Israeli Strikes Kill 40 In Gaza, Campus Protests Spread, Messi The Dog

💡 SPOTLIGHT

Why we're not Israel — a Ukrainian reflection on the West's double standard

When the U.S. and other Western countries recently defended Israel against Iran's drones and missiles, Ukrainians began to blame themselves for not receiving similar protection against Russia's attacks. But the reality is very different, writes Petro Gerasimenko in Ukrainian news website Livy Bereg.

On the night of April 14, Iran used more than 170 kamikaze drones and fired more than 150 missiles of various types at Israel. Tehran had been preparing for this strike for two weeks. Yet the large-scale attack largely failed, causing a wave of memes even in the Arab world.

Perhaps the consequences would have been more tangible if not for the activity of Israel's allies. The U.S., UK, France and Jordan helped intercept Iran's attack. Most of the missiles and drones did not reach Israel and were shot down in the airspace of neighboring countries.

Immediately afterwards, Ukrainians began to look for answers to the question: why can't Western countries do the same when Russian missiles and UAVs attack us.

The contexts, on the surface, can seem quite comparable. Neither Ukraine nor Israel are NATO members. Both suffered similar air attacks from dictatorial regimes. Western air forces did not enter Iranian airspace to shoot down the missiles it launched and did not approach its borders. Tehran also did not express any grievances against the Western allies who destroyed its weapons.

So, the United States, the United Kingdom and France could act similarly over Ukraine's airspace. They could, but for some reason they do not. [...]

— Read the full article by Petro Gerasimenko for Livy Bereg, translated into English by Worldcrunch.

🗞️ FRONT PAGE​​

Slovakian daily Denník dedicates its front page to the 20th anniversary of the EU enlargement. On May 1, 2004, ten Central and Eastern European countries joined the Union. Often referred to as the "EU10," these nations, including those formerly under the Soviet bloc, have since gained influence on the European stage, partly due to their rapid economic catch-up and more recently the renewed Russian threat.

🌎 7 THINGS TO KNOW RIGHT NOW

• Israeli strikes kill at least 40 in Gaza as ceasefire talks begin. Strikes on Rafah killed 25, with the total death toll in Gaza rising to 40. Hamas leaders are in Cairo for a new round of truce talks and to respond to a new proposal by Israel that U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and British Foreign Secretary David Cameron both described as “generous.” The proposal would lower the number of hostages that Hamas must release in a first phase. 

• Russian missile kills five in Odessa. The missile strike hit a private law academy in a popular seafront park, also injuring 32. Reuters footage shows the roof of the ornate building all but destroyed. The coastal city has been a recent target of Russian missile and drone strikes. In Ukraine’s second biggest city, Kharkiv, the debris from a January missile strike has been identified as being from a North Korean Hwasong-11 series ballistic missile, which is in violation of the arms embargo on North Korea. Read more about North Korea and Russia relations with this piece translated from French by Worldcrunch.

• Columbia student protesters take over building after defying deadline. Dozens of activists at Columbia University in New York seized its historic Hamilton Hall early Tuesday, barricading themselves inside. Similar protests have spread elsewhere in the U.S. and around the world, including France, where police in Paris on Monday cleared dozens of protesters from outside Sorbonne University. 

• Leaked document reveals Iran security forces molested and killed teen protester. Nika Shakarami was 16 when she vanished from an anti-regime protest in 2022, and her body was found nine days later. The government claimed she killed herself. The leaked report, marked “highly confidential,” reveals that three men working for Iran’s security forces sexually assaulted and then killed the teenager, before leaving her body in the street. Read more on Iranian protests with this piece translated from Persian by Worldcrunch.

• Georgia’s ruling party holds rally to counter anti-government protests. Georgia has been gripped by anti-government protests since mid-April, when the ruling Georgian Dream party reintroduced plans to pass a “foreign influence” bill, which if adopted would prevent the country from joining the EU. The latest demonstration against the measure saw around 20,000 people gather on Sunday for a “March for Europe.” On Monday evening, thousands of people congregated outside parliament in a rally organized by the Georgian Dream party, amid reports that government employees were forced to attend. 

