Jan. 27-28
- Ukraine war fatigue
- K-pop upcycling
- Netflix record
- … and much more.
🎲 OUR WEEKLY NEWS QUIZ
1. What is the name of the largest city in southern Gaza that has become a focus of Israel's offensive?
2. What kind of building has Indian leader Narendra Modi inaugurated in Ayodhya, that cost an estimated $217 million?
3. After Turkey said “yes” to NATO membership for Sweden, what is the only country left that must lift its veto?
4. Amsterdam decided to rename one of its streets over ties to the country's colonial past. Was it: Black Pepper Avenue / Nutmeg Street / Saffron Boulevard / Cocoa Lane
[Answers at the bottom of this newsletter]
#️⃣ TRENDING
A 23-year-old woman in Roseville, California, was arrested last week and charged with grand theft after allegedly attempting to steal $2,500 worth of Stanley drinkware, particularly water bottles. The woman refused to stop for retail staff, fled the scene, and was later apprehended by police, which shared the news on social media. Officers found 65 Stanley products in her car. The Stanley brand's popularity, especially the 40 oz. "Quencher" model, which retails at around $45, has surged in recent months, driven by social media platforms like TikTok, leading to overnight queues and high demand for limited-edition colored tumblers.
🎭 5 CULTURE THINGS TO KNOW
• Prado Museum increases efforts to promote inclusion and equality via language: The Prado Museum in Madrid has revised the language of about 1,800 cartouches next to paintings and has changed the descriptions of some artworks on its website to increase inclusion and promote equality. Words and phrases such as “dwarfism,” “handicapped” or “the wife of” have been removed or replaced with more inclusive and less sexist terms.
• In memoriam: Oscar-nominated Canadian director Norman Jewison, known for classics such as Moonstruck, In The Heat Of The Night, and Fiddler on the Roof, has died at 97; German singer, songwriter and producer Frank Farian, who founded the German/Caribbean disco funk ensemble Boney M and steered Milli Vanilli to fame, died at 82; U.S. artist Robert Whitman, one of the pioneers of the early performance art events known as Happenings in New York, died aged aged 88.
• “Barbenheimer” leads Oscars nominations, with backlash over Barbie snubs: The announcement of the 96th Academy Awards nominations prompted backlash after Barbie director Greta Gerwig missed out on best director and Margot Robbie failed to score a best actress nod, although the movie received eight nominations in total. Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer is leading the charge with 13 nominations, followed by Poor Things and Killers of the Flower Moon. Meanwhile, Tunisian director Kaouther Ben Hania made history by becoming the Arab woman filmmaker to earn two Oscar nominations after her latest movie Four Daughters made the list of Best Documentary Feature Film.
• Christie's in Paris to display modern and contemporary art from Maghreb: Christie’s is opening a new exhibition called “The Spectres Visibles,” which will include 40 modern and contemporary works for sale by artists from the Maghreb region and its diaspora. The exhibition, which will run until Feb. 11 in Paris, will feature pieces related to themes of belonging, migration, and cultural decolonisation.
• Netflix smashes expectations with record Q4 subscriber growth: Netflix announced it had added 13.1 million subscribers for a total 260.8 million user base globally at the end of 2023, a record which beat analyst expectations of about 9 million new subscribers. The streaming platform was able to draw on the success of strong shows released in the last few months of 2023, from the final season of popular royal drama The Crown and David Fincher's original The Killer.
🇺🇦 What’s moving on the Ukraine frontline
As the two-year anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine approaches, a narrative is coalescing that the war has reached a stalemate. The static conflict is causing a sense of fatigue in Western capitals, especially as the growing conflict in the Middle East overshadows Ukraine’s fight for independence and sovereignty. However, it is crucial for Ukraine to continue fighting each and every battle, writes Viktor Kevlyuk in Ukrainian news website Livy Bereg, as every conquered inch of terrain can tip the war's balance.
Read the full story: It's Not A "Stalemate": The Ukraine War Is Riding On Even The Smallest Victories
🎵 What’s driving France’s vinyl comeback in the digital age
Sales of vinyl have tripled in the past five years in France while Paris has become the world's second-largest vinyl capital, behind Tokyo, with around 100 record stores in operation. In this age of dematerialization, LPs symbolize a return to a ceremonial approach to music, a taste for beautiful objects and a desire to give and collect, writes Eric Delon in French business daily Les Echos.
