👋 হ্যালো*
Welcome to Thursday, where Israel strikes Yemen, Gisèle Pelicot’s ex-husband is sentenced in a mass rape case that shocked the world, and shame on those who litter in Fukushima. And for French economic daily Les Echos, Raphaëlle Elkrief takes us on a pawsitively fabulous tour of the new luxury sector for dogs.
[*Hyalo, Bengali - Bangladesh and India]
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🗞️ FRONT PAGE
Corriere del Trentino lends its front page to Maura Delpero’s movie Vermiglio, which was picked as Italy’s entry for Best International Feature Film at the upcoming Academy Awards, and is already proving to be “a magnet for tourism”. The Val di Sole region of northern Italy has organized walking tours to guide visitors through the film's locations. The film, which premiered at the Venice International Film Festival, where it won the Grand Jury Prize, is set in the remote mountain village of Vermiglio in 1944, and tells the story of the arrival of Pietro, a World War II deserter.
🌎 7 THINGS TO KNOW RIGHT NOW
• Israel strikes Yemen in response to Houthi missile. Israel’s military launched strikes against ports and energy infrastructure in Houthi-held parts of Yemen early Thursday, just hours after the Iran-backed militant group’s latest attack on Israel. Seven people were reportedly killed in the port of Salif and two in the Ras Issa oil facility, which are both in Hudaydah province. Israel’s Defense Minister Israel Katz warned the country will continue to respond to Houthi attacks, saying “Israel's long hand will reach you as well.” For more, check this reportage translated from Arabic by Worldcrunch: In Yemen, Caught Between Houthis’ Crackdown And Israel’s Aggression.
• Israel continues bombarding Gaza as ceasefire talks intensify. At least 13 Palestinians were killed in separate Israeli airstrikes in Gaza City on Thursday, medics said, as U.S. and Arab mediators in Egypt and Qatar are working round-the-clock to hammer out a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas. Sources close to the talks told Reuters that while mediators had managed to narrow some gaps on previous sticking points, differences remain. Meanwhile, Human Rights Watch accused Israel on Thursday of “acts of genocide and extermination” by denying clean water to Palestinians in Gaza.
• Dominique Pelicot and 50 others found guilty in mass rape trial. A French court In Avignon sentenced on Thursday the ex-husband of Gisèle Pelicot to a maximum of 20 years in jail for drugging and raping his then wife and, for years, allowing other men to rape her while she was sedated. The 50 other defendants of the trial were also found guilty, with sentences ranging from three to 15 years. Read more in this analysis drawing parallels between France and Ecuador, translated from Spanish by Worldcrunch.
• Putin addresses Ukraine war and inflation in end-of-year speech. In his annual televised address to the nation on Thursday, the Russian president said the country was getting “closer to solving our primary tasks of the special operation,” referring to the invasion of Ukraine. Putin says that Russian troops were “advancing on all directions” in the Kursk region, where Ukrainian forces still hold territory. Putin also discussed Russia’s economy, conceding that high inflation was a “worrying sign.” Read more in this analysis translated from French by Worldcrunch: Putin Suddenly Appears Vulnerable, From All Sides.
• Amazon workers to strike at multiple U.S. warehouses. Thousands of U.S.-based Amazon employees are set to go on strike during the busy Christmas period starting Thursday, after union officials said the retailer failed to come to the bargaining table to negotiate contracts for better pay and conditions. The Teamsters union said workers would walk off the job in cities including New York, Atlanta and San Francisco, in the largest strike against the company in U.S. history.
• Burkina Faso releases four French spies after Morocco meditation. Four French nationals held in the Western African country for more than a year on espionage accusations were freed, French and Moroccan authorities said on Thursday, resolving a diplomatic row over their detention. France’s foreign intelligence service had previously confirmed that the individuals held in Ouagadougou were spies. Relations between France and Burkina Faso have deteriorated since Ibrahim Traoré came to power in 2022 through a coup d'etat.
• Japanese city to publicly shame people who break trash rules. Starting in March, Fukushima plans to introduce stricter garbage disposal rules — an initiative which includes using the government website to publish the names of the individuals and businesses that violate them. Last year, the city reported over 9,000 cases of non-compliant garbage.
#️⃣ BY THE NUMBERS
1,102 tons
Poland is taking emergency action to combat rising butter prices by auctioning off up to 1,102 tons of frozen butter from its strategic reserves. The auction, which begins Thursday, aims to stabilize the butter market amid a global milk shortage that has significantly driven up prices. The unsalted butter will be sold in 25-kilogram blocks for a minimum price of $7 per kilo, far lower than the retail price of fresh butter, which is up to $12 per kilo in major supermarkets. This move comes ahead of Poland’s presidential elections in May, as high food coasts have become a key political issue.
📹 ON THIS DAY VIDEO — 4 HISTORY-MAKING EVENTS, IN 57 SECONDS
➡️ Watch the video: ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY
📰 IN OTHER NEWS
🇮🇷 Israel’s decimation of Iran’s proxies in Gaza and Lebanon, and now events in Syria, have shown the Tehran regime is far weaker than it had wanted the world and its neighbors to believe.
— KAYHAN-LONDON
🩸 A new blood test, designed to detect more than 50 types of cancer, could be the future of early cancer detection. Is it the next big thing, or just another marketing gimmick?
— DIE ZEIT
🐶 From dedicated spas and luxury perfumes to prebiotics and behavioral therapies, dogs have become the luxury sector’s new best friend.
— LES ECHOS
📣 VERBATIM
“The victim and the oppressor should not be treated in the same way.”
— In an interview with BBC this week, Ahmed al-Sharaa, leader of the Syrian rebel group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), stated that Syria, exhausted by years of war, is no longer a threat to its neighbors or the West. He argued that sanctions, originally aimed at the previous regime, should be lifted, as they no longer apply to the new leadership. Sharaa also called for HTS to be removed from the list of terrorist organizations, insisting the group did not target civilians or civilian areas, and that they view themselves as victims of Assad’s regime.
✍️ Newsletter by Anne-Sophie Goninet & Ella Nigro
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