👋 ನಮಸ್ಕಾರ*
Welcome to Monday, where a children’s hospital in Kyiv is hit as part of a major Russian missile attack on Ukrainian cities, French voters deliver a surprise victory to the left and a well-preserved marble statue of the Greek god Hermes is discovered in an ancient sewer. We also take a look at a new focus of mass tourism backlash, northern Italy’s scenic Lake Como.
[*Namaskar - Kannada, India]
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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.
🗞️ FRONT PAGE
A red wave. “HOPE REBORN.” French left-wing daily l'Humanité marks the victory of the left coalition Nouveau front Populaire in Sunday’s runoff of Parliamentary elections, by revisiting Japanese artist Hokusai's famous Great Wave, originally printed in deep blue (a color associated with the far right). The surprise results of the snap elections, where the far-right National Rally dominated in last week’s first round, has captured newspapers' attention Monday — in France, but also worldwide. Take a look at our collection!
🌎 7 THINGS TO KNOW RIGHT NOW
• Russia launches a major missile attack against multiple Ukrainian cities, killing at least 20. In the capital, Kyiv, at least seven people were killed in a rare daytime attack, which also hit a children’s hospital. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who is visiting Poland, said that Russia had fired some 40 missiles at targets across the country. Follow Worldcrunch’s coverage of the Ukraine-Russia war here.
• France shifts to the left, but risk of policy paralysis looms. France is facing difficult negotiations on Monday to form a government, after a surprise left-wing surge blocked Marine Le Pen's goal to bring the far right to power. The leftist New Popular Front (NFP) emerged as the dominant force in the National Assembly after Sunday's election, but with no single group securing a working majority. Meanwhile, French President Emmanuel Macron has refused Prime Minister Gabriel Attal’s resignation “for now.”
• Israeli tanks storm Gaza City districts. Israeli forces bombarded Gaza early on Monday while tanks advanced into the city from different directions in what residents said was one of the heaviest attacks in the Palestinian territory since the start of the war. The Gaza Civil Emergency Service said it believed dozens of people were killed. Meanwhile, talks on a cease-fire in Gaza are expected to resume this week.
• Hungary's Orbán unexpectedly visits China. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán met Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday to discuss a potential Ukraine peace deal, paying the unexpected visit to Beijing days after his talks with Russia's Vladimir Putin angered some European Union leaders. Orbán said he plans to visit Washington next. More on Viktor Orbán's plans to unite Europe’s far right here.
• Boeing to plead guilty to criminal fraud charge. This comes after the U.S. found the company violated a deal meant to reform it after two fatal crashes by its 737 Max planes that killed 346 passengers and crew. The Department of Justice (DoJ) said the plane-maker had also agreed to pay a criminal fine of $243.6m. But by pleading guilty, Boeing will avoid the spectacle of a criminal trial, something that victims' families have been pressing for.
• After COVID and Olympics, Tokyo’s first female governor wins third term. Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike has won a third consecutive term in Sunday's gubernatorial election, securing her position for the next four years. Koike received more than 42.8% of the votes in Sunday's election, beating her opponents by a wide margin.
• Bulgarian archaeologists find marble statue in ancient Roman sewer. The well-preserved, marble statue depicting the Greek god Hermes is 6.8-foot (2-meter) tall, and was discovered during excavation work at the site of the ancient city of Heraclea Sintica in southwestern Bulgaria, close to the Greek border.
#️⃣ BY THE NUMBERS
945 days
Mercedes' seven-times Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton finally put an end to a 945-day wait for a win with a British Grand Prix victory, his ninth, a new record. His last triumph dated back from Dec. 5, 2021 in Saudi Arabia — 56 races ago.
📰 STORY OF THE DAY
Escaping Lake Como: How mass tourism swallowed northern Italy's prized jewel
Lake Como has become one of the most popular destinations for tourists coming from all over the world. But this is destroying the local ecosystem and making life for the locals impossible, reports Luigi Mastrodonato in Italian weekly magazine Internazionale.
🏨 In January, the municipality of Torno, a town of about 1,200 inhabitants on Lake Como, in northern Italy, published on its website a note presenting a plan to build a new tourist complex. The project includes plans to build hotels, restaurants, spas, private docks, parking lots, driveways and roads. It concerns an area of 29,000 m² and sparked panic in the small residential center. “There is a will to choke the territory, it’s like having a full water bottle and pouring more water in it, even though it doesn’t fit anymore,” said Agop Manoukian, a sociologist who has been living in Torno since the 1990s.
🚦 Postcard images and glossy reports conceal many of the problems created by the rampant "touristification." In summer 2023, accounts of inconveniences multiplied: overcrowded buses that left people stranded; boats that could not get everyone on; traffic jams due to the narrow, winding roads crowded with tour buses and thousands of cars. Chaos that also created a surreal conflict between luxury and mass tourism.
💸 Overcrowding has forced the Italian Fund for the Environment (Fai) to limit entrances to Villa del Balbianello, in the town of Tremezzina. In the small village of Corenno Plinio, an entry fee has been introduced — before Venice’s decision. Some are advocating for the same solution to be adopted in the city of Como, after which the lake is named.
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📣 VERBATIM
“I’m sincerely happy for him and his family.”
— Swedish human rights activist Anna Ardin, who had accused Julian Assange of sexual assault 14 years ago, says she is glad the whistleblower is now free. Interviewed over Zoom from Stockholm by the BBC, she explains that, for her, Assange's work for WikiLeaks is a completely separate thing from his alleged misconduct. “The punishment he’s got has been very unproportionate,” she said.
👉 MORE FROM WORLDCRUNCH
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• Vladislav Pozdnyakov, The "Russian Andrew Tate" Who Spread Ukraine War Beheading Videos — WORLDCRUNCH
• Without Access To Hormone Therapy, Brazilian Trans Women Turn To Risky Veterinary Medicine — AGÊNCIA PÚBLICA
✍️ Newsletter by Emma Albright and Laure Gautherin
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