February 1-2
- Hamas leader interview
- Emilia Pérez parody
- Fancy another beer-scuit?
- … and much more.
⬇️ STARTER
Handcuffed and deported: Donald Trump’s brutal message to the world
Illegal immigrants in chains, heads down, lining up to board a plane that will deport them. In chains, like slaves on plantations, like detainees of a dictatorship, like prisoners in war.
We know nothing about these people. All we know is that they have been picked up in the roundups that Donald Trump promised on the campaign trail and they are not eligible to stay in the United States.
They may be criminals. Or they might not be. We don't know, and we're not supposed to care.
They always deport them like that, handcuffed. Maybe to keep them in line, for security reasons. In chains, one guard is enough to control many prisoners. We don't know and we're not supposed to care.
Because in civilized countries, in democracies that are worthy of that name, there is a rule: you don't show people handcuffed. Because handcuffs mean you're guilty, a sign of dishonor, an infamy.
In France, the media are not allowed to show pictures of handcuffed people until they are actually convicted in a court. Same in Italy. In Japan, even the hands of the person in handcuffs are blurred in photos. In Hong Kong, to preserve the dignity of the handcuffed person, police offer a head covering or screen.
The White House, instead, displays the men in chains as a trophy, and does so from the official account on the “X” platform. The message this photo aims to send to the world is clear: there they are, we caught them, look at these criminals.
The image is not one of Elon Musk's crazy spells or a late-night tweet from Trump. It would still be bad, but we've gotten used to those by now. The photo is an official image of the Trump II administration and is designed specifically to be shared and discussed.
This is how people communicate now: threats rather than messages, warnings entrusted to the network. Nastiness on full display. [...]
— Read the full article by Caterina Soffici for La Stampa, translated from Italian by Worldcrunch.
🎲 OUR WEEKLY NEWS QUIZ
What do you remember from the news this week?
1. Who is expected to be the first foreign leader to be invited to the White House for Trump’s second term?
2. To which Balkan nation has Italy shipped 49 people as it resumed the transfer of migrants?
3. What is the name of the Chinese low-cost AI that has sent markets into a frenzy?
4. In what discipline has Mongolia’s Hōshōryū Tomokatsu achieved the highest rank?
Equestrian vaulting / Fermented milk tasting / Sumō / Complicated names
[Answers at the bottom of this newsletter]
#️⃣ TRENDING
Jacques Audiard's Oscar-nominated musical Emilia Pérez has raised criticism from Mexican film-makers for its alleged inauthenticity, its trivialization of the country's drug wars and the portrayal of its central trans character. In response, Mexican trans film-maker Camila Aurora released a parody movie, Johanne Sacrebleu, entirely set in Mexico. The 30-minute film pokes fun at French stereotypes with berets, fake mustaches, and the story of an impossible romance between the trans heirs of the biggest baguette and croissant companies in France.
🎭 5 CULTURE THINGS TO KNOW
• Macron announces “new renaissance” for the Louvre. French President Emmanuel Macron presented several measures to revamp the world’s most-visited museum, after its director revealed the dire state of the famous Parisian institution. The renovation project called “Louvre New Renaissance” includes a wide new entrance near the Seine River, to be opened by 2031, a higher entrance fee for non-EU visitors, as well as a dedicated room for the Mona Lisa. The last overhaul of the Louvre — which suffers from water leaks, temperature swings and failing infrastructure — dates back to the 1980s, when its iconic glass pyramid was unveiled.
• Full-scale replica of Anne Frank’s hidden annex opens in New York City. The reconstruction of the secret annex where Anne Frank penned her famous diary opened as the world marked International Holocaust Remembrance Day. This is the first time that the annex has been completely recreated outside of Amsterdam, where it’s a central part of the Anne Frank House museum. While the original space has been intentionally left empty, the replica at the Center for Jewish History in Manhattan shows the five rooms as they would have looked while the Frank family and others lived in hiding.
• Naruto exhibition travels to Dubai. “Naruto the Gallery,” which celebrates the 20-year legacy of anime and its influence in Japan and around the world, opens on Jan. 31 at The Concourse Convention Centre in Dubai, marking the official debut of the exhibition outside east Asia. The show, which will run until April 6, features immersive life-sized installations and exclusive artworks from the manga series. Naruto is one of Japan’s best-selling manga series of all time, with 72 volumes distributed in more than 60 countries.
