Flagship

Biden’s big NATO test

Deep fissures among Democratic lawmakers over the viability of Joe Biden’s candidacy were on display in Washington as members of Congress debated his fate in meetings Tuesday. Although one member said the caucus’ morale was at “historic lows,” the pace of criticism over Biden’s mental acuity has slowed, and his influential backers are trying to redirect attention to Republican challenger Donald Trump’s agenda. The president will face a key test on Thursday, when he is set to give a rare solo press conference at the NATO summit, which his aides billed as a “big boy” appearance. If he stumbles, it could “start a political stampede” that extinguishes his campaign, the BBC’s North America correspondent wrote, but a strong performance could quell concerns over his age and stamina.

NATO deepens Asia ties

NATO is deepening its ties to non-member Asia-Pacific countries, signaling the US’ desire to counter China in the region. The war in Ukraine remains atop NATO’s priority list, and the attendance of leaders from Australia, New Zealand, Japan, and South Korea at the group’s summit in Washington this week shows how Russia and China present overlapping challenges to a US-led world order. Some European member states, however, “have balked at linking the two strategic theaters,” World Politics Review wrote. Washington’s efforts to shore up security partnerships in Asia also sparked concerns in Beijing, where officials have accused the US of trying to create “the Asian version of NATO.”

US Fed waiting for ‘good data’

US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell projected some confidence that inflation is returning to normal, but avoided offering a timeline on the central bank’s future interest rate cut. Powell testified before lawmakers two days before the release of key inflation data that could pave the way for a September rate cut, if it shows progress toward the Fed’s 2% inflation target. “We need just to see more good inflation data. That’s all,” Powell said, adding that the US economy is no longer “overheated.” But he emphasized a balance between managing inflation and avoiding a sharp rise in unemployment if interest rates are too high for too long.

China leads world in generative AI use

China’s industry decision-makers lead the world in adopting generative artificial intelligence. A survey of 1,600 executives across 16 countries in banking, insurance, telecoms, and other areas found that an average of 54% used AIs such as ChatGPT or Anthropic’s Claude. In China, that figure was 83%. Foreign AI products are mostly banned in China, but it has a robust — and highly censored — domestic industry, Reuters reported. The survey found that China also led the world in the use of AI for monitoring workers or users, collecting and analyzing huge amounts of data about their activities and communication, which the authors said was a “controversial but widely-deployed use.”

Gig work is China’s new normal

Gig work is becoming the “new normal” in China as companies downsize and economic growth slows. About one in seven college graduates this year opted to be “flexibly employed,” with freelancers, delivery and ride-hailing drivers, and livestreamers being the most common gig jobs, the South China Morning Post wrote. The trend has led to calls for Beijing to further support the gig economy with benefits and labor rights protections; one study in a government-backed journal even suggested authorities should “actively guide college students into flexible employment.” The country is grappling with a larger unemployment headache in traditional white-collar jobs: More than half of China’s leading firms downsized last year.

Japan’s hotels need foreign workers

Japanese hotels are hunting for workers abroad. Japan is facing a severe labor shortage alongside a demographic crisis, as the working-age population shrinks. At the same time, a surge in tourism is boosting its post-pandemic economy. A Japanese hotel industry group held its first job fair in Jakarta this month, and similar events are scheduled for the Philippines, Vietnam, India, Sri Lanka, and Nepal, Nikkei reported. Hiring more foreigners could indirectly help other Asian countries, like India and Indonesia, which are struggling with high youth unemployment. “We must facilitate our young workers to get a job, not just in Indonesia but also all over the world,” a top Indonesia labor official said.

Ozempic maker shares dip after study

Shares of Ozempic maker Novo Nordisk took a hit Tuesday after a new data analysis showed its rival Eli Lilly’s drug Mounjaro leads to faster and greater weight loss. The study, published in a medical journal, examined health records to gauge how much weight people taking the different drugs lost, and how quickly. Novo Nordisk, though, criticized “key limitations” in the study, saying a head-to head clinical trial is the best way to compare weight loss drugs. The study also included patients with Type 2 diabetes, as well as those who were just trying to lose weight, which could affect the speed of weight loss. The drugs from both companies are in demand globally, and shares of the two companies have reached record highs.

Betting big on the future

Investors are betting on prediction markets. The markets allow users to gamble on whether future events will take place, paying out $1 per bet if correct: You might see “Joe Biden to win the US presidential election” at 25 cents, and if you think it’s more than 25% likely to happen, you’d buy it, which would drive the price up. Several small markets exist, but rising interest from financial institutions is spurring growth. It’s a complicated issue because they are ambiguously legal in the US. Regulators are considering further restrictions, but one economics professor told the Financial Times that the markets are “potentially a really useful way” of predicting the future and that any regulations should use “as light a hand as possible.”

New gel enhances lab-grown meat flavor

A temperature-responsive gel that releases flavors during cooking could improve the taste of lab-grown meat. While cultivated meats are tasting increasingly real, a crucial part of the flavor of animal meats comes from chemical reactions during cooking. The new method developed by researchers in South Korea builds “scaffolds” into the fake meat, which break down at high temperatures and release flavor compounds that then undergo the Maillard reaction. Chemical analysis with an “electronic nose” found a flavor pattern similar to conventional beef, although the fact that they used chemical analysis suggests no one had the nerve to actually eat the thing. Some lab-grown meat companies have been given the regulatory green light in California and Singapore.

Flowers bloom in driest desert

The driest non-polar desert in the world is blooming with white and purple flowers in the dead of winter. Every few years, during the Southern Hemisphere’s springtime, rare rainfall in the Atacama Desert in northern Chile causes dormant seeds to sprout, giving it the nickname “the flowering desert.” This year, though, the flowers have appeared ahead of schedule, thanks to heavier rainfall fueled by the El Niño climate phenomenon. Parts of the desert receive just 1 to 3 millimeters of precipitation per year, and may not have seen “any significant rainfall” from 1570 to 1971, according to a study.

July 10:

• Hungarian opposition leader Péter Magyar travels to Kyiv to deliver aid for a missile-damaged children’s hospital.
• Samsung launches its latest foldable phones with an emphasis on health monitoring.
• Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi meets Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer in Vienna.

A new show on Netflix is Japan’s first same-sex reality dating show. The Boyfriend follows nine men who live in a beach house outside Tokyo and search for love — or maybe just a platonic connection, as the show bills itself as a “story of love and friendship.” Unlike the brash, dramatic, and overtly sexual characteristics that define American and British reality TV dating shows, The Boyfriend takes a slower, more relaxing approach, The Guardian wrote: “You watch, with bated breath, to see who might organically fall for another. Nothing feels forced.”

• A Russian court orders the arrest of Yulia Navalnaya.
• NATO is likely to offer Ukraine ‘irreversible’ path to membership.
• The Paris prosecutor’s office investigates Marine Le Pen’s 2022 presidential campaign.