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A polar bear feeds on a sperm whale carcass amid ice drifts 

How they see us: Nobody trusts America now

Donald Trump's war on Iran has been "madness" from the start, said Mahfuz Anam in The Daily Star (Bangladesh). He apparently "expected Iran to crumble" after the first wave of U.S. and Israeli bombardment. When the regime kept fighting- attacking America's Gulf allies and shutting down the Strait of Hormuz oil gateway- Trump went berserk. He first pledged to eradicate all the country's power plants and bridges, a probable war crime, then vowed to destroy Iran's "whole civilization," an utterly unacceptable threat that revolted the entire world. Yet all this bombing and genocidal posturing did was wreak havoc on global energy markets, making countries that had nothing to do with the conflict "suffer immensely." Because of Trump's war, Bangladesh will see a slowdown in GDP growth this year that will erase 600,000 jobs and prevent 1.2 million people from rising out of poverty. Worst of all, neither we nor any other people can feel safe with such an amoral narcissist as U.S. president. As long as Trump remains in power, we are all on the "brink of a nuclear catastrophe that could lead to World War III."

This is "no longer the United States" that Australia had "long, maybe too long, looked to for security," said Geraldine Brooks in The Age (Australia). Under Trump, America is a "dangerous, destabilizing force." This is a man who can threaten all 93 million Iranians with genocide mere weeks after promising them help. If we remain allied with the U.S., Trump will "suck us into future wars we should have no part of." It's time to rethink that alliance. South Korea is also reconsidering its dependence on America, said Hankyoreh (South Korea) in an editorial. Since Trump threatened to quit NATO merely because its members refused to join his offensive war, what's to say he won't abandon us, too? "The foun-dation of the peace and prosperity we have enjoyed is being shaken."

What a "bitter irony," said Mathieu von Rohr in Der Spiegel (Germany). Trump came to power "obsessed with the decline of America," yet he's actually managed to accelerate that decline. He has tossed aside the alliances that "sustained America's power for decades" and depleted American military might by squandering huge quantities of weapons on a doomed war against Iran. "This is what you get," said Andrew Coyne in The Globe and Mail (Canada), "when you hand the keys to the world's most powerful military to an insecure, deeply ignorant, endlessly manipulable, pathological narcissist." Iran has called his bluff. Where once we feared that Trump's America had become a predatory hegemon, now we wonder "whether it is any sort of hegemon at all." Sure, the U.S. military can bomb anything with great precision, and that's impressive. But it can't change the geographic reality that Iran, with its seemingly endless supply of low-cost drones, can close the Strait of Hormuz at will. Trump has both shattered America's credibility as an ally and destroyed its reputation as a military superpower. "No one trusts it. No one will work with it. Worst of all, after this, fewer will even be afraid of it."

Die Gewinner des renommierten World Press Photo Award 2025 stehen am 17. April fest. Die internationale Jury hat die eindrucksvollsten Bilder aus sechs Weltregionen ausgewählt – visuelle Dokumente, die unser Verständnis von globalen Ereignissen und menschlichen Schicksalen prägen. So wie der bekannte Düsseldorfer Fotograf Robert Freund mit seinen kunstvollen Porträts von Persönlichkeiten und…

“The Two Walls” by Alejandro Cegarra,

A migrant walks atop a freight train known as “The Beast.” Migrants and asylum seekers lacking the financial resources to pay a smuggler often resort to using cargo trains to reach the United States border.

This mode of transportation is very dangerous; over the years, hundreds have fallen onto the tracks and have been killed or maimed. Piedras Negras, Mexico, October 8, 2023.

image Courtesy of World Press Photos,

“Akashinga – the Brave Ones” © Brent Stirton, Getty Images,

Akashinga (‘The Brave Ones’) is a ranger force established as an alternative conservation model. It aims to work with, rather than against local populations, for the long-term benefits of their communities and the environment. 

Akashinga comprises women from disadvantaged backgrounds, empowering them, offering jobs, and helping local people to benefit directly from the preservation of wildlife. 

Petronella Chigumbura (30), a member of the all-female anti-poaching unit, participates in stealth and concealment training in the Phundundu Wildlife Park, Zimbabwe.