Violence erupted at a Democratic party convention in Minneapolis over the weekend when delegates were choosing a candidate for the forthcoming city council race. A video posted on social media showed supporters for the incumbent candidate, Aisha Chughtai, taking to the stage, leading to a commotion with the campaign team for her rival, Nasri Warsame. The ensuing mayhem led to the convention being disbanded with no endorsement being given. Minnesota Democratic leaders are holding an emergency meeting on Thursday to decide whether changes to the rules are required to manage disputes.
Brooks Koepka has called his performance at The Masters last month a "choke", after losing out on a four-shot lead. Koepka admitted his error in a podcast interview and said he chose to use the word before anyone else could say it first. The U.S. Open winner said he believes he choked with his lead slipping, adding that he could not sleep on the Sunday night after reflecting on his performance. Despite not dwelling on it, Koepka accepted that "choking" pertains to losing a lead and coughing up a win.
Mexican start-up platform Kavak has opened a 16,900-sq-m vehicle reconditioning plant in Colombia, investing $2.1m, with the aim of claiming at least 5% of the country's used-car market. The plant has capacity to process 2,500 cars per month. Kavak started operations in Colombia with an investment of $40m in March 2022. The platform currently has a catalogue of about 500 vehicles in the country but aims to capture 5% of the 1.2 million used cars sold annually in Colombia, meaning selling more than 5,000 vehicles a month in the future.
Latin America's start-up scene is bucking the trend of the US, where companies are cutting back on staff, as online retail giant Mercado Libre plans to hire an extra 13,000 workers this year. The demand for fintech service providers in Latin America has helped to create companies such as Brazil's Dock, which allows others to offer financial services, and led to the creation of businesses such as Nubank, which is valued at $30bn and provides digital banking services. Latin America's geographic barriers may stymie physical trade but not online software. In fact, American businesses are contracting out more software development to cheaper locations in Latin America.
US Vice President Joe Biden has cancelled a scheduled trip to Australia following his attendance at the G7 summit in Japan. Biden has been required to return to Washington to deal with the debt-ceiling stand-off in Congress, an impediment caused by Republican opposition to aid Obama’s manoeuvrability within fiscal responsibility. This marks the latest casualty in the US’s frustrating attempts to refocus foreign policy towards Asia; Obama experienced a similar setback when his bid to turn US attention away from the Middle East towards the East was disrupted by the surge of ISIS and the civil war in Syria. It is believed that the breakdown in US foreign policy could lead to China becoming a dominant force in the Asia-Pacific region, and highlights the difficulty faced by President Biden in his ongoing attempts to build a counterweight to China’s economic dominance.
The city of San Francisco is grappling with a severe urban crisis characterized by drug addiction, homelessness, and violence. San Francisco has the second-highest rate of drug deaths in the United States and has seen twice as many fatal overdoses as COVID-19 deaths since 2020. This deadly crisis is a result of fentanyl being flooded into US cities to meet the opioid demand that was created by overprescribing. The problems in San Francisco go beyond drugs; the city has a glaring wealth gap, one of the most significant in the US, with tech companies such as Apple, Nvidia, and Alphabet producing wealth, while almost a third of the city’s commercial estate lies vacant. This economic, social, and downward sprial seems increasingly irreversible, and San Francisco seems closer to the brink than ever.
The city’s political class has been accused of failing its citizens. Wealthy neighborhoods in the city have experienced vicious attacks, including the fatal stabbing of Cash App founder Bob Lee and a home burglary that left former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband with a fractured skull, viewed as symbols of pervasive lawlessness. Urban Alchemy, a non-profit organization in charge of the city’s streets’ revitalization, has reversed 1,300 opioid overdoses in two years while being controversial. The organization has been accused of exploiting a loophole exempting charitable organizations from security training and background checks, and some of its employees have been shot at or injured on the job.
San Francisco’s wealth inequalities have created a social problem where Black people are ten times more likely to be homeless than white people. As overpriced housing and rent become scarcer, even tech workers see fewer reasons to live in San Francisco. Matkovic, a tech entrepreneur, blames the city’s drug crisis on drug availability and what he describes as an underlying unsafe element, which has now spread out beyond a few neighborhoods.
