Flagship

Biden, Trump square off in first debate

US President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump face off in the first 2024 presidential debate in Atlanta on Thursday. Though the pair are the least-liked major party presidential candidates in decades, more than 70% of voters still plan to tune in. It is a historic moment in many ways, but its timing stands out: The debate is the earliest in US history by about three months, so it may have significantly more influence in shaping either candidate’s trajectory into November, especially among the 20% of voters who say they’re still undecided. Ultimately, the match-up “may be one of the more consequential in American history,” former Barack Obama strategist David Axelrod said.

China to set future economic agenda

China’s top leaders will meet next month to set the course for the country’s economic strategy for the next several years. The much-delayed “Third Plenum” gathering, which only happens about once every five years, will run from July 15 to 18, officials said Thursday. Analysts expect a rollout of measures that support leader Xi Jinping’s goal of bolstering China’s tech sectors, including robotics and artificial intelligence. But stronger action will be needed to revive China’s economy, from consumer stimulus to tax cuts to fiscal reforms, The Economist wrote. Otherwise, it is possible “that the meeting will only highlight the gap between the party’s lofty rhetoric and its disappointing actions.”

India’s ‘watershed’ debt index inclusion

Indian government bonds will be added to J.P. Morgan’s emerging market debt index on Friday, a move expected to bring billions of dollars into the country. The co-founder of an Indian fixed-income investment platform called it a “watershed moment” for the market. India’s economy, the fastest-growing major economy in the world, is forecast to expand 6.6% this year. More money from abroad is flowing into the country as investors become more keen on India’s growth and look to diversify their portfolios beyond China and other geopolitically volatile markets, like Russia. India’s inclusion could give Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government a boost, too, as it looks ahead to funding major infrastructure projects.

Iran holds election, voters apathetic

Iranians vote on Friday in a presidential election defined less by the candidates than by widespread voter apathy. A hardliner linked to the country’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guards appears to be the race’s frontrunner. Two other candidates dropped out the day before the election, as part of a bid by hardliners to coalesce around a unity candidate. But turnout, rather than the outcome, may tell the more interesting story: 65% of Iranians planned to boycott the election, according to one survey, many citing dissatisfaction with the government. No one who might push for radical change was allowed to run; even the “reformist” candidate would likely only shift Tehran’s tone, rather than its policy, if elected.

Israel missile systems could go to Kyiv

The US is in talks to send Ukraine up to eight powerful Patriot air defense systems that are currently in Israel, the Financial Times reported. The move would have two major, immediate consequences: It would bolster Ukraine’s ability to counter Russia’s missile attacks — Kyiv has begged its Western allies for more Patriot interceptor missiles for months — and it would mark a shift in Israel’s posture toward Moscow. Israel has so far avoided taking a firm stance on the war in Ukraine, and had rejected a past request from Kyiv to send missile defense systems its way. It’s an open question whether Israel would risk upsetting its “on-off ally Russia, despite Moscow’s ever-closer relationship with Iran,” the FT wrote.

Fugitive hands over Warhol, Monet pieces

A fugitive Malaysian financier tied to one of the largest financial frauds in history agreed to relinquish more than $100 million in assets to US authorities. Jho Low’s forfeiture of a luxury Paris apartment and artworks by Andy Warhol and Claude Monet is the latest chapter in the effort to return money lost in the 1MDB scandal to Malaysia. US prosecutors said officials at the Malaysian sovereign wealth fund mishandled more than $4.5 billion through bribery and money laundering; the scandal led to the political downfall of the country’s former prime minister. Low, the alleged mastermind of the scheme, faces criminal charges in the US but remains at large; he’s believed to be living in China.

India probes Foxconn, Apple’s iPhone maker

India’s government is investigating Foxconn, the Taiwanese company that makes most of Apple’s iPhones, for allegedly refusing to hire married women at a factory. A Reuters investigation found women were turned away from the company’s Chennai plant because they were assumed to have too many family responsibilities and thus less available for work, “risk factors” that made them less desirable hires, one former HR executive said. Indian law forbids such discrimination; Foxconn denied it discriminated against workers. The company has rapidly expanded in India as Apple seeks to decouple its supply chain from China amid growing US-Sino tensions, particularly over Taiwan and tech.

