Flagship

Politics seep into Milton preparation

Hurricane Milton may be “the worst storm to hit Florida in over a century,” US President Joe Biden warned Tuesday. Even as the storm barreled toward the state’s western coast and residents scrambled to evacuate, the natural disaster wasn’t immune from politicking: Vice President Kamala Harris accused Donald Trump of “callousness” after he spread falsehoods about the government’s disaster response efforts. The impact of Milton, set to make landfall late Wednesday, could be consequential in a close presidential contest. If the federal response is seen as insufficient, Harris “will bear the brunt of the blame” as voters head to the polls, a conservative commentator noted in The Telegraph. But Democratic strategists said the crisis could be an opportunity for Harris to demonstrate leadership.

Israel warns of Lebanon ‘destruction’

Israeli leaders ramped up their rhetoric against Hezbollah ahead of the country’s planned retaliatory attack on Iran. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned that Lebanon would face “destruction and suffering like we see in Gaza” if Hezbollah remained in control, while opposition leader Yair Lapid said Lebanon could only become a “normal state” by ridding itself of the Tehran-backed group’s military control. However, Israel’s escalation against Hezbollah may end up boosting Lebanese support for the group, The Economist argued, and embolden its fighters by allowing them to “reclaim the mantle of resistance.” The leaders’ remarks came as Israel’s defense minister postponed a trip to Washington that Netanyahu reportedly opposed: NBC News reported that Israeli leaders have not briefed US officials on their expected military response to Iran.

China slump hits European luxury

The absence of broader stimulus moves from Beijing is reverberating in Europe’s luxury fashion houses, which rely on Chinese sales. Stocks initially surged in the wake of promises to kickstart consumption, but luxury shares dipped Tuesday after Beijing failed to announce more aggressive actions. Chinese consumers account for a third of global luxury spending for Europe’s high-end brands, The Wall Street Journal reported, and the marques’ fates are traditionally intertwined with the Chinese housing market. During a property slowdown, someone watching their home value plummet might be less likely to splurge on a designer handbag. The Chinese government is rolling out incentives to boost spending, but those will probably target mass-market appliances like white goods, the Journal noted.

Maldives’ U-turn toward India

The Maldives president’s maiden trip to India cements New Delhi’s importance to the archipelagic state despite a shaky diplomatic start, analysts said. The visit resulted in India extending a $760 million bailout to the debt-ridden Maldives, and amounted to a “U-turn” for its new president, who was seen as being friendlier with China after campaigning on an “India Out” promise, a Maldivian journalist wrote. The improving ties reflect Male’s dependency on New Delhi, which “no other country will find easy to fill,” a Maldives analyst told the BBC. The rapprochement could also boost Maldives tourism: A popular Indian travel website reopened bookings to the islands, after suspending them earlier this year.

China interferes in childbirth decisions

China is becoming increasingly intrusive as it tries to boost the birth rate. The country has one of the world’s lowest rates — the average Chinese woman now has one child in her lifetime — and the population is declining, leading to economic concerns. Women told The New York Times that officials had asked them whether they planned to have children, and in some cases, questioned them about the date of their last menstrual cycle. In earlier decades, Beijing was more authoritarian about family planning, but in the other direction, sometimes forcing women to undergo abortions under its one-child policy. The government hasn’t reached the same excesses, a demography expert said, but it still has “exactly the same mentality” of trying to control women’s fertility choices.

Indonesia’s coal producers pivot

Indonesia’s coal miners are diversifying to prepare for a low-carbon future. Five of the country’s seven major producers are investing in other raw materials: One expects nickel mining to contribute 60% of revenues by the end of this year, up from 11% last year, while another wants coal to be less than 50% of its income by 2025, aiming to replace it with electric motorbike manufacturing and solar power plants. Indonesia’s coal production is still growing, but increasing social and regulatory pressures, as well as falling consumer demand, look likely to limit the business in the medium term: “In six to seven years, the coal business [will] run its course,” one company director told the Financial Times.

