| |
hat's up? It's Saturday, July 17, and after another long week of news, here's what you need to know about: The context behind Cuba's protests, Covid-19 cases across the U.S. are rising again, and a Reuters journalist was killed in Afghanistan. I’d love to keep hearing what you think of Notes on the News. Reply to this email and let me know. |
|
| | What Everyone Wants to Know |
|
| | A poster depicts middle-school teacher Samuel Paty, who was beheaded by an 18-year-old Chechen refugee. PHOTO: THOMAS COEX/AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE/GETTY IMAGES |
|
| In France, public schools are the latest point of tension between the government and the Muslim community. France’s tradition of banning non-secular activity in government affairs is increasingly coming into conflict with its growing Muslim population, one of Europe’s largest. The latest stage for the discord? Public schools. Enforcement of the policy of laïcité, which dictates a strict separation of the state and religion, has broadened to where it dictates what is served in the cafeteria and whether Muslim mothers can accompany field trips if they wear head scarves. Many Muslim families say they are being targeted for their religious beliefs. At one school, where pork is often the only meat served for lunch, one father called it a "provocation" that halal options aren't available. France's highest administrative court has ruled that while schools can prohibit serving pork to accommodate religious beliefs, they don't have an obligation to. The widening enforcement of laïcité is what French teachers and government officials call a pushback to a decadeslong shift toward accommodating Muslims’ beliefs. Last year's murder of middle-school teacher Samuel Paty by an 18-year-old Chechen refugee angry he showed cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad in class also has inflamed tensions. Some, like Fatiha Agag-Boudjahlat, a high-school teacher in the southern city of Toulouse, say the pressure to accommodate religious beliefs has public schools "under attack." A recent poll found that 53% of teachers who responded said that some students in their middle school or high school cite their religious beliefs in challenging a lesson or refusing to participate. Teachers say biology, history and music classes have become points of contention. For some students, though, the debate has served to exclude them from essential parts of school life. "I liked going to the cafeteria to be with my friends, but now I’d rather eat at my grandma’s," said Riyad El Baroudi, 10, whose school typically only serves pork. |
| | Every U.S. state is seeing an uptick in Covid cases. The outlook from public-health experts is still far better than from previous surges, because about 160 million people are fully vaccinated. But the more-than doubling in new daily cases in the past three weeks has prompted warnings from health officials that the pandemic is still not over. The highly contagious Delta variant, which is the dominant strain in the U.S., has been linked to the surge of infections across the country, from New York to California, Florida, Alaska and Alabama. And the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that hospitalizations are also rising, after bottoming out at around 12,000 in June. Still, hospitalizations are far from the peak of approximately 125,000 in January. Epidemiologists say that slowing vaccination rates, combined with more transmissible variants and increased "return to normal" activity such as travel and large gatherings, could lead to localized outbreaks where vaccination rates are low. Southern states could be especially vulnerable. Out of the 10 states with the lowest rates of vaccinated adults, Southern states account for seven. Alabama has the lowest vaccination rate, at just 42% as of this week. |
| | | ILLUSTRATION: TAMMY LIAN |
|
| $2.1 billion — The rough price that Tesla paid in 2016 to buy the solar-energy company SolarCity. The company lost hundreds of millions of dollars in subsequent years and no longer exists as an independent brand. This week, Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk appeared in court to defend the purchase amid a lawsuit filed by some Tesla shareholders who say the deal was a scheme to benefit him and bail out a home-solar company on the verge of insolvency. 5 — The number of senior officers of Haiti's National Police detained in connection to the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse. They haven't been charged. One of those detained was the president's head of security, and police said more than 20 members of Moïse's security detail were being interrogated. Haitian authorities say a group of businessmen and security specialists, with ties to Miami, were ringleaders. 60,000 — The approximate number of worshippers who will be taking the hajj pilgrimage this month to Mecca's Grand Mosque in Saudi Arabia. The figure, far below the the typical two million pilgrims who make the journey, reflects the impact of the pandemic. Taking pilgrimage is one of the five pillars of Islam, and this year marks the first year that women will be allowed to make the trip without being accompanied by a male chaperone. 147 — The number of GOP lawmakers who voted against certifying President Biden's election win. Tens of thousands of dollars from corporate political-action committees including Ford, Boeing and United Parcel Service have flowed into the coffers of some of these lawmakers. 17% — The global share of smartphone sales that went to Chinese phone maker Xiaomi in the second quarter. Xiaomi overtook Apple, which had about 14% of the global smartphone market, thanks to growth in Latin America and Western Europe. Its phones can be as much as 75% cheaper than iPhones, making them a more accessible option in most parts of the world. 33 — The number of journalists killed in Afghanistan between the start of 2018 and Jan. 31 of this year. Another, Reuters photographer Danish Siddiqui, was killed Friday in a gunfight between Afghan officials and the Taliban. Siddiqui had worked for Reuters since 2010, covering conflict in the Middle East and was part of a Reuters photography team that won a Pulitzer Prize in 2018 for work documenting the Rohingya refugee crisis. |
