Blinken Turns Up Pressure On Hamas, Paris Potpourri Protests, Neanderthal Woman

💡 SPOTLIGHT

Red cow prophecy: Why Jewish extremists are zeroing in on Jerusalem's holiest mosque

A Jewish attack on the revered Al-Aqsa Mosque during Passover may be part of a plan to fulfill an obscure slaughtering rite of a "Red cow" to achieve the prophecy that will trigger the push to construct the mythic third temple of Jerusalem. The war in Gaza is raising the stakes, write Hala Al-Zuheiri and Ramz Bisharat in Arabic-language independent digital media Daraj.

Israel’s war on Gaza has escalated religious tensions — in many directions. One particularly troubling way is the momentum since October 7 from a group of extremist Jews and their evangelical Christian allies, who were determined to rebuild an ancient temple in the holy city of Jerusalem.

Defenders of the so-called Third Temple were preparing for the day when the temple could be rebuilt, which will be completed with the arrival of red Angus cows shipped from Texas, for use in sacrificial purification rituals, according to the Jewish belief.

“Our holy warriors fighting in Gaza are actually fighting to build the Temple,” a rabbi said recently during a controversial visit to the site that ultra-Orthodox Jews believe contains two former synagogues in Jerusalem.

Marina Sokol, an Israeli mother whose son was killed while fighting with the Israeli military in Gaza, spoke at a rally in front of the Al-Aqsa mosque, one of the main Muslim holy sites that is contested by Jewish extremists. “The war we are waging is a war that has no end," Sokol declared. "It is a war for the Temple Mount.”

As Jewish celebrated Passover, the extremist “Temple groups” tried to escalate their attack on Al-Aqsa Mosque by carrying out massive incursions and trying to bring “Passover offerings” into its courtyards. A group, named “Return to the Temple Mount," allocated financial rewards up to 50,000 shekels ($13,000) for anyone who succeeds in smuggling the sacrifices and slaughtering them inside Al-Aqsa. [...]

— Read the full article by Ramz Bishara for Daraj, translated into English by Worldcrunch.

🗞️ FRONT PAGE​​

Rio de Janeiro-based daily O Globo reports on the preparations surrounding “Copamadonna,” as Rio gets ready to welcome pop icon Madonna for her long-awaited free concert (complete with giant disco balls) on the city’s Copacabana Beach. More than a million fans are expected for what has been called the biggest show of the pop icon’s more than 40-year career.

🌎 7 THINGS TO KNOW RIGHT NOW

• Pro-Palestinian protest focus shifts westward, with UCLA campus showdown. Hundreds of officers in riot gear have been deployed and started removing barricades on Thursday at Los Angeles’ University of California, in an attempt to clear out the protest camp that was attacked by pro-Israel supporters the night before. This is the latest flashpoint amid mounting tensions across U.S. college campuses over Israel's war against Hamas in Gaza.

• Blinken steps up pressure on Hamas to accept ceasefire. The U.S. Secretary of State met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on the last stop of his seventh visit to the region since the war began in October and said Israel had made “very important” compromises and that it was now up to Hamas to get the ceasefire deal done. Meanwhile, Colombian President Gustavo Petro has announced his country’s plans to cut diplomatic ties with Israel over its war in Gaza, describing its handling of the conflict as “genocidal.” Follow Worldcrunch’s international coverage of the war in Gaza here.

• Thousands protest in Georgia as “foreign agent” bill approved by parliament. Tbilisi’s ruling Georgian Dream party is a step closer to pushing through a controversial law that Brussels has warned could undermine the country’s long-standing EU aspirations. Intense clashes were reported on Wednesday outside and inside Georgia’s parliament, but the bill was nonetheless cleared with a vote of 83 to 23.

• EU unveils €1-billion aid package for Lebanon to shore up economy and curb migrant surge. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced the move on Thursday during a visit to the crisis-hit country and urged it “to prevent illegal migration and combat migrant smuggling.” For more on the would-be migrant dilemma, here’s a recent piece translated from French-language Burkina Faso media Studio Yafa: Why We Flee — Every Migrant Has A (Good) Reason To Leave.

