👋 Γειά σου*
Welcome to Thursday, where Israel bombs southern Lebanon a day after a second wave of attacks targeting devices killed at least 20, the Federal Reserve cut interest rates for the first time since COVID and the central European floods reach Germany. Worldcrunch has also translated from Turkish an investigation into the risks of so-called “health tourism,” as millions of people have been traveling to Turkey to undergo low-priced surgery.
[*Yassou - Greek]
✅ SIGN UP
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.
It's easy (and free!) to sign up to receive it each day in your inbox: 👉 Sign up here
🗞️ FRONT PAGE
“A new phase in the war has begun” writes Tel Aviv-based daily Israel Hayom on its front page, a day after a second wave of exploding devices killed 20 and injured 450 people in Lebanon on Wednesday. Israeli officials have not commented, but the New York Times reported that Israel's spy agency Mossad was behind the attack and had planted the explosives in the devices sold to Hezbollah. The attacks have hiked fears of tensions escalating into an all-out war in the region.
🌎 7 THINGS TO KNOW RIGHT NOW
• Israel bombs Lebanon, says it thwarted Iran-backed assassination plot. Israel bombed southern Lebanon on Thursday after walkie-talkies exploded in Beirut in a second wave of attacks targeting devices, killing at least 20 people and injuring more than 450. Israel’s security services announced an Israeli businessman was arrested on suspicion of being involved in a plot by Iran to assassinate Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other top officials. The man is suspected of having attended at least two meetings in Iran and received payment to carry out missions. Meanwhile, the UN General Assembly has adopted a Palestinian-drafted, non-binding resolution calling on Israel to end its illegal occupation of the Palestinian territories within a year. Beirut-based Daraj writes that the pager and walkie-talkie attacks appear to be a prelude to a full-fledged Israeli war in Lebanon.
• Russia attacks Ukrainian energy and civilian infrastructure. Ukraine’s air force said it had shot down all 42 drones and one of four missiles launched by Russia in overnight attacks that killed three people in the Sumy region. The United Nations Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine said in a report published on Thursday that Moscow’s air strikes on Ukraine’s electricity generation, transmission and distribution facilities probably “violated foundational principles of international humanitarian law.”
• U.S. slashes interest rates for first time in four years. The Federal Reserve sliced half a percentage point off benchmark rates, in the first interest rate cut since the early days of the COVID pandemic, amid signs that inflation was moderating and the labor market was weakening. The benchmark rate now sits between 4.75 and 5%.
• Venezuela’s González said he was “forced” to accept Maduro election win. Former opposition candidate Edmundo González revealed in a video posted on social media on Wednesday that he was coerced into signing a letter that recognized his defeat in July’s presidential election and the victory of President Nicolás Maduro. “There were very tense hours of coercion, blackmail and pressure,” said González, who fled into exile to Spain earlier this month. For more on Venezuela’s disputed elections, here’s an OpEd translated from Spanish by Worldcrunch: How Can Maduro Get Away With It? Look At What Lula And Pope Francis Refuse To Say.
• Haiti sets up provisional council for first elections since 2016. Haiti's government created a provisional electoral council long sought by the international community, which includes farmers, journalists, human rights activists and the Vodou community, in order to prepare the troubled Caribbean country for general elections scheduled in 2026. The council is tasked to set up a legal framework for the elections and to organize the poll. Haiti has not had a president since July 2021, when President Jovenel Moise was assassinated. Here’s an analysis translated from French by Worldcrunch: Hell Or Paradise: What If Haiti Can't Be Saved?.
• X available to some users in Brazil after server change. Despite a ban imposed by the nation’s Supreme Court last month, some Brazilian users regained access to the social media platform. An X spokesperson said in a statement late on Wednesday that the platform had “changed network providers,” resulting “in an inadvertent and temporary service restoration to Brazilian users.” But experts are saying there are indications that “it was on purpose.”
• Thai pygmy hippo may get own patent. Newborn Moo Deng has become an internet megastar over the past few weeks both domestically and internationally for her cute takes and giddy bouncing. This has prompted the director of the Khao Kheow Open Zoo to begin patenting and trademarking “Moo Deng the hippo” to prevent the animal from being commercialized by anyone else. The benefits will serve to “to improve the life of all animals here.”
💬 LEXICON
Kuwohi
After 150 years of being named after Confederate general Clingmans Dome, the highest peak of Great Smoky Mountains National Park will revert to its Cherokee name, Kuwohi, which translates to “mulberry place.” The U.S. Board of Geographic Names voted in favor of the request submitted by the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, as Kuwohi is a sacred place for the Cherokee people.
📹 THIS HAPPENED VIDEO — TODAY IN HISTORY, IN ONE ICONIC PHOTO
➡️ Watch the video: THIS HAPPENED
📰 IN OTHER NEWS
💉 Millions of people have been traveling to Turkey to receive lower-priced health services, especially those seeking plastic surgery or interventions related to obesity. But there’s a troubling high rate of death among the foreign patients.
— OKSIJEN
🚗 The German city of Wolfsburg has been living in symbiosis with carmaker Volkswagen for a long time. But the times of prosperity might be over.
— DIE ZEIT
🎧 In Uganda, musicians who perform the traditional burial rite of the Jopadhola are being replaced by DJs spinning modern tunes.
— GLOBAL PRESS JOURNAL
📣 VERBATIM
“Our victory plan is fully prepared.”
— Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said in his nightly address on Wednesday that his ”victory plan was fully prepared” after much consultation. Zelensky is expected to present his plan to U.S. President Joe Biden in the upcoming weeks, when they both attend sessions of the UN Security Council and General Assembly. The Ukrainian leader said there would be “no freezing of the war or any other manipulations.” Here’s a translated French reflection on a recent report that total casualties of the war have reached one million.
✍️ Newsletter by Anne-Sophie Goninet & Chloé Touchard
Let us know what’s happening in your corner of the world!