• King Charles returns to public engagements, visiting cancer center. The King and Queen Camilla will visit a hospital and cancer center, in his first major public engagement since his own cancer diagnosis. Apart from attending an Easter Sunday church service, the King has stayed away from public events. His doctors are said to be “very encouraged by the progress made so far” in the treatment for the King’s unspecified form of cancer.

• Messi, the dog from Anatomy of a Fall, to star in his own TV show. The “canine George Clooney” will feature in a series set at Cannes Film Festival, titled Messi: The Cannes Film Festival from a Dog’s Eye View. The show will allow viewers to see the world through Messi’s eyes but also his voice, as he interviews guests “with the innocence” of a dog. Read more about how non-English movies are reshaping the movie industry.

📰 STORY OF THE DAY

Andrew Tate to Abu Muwais: The toxic millionaire male reaches the Middle East

This phenomenon appeared late on the Arabic-speaking internet. It began with the translation of Andrew Tate’s videos into Arabic, some began copying his appearance, as the Miami-based Jordanian Jalal Abu Muwais does, reports Firas Dalaty in Arabic-language independent digital media Daraj.

📱 With their toned bodies and tight shirts, designer watches and luxury cars, social media has been invaded by the phenomenon of young males who, with their short videos, present themselves as the one true standard of success. The phenomenon reached its peak in 2021 when the name of the British-American former boxer Andrew Tate topped lists as the most searched name around the world. The invasion of this phenomenon on the Arabic-speaking internet arrived a bit later, starting with the translation of Tate’s videos into Arabic.

💰 These internet personalities share very similar stories: The self-made millionaire who used to work in bakeries and slept on the streets before he became wealthy. He does not have time for feelings, and he urges his followers to ignore them, and focus on working harder, earn more money, and most important of all: to subscribe in his “closed community” online or buy his “courses” that help males (and males only) to become rich and powerful men, just like him.

♂️ What makes the content of these internet personalities so tempting and attractive to millions of viewers is that the image of masculinity they market is one still deeply rooted in traditional patriarchal imaginations. They are considered the modern embodiment of the idea of the “alpha male,” the man who takes control, always knows what he's doing and makes everyone wait for him. 

➡️ Read more on Worldcrunch.com

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

➡️ Watch the video: THIS HAPPENED

#️⃣ BY THE NUMBERS

14,147 km

China Southern Airlines is introducing the longest non-stop regular commercial flight to originate from China. Connecting the southern megacity of Shenzhen to Mexico City, the flight covers a distance of 14,147 kilometers (8,791 miles). The inaugural flight is scheduled for May 11, and will last 16 hours. The return journey, departing on May 12, will take approximately 21 hours and 20 minutes. The route, operated by Airbus A350 aircraft, will overtake China Southern Airlines' Guangzhou to New York flight as the furthest nonstop commercial flight from a Chinese airport. Read more about why air travel may be unsustainable — forever — in this article from La Stampa, translated from Italian by Worldcrunch.

💬 LEXICON

Écogeste

The 2025 edition of France’s Petit Larousse dictionary has introduced more than 150 new words reflecting recent societal changes and cultural trends — such as "écogeste,” defined as “an environmentally friendly action carried out to limit one’s impact in their lifestyle.” Other entries include terms related to feminism (“masculinisme”), anti-racism (“Afro-descendant”), technology (“cyberterrorisme”) and culture, like “kimchi,” “webtoon” and “skate park.” Want to read more about how English is ruining the French of the French? Click (clique?) here.

📸 PHOTO DU JOUR

(see above) A pro Palestinian protester is taken into custody by University of South Florida Police officers during a protest on campus in Tampa. Students are protesting all over the country and in other parts of the world, demanding an end to financial ties with Israel. — Photo: Chris Urso/Tampa Bay Times/ZUMA

👉MORE FROM WORLDCRUNCH  

• Tracking Israel's Systematic Annihilation Of The Schools Of Gaza — DARAJ

• Why Macron Is Reminding The World About France's Nuclear Arsenal — FRANCE INTER

• Converting Convents? A Sacred Response To Lisbon's Housing Crisis— MENSAGEM

✍️ Newsletter by Ione Gildroy and Cory Agathe

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