👋 Ello!*
Welcome to Wednesday, where an Israeli airstrike on a school-turned-shelter in Gaza kills at least 29, Joe Biden opens a special NATO meeting with a pledge for more military help to Ukraine and Europe's Ariane rocket is back in the space game. Meanwhile, Maria Alejandra Medina Cartagena in Colombian daily El Espectador analyzes what’s led to the immigration deadend at the Mexico-U.S. border.
[*Jamaican Patois]
💡 SPOTLIGHT
France in limbo, Biden not budging: Long live that mess we call democracy
What’s the difference between a nation before a voting booth and a nation before a soccer match? How can we reconcile electoral systems that don’t seem to match the popular will? How do we remember that democracy is about more than just casting your vote? asks Worldcrunch’s editor-in-chief Jeff Israely.
Nations are a funny thing. Over the past two weeks, France has been gathering around its collective television set every few evenings for two very different kinds of national experiences.
The first took place on two consecutive Sundays (June 30 and July 7), that TV cued up with a New Year’s Eve-style countdown, as the nation held its breath for the moment, at 8 p.m. sharp, when parliamentary election results would flash on the screen.
In the other, the breath-holding stretched out over a little more than two hours at a time, as France’s national soccer team competed in the European Championship. Gathered back around the same screen to pull for les Bleus, all the differences on display on election night seemed to just melt away.
As a foreign resident, I’ve watched this play out over the past two weeks at bars and friends’ living rooms: the nation torn apart by politics, brought back ever so tightly together by sport, only to be torn apart again — like some kind of choreographed modern dance of dramatic embraces and sudden repulsion.
Of course, I too have a stake in the results (yes, even the soccer!), but also some distance. It’s not my nation after all. [...]
— Read the full Worldcrunch article by Jeff Israely.
🗞️ FRONT PAGE
Oslo-based daily Dagsavisen says that it is time to “demand more from Europe” on its front page, as NATO leaders are gathering in Washington for a three-day summit of the organization. Most European countries have long been criticized for their failure to respect NATO guidelines mandating that all members contribute at least 2% of their yearly GDP to defense expenditure. Yet, NATO highlights that this year 23 members are set to match or exceed the target (it was only 10 in 2023), praising the increased funds dedicated by European partners to their defense budget, mainly a consequence of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. According to NATO estimates, Europe and Canada combined are set to increase their military expenditure by almost 18% with respect to 2023. While the organization encourages members to respect the guideline, they are not obliged to do so.
🌎 7 THINGS TO KNOW RIGHT NOW
• Israeli airstrike kills 29 at Gaza camp for displaced. An Israeli airstrike on a school-turned-shelter in southern Gaza killed at least 29 Palestinians on Tuesday, as heavy bombardment in the north forced the closure of medical facilities in Gaza City and displaced thousands. Israel says its new ground assault in Gaza’s largest city is aimed at battling Hamas militants regrouping in areas the army previously said had been cleared. Stay up-to-date with the latest developments in the Middle East here.
• Biden pledges aid to Ukraine amid NATO summit. U.S. President Joe Biden has pledged to provide Ukraine with five new strategic air defense systems to counter Russian attacks, in a speech welcoming NATO leaders to Washington DC. The President also said the U.S. would partner with Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Romania to donate Patriot missile batteries and other systems to aid Ukraine, amid growing civilian casualties in the conflict. Meanwhile, top Democratic legislators are continuing to resist calls to push Biden to pull out of his reelection bid for health reasons. For more on the topic, we offer this recent analysis by Jörg Lau in German daily Die Zeit, translated by Worldcrunch: Ukraine, Israel And The West: A Dangerous Double Standard On Weapons Supplies.
• Record number of far-right MPs to enter French parliament. Members of parliament belonging to the far-right National Rally party entered the National Assembly in greater numbers than ever on Wednesday despite Sunday's election results, which saw the party arriving in third place. The far-right bloc has 143 MPs in the new legislature, an all-time record and up from 89 before the vote.
• A Russian court orders the arrest of opposition leader Alexei Navalny’s widow. A court in Moscow has ordered the imprisonment of Yulia Navalnaya, and accused her of participating in an “extremist” group. Navalnaya, who lives abroad, would face arrest if and when she returns to Russia. Read this recent piece, a letter written by teenaged Russian activist Daria Kozyreva from jail, translated and adapted by Worldcrunch.
• Northern India bus crash kills 18. A bus crash in northern India has killed at least 18 people in the latest deadly road accident on the country’s highways. The accident took place early on Wednesday in Uttar Pradesh state, where the bus heading to the national capital, New Delhi, slammed into the back of a tanker carrying milk.
