Christmas
Food & Drink
Christmas Was Never ‘Pure’ Even Before Culture Wars
An "anti-woke" Christmas party tries to reclaim tradition, yet the holiday itself has always been a quiet collage of borrowed customs, foreign gods and local habits.
WORLD
Protests in Syria Over the Burning of a Christmas Tree
Protests erupted across Syria after a Christmas tree was burned in Suqaylabiyah, raising doubts about the ability of the Islamist-led Hayat Tahrir al-Sham to protect minorities as they transition from a Islamist group to the halls of power in post-Assad Syria.
Food & Drink
Christmas in all Forms: Traditions & Trials
Christmas celebrations in the MENA region showcase a blend of joy and adversity, with some countries embracing the holiday with multicultural flair, while others, like Gaza and Bethlehem, face the challenges of conflict, highlighting the resilience of communities amidst difficult circumstances.
Popular
Heroes Square to Hollow Institutions: The Orbán Reckoning
A young activist once stood before 200,000 Hungarians in Heroes' Square demanding Soviet withdrawal; decades later, Viktor Orbán seeks a sixth consecutive term
Guardians Go Radical: France’s Masonic TrialÂ
Inside a quiet Parisian suburb, men pledged to secrecy and brotherhood allegedly ran hit squads, murdered a racing driver, and tried to kill business rivals.
Sephora Kids: Beauty Brands Sell Children Anxiety
As Italy's competition watchdog opened an investigation into LVMH-owned Sephora this week, the "Sephora kids" trend stopped looking like a fad and started looking like a governance failure.
An Evangelical War: Rome Takes on Washington
As a Cardinal is turned away in Jerusalem, a defiant Pope Leo XIV in Rome denounces the holy war rhetoric currently steering Washington's foreign policy.
Estonia’s Digital Success Cannot Fix the Demographic Dread
A poll this week found two thirds of Estonians considering leaving, as births near historic lows and Russia remains the neighbour nobody forgets.