Ruling could change European soccer

A court case over a soccer player’s docked wages could upend the sport’s lucrative transfer market. Lassana Diarra, a former French international player, joined Lokomotiv Moscow in 2013, but tried to leave a year later over alleged pay cuts: Soccer’s governing body FIFA blocked the move. Diarra argued that the decision breached European Union freedom of movement laws, and last week an EU court agreed with him. FIFA will appeal, but if the ruling stands, it could let players break contracts more easily. Many smaller soccer clubs rely on transfer fees — selling players’ contracts — to fund their operations. Making it easier for players to leave a team could entirely change the economics of European soccer.

What’s in store for the advanced manufacturing workforce in the US? Join Hernan Luis y Prado, Founder and CEO of Workshops for Warriors, Christian Meisner, Chief Human Resources Officer at GE Aerospace, and other industry leaders in Washington, D.C., on Oct. 21 to discuss how the United States looks to maintain a competitive edge.

Oct. 21 | Washington, D.C. | Request Invitation

Korean cooking show boosts dining scene

A Korean cooking competition show’s popularity on Netflix is invigorating the country’s dining scene, which has faced economic headwinds. Culinary Class Wars, featuring 100 chefs from Michelin-starred restaurants and under-the-radar spots, has been Netflix’s most-watched non-English show globally for the past two weeks, and reservations for the contestants’ establishments have increased by 150%, Korea JoongAng Daily reported. South Korea’s culinary industry is still recovering from the pandemic and consumer spending has dragged this year, “but it has bounced back a bit lately” thanks to the show, the CEO of a restaurant reservation portal said. The series is also the latest win for Netflix’s ambitions in Korea, where the platform is investing heavily in reality shows.

Europe’s rich pay higher speeding fines

European countries are increasingly doling out fines based on the offender’s income. “The more you earn, the more you pay” for excessive speeding or other minor violations, The Washington Post’s European affairs columnist Lee Hockstader wrote, calling on the US to adopt a similar system. In Finland, which first enacted the measure in 1921, a wealthy businessman was fined $130,000 for speeding last year. More than half of the EU’s member states now use income-based fines, and while their applications vary widely, Hockstader said they have an advantage over the US’ one-fine-fits-all approach, which he said disproportionately hurts the poor.

Elevator technician throws out artwork

A Netherlands museum has recovered a piece of art thrown out by an elevator technician who mistook it for trash. Alexandre Lavet’s All The Good Times We Spent Together appears to be a pair of discarded beer cans, and was deliberately placed in the elevator by the LAM museum, which likes to display art “in unexpected places [to] keep visitors on their toes.” The incident follows the German cleaner who ruined a “dirty” $900,000 sculpture and the “hungry” student who ate a banana taped to a Seoul gallery wall. One case remains mysterious, however: In 2014, staff at the Grand Hyatt hotel in Hong Kong tossed out an ink painting worth $3.71 million, sparking speculation it may have been part of an elaborate theft.

Oct. 9:

• The UN General Assembly elects new members to the Human Rights Council.
• The winner of the 2024 Nobel Prize in chemistry is announced.
• The 2024 London Film Festival kicks off with Steve McQueen’s World War II drama, Blitz.

A California-based performance artist has gone viral on TikTok after filming himself imitating pieces of discarded trash. Choreographer Shoji Yamasaki began his series Littered Mvmnts in 2020, mimicking how items of garbage such as takeout bags, old receipts, or candy wrappers dance in the breeze. The split-screen segments have since garnered millions of views. “I think I’ve always been interested in what we as human beings decide to keep or throw away throughout our lives,” he told the art website Hyperallergic. “You know, we might have differences, we might speak different languages, but trash is something that’s very ubiquitous. We all produce it, and in a way, it unifies us.”

• The US Supreme Court begins new term with its credibility in the spotlight.
• Construction resumes on the world’s tallest skyscraper after nearly seven-year hiatus.
• Why Tanzania is doubling down on elephant hunting.