With OpenAI’s Data Center, Argentina Can Become A Major New Tech Power The arrival of OpenAI in Patagonia marks the beginning of a new hub: a southern location combining clean energy, scientific talent, and political stability. 

The AI Therapy Illusion: Why ChatGPT Can’t Replace A Good Ol’ Shrink Chatbots weren’t designed for mental health, but they’re increasingly used for therapy. What are the risks and benefits?

El Fasher To Abu Dhabi, Tracing The Foreign Sponsors Fueling Sudan’s War The fall of El Fasher in Darfur has thrust Sudan’s forgotten war back into view. But behind the horror and beyond the headlines lies a deeper truth: that regional powers are prolonging the conflict, and the international…

Libya Pact, Border Deaths And The Moral Failure Of “Fortress Europe” A warning from Monica Minardi, president of the Italian branch of Doctors Without Borders, on how EU and Italian policies dehumanize migrants, empower Libyan abuses, strip reception services, and dodge safe legal routes as the…

Exercise Can Wait, Making Peace With Myself At 41 Balancing family, work and self-expectations, our 40-something writer realized that forcing a fitness routine wasn’t the answer — for now.

Lessons Learned After The Democrats’ Election Victories As Democrats secured a series of victories across the country on Tuesday, what lessons will Donald Trump draw? Or will he instead be tempted to take an authoritarian leap forward, as many of his opponents fear? Three key lessons from an…

Faith Filter — Sister Rosalía And TikTok’s Revival Of “Christiancore” Faith goes viral as Gen Z reimagines devotion through hashtags and high fashion.

How Police Can Use Your Smart Gadgets To Solve Crimes A Wolfenbüttel research team, working with local police, is testing ways to use data from everyday devices to reconstruct break-ins, while Germany’s strict privacy rules and court orders limit access as a prototype tool targets a debut next…

With Each New Release, “Hostage Diplomacy” Is Here To Stay The last two French citizens imprisoned in Iran, Cécile Kohler and Jacques Paris, were released in Tehran. They were considered “state hostages,” an increasingly common problem, not only in Iran.

Falling Birth Rates? Don’t Blame Feminism, Blame The Internet Why are birth rates continuing to fall? Beyond old conservative-progressive social debates, we must look at the way screens have changed our daily lives — creating barriers to the most basic starting point for procreation: face-to-face…

Why I Parted Ways With My Apple Watch, Forever It tracked my every move and kept me disciplined, but also kept me chained. What began as motivation slowly turned into addiction and invasion.

How The Battle Of Pokrovsk Could Sway The Future Of Ukraine — And Europe The strategically important city of Pokrovsk, in the Donetsk region, is the scene of intense fighting between Russian attackers and Ukrainian defenders. This is an important test as Vladimir Putin seeks to assert his…

Latin America, The Deadliest Region For Environmental Activists In 2024, there were 146 murders and long-term disappearances of environmental and land activists, according to a report by the NGO Global Witness.

A Backlash In Bangladesh Against Transgender Citizens With conservatism on the rise, the capital’s third-gender and trans people retreat from public life, erasing the identities they once fought to display.

The Rabin Assassination, Thirty Years On The anniversary of the former prime minister’s assassination comes at a moment when both Israeli and Palestinian extremists have the upper hand. But it is at least a reminder that belief in a resolution to the Middle East conflict once existed, on both…

How China’s Boom In PhDs Is Distorting Academia — And Destroying Careers Researchers in China say a rising number of unemployed university graduates feel as though they are being forced to pursue master’s or doctoral degrees. It is distorting the entire Chinese academia system.

Gender Inequalities: How India’s Caste And Patriarchal Systems Are Linked The burden of maintaining the "purity" of caste falls unequally on women.

Putin’s Stalled War: Economics, Manpower, Missed Chances Russia is now faces slipping growth, high inflation, recruiting shortfalls, a static front, and a squandered opening with Trump, while Europe stiffens support for Ukraine and new U.S. sanctions hit its energy giants.

Playing Or Training? War Video Games And The New Reality Of Ukraine And Gaza A longtime first-person shooter fan finds Battlefield 6’s glossy near future combat disturbingly close to today’s wars, and uncomfortably like training rather than escapism.

Putin, Trump And The Dicey Game Of Nuclear Fearmongering Donald Trump has ordered renewed testing of nuclear weapons, while Vladimir Putin is touting the power of his nuclear-capable missiles and underwater drones. Why all this noise about nuclear weapons? Above all, they are psychological weapons.

Milei Rising: A Rare Chance To Remake Argentine Politics, Or Nightmare Scenario? Perhaps the conditions are finally right for a shift in Argentine politics. Here are some reasons for hope — and reasons to fear.

How Social Media Makes South Asia’s Human Trafficking Worse Nepal was late to adopt social media. Now that it’s arrived, cross-border traffickers have access to a much wider field of exploitation.

The Seine Deluge? Paris Plays Out Its Worst Climate Nightmare As floods become increasingly frequent across France and the risk to the capital grows, Paris City Hall conducted a large-scale “real-life” simulation of a Seine River flood on Monday, October 13.

A Fragile Truce In The U.S.–China Trade War Can’t Hide Trump’s Miscalculation Donald Trump and Xi Jinping have negotiated a truce in their trade war, delaying China’s planned restrictions on rare earth exports. Yet Trump has been forced to back down in the face of a strong Chinese response, a…

Cheap Goods To Confidence Deficit: Inside China’s Economic Slowdown Beyond U.S. tariffs, the deeper economic drag in China is domestic: weak demand, a deflationary price war, debt laden local governments mortgaging assets, and collapsing trust between private business and the state.

