATIM
“Democracy is not the source of crime. Autocracy is the crime.”
— Taiwan's President Lai Ching-te warned that relations with China will become “more and more alienated” if Beijing carries out prosecutions according to new judicial guidelines that included the death penalty for certain cases involving “diehard” supporters of Taiwanese independence. Lai, considered something of a hawk by Beijing, said “China has no right to pursue cross-border prosecution of Taiwanese people,” even as he signaled an openness to a dialogue between the two sides.
👉 MORE FROM WORLDCRUNCH
• Gaza Diary: No Person Or Place Is Safe When A Genocide Is Underway — DARAJ
• Pyongyang Lessons: Putin Leans In To Role As World's Autocrat-In-Chief — VAZHNYYE ISTORII/IMPORTANT STORIES
• For Too Many Men, A Lack Of Intimacy Makes For Sad Sexual Lives — RECALCULATING
✍️ Newsletter by Emma Albright and Agnese Tonghini
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