• Kazakh cinema built during Soviet era transformed into cultural center. The institution, which used to be the largest Soviet-era cinema in Central Asia, will become the new permanent home of the Tselinny Center of Contemporary Culture in Almaty, Kazakhstan’s largest city. Transformed by British architect Asif Khan, the cultural center will open its doors on April 25, with exhibitions, performances and panel discussions focused on issues around ecology, climate change and Kazakh identity. “Tselinny,” which used to be the name of the original cinema, is a Russian term for “underdeveloped land.”
• Heist of Romanian artifacts in Dutch museum spark tensions. Romania’s Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu said he was “outraged” and blamed a lack of security following the theft of four Romanian artifacts thought to be worth almost €6 million in the Drents Museum in Assen last weekend. Three golden armbands and a golden helmet, “priceless” treasures from the lost Dacian civilisation which date to around 450BC, were on loan from Bucharest’ Romanian National History Museum. Its director was fired after the Romanian government said the objects left the country without proper permissions and Dutch police have since arrested three men in connection with the robbery.
🛹🚒 SMILE OF THE WEEK
That is one very cool New York City fireman skateboarding to work. But while the sight can indeed elicit a smile of admiration, social media users have used the video’s comments to heavily criticize the city's congestion pricing system, in which “drivers in passenger vehicles and motorcycles are charged the toll once per day upon entering the Congestion Relief Zone,” according to the city’s website. The tolls vary from $9 for small vehicles to $21.60 for trucks and buses, depending on the time of day. Not cool.
📰 IN OTHER NEWS
🇵🇸 In his first extensive interview since the ceasefire, longtime influential Hamas leader Mousa Abu Marzouk said the group is running Gazan affairs, despite Israel's attempt to unseat it. Still, Abu Marzouk said Hamas is seeking a future Palestinian unity leadership that it doesn't necessarily have to run on its own.
— AL-MANASSA
🇨🇳🇹🇼 Donald Trump has spoken little about China since becoming president, leaving both Beijing and Taiwan's leaders on edge. And Trump's maneuverings on Greenland are not a good sign.
— FRANCE INTER
🌐 In another sign of changing power relations in the “post-Western” world, the BRICS group of emerging economies could frustrate the United States' bid to sink communism in Cuba by strangling its economy.
— EL ESPECTADOR
🤖 China’s DeepSeek is shaking the U.S. supremacy in generative artificial intelligence. Are we heading towards a collapse of barriers to entry accelerating the deployment of this technology? Could Europe offer a third way to the future?
— LES ECHOS
🏠 For years there has been a visible increase in the percentage of so-called “nesters,” people entering adulthood who do not move out of their family homes. But is the explanation for this problem really limited to the lack of housing availability or the economy more broadly?
— GAZETA WYBORCZA
🍺🍪 BRIGHT IDEA
Fancy a beer-scuit? A French cookie factory is turning spent grain, a byproduct of beer production, into cookies and crackers by mixing them with stale bread crumbs. In the spirit of circularity and waste reduction, the cookies and crackers are sold in a nearby wine shop, where customers can pair them with their favorite wine or non-alcoholic beverage. Santé!
👓 WORLDCRUNCH MAGAZINE
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⏩ LOOKING AHEAD
• Patriots for Europe, the EU's largest far-right bloc, is set to meet in Madrid, Spain, next week to outline their strategy. The summit, presided by Vox leader Santiago Abascal, will be attended by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, France's National Rally leader Marine Le Pen and other European far-right leaders.
• Donald Trump's tariffs on Canada and Mexico are expected to start on Feb. 1. White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said the U.S. President intends to uphold his promise to implement 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico, unless both countries move to stop illegal immigration.
• The Stockholm Design Week will start on Feb. 3 for a week of exhibitions and showrooms across the Swedish capital. The public is invited to mingle with professionals and industry leaders to discover the new products and innovations of the design industry.
News quiz answers:
1. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been invited to meet U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House next week, which would make him the first foreign leader to visit the White House in Trump’s second term.
2. Italy has deported 49 migrants to the Port of Shëngjin in Albania. It is Rome’s third attempt to process asylum claims in the Balkan country.
3. DeepSeek, China’s low-cost, open-source artificial intelligence model, triggered a shock wave in the AI market as it became the most downloaded free app in the U.S. just a week after its launch.
4. Mongolia’s Hōshōryū Tomokatsu, 25, earned the highest rank in sumō after winning Tokyo’s New Year Grand Sumo Tournament.
✍️ Newsletter by Worldcrunch
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*Photo: Naruto The Gallery