Ovaries, Periods, Menopause: When Men Start To Speak The Language Of Women’s Health A writer revisits his own machismo as the discourse between the genders evolves.

How Algae Could Feed (And Heal) The World Algae are emerging as a promising new source of food and pharmaceutical compounds — but their development depends as much on investment as on educating the public about what to expect.

Sandcastles, Gardens, Graves: What Pushes Humans To Keep Digging Whether at the beach, in the garden, or deep underground, shovels connect us to power, truth, and memory.

Javier Milei’s Electoral Victory, Lessons Beyond Argentina Donald Trump was the first to congratulate Javier Milei on his surprise victory Sunday, having earlier promised financial support tied to his Argentine ally’s campaign. But that alone doesn’t explain the success of a man who has slashed…

How A One-Day Women’s Strike Turned Iceland Into A Model Of Gender Equality Fifty years on, the mass walkout by 90% of Icelandic women still shapes politics, pay equity, and gender norms, from Vigdís Finnbogadóttir’s presidency to today’s parental leave model.

A Musician’s Brain Processes Pain Differently — Here’s Why It’s well known that learning to play an instrument can offer benefits beyond just musical ability. Indeed, research shows it’s a great activity for the brain – it can enhance our fine motor skills,language acquisition, speech, and memory…

Lebanon To Gaza, The Wars Of The Past Two Years Are Not Over Yet Lebanon is bracing for a new assault by Israel, while the recent ceasefire in Gaza looks bound to break. In the Middle East, there's a massive gap between pause and peace.

How Estonia Became The Front Line For Global Cyber War Defense In one of the world’s most connected countries, cyber soldiers protect critical systems against constant foreign attacks while preparing for the day when artificial intelligence could take control of the battlefield.

Pregnancy For Hire: Medical And Ethical Risks Of The Surrogacy Industry Surrogacy’s health risks raise ethical issues over whether the practice is exploitative and should be banned.

On the Russian army’s channel Zvezda (“Star”), a program entirely generated by algorithms takes fierce aim at Western leaders. ✍️Alain Barluet for @lefigaro.fr in EN via @worldcrunch.com

At a cultural diplomacy forum in Kyiv, Nobel laureate Oleksandra Matviichuk urged the world to see culture as a force for justice and freedom — and as essential to building a lasting peace. ✍️@avalaina.bsky.social for Livy Bereg in EN via @worldcrunch.com

When McDonald’s Moves Into A Little French Village “Every French person should be able to find a McDonald’s within 20 minutes of their home.” This was the fast-food giant’s goal by early 2025. In Tessancourt-sur-Aubette, a town under 1,000 inhabitants northwest of Paris, the rural area is now…

Moscow v. London? Iran As Pawn In The Global Power Struggle Is History Repeating Like two centuries ago, Tehran is caught between two competing powers: Vladimir Putin's Russia and the West, led by the U.S. and UK.

After an exhibition win, Jannik Sinner skipping the Davis Cup final has left fans deflated. For many, their fair-play hero suddenly feels distant — even with Wimbledon and world No.1 on his résumé. ✍️ Giulia Zonca for La Stampa in EN via @worldcrunch.com

From cluttered Instagram stories to casual drinking and questionable taste, Gen Z weighs in on why Millennials can be equal parts endearing … and annoying. ✍️ @zeit.de in EN via @worldcrunch.com

A Cashless Future? A Tally Of The Benefits And Risks In parts of Europe, some shops already run on card-only payments. While many nations are pushing toward a cashless future, global tensions are prompting them to reconsider.

South Korea’s president is shifting foreign policy : diversifying partnerships without upsetting the U.S., strengthening trade, and managing regional challenges — with lessons for Argentina. ✍️ Patricio Carmody for Clarín in EN via @worldcrunch.com

Frustrated by rising prices and inconsistent quality, consumers are turning away from traditional restaurants. Alternative dining options have become a staple in their daily lives. ✍️ Alix Lavoue for @lefigaro.fr in EN via @worldcrunch.com

How India’s Hindu Nationalism Seeps Into Secular Nepal In border towns, rallies organized by Hindu nationalists often end in violence — fracturing communities and threatening Nepal's fragile secularism.

On the Russian army’s channel Zvezda (“Star”), a program entirely generated by algorithms takes fierce aim at Western leaders. ✍️Alain Barluet for @lefigaro.fr in EN via @worldcrunch.com

Five Centuries To Amen: Why King Charles And Pope Leo Prayed Together In Rome First joint prayer since Henry VIII anchors a Vatican day focused on peace, climate ahead of COP30 in Belém, and closer Anglican Catholic ties, with Charles named Royal Confrater at Saint Paul Outside the Walls.

At one public hospital in Kathmandu, half of all infertility cases come from men who work in Gulf countries. ✍️ @sunitaneupane.bsky.social for @globalpress.bsky.social via @worldcrunch.com

Posturing Aside, Both Russia and Ukraine Need A Ceasefire Now With offensives stalling, Ukraine hitting Russian refineries, Western aid thinning, and winter power grids under fire, the gap persists as Moscow floats Donbas withdrawals and Kyiv rejects concessions while outside mediation muddies the…

Israel’s post-hostage relief must not harden into absolution, but must be taken as a moment for accountability and a rethinking of coexistence. ✍️Francesca Mannocchia for La Stampa in EN via @worldcrunch.com

PODCAST 🎧 Paris Calling, Ep.5 | Shi Yang Shi, Milan — Acting & Identity Paris Calling, Worldcrunch’s new podcast series, where each episode introduces you to a notable person from somewhere in the world — in their own voice, in English. Today, we have Shi Yang Shi, a Chinese-Italian actor, who…