👋 Saluton!*
Welcome to Tuesday, where Donald Trump gets busy on Day 1 of his new presidency, a fire at a hotel in a Turkish ski resort kills at least 10, and PETA activists stage a snake protest in Malaysia. Meanwhile, Fritz Habekuß in German daily Die Zeit marvels at “ant medicine” and what we could learn from our tiny insect friends.
[*Esperanto]
💡 SPOTLIGHT
A blunt message to my fellow Mexicans about Trump’s “dreaded” return
There is no bigger challenge for Mexico than its relations with the United States. It is critical for reasons that are obvious, and have recurred over the long history of both nations. Today, at the outset of a second Donald Trump presidency, the question for us is not so much what Donald Trump wants, but what we need in Mexico? It's about seeing an issue with radically opposing perspectives.
Trump has made it abundantly clear what he wants from Mexico, and threatened to use extraordinary means — like slapping tariffs in a free-trade zone — to get them. We know he likes to win. Thus perhaps the most pertinent question here is: what can be done to give him a victory that will also benefit Mexico, aid its progress and help resolve some of our critical problems?
But it doesn't look like anyone's asking that question. Instead of trying to understand Trump, both in his nature and objectives, the government of Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has so far sought to parry or thwart him... like a matador skirting around a charging bull.
While we're thinking up more and cleverer answers to his claims and nasty declarations, the Canadians — the other free-trade neighbor facing his ire and a threat of tariffs — are working on building a constructive relationship. Of the two of us, who is doing better at handling the inevitable challenge?
A defensive strategy, if strategy is the right word, is of little use. As the Prussian general Helmuth von Moltke said, no war plan survives contact with the enemy. Observation, flexibility and adaptation are what are needed, which is precisely what the Mexican government has failed to show.
Our government has voiced indignation at Trump's declarations, which displays both ignorance and laziness. Trump strikes where he sees weakness — and strikes harder if you resist.
Yes, this is hitting below the belt, but we can't stop it from happening. Canadian politicians, who understand they are accountable to voters and take stock of the national interest have decided not to trash talk back at Trump but find effective, damage control strategies. [...]
— Read the full article by Luis Rubio for América Economía, translated from Spanish by Worldcrunch.
🗞️ FRONT PAGE
“Mexico in his sights,” headlines Mexican daily El Sol de México the day after Donald Trump was inaugurated as the 47th President of the U.S. In Trump’s first hours in office, he signed a slew of executive orders that declared a national emergency on the border between the U.S. and Mexico, barred asylum at the border, and considered designating cartels “foreign terrorist organizations.” Trump dominated the headlines around the globe: Check our international collection of front pages.
🌎 7 THINGS TO KNOW RIGHT NOW
• Hours after taking office, Donald Trump pardons nearly 1,600 Jan. 6 defendants. After a day of ceremony, Trump signed a series of executive actions to curb immigration and roll back environmental regulations and racial and gender diversity initiatives. Meanwhile, billionaire Elon Musk's hand gesture while he spoke during a celebration of President Donald Trump's inauguration drew online comparisons to a Nazi salute. For more on Trump’s decrees, read this piece by French analyst Pierre Haski.
• Israeli settlers attack West Bank villages under army’s protection. As the Gaza truce holds on its third day, Israeli settlers in the West Bank have set vehicles and properties on fire under the protection of Israeli forces while also injuring at least 21 Palestinians. Meanwhile, U.S. President Donald Trump has issued an executive order lifting sanctions against violent Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank. Follow Worldcrunch’s international coverage of the Middle East here.
• Taliban announces release of two U.S. citizens in prisoner swap deal. The Taliban Foreign Ministry in Kabul did not name the U.S. citizens or say how many were released but said they were exchanged for Khan Mohammad, who was arrested in the eastern Afghan province of Nangarhar two decades ago, and had been serving a life sentence in a California prison.
• South Korea's Yoon defends actions at impeachment hearing over martial law decree. South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol attended a Constitutional Court hearing of his impeachment trial on Tuesday where he denied ordering military commanders to drag lawmakers out of parliament during his bid to impose martial law. Near the start of the hearing, Yoon said he had worked in public service with "a firm commitment to free democracy," when invited by the acting chief justice, Moon Hyung-bae, to speak.
• At least 16 killed as landslide struck Indonesia’s Central Java province. Ten people were also injured in the landslide which was triggered by heavy rains. Authorities are searching for another three missing people as they warned that the rain was expected to continue for several days.
• Hotel fire in ski resort in northwestern Turkey kills at least 10. The blaze broke out overnight in the restaurant of the hotel in the resort of Kartalkaya in Bolu province, Minister of Interior Ali Yerlikaya said. A further 32 people have been hospitalized with injuries, he added.
• News Quiz! What was inside the mysterious balls that lead to the closure of several beaches in Sydney? Nine beaches, including popular spots Manly and Dee Why, were closed on Jan. 14 after marble-sized balls started washing up. What were they?
A. Vegemite
B. Crocodile eggs
C. Fecal bacteria
D. Koala fur balls
[Answer below]
#️⃣ BY THE NUMBERS
75 days
U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order to delay by 75 days the ban on popular social media platform TikTok, which originally briefly shuttered on Jan. 19 before going back online. Trump told reporters he believes the U.S. is entitled to 50% of the Chinese-owned app and warned that any attempt to block a deal would be considered an act of “hostility” and “put tariffs of 25, 30, 50%, even 100%.”
📹 ON THIS DAY VIDEO — 4 HISTORY-MAKING EVENTS, IN 57 SECONDS
➡️ Watch the video: ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY
📰 IN OTHER NEWS
🗯️ On social media, in newspapers, and on television screens, a battle has erupted between those who argue that Hamas suffered a crushing defeat and those who insist that the ceasefire marks the victory of the resistance.
— AL-MANASSA
🇮🇷 From fuel shortages and power outages to shortage of cash to pay public sector workers and foreign policy setbacks, problems are piling up for Tehran’s regime. Will unrest in the region spill over to Iran?
— KAYHAN-LONDON
🐜 Insects like ants heal their fellow species, and they even perform surgeries. Biologist Erik Frank is researching their methods. He believes that humans can also benefit from them.
— DIE ZEIT
📣 VERBATIM
“The ELN has chosen the path of war, and war they shall have.”
— Colombian President Gustavo Petro vowed war on the National Liberation Army, or ELN after a series of border region clashes left 80 dead. The following violence with left-wing guerillas has brought the death toll up to at least 100, and displaced more than 20,000. The conflict seems to have been largely fuelled by turf wars between local gangs related to the illegal cocaine trade.
✍️ Newsletter by Emma Albright & Jake Shropshire
Let us know what’s happening in your corner of the world!
Quiz Answer: C. The mysterious balls were found to contain saturated fatty acids, E. coli and fecal bacteria. The debris were sent to the New South Wales Environment Protection Authority (EPA) for further analysis.