Read the full story: Music As "Beautiful Object" — Why The Vinyl Resurgence Is So Strong In France
🍍🍕 What one Italian dares to say out loud about Hawaiian pizza
Does pineapple belong to pizza? Sorbillo, the famous Neapolitan pizza maker, made it clear through an Instagram post that he's on the yes side. Agnese Tonghini thinks so too. For Worldcrunch, the Paris-based Italian journalist weighs in on the controversy which took over the internet and explains why putting pineapple on a pizza shouldn’t be such a big deal. “If properly done, pineapple pizza can happen without insulting anyone, neither grandmas nor the future of my beloved motherland,” writes Tonghini.
Read the full story: I'm A Real Italian And Pineapple On Pizza Is Just Fine With Me
♻️ BRIGHT IDEA
Discarded K-pop banners will get a new lease on life through an upcycling project launched by K-pop powerhouse HYBE and a Spanish upcycling brand, Nukak. Upcycling is the transformation of discarded materials into a new product of quality. Most banners used at performances end up discarded after a short period, but Nukak x HYBE announced that they will turn banners from five K-pop bands — BTS, Seventeen, Tomorrow X Together, Enhypen, and Le Sserafim — into various items such as card wallets, messenger bags, and cross-body bags.
🎾😘 SMILE OF THE WEEK
Tennis champion Novak Djokovic, who smiled big during his quarter-final victory over Taylor Fritz, blew a kiss towards Nick Kyrgios in the commentary box. The Australian player, unable to compete due to injury, has been supporting Djokovic and the two former sworn enemies have developed an unexpected friendship. Later in the week, in a stunning upset, 22-year-old Italian Jannik Sinner snapped Novak Djokovic's 33-game winning streak in a tension-filled semi-final.
📹 THIS HAPPENED VIDEO — TODAY IN HISTORY, IN ONE ICONIC PHOTO
➡️ Watch the video: THIS HAPPENED
⏩ LOOKING AHEAD
• The 2024 Finnish presidential election will be held on Sunday after 12 years of Sauli Niinisto's leadership. The country's role in NATO, strong economy, and liberal democratic values make it a significant player in European politics. It’s an election outcome watched especially closely with its eastern neighbor Russia two years into a war against Ukraine.
• Sweden's Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson has proposed a meeting with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban in Brussels to address the final hurdle to Sweden's delayed NATO membership. The visit aims to build trust, although the specific agenda remains unclear. Both Sweden and Finland applied to join NATO in 2022 after Russia's invasion of Ukraine, with Finland becoming a member in 2023. Turkey recently approved Sweden's application, leaving Hungary as the only NATO member yet to grant approval.
• Iran’s foreign minister will visit Pakistan next week indicating a diplomatic effort to repair relations following recent missile strikes between the two nations. Ambassadors from both countries have been instructed to resume their duties by January 26, as confirmed by the Pakistani foreign ministry.
• The Australian Open 2024 wraps up this weekend with men’s final on Sunday in which Daniil Medvedev will face Jannik Sinner, who defeated 10-time champion Novak Djokovic in the semifinal.
👓 WORLDCRUNCH MAGAZINE
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News quiz answers:
1. The city of Khan Younis has become the focus of Israeli strikes. A dozen people were killed and 75 injured in a UN camp on Wednesday, as Israel intensified its attacks on the city.
2. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated a Hindu temple built on the site of a mosque destroyed by Hindu mobs in 1992. The new construction has stirred up strong opposition.
3. Sweden's bid to join NATO is still being blocked by Hungary. Two years after its application, Stockholm has finally won the favor of Turkey, but Hungary still stands in the way of its membership.
4. Amsterdam has renamed its Nutmeg Street to erase traces of its colonial past and the violent history associated with the spice trade. The street will now be known as Horseradish Street, in keeping with the theme.
✍️ Newsletter by Worldcrunch
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*Photo: Juan Barbosa/Contacto/ZUMA