Flagship

Niger’s neighbors back coup leaders

Niger’s military-ruled neighbors, Burkina Faso and Mali, warned any intervention over a recent coup in Niamey would equate to a “declaration of war” against their nations, too. The statement comes days after the West African regional bloc Ecowas threatened to use force to return Niger’s president to power. The establishment of what The New York Times described as “the longest corridor of military rule on Earth” has jeopardized regional anti-jihadist efforts, as well as a fledgling and limited pro-democracy push. Several West African and Western leaders have said they will impose sanctions on Niger, while Niamey has reportedly begun barring exports of critical commodities such as uranium.

Russia spends to boost war popularity

A state spending boom to prop up Russia’s wartime economy threatens the country’s financial stability. Moscow is not only pouring reserves into military production but also increasing pensions and subsidizing mortgages in an attempt to maintain support for its invasion of Ukraine. The Russian economy is forecast to grow 2.5% this year and unemployment is low. But the spending has pushed the government into deficit, as sanctions halved oil and gas revenues — Moscow boosted oil drilling to record levels despite agreeing to cut production — and demand is outstripping supply, feeding inflation. “I don’t know how this bubble can be deflated,” one economist told The New York Times. “One day it could all crash like a house of cards.”

China names new nuclear leaders

China appointed new leaders to the military branch responsible for its nuclear arsenal after its former top officials were accused of corruption. Unusually, both men named to head the People’s Liberation Army Rocket Force were brought in from other parts of the military, indicating Beijing wants to clean house. Though the detained commanders may indeed be under suspicion of graft, Chinese leader Xi Jinping has previously used anti-corruption measures to eliminate political rivals and ensure loyalty. Chinese analysts said the move pointed to a growing focus on coordination between China’s different military branches, and on improving its so-called nuclear triad of air, land, and sea-based systems.

DeSantis campaign struggles

Ron DeSantis’s presidential campaign is increasingly in disarray. The Florida governor, once seen as the strongest challenger to Donald Trump for the 2024 Republican nomination, is now 37 percentage points behind the former president, a New York Times/Siena College poll showed. It came as Semafor’s Shelby Talcott and Dave Weigel revealed that senior DeSantis aides oversaw a high-risk strategy of laundering incendiary videos through allied anonymous Twitter accounts. DeSantis is reportedly seeking to reset his campaign in part by focusing on policy announcements: In New Hampshire on Monday, he said he would rein in the Federal Reserve and railed against corporate bailouts, but was light on specifics.

New US reactor may be last big one

For the first time in more than 30 years, a new nuclear reactor entered commercial operation in the United States. The reactor, at Plant Vogtle in Georgia, will provide enough electricity for 500,000 homes. It’s the third reactor at the site, and a fourth will come online in September. But it was due to start producing electricity in 2016, and ended up $17 billion over budget. Spiraling costs may mean that it is the U.S.’s last big, traditional nuclear reactor: “Investors aren’t interested” in the technology, an analyst told the Financial Times, and only federal government cash is driving a “nuclear renaissance.” More advanced technologies, such as small nuclear reactors, are being developed.

UN supports Kenya’s Haiti plan

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres backed Kenya’s proposal to lead an international force to help Haiti’s police combat soaring crime. Nairobi had framed its offer as part of efforts to support “persons of African descent around the world, including those in the Caribbean.” Gangs are now believed to control up to 95% of Haiti’s capital, including vital infrastructure such as ports and oil terminals. Despite a wide rejection of foreign interference among Haitians — a prior U.N. intervention led to accusations of human rights abuses — the country’s prime minister has called for military intervention for almost a year.

Europe sees biggest hailstone, twice

Italy broke the record for Europe’s largest hailstone twice in a week. As the south of the country sweltered in record temperatures, the north’s own heat waves were ended by devastating storms. Torrential rain led to flash flooding and so many cars were damaged by hailstones that some Milanese mechanics are booked until January, The Times of London reported. Large hailstones are made when strong updrafts keep them in the air for a long time. Hailstorms have become much more common in the last decade: On July 19, a 6-inch hailstone fell in the northeast, a record that stood for just five days, until a 7.5-inch stone fell nearby. The world record, 8 inches, was set in South Dakota in 2010.

Venice risks losing heritage status

UNESCO said Venice is in danger of losing its World Heritage Site status. Planned high-rise buildings on the shores of the lagoon around the city could alter the view, the U.N.’s cultural agency said, and mass tourism and climate-change-induced flooding threaten its “outstanding universal value.” It recommended putting the city on its “danger list.” Venice banned cruise ships in 2021 and limited Airbnb rentals to reduce visitor numbers. UNESCO also recommended giving Australia more time to protect the Great Barrier Reef before putting it on the danger list, despite severe damage to its corals caused by increasing ocean temperatures.

‘Virgin birth’ engineered

Scientists genetically engineered sexually reproducing animals to produce “virgin births” for the first time. Parthenogenesis, the term for female creatures creating offspring without male input, is seen in several species, including some lizards and frogs: It is believed to be a last-ditch reproductive strategy for females unable to find a mate. Cambridge University researchers took genes from a species of fruit fly which can reproduce asexually and put them in a species which can’t, Nature reported. A minority of the engineered flies laid eggs without ever seeing a male about halfway through their lifespans: Some of their (all-female) offspring then did the same.

Barbie on course for a billion

Greta Gerwig is on course to become the first solo female director to hit $1 billion at the box office, as Barbie continues to rake in cash. The film has taken $775 million in its first 12 days and, Hollywood Reporter said, should hit 10 figures by the weekend. It has not been without controversy, though: The movie’s Japanese distributors criticized their American counterparts after overenthusiastic social media embraced Barbenheimer memes, linking the movie to the World War II drama Oppenheimer, released at the same time. Warner Bros. Japan said it was “extremely regrettable” that the U.S. branch engaged with the memes — which featured images of Barbie with a pink mushroom cloud or cheering in front of an atomic blast — and asked it to “take appropriate action.”

• The son of Colombia’s president is to hear charges following his arrest in a money laundering probe.
• Portugal hosts World Youth Day in Lisbon, a six-day festival bringing together the pope and young Catholics from all over the globe.
• Bolivians honor “Pachamama,” goddess of the earth and fertility, with ancestral rituals and offerings.

The Americas have seen more than 3 million cases of dengue fever so far this year, already making it the second-highest incidence of the mosquito-borne disease in any year on record. Dengue, which causes fever, headaches, and fatigue, has been on the rise for years. Exactly what is driving it is unclear, but the mosquito which carries the disease likes high temperatures and humid conditions. As warm weather and rainfall has become more common, dengue’s range has spread, including into southern Brazilian states previously too cold for the mosquito, Nature reported.

The samosa, a deep-fried triangular snack stuffed with an assortment of different ingredients, is typically associated with South Asia, but its roots go back to Central Asia and the Middle East. The crispy pastries were originally known as samsa, and trace their roots back to the Persian word sanbosag, a Twitter thread by Bayt Al Fann, an Islamic arts and culture platform, detailed. From tuna and onion varieties in the Maldives to ones filled with minced meat and peas in India, the snack “has earned widespread fame under different names,” it said, putting the samosa’s enduring popularity down to the diversity of its fillings “catering to various tastes across the globe.”

• Africans applying to study in the U.S. face higher rates of visa refusal than people from other regions, a new report showed.
• 2024 is shaping up as the first election of the age of fragmentation, with no single dominant platform for candidates to reach voters.
• The U.S. and China are locked in an Oppenheimer-like existential struggle for AI dominance, former Defense Secretary Mark Esper told Jay Solomon.