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| IMPORTANT | | | Lame Duck | French President Loses Control of Parliament, Le Pen Surges Two months after easily being reelected president, Emmanuel Macron suffered an “earthquake” in parliamentary elections. Needing 289 seats to maintain a majority, Macron’s centrist Ensemble coalition only mustered 245 — far worse than expected. A historic alliance of left and green parties led by Jean-Luc Mélenchon won 131 seats — but the biggest upset came from Marine Le Pen’s far-right, anti-immigration National Rally, which jumped from eight seats in 2017 to 89. Macron will have a tough time delivering on campaign promises like raising the retirement age and overhauling state benefits. “It’s a turning point for his image of invincibility,” said analyst Bruno Cautrès. (Sources: The Guardian, Al Jazeera) |
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| | ‘Killed Like Chickens’ | More Than 200 Civilians Massacred by Rebels in Ethiopia Ethiopia’s civil war just got even bloodier. Witnesses said that at least 230 people, mostly members of the Amhara ethnic group, were killed by the Oromo Liberation Army in the village of Tole over the weekend. The OLA denied responsibility and blamed a militia aligned with Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed. “I am afraid this is the deadliest attack against civilians we have seen in our lifetime,” said survivor Abdul-Seid Tahir. Another witness, who only gave his first name, Shambel, said that ethnic Amhara who were moved to the Oromia region in resettlement programs 30 years ago are being “killed like chickens.” (Sources: NYT, NPR) |
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| | Left Turn | Colombia Elects First Left-Wing President, Black Female VP Gustavo Petro, the ex-rebel fighter and former mayor of Bogotá, narrowly defeated right-wing millionaire Rodolfo Hernández in yesterday’s runoff election. Francia Márquez, a single mother and former housekeeper, will become the country’s first Black female vice president. Petro, who spent two years in prison in the 1980s on arms charges, ran on a radical manifesto that included pledges to provide free university education and impose high taxes on unproductive land. His critics portray him as a rampant populist who will bring the country to its knees. But the electorate voted for change after decades of right-wing and conservative rule. (Sources: BBC, France 24) |
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| | ‘The War Could Last for Years’ | Stoltenberg Issues Grim Prediction as Russia Tightens Noose NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said that “we must prepare for the fact that [the war] could take years” and U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson urged readers of The Times to “steel ourselves for a long war.” This on a day on which Russian forces enjoyed “marginal gains” around the besieged city of Sievierodonetsk but their offensive across the Donbas had “largely stalled” according to the Institute for the Study of War. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told compatriots to “expect from Russia an intensification of its hostile activities,” as EU leaders meet this week to consider the country’s application to join the bloc. (Sources: NYT, Bild, Reuters) |
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| | Briefly | Here are some things you should know about today: Wading in. Swimming’s world governing body will prevent transgender athletes who have gone through male puberty from competing in women’s elite races. FINA will establish an open category for swimmers whose gender identity is different from their birth sex. (Source: BBC) Peace price. Russian journalist Dmitry Muratov will auction his Nobel Peace Prize medal today. All proceeds will go to UNICEF to help children displaced by the war in Ukraine. (Source: AP) Devastating floods. At least 25 people in Bangladesh were killed by lightning and landslides over the weekend and millions have been displaced by the country’s worst monsoon floods in recent history. (Source: Reuters) |
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| | INTRIGUING | | | Bear Necessities | Isolated Polar Bear Population Doesn’t Need Sea Ice to Survive Until now it was assumed that polar bears — which rely on year-round sea ice to hunt — would be the first high-profile victims of climate change, with some populations expected to disappear by 2040. The recent discovery of a genetically distinct subpopulation of several hundred bears in a region of southern Greenland where sea ice is only present for a third of the year has raised hopes that the species might be able to hang on a bit longer. The group has developed a unique adaptation to hunt on the floating islands of freshwater ice that calve off glaciers, so it’s not a foolproof solution. (Sources: Nature, The Guardian) |
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| | Error 404 | South Korean Man Puts Up Tombstone for Internet Explorer Software engineer Jung Ki-young says Microsoft’s decision to retire its aging browser marked the end of a 27-year “love-hate relationship.” So he ordered a $330 marble headstone etched with Explorer’s “e” logo, the dates of its birth and demise and an epitaph written in English: “He was a good tool to download other browsers.” The gravestone is on display at a cafe run by Jung’s brother in the southern city of Gyeongju, and its photo has gone viral in South Korea. “That’s another reason for me to thank the Explorer, it has now allowed me to make a world-class joke,” he said. (Source: Reuters) |
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| | Trash on Tour | British Municipal Garbage Can Spotted in Ukraine The scuffed black wheelie bin — a garbage can on wheels — had seen better days but, with “Test Valley Borough Council” emblazoned across its chest, there was no mistaking its origin. Philip Crowther, who’s reporting on the war in Ukraine in six languages, spotted it at a military outpost in Hlynystsi and tweeted the council to ask: “How did one of your wheelie bins make it all the way to Ukraine, and when is pick-up?” They replied in kind: “Can I ask where in Ukraine this is? I’d just [like] to make sure this collection address is added to our fortnightly rounds.” (Source: Sky News) |
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| | Mussel Decay | Giant Fan Mussels Have Declined by 99.9% — But All Is Not Lost Pinna nobilis, a three-foot-long mollusc with a life span of 15 years, doesn’t just filter the water of the Mediterranean Sea, it also provides a habitat for smaller critters in Spain’s otherwise barren seagrass meadows. Since 2016, the parasite Haplosporidium pinnae has almost wiped out the mollusc — with a bit of help from nitrogen pollution and the invasive Atlantic blue crab. But instead of writing its death certificate scientists are seeking answers by trying to preserve those populations that have survived the onslaught. “We need to intervene because there’s no point in waiting for things to improve by themselves,” said researcher Patricia Prado. (Source: The Guardian) |
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| | Pressure? What Pressure? | Matt Fitzpatrick Records First PGA Victory — At the US Open! The 27-year-old English golfer recorded a one-stroke victory over Will Zalatoris and Scottie Scheffler at The Country Club in Brookline, Massachusetts. In 2013 he won the U.S. Amateur at the same course — something only Jack Nicklaus and Juli Inkster had achieved before him. Fitzpatrick recovered from bogies at the 10th and 11th with a birdie at the 15th. It looked like it was all going to unravel when he found a treacherous fairway bunker from the 18th tee — but instead he hit what Nicklaus described as “one of the great[est] iron shots under pressure I’ve ever seen,” to set up the victory. (Source: CBS) |
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