Flagship

Biden campaign on verge of collapse

Joe Biden’s presidential campaign appeared to be teetering on the edge Thursday. His reelection bid is “at its most vulnerable point,” Bloomberg wrote, while Politico reported it was “nearing the point of collapse.” Several people in the president’s orbit are now debating “when, not if” he will step aside. The acceptance of this new political reality, despite public pushback from his aides, followed reports that Barack Obama and Nancy Pelosi privately expressed concerns about Democrats’ chances of winning in November if Biden stays on. “It’s starting to feel like there’s no way out of this,” one Democratic official told Politico. The president, who is away from the campaign trail after getting COVID-19, may be beginning to accept his fate, The New York Times reported.

Trump to close RNC with personal speech

Donald Trump is expected to strike a more personal tone in his first speech since his attempted assassination, as he formally accepts the Republican presidential nomination Thursday evening. US allies and adversaries are closely watching: Diplomats from around 20 European countries are at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee making “a last-ditch pitch to the MAGA wing of the party,” one European official told Foreign Policy. Their messaging focus will be on continued US support for Ukraine “using Republican-friendly terms,” and demonstrating the EU’s tough China stance in line with Trump’s foreign policy agenda. But diplomats and analysts are also bracing for unpredictability. Despite what Trump outlines in his speech, he may “act differently when he’s in power,” a Ukrainian think tank official said.

Geopolitics weigh on TSMC

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. expects chip sales this year to be even higher than previously forecast, after posting a better-than-expected quarterly profit Thursday. The raised outlook from the​​ world’s largest chipmaker suggests sustained confidence in the global AI boom, even as TSMC’s stock took a hit after Donald Trump said Taiwan should pay the US for its defense. The impact from Trump’s comments showed investors are watching for more than just technical advances and earnings, the Financial Times wrote: “Rising political risks for TSMC and other companies operating in Taiwan cannot be ignored … Politics will play as big a role as chip growth in determining the path for Asia’s semiconductor stocks in the coming quarters.”

Bangladesh student protests escalate

Bangladeshi students reportedly set fire to the state television building in Dhaka on Thursday as clashes with police escalated during protests over quotas for government jobs. It marked the deadliest day in the weekslong protests; more than a dozen people were killed and hundreds injured, while the government shut off the country’s mobile internet in response to the demonstrations, AFP reported. Students say they are deprived of access to coveted public-sector work thanks to a system that reserves more than half of those jobs for select groups. Anti-quota protests first began in 2018, but since then, the country has seen a “perfect storm of political and economic grievance,” a Bangladesh-based journalist wrote in The Diplomat, in part due to rising inflation and increased government debt.

India’s census delay causes headaches

A three-year delay to India’s census is frustrating health and social science researchers. New Delhi usually holds a census every 10 years, with the last one due in 2021. But the government postponed it because of the COVID-19 pandemic and has yet to set a new date. It means most regional and local data is obsolete: One chic Delhi neighborhood is still classified as “rural” under the 2011 survey. “[We know] how many people there are… but we have no idea where they are,” one researcher told Nature. Outdated data hinders efforts to address public health or unemployment, because population surveys cannot be correctly weighted. One Indian economist blamed the polling failure in the recent election on the census delay.

SK same-sex couples score legal win

In a landmark decision, South Korea’s top court ruled Thursday that same-sex couples are eligible for the national health insurance’s dependent coverage. South Korea doesn’t legally recognize same-sex marriages, but activists hope the ruling could be a stepping stone toward LGBTQ couples achieving full rights. South Korea is known for having rigid gender norms; a little more than 40% of the population is in favor of same-sex marriage, fewer than in most Asian countries, according to a Pew poll last year. An anti-discrimination law that would protect members of the LGBTQ community from harassment has languished in the country’s parliament for years.

Rare Islamic State attack in Oman

A deadly Islamic State assault on a Shiite mosque in Oman cast a spotlight on the group’s changing power structures and capabilities. Monday’s shooting in Muscat left six people dead, a rare attack in the Gulf state that largely avoided the sectarian violence that struck parts of the region in the years following the Islamic State’s capture of swathes of territory in Iraq and Syria in 2014. That sudden offensive, and the fact that the group grew out of al-Qaida, has left officials and observers with a “fundamental misunderstanding” of how the Islamic State operates and organizes itself, the militancy expert Aaron Zelin wrote in War on the Rocks: “The Islamic State is far more integrated today than it was five years ago.”

Princess’s possible Instagram divorce

The daughter of Dubai’s leader appeared to announce her divorce on Instagram. A post on the official account of Sheikha Mahra bint Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, one of the 26 children of the country’s prime minister, said Wednesday that her husband was “occupied with other companions.” It also said: “I divorce you, I divorce you, and I Divorce You,” seemingly invoking the practice of “triple talaq,” in which a Muslim man can instantly divorce his wife by declaring it three times; it has been banned in several countries. Sheikha Mahra, known for having a glitzy public and social media presence, seems to have scrubbed every photo of her husband from her Instagram account. Government officials haven’t commented on the post.

