November 23-24
- Trump & Arab countries: it’s complicated
- Carpet concrete
- Clumsy raiders of the lost Etruscan ark
- … and much more.
⬇️ STARTER
Iran: what Khamenei succession whispers reveal about regime’s decay
The issue of who will succeed Ali Khamenei, Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran, is again grabbing attention inside and outside Iran. Though regime officials insist the 85-year-old is in good health, there are reports that the Assembly of Experts — the clerical body tasked with picking his successor — is actively shortlisting three leading candidates in camera and readying itself to appoint him at short notice.
It's clear, this is anything but an abstract affair in Iran.
The revelation was made by the Imam-i jomeh, a leading preacher of the city of Isfahan and Khamenei's personal representative in the province, and shows the regime as concerned more with managing the public mood than attending to the gritty business of running the country. While facing power shortages and the threat of gas being cut off in millions of homes, and with tens of millions of Iranians barely able to make ends meet, people should worry about Khamenei's succession.
The implication here is that this is critical, and the "crisis" would end with a smooth succession. Yet a new leader would merely usher in the next phase of unending crises and socio-economic misery for the nation of 90 million. It is one dictator taking over from another, to pursue the same rancid, fanatical and totalitarian notions imposed on Iran by Khamenei's predecessor, the late Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.
He too was a dictator, not just for overseeing thousands of executions within a decade of taking power, but for installing a pseudo-religious concoction of his own termed Guardianship of the Jurisprudent (Vilayat-i faqih), the clerical regime that has robbed the institutions of the Islamic Republic of all power and even of sense, like a parasite disemboweling its host.
It is a medieval regime that brooks no dissent, even if reformers in Iran like to claim Khomeini really did want an Islamic Republic — a representative democracy that safeguards public morals!
Khamenei has done nothing Khomeini would not have done had he lived on. If a moral republic is all they wanted, why the vast sums spent so far on the tools of repression and advanced intelligence fit for the Communist-style regimes Khamenei admires? Like his predecessor, Khamenei has had no qualms about ordering thousands imprisoned or hundreds executed, and is making sure his successor will take over a big prison of a country.
The Islamic Republic, a pioneer of hostage-taking for ransom, has expanded the practice to the national scale. All Iranians are effectively its hostages, not to mention the peoples of Lebanon and Iraq. Corruption and nepotism, theft, waste and destructive practices have flourished under this leader on an unprecedented scale. [...]
— Read the full article by Mohammad Khoshbayan for Kayhan-London, translated from Persian by Worldcrunch.
🎲 OUR WEEKLY NEWS QUIZ
What do you remember from the news this week?
1. Ukraine’s Foreign Affairs minister vowed to “never submit” to Russia, as the country marked how many days since the start of Moscow’s invasion?
2. Both COP29 and G20 summits took place this week: the former in Baku, Azerbaijan, and the latter in…?
3. Tennis great Rafael Nadal has retired, having won 22 Grand Slam titles — and how many Olympic gold medals?
4. What peculiar work of art sold at Sotheby’s New York at a hammer price of $6.2 million?
Shreds of a Banksy painting / A duct-taped banana / A urinal by Marcel Duchamp / An "invisible" sculpture made entirely of air
[Answers at the bottom of this newsletter]
#️⃣ TRENDING
Coca-Cola is catching some heat online over its AI-generated take on their iconic Christmas ad, with critics calling it “soulless.” For many, the original 1995 “Holidays Are Coming” commercial is pure nostalgia, evoking cozy memories of childhood and holiday magic. So, it’s no surprise that swapping out real actors for eerie AI-generated visuals left some fans feeling stuck in the uncanny valley. Creatives weren’t too happy either: Gravity Falls creator Alex Hirsch poked fun at Coca-Cola for not hiring real artists, while marketing expert Neeraj Arora pointed out that AI’s lack of warmth doesn’t really match the heartfelt, family-centered spirit of the holidays. Coca-Cola, however, is standing by their approach: “Coca-Cola will always remain dedicated to creating the highest level of work at the intersection of human creativity and technology,” a spokesperson said.
🎭 5 CULTURE THINGS TO KNOW
• Minecraft to come to life with U.S. and UK theme parks. The popular video game will become a real-life destination following a $107.5 million deal between its Swedish developer Mojang Studios and the UK-headquartered Merlin Entertainments to open themed rides, attractions, hotel rooms and retail outlets, starting with the UK and U.S. in 2026 and 2027. The two companies plan to extend their partnership to other countries and territories in the future. With more than 140 million players each month, Minecraft is the best-selling video game of all time.
• AI voice-cloning of celebrities outpacing laws, expert warns. As AI voice-cloning models are now capable of emulating the subtlest pauses and breathing of human intonation, “privacy and copyright laws aren’t up to date with what this new technology presents,” Dr. Dominic Lees told The Guardian. The expert in AI in film and television is advising a UK parliamentary committee in an inquiry that will look at the ethical use of AI in filmmaking. This comes after broadcaster David Attenborough said he was “profoundly disturbed” last weekend when he learned that his cloned voice had been used to deliver partisan U.S. news bulletins.
• NYC priest loses job over Sabria Carpenter music video. Monsignor Jamie Gigantiello was relieved of “any pastoral oversight or governance role” at his church in Brooklyn, with the Roman Catholic Diocese saying it was appalled he allowed the pop star to film provocative scenes for her “Feather” music video there. An investigation revealed other instances of mismanagement, including unauthorized financial transfers to a former top aide in the administration of New York City Mayor Eric Adams, now the subject of a corruption probe.