European officials are growing concerned that support for Ukraine against Russia has peaked and fear that the flow of aid will be disrupted in 2023 as the US enters a divisive presidential campaign. Although there are sufficient preapproved funds to sustain Kiev for five more months, major questions remain over whether the US government will meet its existing $48bn aid package, particularly as it requires a vote in Congress in the autumn against a background of increased partisan debate on the war. European allies say that current levels of support could be sustained for a year or two but not for longer.
Philadelphia’s likely next mayor could offer model for how Democrats talk about crime
The Toronto Star
23-05-18 04:07
Cherelle Parker, who won Philadelphia's mayoral primary this week, called for increased police numbers and search policies as part of a tough law enforcement approach to counter a rise in the city's crime rate. These measures are viewed as being at odds with Philadelphia's progressive standing, and Parker's win highlights the difficulties that Democrats face in deciding how to approach violent crime. Parker claimed that investing in police and addressing wider societal problems was not “either/or", and that along with her backing for increased police numbers, there must be resources for fixing street lighting and investing in programs for at-risk youth.
From Ukraine war to China’s rising power: 5 reasons this G7 matters
CNN
23-05-18 08:48
The leaders of the world’s most advanced democracies will meet in Hiroshima today to discuss the ongoing conflict in Ukraine and emerging threats from China. The meeting’s location has placed nuclear arms at the top of the agenda, with the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum looming close by. The museum reminds visitors of the risks of nuclear war with dozens of exhibits, including timepieces stopped at 8.16am, the exact timing of the atomic bomb that was dropped on the city in August 1945 by a US Army Air Force B-29 bomber. Global risk monitors, the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists, states that the Doomsday Clock, an annual indicator of how close the world is to nuclear disaster, now stands at 90 seconds to midnight, an unprecedentedly dangerous rating; Russia’s war on Ukraine is cited as a major cause, together with Chinese weapons building, and a North Korea testing nuclear capable missiles.
Medieval historian Peter Heather and political economist John Rapley have authored a new book entitled Why Empires Fall. Examining the rise and fall of ancient Rome, the authors argue that the West needs to learn from history if they are to avoid a similar collapse. Some historians have claimed that Rome experienced an extended decline before the city fell. However, the book's authors argue instead that the Empire appeared to be in a position of economic strength when it saw its final collapse at the hands of barbarians. Warnings from the perspective of the past that the Western world needs to make the right political and financial decisions are made. The authors also discuss Britain's exit from the European Union whilst comparing it to the country's position in the Roman empire. The book concludes that if western politicians are able to learn from the past, there is still some hope of preventing a Roman-like collapse.
Blair Tindall, an oboe player-turned-author, has died at the age of 63. Her best-selling memoir, Mozart in the Jungle: Sex, Drugs and Classical Music, discusses in detail the life of a jobbing musician and the nepotism that is a part of it in New York. The book led to a television series of the same name, which won two Golden Globes and two Emmys. While the show was dubbed “sex and the symphony", Tindall’s memoir was even more explicit, revealing a world where sleeping with people was a standard method of getting ahead. Despite playing for the New York Philharmonic and making her Carnegie Hall debut in 1991, Tindall became disillusioned with the profession as it only rewards a few, and pays the rest poorly. In the end, she took herself across the country to study journalism in San Francisco and found success in writing and creating the television series that was based on her memoir.
Adventurer Jamie McDonald has raised money for his charity, the Superhero Foundation, by breaking the world record for travelling around the Seven Modern Wonders of the World in six days. The journey entailed 13 flights, nine buses, four trains, 16 taxis and one toboggan over 22,856 miles across nine countries. McDonald, nicknamed Adventureman, previously cycled 13,670 miles from Thailand to the UK and solo ran across the US. He was able to put focus on his health and fitness after being diagnosed with a rare spinal condition as a child.
Panasonic plans to establish a large-scale production capacity for 4680 battery cells in North America by 2030 to meet the increasing demand for electric vehicle batteries. The company aims to achieve a production capacity of 200 gigawatt-hours per year for automobile batteries by March 2031. Panasonic's energy unit makes batteries for Tesla, which has announced plans to develop its own 4680 battery cells to enhance the performance of its cars and reduce battery costs.
