UN Probe On Israel & Hamas War Crimes, Ukraine Recovery Conference, Spicy Ramen vs. Denmark

💡 SPOTLIGHT

What happens when violence takes over the culture

Not for the first time in history, simplistic dualism is taking hold of people's minds, often rooted in religious beliefs. Is this a prelude to even more violent intolerance and — in the worst scenario — another big war? asks Argentine poet and writer Miguel Espejo in Buenos Aires-based daily Clarín.

Cancel culture may have given way to something worse, a culture of aggression. We might, in this time of extremes, recall Hitler's rumbustious air-force chief Hermann Goering, who said, reputedly, that he reached for his gun every time he heard the word culture.

The writer and academic Victor Klemperer, who lived through Nazi Germany, tasked himself with studying the Nazis' perverse use of language, which he compared to "minuscule doses of poison" that felt harmless enough before revealing their full toxicity. The Bolsheviks and their successor Stalin arguably trumped the Nazis in the dastardly art of verbal manipulation.

Today, some historians are calling our time a prelude to war, while others claim the big war has already begun but is barely discernible, appearing as a proliferation of "minuscule" crises poisoning our minds a little at a time.

The ties between war and culture, between a new order and violence, and conflicts and production modes, considerably predate even the earliest Biblical texts, going back to the proverbial time of the brothers Cain and Abel. Studies would show that war is as old as our species. It is, as the Pre-Socratic philosopher Heraclitus stated, "the mother of all things."

The word culture refers in the broadest sense to the manner in which men have ordained and cultivated the land and thereby, cultivated themselves. It too is ancient if not as ancient as our species, and linked to the phenomenon of violence. [...]

— Read the full article by Miguel Espejo for Clarín, translated into English by Worldcrunch.

🗞️ FRONT PAGE​​

G for G7 or for Giorgia? Rome-based daily Il Tempo considers the impact Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni will have on the upcoming G7 meeting, as the country gets ready to host the 50th summit of the world’s most powerful leaders, from June 13-15, in the southern city of Fasano.

🌎 7 THINGS TO KNOW RIGHT NOW

• UN says Israel and Hamas have committed war crimes. The inquiry found on Wednesday that both Israel and Hamas had committed war crimes in the early stages of the war in Gaza, and that Israel's actions also constituted crimes against humanity due to the civilian losses. Meanwhile, the U.S. says it is evaluating Hamas’ response to the latest proposal for a Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal. For more on what a truce could mean for Gaza, read this piece from Beirut-based media Daraj. 

• Hong Kong cancels passports of six pro-democracy activists in exile in the UK. This comes amid the special administrative region’s newly-enacted domestic security law, calling them “lawless wanted criminals.” The government said that in addition to the cancellation of their travel documents, the six were also banned from any business dealings in Hong Kong, including financial transactions from cash to gold. Read more about the Hong Kongers who moved to the UK following the 2019 pro-democracy protests to seek political asylum, in this piece from Chinese media The Initium. 

• Haiti’s interim PM Garry Conille forms new government. Haiti’s transitional council has replaced all the members of former Prime Minister Ariel Henry’s cabinet, as the country pushes to tackle economic woes and rampant gang violence. The announcement came two weeks after the council appointed Garry Conille, a former regional director for the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), as interim prime minister. Read more about how Haiti is cracking down on gang violence in this piece translated from French to English. 

• South Korea opposition leader indicted over funds transfer to North Korea. Lee Jae-myung, leader of the main opposition Democratic Party, was indicted on Wednesday on bribery charges in an alleged scheme to use an underwear maker to transfer funds to North Korea and facilitate a visit to Pyongyang while he was a provincial governor. 

• Fire in Kuwaiti building housing workers kills 43 people. A fire broke out in a building housing workers in the city of Mangaf in southern Kuwait early on Wednesday. At least 40 more people are injured. The deputy PM accused real estate owners of violations and greed, saying those factors contributed towards the incident.

