👋 Hej!*
Welcome to Friday, where mass rallies take place across Syria to celebrate the end of five decades of authoritarian rule following Assad’s downfall, Russia launches a massive attack on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure and an Indian teenager becomes the world’s youngest chess champion. We also feature a Die Zeit analysis on Germany’s and Europe’s electric car battery industry, which is running out of power against dominant China.
[*Danish]
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🗞️ FRONT PAGE
“It’s been an honor. And every time, it’s an honor,” President-elect Donald Trump said after being recognized for the second time by Time Magazine as its “Person of the Year.” Trump sat down for a lengthy interview with Time and discussed his plans for a second term. Speaking at the New York Stock Exchange where he rang the bell on Thursday morning, Trump added: “I think I like it better this time actually.” For more, we offer this El Espectador article Everything Is Negotiable In Trump's New World — And He Means *Everything, translated from Spanish by Worldcrunch.
🌎 7 THINGS TO KNOW RIGHT NOW
• Mass rallies in Syria celebrate end of Assad regime. Syrians are taking to the streets across the country on Friday to celebrate the downfall of former President Bashar al-Assad, days after he was ousted by rebel fighters. Meanwhile, members of the G7 nations are planning to meet virtually to discuss the ongoing situation in Syria. In the U.S., a federal grand jury charged Samir Ousman Alsheikh, a former Syrian government official who headed the Damascus Central Prison known as the Adra prison from 2005 to 2008, with torture on Thursday. Read more in this Al-Manassa analysis translated from Arabic by Worldcrunch: The Future Of Syria Could Be Much Brighter — Or Even Darker.
• Israel strikes Gaza post office used as shelter, killing at least 30. Medics said the Israeli strike on the postal facility sheltering Gaza residents in the Nuseirat camp also wounded 50 late on Thursday, while the Israeli military said it had been targeting a senior Islamic Jihad member. The strike brought Thursday’s death toll in the enclave to 66.
• Russia launches massive attack on Ukraine power facilities, Kyiv says. Ukrenergo, Ukraine’s energy grid operator, said it was introducing emergency power outages across the country after Russia targeted energy infrastructure during the morning rush hour on Friday, Ukrainian Energy Minister German Halushchenko said. The extent of the damage has yet to be clarified. Follow our coverage of the Russia-Ukraine war.
• French President Macron names new prime minister. Emmanuel Macron announced on Friday that centrist leader François Bayrou would become France’s new prime minister, the fourth this year, nine days after French MPs ousted Michel Barnier in a no-confidence vote. The country’s politics have been deadlocked ever since Macron called snap parliamentary elections during the summer. Bayrou, 73, will be tasked with forming a new government.
• South Korea opposition leader says Yoon must be impeached. Lee Jae-myung said on Friday that impeaching President Yoon Suk Yeol would be the best way to restore order in the country, one day ahead of a planned parliamentary vote over Yoon’s short-lived imposition of martial law. The leader survived an initial impeachment attempt a week earlier when his People Power Party (PPP) boycotted the vote, but at least seven members of the PPP have since declared their intention to support impeachment on Saturday.
• Venezuela releases 103 imprisoned after contested election. Venezuelan authorities said on Thursday that they released 103 people this week who had been arrested amid anti-government protests, following the country’s contested July election. President Nicolás Maduro was proclaimed the winner of the July 28 vote, but the results were contested by the opposition and triggered raucous street protests. Despite this gesture, the government continues to refuse calls from the opposition and regional leaders to release data that could validate Maduro’s victory. For more on this topic, check this analysis translated from Spanish by Worldcrunch: Maduro Claims Victory — This Is How Venezuelan Democracy Died.
• Indian teen becomes world’s youngest chess champion at 18. Gukesh Dommaraju beat defending champion, China’s Ding Liren, on Thursday in Singapore in a match that he had entered as the challenger. Dommaraju becomes the 18th world chess champion and just India’s second world champion after Viswanathan Anand. At 18 years old, the teenager is four years younger than previous record-holder, Garry Kasparov, when he won the title in Moscow in November 1985.
#️⃣ BY THE NUMBERS
$15.7 million
Fossils from a trio of dinosaurs, which date back approximately 150 million years, have sold for $15.7 million at Christie's in London. All three skeletons, two Allosaurus and one Stegosaurus, were excavated from the same site in Carbon County, Wyoming and travelled to London in 12 crates, where they were rebuilt. “It is humbling to stand in the presence of these ancient giants and marvel at the wonders of our Earth's past,” said James Hyslop, head of Science & Natural History at Christie's.
📹 ON THIS DAY VIDEO — 4 HISTORY-MAKING EVENTS, IN 57 SECONDS
➡️ Watch the video: ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY
📰 IN OTHER NEWS
🇸🇾 Syrian prisons have been opened, unveiling a grim parade of horrors. The emotions are intense, yet much was already known about Assad’s machinery of death… and still, the world could do nothing.
— FRANCE INTER
💵 With a businessman rather than a politician in the White House, the U.S. will take a more transactional approach based on negotiations.
— EL ESPECTADOR
🚙🔋 Germany's and Europe's electric car battery dreams are crumbling. From halted construction to creditor protection filings, the once-promising industry is on the brink of collapse. Is it too late to turn the tide?
— DIE ZEIT
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📣 VERBATIM
“It is time to shift to a wartime mindset.”
— NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte has said it is time to “shift to a wartime mindset,” as he warned the military alliance's members were not spending enough to prepare for the threat of a future conflict with Russia. Speaking at an event in Brussels, Rutte added, “If we don't spend more together now to prevent war, we will pay a much, much, much higher price later to fight it.” For more, check out this analysis by France Inter’s Pierre Haski, published earlier this year on Worldcrunch: At 75, NATO Faces Existential Questions.
✍️ Newsletter by Anne-Sophie Goninet & Emma Albright
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