• Tech giant Samsung workers to strike indefinitely. A union representing workers at South Korean technology giant Samsung Electronics has called on its roughly 30,000 members to go on strike indefinitely, as part of its campaign for better pay and benefits. The announcement came on the last day of a three-day general strike being held by the National Samsung Electronics Union (NSEU).
• World’s biggest indoor snow and ice park opens in China. The snow theme park opened its doors to the public in the city of Harbin in northeast China. At the time of the opening, outdoor temperatures were peaking at 84 °F (29 °C), while the indoor theme park maintained a cold 17.6 °F to 10.4 °F (-8 °C to -12 °C) temperature.
#️⃣ BY THE NUMBERS
16 years, 362 days
Lamine Yamal set the record as youngest scorer in the history of the European Championship in yesterday’s match against France. The 16-year old Spanish striker scored the equalizer on the way to Spain’s 2-1 comeback victory in the semifinals. Yamal will turn 17 one day before Sunday’s final, in which Spain will face the winner of tonight’s England-Netherlands match in Berlin.
📰 STORY OF THE DAY
Migrant crackdowns at the Mexico-U.S. border: How to build a death trap
Since U.S. immigration laws were tightened in the 1990s, at least 8,000 people have died trying to cross from Mexico to the United States. Of those, more than 4,000 died in the Sonoran Desert in Arizona. While authorities call for migration through legal channels, NGOs argue that regulatory barriers are pushing people to make this dangerous journey, reports Maria Alejandra Medina Cartagena in Colombian daily El Espectador.
🇺🇸🇲🇽 The mountains and desert of the U.S. state of Arizona and the Mexican state of Sonora, which straddle the border between the two countries, is dangerous territory for human life: there's the risk the stifling heat of the intense sun, which is simply deadly in the summer to the unbearable cold during the winter to lethal injuries not only from snakes or other animals but also from cacti. Thorns from these plants can cause lesions and form blisters like those that forensic experts often find on the soles of the feet of hundreds of migrant bodies that have been found in these inhospitable landscapes.
🔍 From 2000 to 2023, the corpses of some 2,400 migrants were identified in Pima County, the vast majority were Mexicans, followed by Guatemalan and Honduran nationals. Some 1,500 remains have yet to be identified. To avoid a fatal outcome, authorities have urged people not to cross illegally. And those who do cross are advised to call 911 if they find themselves in a life-threatening situation.
⚠️ NGOs are also working to reduce fatalities with the logical argument that breaking migratory laws should not become a death sentence. These are usually independent bodies operating with volunteers and diverse funding including donations. They, too, face intermittent threats — presumably from people opposed to immigration — and may see their water tanks vandalized. Despite the scope and dangers of this work, volunteers remain at the border to provide migrants with basic assistance.
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📹 THIS HAPPENED VIDEO — TODAY IN HISTORY, IN ONE ICONIC PHOTO
➡️ Watch the video: THIS HAPPENED
📣 VERBATIM
“Ukraine can and will stop Putin.”
— U.S. president Joe Biden reiterated his support for Ukraine during a speech in Washington, where NATO leaders are gathering for a summit that will end tomorrow. “Putin wants nothing less, nothing less, than Ukraine's total subjugation ... and to wipe Ukraine off the map," the president said, adding that "Ukraine can and will stop Putin." The summit comes as NATO is trying to bolster its military aid for Ukraine while also assuring continued support in light of a possible Trump reelection in November. So far, the leaders have agreed to ship “dozens” of air defense systems to Ukraine in the coming months, and to shift the leadership of coordination efforts in security assistance and training activities for Ukraine from the U.S. to a new NATO command that is set to open in Germany.
📸 PHOTO DU JOUR
Europe's new heavy-lift rocket, Ariane 6, made its inaugural flight from Europe's spaceport in French Guiana. The launch, the first for the EU in nine months, carries hopes of reestablishing independent access to space for the continent. — Photo: ESA via X (Twitter)
👉 MORE FROM WORLDCRUNCH
• Meloni's Shield: Why The Italian Left Can't Unite (Like In France) Against The Far Right — LA STAMPA
• The Zarif Card: Why Nobody Is Buying Tehran's Old "Reformist" Trick This Time — KAYHAN-LONDON
• Where A German Truck Company Goes To Recruit Drivers: The Heart Of Africa — DIE WELT
✍️ Newsletter by Emma Albright and Fabrizio La Rocca
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