👋 Salü bisàmme!*
Welcome to Wednesday, where all signs point to Mossad after thousands of pagers exploded across Lebanon, a major Ukrainian-led drone attack forces Russia to evacuate residents from the Tver region, and archaeologists working at Notre-Dame cathedral think they dug up the grave of a major French Renaissance poet. Meanwhile, for independent Russian source Vazhnyye Istorii, Katya Aleksandr reports on the Ukrainian education system still working in the shadows in Russian-occupied territories.
[*Alsatian, France]
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🗞️ FRONT PAGE
Polish daily Gazeta Wyborcza dedicates its front page to the latest consequences of the mass floods which have hit the country and much of Central Europe. Some regions are still facing escalating situations with overflow of dams and weakened dykes still threatening populations with new floods. The Polish government has declared a state of natural disaster in affected areas to streamline the enforcement of emergency measures. At least four people have died in flooding in Poland so far, along with at least 17 people in three other neighboring countries.
🌎 7 THINGS TO KNOW RIGHT NOW
• Hezbollah exploding pager trail runs from Taiwan to Hungary. Reuters reports that Israel's Mossad spy agency planted explosives inside 5,000 pagers imported by Lebanese group Hezbollah months before Tuesday's detonations that killed at least 12 people, including two children. The operation, with a trail running from Taiwan to Budapest, was an unprecedented Hezbollah security breach that saw thousands of pagers explode across Lebanon, wounding nearly 3,000 people, including many of the group's fighters and Iran's envoy to Beirut. For Beirut-based Daraj, Hazem El-Amin says the writing is on the wall for a full-fledged Israeli war on Lebanon. Read his article, translated from Arabic by Worldcrunch.
• Russia region orders evacuation after Ukraine drone attack. A major Ukrainian drone attack on Russia triggered a giant blast and forced the partial evacuation of residents near the site of a large Russian arsenal in the Tver region on Wednesday. Unverified video and images on social media showed a huge ball of fire blasting high into the night sky across a lake northwest of Moscow.
• North Korea fires short-range ballistic missiles for second time in a week. The missiles were launched from the north of the capital Pyongyang, on Wednesday morning and flew about 400 kilometers (249 miles) towards the northeast. The test comes days after North Korea’s foreign minister met top Russian security official Sergei Shoigu in Moscow.
• Surrounded by wildfires, Portugal gets help from Spain, Morocco. Deadly wildfires in central and northern Portugal have pushed emergency services to the limit and much-needed reinforcements will arrive on Wednesday from Spain and Morocco. At least seven people have died due to the blazes in the Aveiro and Viseu districts, with dozens of houses destroyed and tens of thousands of hectares of forest and scrubland consumed. Authorities have mobilized more than 5,000 firefighters.
• March for Bolivia’s ex-President Morales turns violent, political crisis escalates. Thousands of anti-government demonstrators marching in support of Bolivia’s former President Evo Morales clashed on Tuesday with counter protesters blocking their way. In his most recent show of force yet against current President Luis Arce, Morales sent word to his followers to mobilize what he called a “March to Save Bolivia,” a 190-kilometer (118 mile)-trek from the small village of Caracollo to the capital, La Paz, denouncing the government of his rival. Read more about Evo Morales in this piece by Argentine daily Clarín, translated into English by Worldcrunch.
• Tupperware files for bankruptcy as its containers lose relevance. The food storage container firm said it will ask for court permission to start a sale of the business and that it aimed to continue operating. Despite attempts to freshen up its products in recent years and reposition itself to a younger audience, the U.S. company has failed to stand out from competitors.
• French Renaissance poet identified in coffin found at Notre-Dame. Archaeological excavations at Notre-Dame de Paris have uncovered a grave that could be that of 16th-century French poet Joachim du Bellay, who is known to have been buried in the cathedral, although the exact location is unknown, researchers said at a press briefing on Tuesday.
#️⃣ BY THE NUMBERS
754,303
In Norway, the number of electric cars has now surpassed traditional gas-powered vehicles. Of the 2.8 million private cars registered in the country, 754,303 are all-electric and 753,905 are petrol-fuelled. The Nordic country, which is one of the world's largest exporters of oil, is aiming to become the first nation to end the sale of new petrol and diesel cars by 2025. To reach this ambitious goal, the government has been digging into the benefits from oil and gas to offer citizens tax breaks and other incentives and boost EV sales.
📹 THIS HAPPENED VIDEO — TODAY IN HISTORY, IN ONE ICONIC PHOTO
➡️ Watch the video: THIS HAPPENED
📰 IN OTHER NEWS
🛃 By reinstating border controls all throughout the country, Germany shows it doesn’t trust its European partners.
— DIE ZEIT
⚖️ To save our democracies, it is imperative to address people’s pervasive distrust and discontent with politics.
— CLARÍN
💻 Some Ukrainian teachers, parents and administrators continue to teach online and in secret in Russian-occupied territories, facing potential serious consequences if they are discovered.
— VAZHNYYE ISTORII/IMPORTANT STORIES
📣 VERBATIM
“That's practically an action that ends the peace process with blood.”
— Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro addressed the attack on Tuesday from leftist rebels of the National Liberation Army (ELN) saying it could call off any further peace talks with the group. A truck loaded with explosives wounded 27 young people and killed two in a rural area of Colombia's Arauca province in what represents the most serious attack since a bilateral ceasefire between the government and the ELN ended in August.
✍️ Newsletter by Emma Albright & Laure Gautherin
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