Flagship

Prescription-free pill in US

U.S. regulators approved the country’s first over-the-counter birth control pill. The contraceptive, called Opill and containing the hormone progestin, has been available on prescription for 50 years. But since the Supreme Court’s decision overturning Roe v. Wade last year, removing women’s constitutional right to abortion, pressure has mounted to widen access to birth control. The manufacturer expects it to reach shelves in early 2024. It did not give a cost, but a company official said it would be “accessible and affordable.” Progestin contraceptive pills are highly effective, more so than existing non-prescription contraceptive methods such as condoms.

Hollywood stars go on strike

Hollywood actors joined writers in the U.S. entertainment industry’s biggest strike in 60 years. The stars of Oppenheimer left the film’s London premiere before the screening to “write their picket signs,” director Christopher Nolan told the crowd. The Screen Actors Guild says that streaming has changed the industry and that actors should get more of the royalties. They also reject studios’ proposals that background actors could be scanned and have their likenesses generated by AI and used in future films. Studios are looking overseas already — Netflix in particular is betting on South Korean content, post the success of Squid Game — and the SAG strike is expected to increase their reliance on non-U.S. content, The New York Times reported.

Strengthening India-France ties

India’s relationship with France is in “excellent shape,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi said as he attended Paris’s Bastille Day military parade and received France’s highest honor. The Indian leader’s visit — his fourth since 2017 — marks 25 years of the countries’ “strategic partnership,” with New Delhi announcing it would purchase dozens more French fighter jets and three submarines. French President Emmanuel Macron sees Modi as a crucial geopolitical swing state, key to Russia’s war in Ukraine and the rise of China. “Indian soldiers saved Europe’s bacon twice in the last century,” the security scholar C. Raja Mohan wrote in The Indian Express. “Intense and wide-ranging defence cooperation between India and France today could contribute immensely to Eurasian security this century.”

Indian rocket sets off for moon

India’s third moon mission successfully launched. Chandrayaan-3 is due to reach its destination in late August. The country’s first effort, Chandrayaan-1, orbited the moon in 2008, studying its south pole for water. Chandrayaan-2 attempted to land a rover on the surface in 2019, but crashed because of a glitch in its braking system. If this latest effort, which has the same goals as the last mission, is successful, India will become only the fourth nation to achieve a soft landing on the moon, after the United States, Soviet Union, and China. The U.S. named its first moon missions after a Greek god, Apollo, while China chose Chang’e, the goddess of the moon. India has been refreshingly direct: Chandrayaan translates as “Moon Craft.”

Russia military appears in turmoil

A series of reports pointed to turmoil within Russia’s military elite following last month’s failed mutiny by a mercenary group. One senior general said he was fired for raising problems on the battlefield and appeared to criticize the army chief and the defense minister in a voice message published this week. Another general was acknowledged to have been killed in a missile strike. And a senior commander who has not been seen in public since the mutiny was described as “resting.” In all, at least 13 senior officers have been detained since the uprising, and 15 were suspended or fired, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Nigeria charges ex-central bank chief

Nigerian police charged the country’s former central bank chief, who has been detained for a month. Police documents did not specify the allegations against Godwin Emefiele, whom security officials had accused of terrorism financing and economic crimes in 2022. The move was sparked by Emefiele suing the secret police for illegal detention and breaching his human rights. Nigeria’s new president removed Emefiele from his post soon after taking office last month, part of a series of steps designed to bolster confidence in the country’s flailing economy and attract investment, including liberalizing currency trading and scrapping a fuel subsidy.

France opposes US antitrust pick

Paris criticized the appointment of an American as chief economist to the European Union’s top antitrust body. Fiona Scott Morton, a Yale economics professor and ex-Obama administration official, takes up the role in September, but French officials said her prior consulting work for Big Tech was a red flag. One also argued “Europe has many talented economists,” suggesting concerns extend to Scott Morton’s nationality — she would be the first non-European in the post. One European official lamented to Le Monde “the pathetic political message that we send by hiring an American, as if we had no one in Europe.” The dispute comes with competition policy in the spotlight thanks to the battle over Microsoft’s takeover of Activision Blizzard.

AI cameras come to São Paulo

São Paulo will roll out 40,000 surveillance cameras linked to artificial intelligence facial recognition software. The cameras are intended to identify wanted criminals, missing persons, and stolen cars, as well as helping manage public transport. Some experts told Al Jazeera that the system risked widespread false positives, wrongly identifying people as criminals, especially Black Brazilians. But a Brazilian court last month overturned a suspension of the program, saying there was no evidence that it “would exacerbate social and racial discrimination.” As always with questions of AI bias, the issue is not whether the AI is biased, but whether it is more or less biased than definitely biased humans.

Liverpool star may leave for Saudi

Jordan Henderson, the Champions League-winning captain of soccer’s Liverpool FC, reportedly agreed to join Saudi Arabian club Al-Ettifaq. His Liverpool teammate, Fabinho, is also the subject of a big-money Saudi bid. The Saudi league, backed by the country’s Public Investment Fund, is throwing huge sums at big European names — notably Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema — to build a global brand. Al-Ettifaq already took on Liverpool legend Steven Gerrard as head coach. Henderson, the club’s longest-serving player, with some years ahead of him at 33, would apparently earn $900,000 a week. He has been a vocal supporter of LGBTQ+ rights: Some fans have pointed out a contradiction should he move to a country where homosexuality is illegal.

Humans are bad, say robotaxi firms

Waymo and Cruise, the autonomous vehicle companies, put out public statements arguing that human drivers are unsafe. “Humans are terrible drivers,” said Cruise in full-page newspaper ads. “You might be a good driver, but many of us aren’t.” Waymo published a blog post noting that 47% of human drivers speed. The companies touted the greater safety record of their own cars — Cruise said its vehicles caused 92% fewer crashes than human-driven ones. It comes as California again delayed extending permits for fully driverless taxis in San Francisco, TechCrunch observed. Meanwhile, Ford updated its BlueCruise driving system, allowing drivers to remain hands-free on tighter corners and narrower lanes than before.

• Verdict expected in a defamation trial against one of Portugal’s most prominent anti-racism campaigners.
• EU finance ministers meet in Brussels to discuss issues including aid for Ukraine.
• South Korean singer Jungkook, a member of the K-pop superband BTS, releases Seven, his debut solo single.

The increase in the cost of gelato in Italy compared to a year ago. Higher food prices and rising accommodation costs are doing little to dissuade visitors to Italy and the rest of Europe, however, with overall tourism to some of the continent’s most popular destinations expected to exceed pre-pandemic records. Among the most prolific visitors: Americans, buoyed by a strong dollar and able to explore without myriad health restrictions.

How Do You Live?, the latest film from the acclaimed Japanese animation company Studio Ghibli, hit cinemas in Japan today. No trailers or publicity events preceded its release, a deliberate move to build anticipation around what is likely Hayao Miyazaki’s final directorial venture. The 82-year-old co-founder of Studio Ghibli, whose films include Spirited Away and Howl’s Moving Castle, came out of retirement for the project. A coming-of-age tale, set in Japan during World War II, the film carries “visual treats” Ghibli fans will be waiting for: “Cute yet eerie creatures, great-looking food and gravity-defying flights of fancy,” wrote one anime reviewer for the BBC.

• The co-founder of one of AI’s hottest startups says he was tricked into selling his 15% stake in a company that is now worth billions — for just $100.
• Vietnam banned Barbie over the “nine-dash line.” But the Philippines will screen the movie, citing a “meticulous review” and a very different interpretation of the controversial map.
• With inflation down, Democrats are starting to brag about the economy.