• Solomon Islands picks China-friendly Jeremiah Manele as new prime minister. The former foreign minister, who was elected by the country’s lawmakers on Thursday, has pledged to continue the Pacific country’s policy of embracing China. 

• Arizona Senate votes to repeal 1864 abortion ban. The repeal was passed by the Senate in a 16-14 vote on Wednesday, just weeks before the long-dormant ban on nearly all abortions was supposed to take effect, and is expected to be signed swiftly by Democrat Governor Katie Hobbs. Read more about what’s driving abortion rights around the world in this Worldcrunch article.

• We now know what a 75,000-year-old Neanderthal woman looked like. Using fragments of a skull found in Shanidar Cave in Iraqi Kurdistan and 3D printing, British scientists and Dutch artists were able to reconstruct the face of a Neanderthal woman in her mid-40s. “I think she can help us connect with who they were,” said palaeoanthropologist Dr Emma Pomeroy.

📰 STORY OF THE DAY

Why no local criticism can stop Airbnb's rise to worldwide travel domination

Despite sometimes heated debates and increasing regulations, the king of short-term rentals has never performed as well as in this post-COVID period. The announcement this week of a whole set of new features shines the light on one of the digital era's great success stories, reports Isabelle Lesniak in French business daily Les Echos.

📈 The undisputed leader in short-term rental never ceases to be in the spotlight, and rarely for good reasons. And yet the company’s results have never been as rosy as in this post-pandemic period of so-called “revenge tourism,” with 2023 breaking global travel and vacation records. Booking.com had the best performance in its history. Airbnb, which made its first net annual profit in 2022, continued to ride the wave of strong demand. Its sales ($9.9 billion) have doubled since the 2018-2019 financial year. 

🏘️ Active in some 220 markets, the multinational business can compensate for a slump in one territory by expanding into others. With its traditional flats, but also its lighthouses, yurts, caves and containers, it is able to meet the needs of customers whoever they are, wherever they are and whatever they want. Some 1.5 billion travelers have experienced a piece of it since the company was founded in 2007.

💻 Other post-pandemic trends also favor Airbnb over hotels. On the American market, Jamie Lane has noticed a craze for spacious accommodation (three rooms or more), rented by larger groups, and often for periods well in excess of a week. Since COVID-19 demonstrated that it was possible to work remotely, the public is willing to combine business and leisure travel, extending a holiday with a professional stay: a so-called "workation."

➡️ Read more on Worldcrunch.com

📹 THIS HAPPENED VIDEO — TODAY IN HISTORY, IN ONE ICONIC PHOTO

➡️ Watch the video: THIS HAPPENED

#️⃣ BY THE NUMBERS

$7.7 billion

Contrary to what had been projected after disruptions in the Red Sea and Russia’s oil refining industry, British multinational oil and gas giant Shell has reported first-quarter profit of $7.7 billion on Thursday. Shell shares have gained about 14% this year, buoyed by Sawan's efforts to cut costs and focus the company on its most profitable operations. The company's overall oil and gas production rose by 3%.

📣 VERBATIM

“No delays, no excuses. The time is now.”

— U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken decreed that the time has come to close the Gaza ceasefire deal and free remaining hostages. While mediators are waiting for a response from Hamas, families of the hostages continue to demonstrate in the streets. Blinken greeted them by saying that freeing their loved ones was “at the heart of everything we're trying to do. There is a proposal on the table, and as we've said, no delays, no excuses. The time is now.”

📸 PHOTO DU JOUR

(see above) A man sits on a park bench as riot police charge into a crowd of protesters as part of International Workers’ Day marches in Paris. Tear gas was fired and 45 arrests were made as traditional labor rights demonstrations melded with pro-Palestinian protesters and anti-Olympics demonstrators. — Photo: Michael Currie/ZUMA

👉MORE FROM WORLDCRUNCH  

• Another Ceasefire Rejected? Why Gaza War Is Good For Netanyahu — And Hamas — FRANCE INTER

• Passport Control: Yemeni Women Still Need Male Guardian's Approval To Leave The Country — DARAJ

• Cruel Summer, The Toll Of Rising Temperatures On India's Most Vulnerable Workers— THE WIRE

✍️ Newsletter by Anne-Sophie Goninet and Agnese Tonghini

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