• In memoriam: Japanese poet Shuntaro Tanikawa, who pioneered modern Japanese poetry and who was known for translating the Peanuts comic strip, died at 92; French singer-songwriter Charles Dumont, who composed Edith Piaf’s famous song “Non, Je Ne Regrette Rien,” died aged 95 after a long-term illness; U.S. poet and literary critic Sandra Gilbert, who co-authored the landmark second wave feminist text The Madwoman in the Attic, passed away at the age of 87.
• Italy recovers $8.5-million worth of Etruscan artifacts dug by “amateurish” tomb raiders. Italian authorities have seized precious 3rd century B.C. artifacts from an Etruscan necropolis in the central Umbria region, including eight urns, two sarcophagi, believed to be of two Etruscan princesses, and beauty accessories. Two people are under investigation for the suspected theft of the artifacts intended for sale on the black market. Perugia Chief Prosecutor Raffaele Cantone described the suspects as “clumsy” and “amateurish,” and said they had “nothing to do with the world of [practiced] tomb raiders.”
🦇 SMILE OF THE WEEK
Nothin’ good starts in a getaway car, sings Taylor Swift, but Batman may disagree? The caped crusader’s iconic batmobile was spotted on the way to Swift’s Eras Tour in Toronto last weekend, where the U.S. singer was performing the last shows of her worldwide tour. The passenger of another car took a video of the impressive vehicle on its way to shake it off at the Rogers Centre.
📰 IN OTHER NEWS
⚖️ France and other EU countries have stated they will respect the ICC warrant against Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, meaning the Israeli leader is now unable to visit these regions.
— FRANCE INTER
🇺🇸 With the exception of Qatar, the pro-Washington Arab regimes had something to celebrate with Trump’s victory. That is, until the president-elect began announcing his choices for the symbols of his new administration.
— AL-MANASSA
🔌 Forget about satellites: 99% of global data traffic runs over fiber optic cables on the seabed. Now, climate change and political sabotage might put that infrastructure at risk.
— DIE ZEIT
📈 Observers thought Javier Milei could never transform the Argentine state's entrenched welfare system without unleashing social chaos, but the disaster has yet to happen amid a modest uptick in economic indices.
— CLARÍN
🩺 A French journalist takes part in a first aid training program that was created in Australia in the early 2000s. The class isn't about performing CPR or treating burns but helping participants respond to mental health issues.
— LES ECHOS
🪡 BRIGHT IDEA
Can old carpets make concrete stronger? A team from RMIT University in Melbourne has developed a textile fiber-reinforced concrete by reusing carpet waste. Textiles are particularly hard to recycle as different fabrics need different processes, but once chopped and mixed into concrete, the fibers can make it more durable. They absorb the stress in the cement matrix when it dries up and shrinks, resulting in a concrete that has 30% fewer initial cracks. According to the team, up to 70% of textile waste can be converted into usable fibers.
👓 WORLDCRUNCH MAGAZINE
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⏩ LOOKING AHEAD
• In Israel, the independent Civilian Commission of Inquiry will present the findings of its investigation into the government's failures leading up to the Oct. 7 Hamas attack. The commission's decision to publish its results comes after the government decided to establish its own political investigation committee.
• Romania will vote on Sunday to pick its next president among 13 candidates, including Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacy — backed by the country's Social Democratic Party — and far-right nationalist leader George Simion.
• NATO and Ukraine will meet on Tuesday in Brussels for emergency talks at Kyiv's request, following Russia's attack on Ukraine with a new type of intercontinental ballistic missile.
• The 25th edition of Kalanadam, a 13-day dance festival celebrating India’s classical dance forms, is set to kick off next Tuesday in Malleshwaram, in the southern state of Bengaluru.
News quiz answers:
1. Ukraine’s Foreign Affairs Minister Andrii Sybiha said on Tuesday that the country will “never submit to the occupiers” and that “the Russian military will be punished for violating international law,” as Kyiv marked 1,000 days since Russia launched a full-scale invasion. Read more about the grim milestone here.
2. World leaders gathered Nov. 18-19 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, for the 19th meeting of the G20, under the theme “Building a Just World and a Sustainable Planet.” For France Inter’s Pierre Haski, the G20 remains the last forum where opposing powers can still talk to one another … for now.
3. Rafael Nadal announced his retirement from professional tennis at age 38, concluding a remarkable career that included 22 Grand Slam titles — including a record 14 French Opens — and two Olympic golds. In an emotional speech after his final match at the Davis Cup (losing 6-4 6-4 to Dutch player Botic van de Zandschulp in the quarter-finals), the Spaniard said he hoped to be remembered first and foremost as “a good person” and as "a kid who followed their dreams."
4. A peculiar work of art consisting in a duct-taped banana was bought by Chinese-born crypto entrepreneur Justin Sun at Sotheby’s New York, besting initial estimates of between $1 million and $1.5 million. Maurizio Cattelan’s 2019 work, titled Comedian, aims to be a “sincere commentary on what we value.” The buyer Sun said he plans to eat the banana “as part of this unique artistic experience.”
✍️ Newsletter by Worldcrunch
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*Photo: Merlin and TM & © Mojang AB