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Kenya, Bolivia reveal austerity’s tie to unrest

Deadly protests in Kenya and a failed coup in Bolivia this week reveal the “dangers posed by faltering economies and punishing austerity measures,” Reuters wrote. During the pandemic, many low-income countries faced economic catastrophe and debt default. Now, these governments are feeling “delayed fiscal pain,” an analyst said. Bolivia, whose president thwarted the coup, is contending with dollar shortages, soaring borrowing costs, and a “junk” credit rating. Meanwhile, more than 20 people died in Kenya during protests over now-rescinded tax hikes designed to cut the country’s budget deficit and borrowing. “The question is whether this is the canary singing the warning to the government, and to the IMF, as to how much fiscal austerity can be packed into one year,” the analyst added.

A potential pathway to treating prion disease

A preliminary study could eventually lead to a treatment for prion disease. Prions, misfolded proteins which accumulate in the brain, cause neurodegenerative diseases that have no cure and are fatal. Previous research found that removing the misfolded proteins from cells can help undo the damage, but in genetic prion diseases, the prions continue to be produced. In a paper published in Science, a new treatment tested in mice prevents the expression of a gene which codes for prions, reducing the quantity produced by more than 80%. The researchers write in an accompanying editorial that the method could prove useful in fighting other conditions caused by too many toxic proteins amassing in the brain, like Alzheimer’s and Huntington’s.

Egyptian scribes suffered at work

Ancient Egyptian scribes suffered work-related injuries many modern-day desk workers can identify with, a new study finds. Archeologists examined 69 bodies taken from the necropolis at Abusir in Egypt, 30 of them scribes, and found higher incidences of osteoarthritis in their joints and spine, as well as stress damage on leg bones, which the archeologists suspect could have been caused by sitting cross-legged and leaning forward. One researcher told The Guardian that they may well have suffered carpal tunnel syndrome, too, but “we can’t identify that from the bones.” The Egyptian Old Kingdom’s Fifth Dynasty predates the first human resources workplace assessment by roughly 4,500 years.

June 28:

• The UN Security Council meets to discuss North Korea.
• The Paralympic Games’ logo is unveiled on the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, two months ahead of its start.
• The Greasy Pole competition at St. Peter’s Fiesta in Gloucester, Massachusetts, takes place.

WeChat is the center of the Chinese internet — powering everything from messaging to payments — and the main portal where China’s news outlets and bloggers publish their work.

Electrified action

China has become the electric vehicle center of the world. But a handful of electrical fires over the last year — primarily caused by charging mopeds — are turning some cities and villages against the technology. In May, Sanyuanli, a trendy suburb of the southern city of Guangzhou, became one of the first cities in the region to ban all EVs from entering its borders, according to the Southern Weekly magazine.

Residents’ reactions have been mixed. Many support the “forbidden electricity” initiative to reduce the risk of fires in a city pitched as a pedestrian-friendly destination with narrow streets lined with local shops and restaurants. Others are worried about potential economic losses if visitors from Guangzhou cannot drive to and park in the city.

Spilling the tea

The tea market in China — one of the largest in the world — is huge, bringing in almost $50 billion in revenue in 2023. But for ordinary consumers, “it is difficult to identify the quality and price standards of tea,” wrote the Yàn Shū Lóu social topics blog, and some luxury tea companies have been accused of cutting their products with chemicals to change the flavor and color. 

The local governments of Guangdong province and Hangzhou city hope their new regulations can stop “the chaos in the tea market,” including banning certain branding practices and enforcing more transparency around where ingredients come from. Chinese authorities are also promoting the business practices of cheaper brands like Xiao Guan Tea as a good model, which tracks its tea from the point of collection to packaging.

Longing for utopia

Some of the most popular content creators on Douyin, China’s version of TikTok, are “workers” — men in their mid-20s who present themselves as migrants who work factory jobs in big cities like Shanghai and Shenzhen, and vlog their shopping, dinner, and nighttime routines after work.

Despite raising eyebrows over whether workers like them could actually manage any after-work activities — and the nearly identical scripts in some of the videos — their followers have said that ​​“even if it is staged [content], we are willing to watch it,” according New Couple, a blog on the creator economy. “What really helps spread the story and retain users is that it depicts a utopia for lower-class workers in their spare time.”

A watercolor illustration became the most expensive Harry Potter-related item ever sold at auction. The original illustration featured on the first-edition UK covers of the first book in the series, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. The painting fetched $1.9 million, far beyond auctioneers’ expectations that it could sell for $400,000 to $600,000. The illustration was finished over two days in 1997 by a 23-year-old who was one of the first people to read J.K. Rowling’s manuscript. “This is really the first visualization of Harry and the wizarding world,” a Sotheby’s auctioneer said.

• Can startup DeepL beat Big Tech on AI language translation?
• What we’re watching at Thursday’s Biden-Trump debate.
• Kenya’s Ruto withdraws controversial tax bill as protests escalate.