The heart of national conservatism in the twenty-first century is about defending the cultural particularity of nations. The first British National Conservatism conference this week showcased a new and pathbreaking suite of ideas. Since 2021, the National Conservatism conferences have attempted to explore the connections between these hitherto disaggregated thinkers and their work. The history of postwar conservatism in the West has revolved around the free-market right, but the fall of the Berlin Wall and “Third Way” convergence between parties of right and left rendered economics far less central to conservatism. Conservatives’ concerns are increasingly cultural and social, revolving around what Harvard political scientist Robert Putnam calls the loss of “bridging” and “bonding” social capital. National conservative positions, notably reducing immigration and defending traditions in elite institutions, carry significant support but punch below their weight politically. The task of national conservative reformers is to rectify that imbalance, which underlies much voter alienation and weak Tory support, and to prioritise cultural issues in messaging, policy implementation and candidate selection.
A 3D mapping project led by British deep-sea mapping company Magellan has revealed a “digital twin” of the Titanic wreck, which sank on its maiden voyage more than a century ago. The new images provide previously unseen levels of clarity, showing the positioning of the famous grand staircase and even the serial number on a propeller. However, they do not show evidence of the 1,500 lives lost in the disaster. The Titanic became a UNESCO protected heritage site in 2012 and its iron continues to erode.
The stress of losing beloved family farms has become a constant worry for farmers in the US heartland, with concerns growing of another upswing in suicide. The suicide rate among male agricultural workers in the US is more than twice the national average, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Increased isolation, pandemic-related family tension, limited access to mental health care (including broadband challenges), disrupted trade and inflation all contribute to the crisis. To help address the issue, US states such as Minnesota and South Dakota are offering suicide prevention training to clerics — key trusted figures in rural US communities. Churches are viewed as social centres among farming families, with their benevolent works playing a key role in communities from coast to coast. There is also a growing recognition that faith and struggle have long coexisted in farm families and that the church can play a lifesaving role in preventing suicide.
Investors shouldn’t ignore this recession indicator
CNN
23-05-18 11:54
US retail sales for April rose by a muted 0.4% from March, according to the Department of Commerce, which were described by Neil Saunders, managing director of GlobalData, as the shallowest increase in 31 months. The data suggests a "consumer slowdown" is taking place, with households' debt levels reaching a record high of $17.05tn during Q1 2022. Debts have risen by $2.9tn since the end of 2019. Meanwhile, Home Depot reported a disappointing Q1 in which sales growth of 47.2% year on year marked a break in its three-year growth streak. Target reported lumpen earnings in its latest quarter, with total sales increasing by just 0.5% compared with a year ago, and digital sales falling.
As Japan's economic growth accelerates and its stock market reaches its highest level in over three decades, China's growth is petering out and investor appetite for Chinese assets is diminishing accordingly. Economists have cut their growth forecasts for China with Barclays economists slashing their second-quarter GDP forecast to 1% from 5%, while analysts at Societe Generale have revised their outlook on the yuan and now see it falling to 7.30 per dollar, reaching levels flirting with 15-year lows. Meanwhile, foreign investors have been net buyers of Japanese stocks for five weeks, with scope for further buying.
European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR) has stated that it could reduce the number of Premiership sides involved in the Champions Cup tournament, as it seeks to keep it as the “pinnacle competition”. EPCR chair Dominic McKay has contacted the Premiership Rugby with a view to discussing numbers of teams and the format of the competition before a detailed review ahead of the 2024-2025 campaign. While eight Premiership clubs have qualified for the 2023-2024 Champions Cup, it is not guaranteed that they will be permitted the same number of clubs in future.
US Representative (R-Ga.), Marjorie Taylor Greene has claimed that the term "white supremacist” is equal to the N-word. This claim is incorrect; the N-word is a racial slur, whilst "white supremacist" describes a person's beliefs. Greene’s comments are indicative of a wider divide between Democrats, who view racism as embedded within America's systems, and many Republicans, who argue that there are no inherent advantages concerning race. Conservative politicians are taking advantage of constituents' fears that America is becoming more diverse and stoking the perception of embattlement and grievance.
