October 12-13
- A rare glimpse into the Sudan war
- Onion packaging innovation
- A$AP Rocky’s chocolate LEGO
- … and much more.
🎲 OUR WEEKLY NEWS QUIZ
What do you remember from the news this week?
1. Who spoke with Benjamin Netanyahu by phone on Thursday, in what is believed to be their first contact since August?
2. As war with Ukraine continues, Vladimir Putin allies took to social media to wish the Russian president a happy birthday. How old did he turn?
3. Which tennis champion announced his retirement at the end of the season?
4. Which classic video game did a U.S. teenager manage to beat for the first time ever? Tetris / Pac-Man / Donkey Kong / Space Invaders
[Answers at the bottom of this newsletter]
#️⃣ TRENDING
Halloween-themed “fluffy popcorn” is trending on TikTok. The seemingly yummy recipe involves making popcorn with butter, marshmallows, some orange sprinkles and an ingredient you are not supposed to eat, no matter how spooky it’s going to make your snack look: raw flour. Experts warn that raw flour can harbor harmful bacteria like E. coli and salmonella, posing serious health risks, according to the FDA. If you don’t want your Halloween to turn into a real-life horror movie, we suggest using some powdered sugar instead.
🎭 5 CULTURE THINGS TO KNOW
• London’s Women in Art Fair to give voice to women’s “creative power.” The fair, which opened this week at the central Mall Galleries, showcases works by around 150 artists and features booths for galleries focusing on women or female-identifying artists. Launched last year, the Women in Art Fair seeks to give women artists their own platform, reversing centuries of gender imbalance in the art world. Data from 2022 shows that art by women represented only 3.3% of auction sales between 2008 and mid-2022.
• In memoriam: U.S. gospel singer Cissy Houston, who won two Grammy Awards and was the mother of singer Whitney Houston, died at the age of 91; Canadian voice actor Doc Harris, who was famous for being the English narrator of anime series Dragon Ball Z, passed away at 76; Austrian-American writer and translator Lore Segal, known for autobiographical novels and short stories drawing on her experience fleeing Nazi-occupied Vienna, died at 96 years old; Japanese voice actress Nobuyo Oyama, best known for voicing the title character of Doraemon, one of Japan’s most popular anime series, died aged 90.
• Amsterdam museum celebrates 150 years of impressionism with new exhibition. The Van Gogh Museum unveiled this week “Vive l’Impressionnisme! Masterpieces from Dutch Collections,” a retrospective that features more than 100 works gathered from Dutch museums and private collections across the Netherlands, including Monet’s Poppy Field and Pissarro’s The Rainbow, Pontoise. The exhibition, which will run until Jan. 26, 2025, marks the 150th anniversary of Impressionism, one of the most significant movements in art history, and its influence on the Dutch art scene.
• South Korean author Han Kang wins Nobel Prize in literature. The Swedish Academy’s Nobel Committee said the author of The Vegetarian and The White Book won the prize “for her intense poetic prose that confronts historical traumas and exposes the fragility of human life.” Han, 53, is only the 18th woman and the first South Korean writer to win the award.
• Global streaming of K-pop songs surges 362% over five years on Spotify. Data from the music streaming service also shows K-pop streams increased by 182% in the United States in 2023 compared to 2018 and by 423% in Southeast Asia during the same period, showing that the genre’s influence continues to grow around the world. The U.S. tops the list of most K-pop listeners, followed by Indonesia and the Philippines.
🍫🧱 SMILE OF THE WEEK
Barbadian singer and businesswoman Rihanna commissioned French-Swiss chocolatier superstar Amaury Guichon to create a chocolate LEGO sculpture of her partner A$AP Rocky, to celebrate the rapper’s 36th birthday. “A big thank you to @badgalriri [Rihanna] for her trust on this custom sculpture for @asaprocky birthday gift!” Guichon wrote on his Instagram.
📰 IN OTHER NEWS
🇱🇧 “Netanyahu said that he is killing us for the sake of our future.” The Israeli prime minister has publicly urged the Lebanese to turn on Hezbollah, as he drops bombs that have killed thousands of civilians. But every citizen knows what an occupier looks like.
— DARAJ
🤝 Israel is able to achieve its goals thanks to the support it receives from a number of players inside and outside the region, whether they realize it or not. That even, paradoxically, includes Iran.
— AL-MANASSA
🇸🇩 While the war in Sudan is simultaneously the largest humanitarian crisis and the largest refugee crisis in the world, it receives little attention from the international community.
— DIE WELT
🏘️ “People should always be a priority.” The Ukrainian village of Blyzniuky, which has welcomed many people displaced by the war, is working to integrate its new residents through work opportunities, psychological support and activities for children.
— LA STAMPA
💪 Invented 100 years ago in Germany, the Pilates Reformer is the most sought-after piece of fitness equipment at the moment. But why exactly does everyone want to do gymnastics on this device that looks so uncomfortable?
— DIE ZEIT
🧅 BRIGHT IDEA
Based in Oban, Scotland, the startup HUID has developed an eco-friendly packaging made from onion skins in a bid to cut waste and reduce emissions. HUID is attempting to reduce the 90 billion plastic pieces used in packaging in the UK every year. Producing eco-packaging involves extracting high-quality cellulose from outer onion skins and combining it with a biopolymer blend. And because onion skins have antimicrobial properties their packaging could extend the shelf life of perishable foods. Will we be shedding tears of joy?
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⏩ LOOKING AHEAD
• German Chancellor Olaf Scholz will meet Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in Istanbul next week, when they are expected to discuss the Ukraine war, Middle East tensions, migration policy and the sale of 40 Eurofighter jets to Turkey.
• Lithuanians will vote in their general election on Sunday, with the opposition Social Democrats likely to win, replacing the governing center-right coalition. Despite economic successes, conservative Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonytė has faced criticism over strict COVID-19 measures and her handling of the influx of migrants from Belarus.
• The comet C/2023 A3 Tsuchinshan–ATLAS will make its closest approach to Earth on Oct.12, which may be the last time the comet will be seen in the night sky for another 80,000 years.
News quiz answers:
1. U.S. President Joe Biden held a 30-minute phone call with his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu, their first conversation in almost two months, to discuss Israel’s intended retaliation to Iran’s missile strike last week.
2. Vladimir Putin turned 72, with allies Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko and Chechen warlord Ramzan Kadyrov among the few to congratulate the Russian president.
3. Spanish tennis champion Rafael Nadal announced his retirement from the sport after Spain’s Davis Cup Finals in Malaga in November.
4. U.S. teenager Michael Artiaga is the first person to get classic video game Tetris to reset to level 0 after beating it.
✍️ Newsletter by Worldcrunch
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*Photo: Van Gogh Museum