Botanists change 200 racist plant names

After a “tense secret ballot,” botanists voted to change more than 200 offensive scientific plant names. In a 351-205 vote at the International Botanical Congress in Madrid on Thursday, researchers decided to replace species names that contain the word “caffra” — a racist term in southern Africa — and replace it with ‘affra” in recognition of Africa. It’s the first time taxonomists have voted on the ethics of plant names, Nature reported, and a special committee can reject species names given after 2026 if they are determined to be derogatory. Researchers hailed the move, but some taxonomists argued that while offensive names are “unfortunate,” changing them would cause “so much confusion.”

Pianist considered one of the greatest at 20

A 20-year-old South Korean pianist hailed as “the most exciting new classical artist on the planet” will play London’s BBC Proms this month. Yunchan Lim’s appearance, where he will play Beethoven’s Fifth Piano Concerto, was the first concert in the eight-week summer season to sell out. A 2022 video of Lim playing Rachmaninov to win a prestigious competition, and moving the conductor of the accompanying orchestra to tears, went viral. The Proms director told The Guardian that Lim was “an unbelievable talent” and that “in 50 years time, people will say ‘I remember his BBC Proms debut.” A reviewer said, “His technique [is] dazzlingly immaculate and the musical impulses propelling it startlingly original.”

July 19:

• France faces major demonstrations over large agricultural reservoirs.
• The International Court of Justice delivers its opinion on Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories.
• A show themed for the manga series Doraemon featuring 1,000 drones lights up Hong Kong’s Victoria Harbour.

Rojak is a colloquial Malay word for “eclectic mix,” and is the name for a Javanese dish that typically combines sliced fruit and vegetables with a spicy dressing.

India is into coffee chains

India is known for its love of chai, which originated in the region more than 5,000 years ago. But habits changed during the pandemic: “Not only are Indians brewing fancy coffee at home, but they’re also going to coffee shops in hordes for the experience,” Indian outlet The Core wrote in its daily newsletter. Many of those chains, like Starbucks and Costa Coffee, offer premium experiences, with spacious seating areas and lounge chairs.

The next caffeine consumption evolution is now underway, as chains offering much cheaper coffee pop up in tiny retail spaces across the country. One domestic brand, Slay Coffee, which had a delivery-only model, is now opening cafes ranging from 800 to 1,000 sq ft. In finding a middle ground between the luxury chains and office coffee machines, the trend evokes the growth of Blank Street Coffee in the US, which merges espresso technology with small retail spaces for mass market appeal.

Germany is into dessert spaghetti

Spaghetti doesn’t usually evoke feelings of summertime. But in Germany “spaghettieis” has achieved cult status as a summer treat. The dish — which literally translates to “spaghetti ice cream” — uses soft serve to resemble noodles, and is topped with strawberry sauce and white chocolate shavings that look like pasta sauce and parmesan.

“It is no secret that Germans love Italian food,” Noelle Ponasik wrote in her newsletter, Germany is the Wurst. The dish dates back to the 1960s, when many Italians moved to West Germany during the country’s post-World War II economic boom. An Italian ice cream shop owner created spaghettieis after being inspired by Mont Blanc, a dessert that uses chestnut purée in the form of vermicelli.

China is into ‘garbage time’

Prominent Chinese commentators are pushing back against a new internet phrase that has become popular with the country’s youth. The term “garbage time of history” — which describes irreversible societal decline and stagnation, and personal disillusionment — took off on Chinese social media after the recent suicide of a 30-year-old investment banker. Now the media and academic influencers are trying to convince young people not to be so pessimistic, according to The East is Read, a newsletter from the Beijing-based Center for China and Globalization think tank.

One writer blamed China’s “literary youth,” saying they are out of touch with reality, and falsely believe China is deteriorating while awaiting “the arrival of their imagined ‘new world.’” A Beijing-based academic called the term “fraudulent” and more harmful to society than the “lying flat” movement, which urged young people to reject pressure to be a productive member of society. “Garbage time,” he argued, ignores the fact that in the West, “so-called ‘liberal democracy’ … is facing its greatest skepticism in nearly 300 years.”

Unusual rooftop sculptures dotting villages in the Indian state of Punjab are turning heads at France’s largest photography festival. Made from water tanks, these elaborate and colorful structures feature airplanes, cars, and whiskey bottles, choices often based on the hobbies and dreams of the house’s dwellers. The tradition started around five decades ago with a few dozen local artisans and quickly spread by word of mouth. Architectural photographer Rajesh Vora, whose works are on display at Les Rencontres d’Arles in southern France this summer, traveled to 150 villages to capture hundreds of rooftop installations. He told CNN it is “a brilliant idea combining form and function.”

• China pledges to ‘deepen reform’ and ‘resolve’ debt as key meeting concludes.
• JD Vance eases the GOP into his ‘America First’ vision.
• Senate Democrats share polling showing Biden dragging down candidates.