👋 Ia Orana!*
Welcome to Tuesday, where Syria says Israeli troops are advancing near Damascus, the man suspected of killing UnitedHealthcare’s CEO is charged after his arrest in Pennsylvania, and Morocco beats a tourism record. For Die Zeit, Helena Ott looks at why there are still so few East-West couples in Germany, 35 years after the fall of the Berlin Wall and reunification.
[*Tahitian]
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🗞️ FRONT PAGE
Buenos Aires-based daily Crónica marks one year since Javier Milei took office as Argentina’s president, unpacking his “successes, mistakes and what’s next” for the right-wing populist. Although Milei’s administration faces challenges — including the need for foreign investment and potential IMF negotiations to stabilize the economy — the firebrand politician still enjoys strong approval rates, after a year marked by the implementation of severe austerity measures to combat hyperinflation. Read more about why Milei’s drastic reforms may be working in this article from Clarín, translated from Spanish by Worldcrunch.
🌎 7 THINGS TO KNOW RIGHT NOW
• Israeli troops near Damascus after dozens of airstrikes across Syria. Syrian security sources said on Tuesday that Israeli troops have reached Qatana, about 25 km (16 miles) southwest of Damascus, though Israeli has denied that its forces had penetrated into Syrian territory beyond the buffer zone with the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. This comes after Israel carried out dozens of attacks across the country overnight. Meanwhile, the leader of Syria’s main Islamist rebel group, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, announced that authorities will name senior officials of the Assad regime wanted for torture following the discovery of about 40 bodies “showing signs of gruesome torture” in a hospital morgue. In Europe, several countries including Germany, Italy and the UK put asylum applications from Syrians on hold until further notice on Monday. Read more in this piece by French analyst Pierre Haski: The Fall Of Assad: Winners, Losers, Known Unknowns.
• Netanyahu takes the stand in his corruption trial. Benjamin Netanyahu gave testimony on Tuesday in his long-running trial for alleged corruption, marking the first time an Israeli prime minister has taken the stand as a criminal defendant. Netanyahu, who is facing charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust in three separate criminal cases, is accused of accepting tens of thousands of dollars’ worth of cigars and champagne from a billionaire Hollywood producer in exchange for assisting him with personal and business interests. For more on Netanyahu’s legal woes, here’s an Al-Manassa analysis translated from Arabic by Worldcrunch.
• South Korean ruling party discusses Yoon’s resignation. The People Power Party (PPP) said on Tuesday it was discussing South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol’s resignation as early as February following his short-lived martial law declaration last week, as well as holding a snap election in April or May. The opposition-controlled parliament on Tuesday passed a trimmed-down budget bill for 2025, which had triggered Yoon’s martial law decree.
• Suspect in UnitedHealthcare CEO shooting charged with murder. Luigi Mangione, the suspect in last week’s fatal shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, was arrested on a gun charge on Monday after a customer at a McDonald's in Altoona, Pennsylvania, recognized him. The 26-year-old was charged with murder in New York and is facing four other charges, including forging a document and carrying firearms without a licence.
• Kenyan police arrest three protesters marching against femicide. Around 300 women marched in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi to protest rising gender-based violence, while being repeatedly dispersed by police officers firing teargas from moving vehicles. Among those arrested was Irungu Houghton, executive director of Amnesty International Kenya. According to the National Police Service, at least 97 women in Kenya were killed in femicides between August and October.
• New Zealand to ban greyhound racing over animal welfare concerns. The country’s Deputy Prime Minister and Racing Minister Winston Peters said that although the industry has made efforts to improve, the rate of injuries and fatalities among racing dogs remains “unacceptably high.” The government plans to wind down the industry over the next 20 months, to allow for a transition. Commercial greyhound racing remains legal in only a few countries, including the U.S., Australia, Ireland and the UK. Read more on the use of animals in sports this Worldcrunch original: Bullfighting And Beyond, Time To Rethink Traditions That Involve Animal Cruelty.
• Passenger on “Santa’s naughty list” for meth wrapped as Christmas presents. New Zealand Customs officials said on Monday that a Canadian woman was arrested at Auckland Airport for allegedly attempting to smuggle 10.2 kgs (22 pounds) of methamphetamine worth up to $2.2 million by disguising them as Christmas presents. The passenger “just made Santa’s naughty list,” the officials said in a Facebook post.
#️⃣ BY THE NUMBERS
15.9 million
Morocco has welcomed an unprecedented 15.9 million visitors in the first 11 months of the year, surpassing the total for all of 2023. This represents a 20% increase compared to the same period last year, driven by a surge in international tourists and Moroccans living abroad. The Northern African country has launched new air routes to key tourist markets and is promoting emerging destinations while encouraging hotel renovations, aiming to attract 17.5 million visitors by 2026 and 26 million by 2030.
📹 ON THIS DAY VIDEO — 4 HISTORY-MAKING EVENTS, IN 57 SECONDS
➡️ Watch the video: ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY
📰 IN OTHER NEWS
🇸🇾 Despite her pleasant air and sense of fashion, the now former Syrian First Lady Asma al-Assad was bound to be tied to her husband's fate.
— THE INITIUM
🤖 As concerns grow over the risks of social media and technology on young people, a new and largely unregulated digital frontier is emerging: interactions with artificial intelligence.
— ETHIC
💑 Only 5% of German couples are formed by East-West partners. So why, 35 years after the fall of the Berlin Wall and reunification, does an invisible wall still seem to keep Germans apart romantically?
— DIE ZEIT
📣 VERBATIM
“Placing Mr. Kennedy in charge of DHHS would put the public’s health in jeopardy.”
— Seventy-seven Nobel laureates have jointly signed a letter urging the U.S. Senate to reject Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s nomination as secretary of Health and Human Services. According to AP, the signatories argue that Kennedy, an environmental lawyer with no medical background, lacks credentials and has a history of spreading dangerous anti-vaccine conspiracy theories. The laureates warn that his appointment by U.S. President-elect Donald Trump would jeopardize public health and undermine scientific integrity.
✍️ Newsletter by Anne-Sophie Goninet & Bertrand Hauger
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