| | | | Thousands of Cubans marched in Havana on Sunday. PHOTO: YAMIL LAGE/AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE/GETTY IMAGES |
|
| What's happening in Cuba? The situation for millions of Cubans is dire, and many have recently demonstrated in the streets. The worst Covid-19 outbreak since the start of the pandemic is hitting the country, and just 17% of the people who live there are vaccinated. Sanctions instituted during the Trump administration have restricted Cuba's access to foreign currency, which has stunted the nation’s ability to import food from its main trading partners in South America and Europe. And after the biggest protests in the island in decades, police have brutalized citizens and internet access across the island has been limited by the government in a move to starve the protest movement of oxygen. Why people are protesting. People on the ground, led in large part by a group of younger, dissident artists, organized over the internet last weekend to protest the deteriorating conditions on the island. For months, residents have waited in line for hours at a time for basics such as soap, beef and toothpaste, only to sometimes be turned away because there aren't any supplies. Many are left with an impossible choice: Go to work or wait in line for hours, perhaps fruitlessly. In many cases, the frustrations stem from the country’s unwieldy currency and retail system. Some stores, called "bodegas," only accept the local currency, which is what most Cubans are paid in. But these stores have almost nothing to sell. The well-stocked stores only take foreign currency, which has been in short supply because of U.S. sanctions and a dramatic drop in tourism due to the pandemic. Cuba's healthcare crisis has also been a driving factor for discontent. The island has long had an advanced medical system that has exported doctors and vaccines to other nations, but that system is in disarray due to the government's lack of money. Cubans are also frustrated because the government has denied the acceptance of international aid. It is one of the few developing nations to not enter the World Health Organization-backed Covax program, which is supplying vaccine doses to poorer countries. “For years they have told us we are a world medical power, but our people are dying, and we are helpless,” said Alexey Seijo, a pastor in the city of Camagüey. Cuba's government has blamed U.S. trade restrictions and the effects of the pandemic for the crisis. The effects of the U.S. embargo and other sanctions. Since the 1960s, following the establishment of Cuba’s communist regime, the U.S. has limited the business American companies can conduct with Cuba via a trade embargo. The embargo also encouraged U.S. allies to avoid trade with Cuba. More recently, trade has opened up between Cuba and other countries, including Spain, China and Italy. U.S. companies such as Marriott and United Airlines also have done business with Cuba in recent years. Still, the embargo presents a challenge, and most of the international community has backed a United Nations resolution calling for the U.S. to end the embargo for 29 straight years. Last month, just the U.S. and Israel voted against the resolution. Alongside the embargo, sanctions implemented during the Trump years have crippled Cuba's access to capital. Among other critical impacts, the sanctions forced the closure of Western Union's more than 400 locations in Cuba. That cut off Cubans from remittances, or money sent home from abroad, often by family in the U.S. The end of Western Union transfers came in November, while Cuba was already experiencing a shortage of foreign currency as tourism revenue plunged. Most Cubans were left only with access to the local currency, which has been severely devalued. In explaining the sanctions, the Trump administration said the company Western Union partnered locally with had close ties to Cuba's military. Without remittances, the government sought access to dollars by opening up the tiered system of retail stores, raising prices of some goods sold in dollars by as much as 200%, according to the Spanish embassy in Havana. One of President Biden's campaign promises was to lift Trump's limits on remittances, but he has since backtracked, echoing his predecessor’s concerns about funds ending up in Cuban-government coffers. Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez demanded Biden reject the embargo, calling it "absurdly cruel." What happens next? Last weekend's protests represented what many called an unprecedented show of defiance in a country that has long relied on fear to crack down on dissent. Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel has blamed the U.S. for stirring up strife, and a crackdown on telecommunications and protesters helped quell the protests for now. Activists say they are determined to continue. They think they've won over the hearts and minds of ordinary Cubans, many of whom are no longer fearful of antigovernment public demonstrations and simply feel they have nothing left to lose. “We are not afraid,” said Amaury Pacheco, a poet and founder of the Movimiento San Isidro, a civil-rights group of dissident artists. The government only had brutal force left, he added. |
| | | Pop Smoke performs at a listening party in New York City last year. PHOTO: JOHNNY NUNEZ/WIREIMAGE/GETTY IMAGES |
|
| - Go listen to: Some Pop Smoke. The rapper, who was gunned down in 2020 at age 20, dropped a posthumous album last July that ever since has been the most streamed rap album in the world. Yesterday, "Faith," the second star-studded posthumous project from the Brooklyn native, was made available on streaming services.
- What I've had on repeat: "Are You With That?" an introspective track recounting the trauma that comes with growing up around gang life, from Vince Staples's new self-titled album.
|
| | Today's newsletter was curated by Tyler Blint-Welsh in New York, in collaboration with colleagues in New York and London. We hope you’re enjoying Notes on the News. If you would prefer to receive a different newsletter, please check out all your options to keep up with the latest on markets, economics, politics and more. For members, we recommend The 10-Point. |
| |
|
|