| |  | President Donald Trump and Queen Elizabeth II toast during a state banquet at Buckingham Palace Monday. Source: Getty |
| | IMPORTANT | | 01 | President Donald Trump got an 82-gun salute at Buckingham Palace Monday and a banquet that only the British royals can offer. Today it’s less pageantry and more politics as the president meets with his counterpart, Prime Minister Theresa May, albeit in her last official week as she’s resigning amid Brexit paralysis. And outside the cordon? There’s the predictable rancor with mass protests planned in London, conservatives blasting media unfairness and, on the odd end, the Museum of London, which is trying to acquire the infamous Trump baby blimp. Read OZY’s take on how Trump affects Britain. | |
| | 02 | A day after firing on demonstrators demanding civilian rule, reportedly killing 35 people, Sudan’s military rulers said they were canceling negotiations with protesters, instead announcing plans to hold elections in nine months. The Transitional Military Council ended the three-decade rule of President Omar al-Bashir in April amid anti-government protests, but demonstrations continued, demanding that the military hand power to civilians. Where might this lead? The council promised to investigate yesterday’s violence in Khartoum, but said demonstrators shared the blame. Said one protest leader, “Now the situation is either them or us.” Read OZY’s look at Sudan’s female protesters. | |
| | 03 | The Hill is coming for the Valley. The House Judiciary Committee has announced an investigation into potential anti-competitive behavior in digital markets. That adds to the Justice Department’s probe of Apple and Google, and the Federal Trade Commission’s focus on Facebook and Amazon. The increased scrutiny has spooked investors: On Monday Google’s share prices plummeted 6.1 percent and Facebook’s plunged 7.5 percent. What’s the big picture? Lawmakers joining the fray could mean the first updates to antitrust rules in decades, in order to regulate an industry that didn’t exist when such statutes were enacted. OZY asks: Are tech giants too big not to fail? | |
| | 04 | After negotiating police checkpoints, few visiting the notorious Beijing square Tuesday would even acknowledge the events of June 4, 1989. But one elderly man indulged a reporter, saying the pro-democracy demonstrators that day “died for nothing.” Elsewhere, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo praised their sacrifice and angered Chinese officials by demanding political prisoners’ release. Has anything improved since 1989? China has become an economic superpower, but surviving protest leaders in exile say its society is more suppressed, including the censorship of references to “six four” — code for the massacre’s date. OZY reveals what the Chinese government is apologizing for. | |
| | 05 | After being threatened with punitive U.S. tariffs, Mexico is cracking down on illegal immigration. France has jailed an Iranian imam for arranging for migrants to cross the Mediterranean into Europe. And Australia’s subtropical state of Queensland has been hit by rare snowstorms. #OZYfact: More than 18,000 people have signed a petition asking the Japanese government to ban office dress codes that require women to wear high-heeled shoes. Read more on OZY. OZY Fest is back! Join OZY in New York’s Central Park July 20-21, where some of the biggest names and boldest thinkers — from John Legend and Trevor Noah to Stacey Abrams and Malcolm Gladwell — will help make this year’s OZY Fest the most memorable yet. Click here to get your early bird tickets. |
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| | | | INTRIGUING | | 01 | A new analysis presents a terrifying forecast of how climate change could lead to the “breakdown of nations and the international order.” The report — published by Breakthrough National Center for Climate Restoration, an Australian think tank — concludes that global temperatures will rise at least 3 degrees Celsius, accelerating the demise of key ecosystems from the equator to the polar ice caps. What does 2050 look like? According to the report, 1 billion people will be displaced from uninhabitable land and food and water shortages will occur worldwide, leading to “social breakdown and outright chaos.” Read OZY’s look at how trees are absorbing more carbon. | |
| | 02 | Aid groups say that traumatized Rohingya women in Bangladeshi camps are dying unnecessarily as conservative beliefs and misinformation dissuade expectant mothers from choosing safer deliveries in camp hospitals. Persistent rumors, such as hospital staff killing newborn boys, lead many to choose “unsafe and unsanitary” home births, increasing their risk of dying from bleeding, hypertension and infection. What’s being done? U.N. researchers are determining maternal mortality rates, while aid workers are visiting expectant moms — and fathers who may contribute to blocking care — to convince them that hospitals are safer. Read this OZY tale of a Rohingya refugee’s search for his family. | |
| | 03 | In the nine years since the start of the Arab Spring movements, new outlets like Syria Untold, Egypt’s Mada Masr and Jordan’s 7iber have established themselves as independent, balanced voices in media landscapes chilled by censorship and war. Reliant on grants or offering research and translation services for revenue, the publications keep content free and cultivate social media profiles to reach millennials desperate for news. What’s the next step? Growth is a double-edged sword for these media startups: A wider audience expands influence but also invites potential crackdowns from authorities. | |
| | 04 | Serial is killing it. The Interactive Advertising Bureau and PwC estimate that the podcast industry brought in $479 million in advertising in 2018, but it’s set to more than double that amount in two years. The huge figure will not come as a shock to creators and streaming services, especially giant Spotify, which plans to spend $500 million this year on content acquisitions and podcast creation tools. Investors are also keen on the space, with startups springing up widely. Where’s the money coming from? Host-read advertising is currently the most popular, but a recent shift toward dynamic ads that change periodically is behind some of the growth. Love podcasts? Listen to OZY’s originals. | |
| | 05 | Slugging catcher Adley Rutschman entered this season’s pro baseball draft as one of the hottest prospects in years. He led Oregon State to a national title in 2018 and was named the College World Series Most Outstanding Player. Teams from both leagues had their eyes on the switch-hitter, but the choice was easy for the Orioles, who last had the No. 1 pick in 1989, nine years before Rutschman was born. How badly is he needed? The O’s — who earned the top pick with MLB’s worst record in 2018 and are once again the AL East’s doormat at 18-41 — hope Rutschman can jump-start their rebuilding process. OZY asks where all the fastballs have gone. | |
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| | Caught Up? Now Vault Ahead ... | | To get more fresh stories and bold ideas in your inbox, check out The Daily Dose. | | Fast Forward For decades, oligarchs and tyrants have controlled the media of the Middle East. Now, a growing band of independents is breaking free. | |
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