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Calls for Fed to make emergency rate cut

Global stocks continued to fall in response to US employment data that suggests a recession might be coming. Investors think the US Federal Reserve “screwed up” by failing to cut interest rates last week, CNN reported, and that a cut expected in September may come too late to prevent the economy from tipping into a recession. Calls for the Fed to make a rare emergency cut are growing. But experts dismissed such a move as unlikely and “counterproductive,” a Bloomberg columnist argued, saying that while the odds of a US recession have risen, “a contraction is far from being the base-case scenario.” Still, The New York Times wrote, “a collective stampede can tip off a recession if it snowballs into the real economy.”

Middle East markets tumble as war looms

Middle East financial markets tumbled as the world awaits a potential Iranian attack on Israel. Israel’s benchmark TA-35 index slid 3.1% to its lowest level since February, Bloomberg reported, as indexes in Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Turkey also plummeted. Despite fears of an expanded Mideast war, the global market meltdown saw oil prices slump to a seven-month low. One strategist downplayed the geopolitical risks for regional markets, telling Bloomberg that most tourist hubs and oil facilities are far from the conflict zones of Israel and Lebanon. Meanwhile, countries braced for impact: Jordan asked airlines to carry 45 minutes of reserve fuel in case of an attack, and some airlines have canceled flights to Israel and Lebanon.

India eyes Bangladesh power vacuum

Delhi is eyeing the political fallout in Bangladesh after Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina reportedly sought refuge in India following her resignation over violent protests. Hasina has been a “good friend” to India, The Indian Express wrote, and Delhi’s support of her regime was a “bone of contention” with the West as she was increasingly seen as autocratic. An interim government will be formed in Bangladesh, and India will likely have to answer questions about giving refuge to an unpopular leader. The bigger concern for Delhi, however, is if Dhaka gets a new anti-India, pro-China government, it could destabilize security on the neighbors’ shared border. “New Delhi cannot afford to have another front open,” The Express wrote, particularly as tensions also flare with Pakistan.

Google loses antitrust lawsuit

Google’s massive search business violates US antitrust laws, a federal judge ruled Monday. The decision is a rare defeat for the tech giant after years of dominating online search by offering tens of billions of dollars worth of exclusivity contracts to make it the world’s default search provider, disenfranchising competitors like Microsoft’s Bing. The decision has the potential to “reshape how millions of Americans get information online,” CNN wrote, while The Verge noted that the ruling is “even more consequential for how other judges may consider how to apply century-old antitrust laws to modern digital markets”: Amazon, Apple, and Meta all face antitrust lawsuits from the US government.

Taiwan Olympic win spurs identity debate

Taiwan’s gold medal victory over China in badminton at the Paris Olympics has reignited a debate over the island’s identity. Shuttlers Lee Yang and Wang Chi-lin — who officially represent “Chinese Taipei” at the Games — defeated their Chinese rivals on Sunday during a match where at least one spectator was denied entry for carrying a “Go Taiwan” sign. Some Chinese social media users attacked the Taiwanese duo as “separatists” while others said that “Taiwan’s gold medal is also China’s.” In Taiwan, the victory was hailed by many as a “symbol of Taiwan’s battle to resist Chinese intimidation,” The Washington Post wrote. The International Olympic Committee has so far resisted growing calls, including from US lawmakers, for the island to participate under its own name.

Chinese migrants rush to US before Trump

Political uncertainty in the US is spurring Chinese migrants to take riskier steps to get there, The Wall Street Journal reported. New Biden immigration measures at the US-Mexico border, coupled with Ecuador’s decision to suspend visa-free travel for Chinese citizens, have made Bolivia — around 7,000 miles from the border — the new starting point for the tens of thousands fleeing Xi Jinping’s rule. One Chinese migrant told the Journal that political pressure in the US “threatens to all but eviscerate the main route to the US for average Chinese people,” and an agent who runs guesthouses for migrants en route to Bolivia said he expects business to dry up if a future President Donald Trump pushes his hardline immigration policies.

Setback for deep-sea mining critics

A moratorium on deep-sea mining looks less likely after opponents of the practice failed to advance a draft agreement to protect marine habitats. Much of the sea bed is littered with polymetallic nodules containing metals vital to the green transition, such as manganese and cobalt. But several countries are concerned that unfettered mining could damage ecosystems. The International Seabed Authority recently voted on a new president seen as less in favor of mining, but she does not take office until January, and a proposal calling for “dialogue” toward developing a policy was withdrawn after widespread opposition. A recent discovery that the nodules produce oxygen and may be important to life was expected to boost support for limitations on mining.

Montreal to allow 24-hour drinking

Montreal will become the latest city to allow 24-hour drinking, in a move officials say will bring in hundreds of millions of dollars. Following in the footsteps of Berlin and Tokyo, Canada’s second-largest metropolis plans to designate a central district to be open all hours, instead of the current closing time of 3 a.m. It comes as cities around the world look to boost their after-dark economies, with around 100 appointing officials like “night tsars.” While some Montrealers worry about lawlessness, one bar owner told the BBC that staying open would make nightlife safer. “One of the problems we have is, at 3 a.m. it’s like madness. But if you expand the hours, there’s less problems, less demand for security.”

Roman marble floor discovered underwater

Archaeologists discovered an intricate marble floor in a long-submerged Roman town. Baiae was a seaside resort for rich Romans, famous for vice and luxury. Seismic activity began to sink the town in the third century AD, and it was fully underwater by the eighth century. But in the 1940s, the old walls and roads were spotted by low-flying pilots, and as scuba technology improved, people began to excavate the ruins. It is now a hotspot for archaeological diving, and “marble statuary, giant columns, ancient baths, fishponds, and ornate fountains” have been uncovered, Artnet reported. The latest discovery, made from precisely cut stones, is even rarer and more luxurious than mosaic floors.

Swan decline in England

England’s traditional swan census revealed an alarming decline in their numbers. Since the 12th century, a representative of the British monarch has counted swans on the River Thames between Oxford and London. The Crown traditionally owns all mute swans on the water. The medieval tradition — involving teams of rowers led by the King’s Swan Marker, wearing a swan feather in his cap — has become a conservation exercise, the BBC reported, monitoring the health of the swan population. Just 86 young swans were found, a 45% decline in two years: The Swan Marker blamed avian flu and pollution, but also “catapult and air-gun shootings, which definitely has not helped the situation.”

August 6:

• Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris is expected to announce her vice presidential pick.
• Cryptomania: Hype, Hope, and the Fall of FTX’s Billion-Dollar Fintech Empire, a book by TIME’s tech correspondent Andrew R. Chow, is released.
• US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin host their Australian counterparts in Maryland.

New York’s first Ukrainian art gallery showcases contemporary artists affected by the war. From a painting of a naked woman wielding automatic weapons to images of colorful grenades, the gallery in Tribeca sources most of its pieces directly from artists living in the conflict-ravaged country. Its name, Mriya — “dream,” in English — alludes to a beloved plane destroyed when Russia invaded in 2022. Although a portion of sales goes to humanitarian aid, founder Artem Yalanskiy told The Art Newspaper that he wants the works to be valued in their own right. “I don’t want Ukrainians to be associated just with the war, with sympathy… Some of the works that we’re selling here, I’m very confident that in three years they will double in price.”

• The WSJ still can’t confirm its story about UN agency for Palestinians.
• How the EU elections pushed Germany’s far right to new extremes.
• UK holds emergency meeting after days of far-right riots.