👋 Konta!*
Welcome to Thursday, where more Israeli hostages are being released from Gaza, a search operation is underway in Washington, D.C. following a collision between an American Airlines plane and a U.S. Army helicopter and New Zealand makes a surprising legal decision. Meanwhile, Caterina Soffici for Italian daily La Stampa reflects on the White House’s move to showcase images of deported migrants in shackles.
🎙️ … Check out 6 Minutes: our new daily podcast, available each weekday on your favorite streaming platforms, bringing you our uniquely international roundup of the latest news, in a sharp and succinct audio format. Discover it here!
[*Yapese - Micronesia]
✅ SIGN UP
This is our daily newsletter Worldcrunch Today, a rapid tour of the news of the day from the world's best journalism sources, regardless of language or geography.
It's easy (and free!) to sign up to receive it each day in your inbox: 👉 Sign up here
🗞️ FRONT PAGE
“MAGA signal,” Colombian daily El Espectador headlines, leading with a photo of two children sitting on a pile of food aid and describing the significant impacts on Colombia that foreign aid restrictions proposed by the Trump administration would have. The attempted U.S. policy change, which included a temporary freeze on all federal loans, would have prevented food aid from being provided abroad. The move was blocked in court, and the White House has since backtracked, but the stability of these programs remains unclear.
🌎 7 THINGS TO KNOW RIGHT NOW
• Syria's Sharaa declared president for transition, consolidating his power. Syria's de facto leader Ahmed al-Sharaa was declared president for a transitional phase on Wednesday, tightening his hold on power less than two months after he led a campaign that toppled Bashar al-Assad. Sharaa was also empowered to form a temporary legislative council for a transitional period, while the Syrian constitution was suspended. Read more about Syria’s political future in this piece from Al-Manassa, translated from Arabic into English by Worldcrunch.
• Man who sparked violent protests after burning the Quran shot dead in Sweden. The incident occurred hours before he was due to receive a court verdict following a trial over burning the Quran, and five people were arrested over the shooting on Thursday. Salwan Momika, 38, is reported to have been killed in an apartment in Stockholm. Unrest broke out after Momika set fire to a copy of Islam's holy book outside Stockholm Central Mosque in 2023.
• Search operation underway after passenger jet collides with helicopter. Dozens of people are feared dead after an American Airlines regional passenger jet with 64 people on board and a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter with three soldiers collided and crashed into the frigid Potomac River near Reagan Washington National Airport. Nineteen bodies have been recovered so far, a law enforcement source says, as search efforts continue.
• More Israeli hostages released in latest stage of the ceasefire deal. Palestinian militants were handing over seven Israeli hostages in Gaza on Thursday in return for 110 Palestinian prisoners to be freed in the latest stage of a ceasefire deal. In total, three Israeli and five Thai nationals are expected to be handed over to the International Committee of the Red Cross in Khan Younis. Follow Worldcrunch’s international coverage of the Middle East here.
• Russian launches drone attack on Ukraine. At least four people have been killed and nine injured, including a child, in a drone attack on an apartment building in the northeastern Ukrainian city of Sumy. Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Thursday morning that Russia targeted Sumy with an Iranian Shahed drone, while his military said a total of 81 drones were launched overnight, damaging businesses and homes.
• Trump orders transfer of undocumented immigrants to Guantanamo. Trump plans to transform the United States detention facility in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, into a holding center for undocumented immigrants. The surprise announcement came on Wednesday, as the president signed his first major piece of legislation, the Laken Riley Act — in line with the Trump administration’s push to expel as many undocumented individuals as possible. The White House also rescinded a recent memo Wednesday that would have frozen all federal aid. Read more in this piece by Italian media La Stampa, Handcuffed And Deported: Donald Trump's Brutal Message To The World.
• News Quiz! What has New Zealand recognized as a “legal person,” granting it the same rights and responsibilities as a human being?
A. A sheep
B. An Australian
C. A river
D. A mountain
[Answer below]
#️⃣ BY THE NUMBERS
10.8 million
Toyota sold 10.8 million vehicles in 2024, a slight drop from 2025, but maintaining the title of top-selling automaker in the world. The decline in sales was partly related to regulatory challenges in Japan, the country where the carmaker is based. Volkswagen and Hyundai-Kia, which are just behind Toyota in second and third place globally, also saw slight declines in global sales because of pricing battles for electric vehicles in China.
📹 ON THIS DAY VIDEO — 4 HISTORY-MAKING EVENTS, IN 57 SECONDS
➡️ Watch the video: ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY
📰 IN OTHER NEWS
🇺🇸 The White House has showcased images of deported migrants in shackles. This deliberate display of humiliation is part of a broader strategy that combines cruelty with political messaging, undermining both personal dignity and democratic values.
— LA STAMPA
📖 In Syria the provisional government led by Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham has removed the term “gods” and images of statues from the school curriculum. Removing these images and their rightful place in history is a dangerous call to war against truth and equality.
— DARAJ
🏊 Could the Seine could become a swimming pool for Parisians? As the Mayor of Paris' office considers protecting the “rights of the Seine,” French chemist and academic Bernard Meunier argues that the Seine is above all a navigable waterway.
— LES ECHOS
Check it out here on all platforms!
📣 VERBATIM
“Your silence and inaction… are an affront [to the DRC].”
— Felix Tshisekedi, the president of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) criticized the international community for a lack of action on the escalating violence with the M23 rebel group in the east of the country. Tshisekedi said that the DRC’s military is mounting a response to the militia, which is backed by Rwanda and has captured huge tracts of land, including the city of Goma. An AFP tally has the death toll at more than 100, with 1,000 injured.
✍️ Newsletter by Emma Albright & Jake Shropshire
Let us know what’s happening in your corner of the world!
Quiz Answer: D. A mountain in New Zealand considered an ancestor by Indigenous people was recognized as a legal person on Thursday after a new law granted it all the rights and responsibilities of a human being. Mount Taranaki — now known as Taranaki Maunga, its Māori name — is the latest natural feature to be granted personhood in New Zealand, which has ruled that a river and a stretch of sacred land are people before.