• French pop icon Françoise Hardy dies at 80. The singer and actress’ career spanned over six decades. Her death was announced by her son, musician Thomas Dutronc, on social media. Hardy revealed in June 2021 that she had been diagnosed with laryngeal cancer in 2018, following a lymphoma diagnosis in 2004.

• Denmark recalls Korean ramen for being too spicy. Denmark has recalled several spicy ramen noodle products by South Korean company Samyang, claiming that the capsaicin levels in them could poison consumers. Denmark's food agency issued the recall and warning on Tuesday, urging consumers to abandon the product.

📰 STORY OF THE DAY

When comparing the Ukraine and Gaza wars makes sense — and when it doesn't

Comparisons between the wars in Europe and the Middle East tell us a lot about the standpoint of those who compare. They also signal to a new world order that has yet to be shaped, writes Hassan Murad in Arabic-language independent digital media Daraj.

🇺🇦🇵🇸 There are three types of comparisons that are being drawn — mainly based on the geopolitical situation, and not on the repercussions of the two wars. The first category views the two conflicts in the context of the clash of civilizations. Those who draw this comparison argue that the "Ukrainian and Israeli democracies" were attacked. The second category includes those who oppose the United States and side with Russia and the Palestinians. The third category sides with the Ukrainians and the Palestinians — viewing both as victims of aggressions. 

🔍 Bertrand Badie, professor emeritus at the Center for International Studies At Sciences Po, in Paris, said that a comparison between the wars is necessary, but it should be done accurately. He argued that the diversity of comparisons is additional evidence of the current “subjectivity” of international relations — unlike the situation in the Cold War era, when the world had a less complicated model of international relations.

🌍 Badie agrees that we are living through a turning shift at the level of world order, but it is difficult to predict what exactly this new system entails. The absence of a clear name for the current geopolitical context is evidence enough of that lack of insight. Academics just call it the "post-bipolar system.” We know what was before it but we do not know what will come after it. "We must wait a decade or two to fully understand the impact of the war in Ukraine and the Gaza Strip in shaping the awaited world order,” Badie said.

➡️ Read more on Worldcrunch.com

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

➡️ Watch the video: THIS HAPPENED

#️⃣ BY THE NUMBERS

3,400 square km

More than 3,400 square km (1,315 square miles) of Brazil’s Pantanal grassy wetlands have burned since the beginning of 2024 — a record high, according to the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro's satellite monitoring program. Weak rains over the past year have left the region more vulnerable to fires, and the riskiest season for wildfires, which usually peak in September, is far off. Experts warn that the blazes so far this year are worse than the start of a record 2020, when a third of the Pantanal burned.

📣 VERBATIM

“I am the president, but I am also a dad.” 

— U.S. President Joe Biden’s son Hunter Biden was found guilty on all three felony counts related to lying about his drug use while purchasing a handgun in 2018. The week-long trial, which marked the first criminal prosecution of a sitting president’s child, came as his father campaigns for re-election in November. “I am the president, but I am also a dad,” Biden stated following the verdict, adding that he would respect the jury’s decision. He earlier ruled out pardoning his son, who faces possible jail time.

📸 PHOTO DU JOUR

German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky shake hands with German and Ukrainian soldiers during their visit to a military base in northern Germany, to learn about the training of Ukrainian soldiers on the Patriot anti-aircraft missile system. This comes as Germany is hosting a two-day international reconstruction conference for Ukraine in Berlin, aimed at drumming up military support and fostering post-war reconstruction investments. — Photo: Jens Büttner/dpa/ZUMA

👉 MORE FROM WORLDCRUNCH 

• Scholz And Macron: Stunning EU Election Defeats At The Heart Of Europe — FRANCE INTER

• In Italy's Overcrowded Prisons, A Plague Of Inmate Suicide Has Begun To Spread — LA STAMPA

• Fun For All? Why Play Should Also Be A Serious Grown-Up Endeavor— WORLDCRUNCH

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