Welcome to the weekly world briefing, a Tuesday feature to help you stay up to date with major happenings around the globe. It’s part of our effort to help our readers #BeaBetterTraveler. Come across something you think should be added to next week’s briefing? Send it to us on Twitter.
North/Central America
It’s primary day…again. This time in Connecticut, Minnesota, Vermont, and Wisconsin. In Connecticut, Republicans have a rare opportunity for the open governor seat. Bob Stefanowski and David Stemerman are both Republican businessmen running for the seat, but Danbury Mayor Mark Boughton could beat them–currently, he’s a Republican mayor of a Democratic city. Democrat Ned Lamont, who has his party’s endorsement, and Bridgeport Mayor Joe Ganim are also running for current Democratic Governor Dannel Malloy’s seat. Malloy is not pursuing reelection. In the 5th Congressional District, Democratic Rep. Elizabeth Esty is also leaving her seat, and members of both parties are rushing to fill it.
In Minnesota, Democratic Governor Mark Dayton is retiring. Three Democrats are running to replace him–US Rep. Tim Walz, state Rep. Erin Murphy, and state Attorney General Lori Swanson. On the Republican side, former Governor Tim Pawlenty and former state Rep. Jeff Johnson are running. The Democratic Party endorsed Murphy, but recent polling shows Walz and Swanson in the lead. Minnesota, also votes in Senate, Congressional District, and Attorney General primaries today.
Vermont has the youngest candidate on the ballot–a 14-year-old high school student running for governor. Democrat Ethan Sonneborn says he wants to see more young people in politics, and Vermont has no age requirements for candidates. Christine Hallquist is also on the ballot and could be the first openly transgender person nominated for governor by a major party. Executive Director of the Southern Vermont Dance Festival Brenda Siegel and environmental activist James Ehlers are also running on the Democratic side. On the Republican side, incumbent Governor Phil Scott is running for reelection, and business owner Keith Stern is running to unseat him.
Wisconsin’s primary is an exciting one to watch because Democrats could unseat Governor Scott Walker, who made national headlines in 2011 when he stripped public employees of their collective bargaining rights. More than eight Democrats are running for a chance at his seat. It looks like Tony Evers, the state’s public education chief, is in the lead, though president of the Professional Fire Fighters Association (who has the support of California Sen. Kamala Harris), and former State Assembly member Kelda Helen Roys (who has the support of New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand), are up there. Political activist Mike McCabe and State Sen. Kathleen Vinehout have progressive support. Walker’s popularity dropped after his failed presidential bid in 2016, but he’s still hard to beat. If he wins, it will be his third term and fourth win–he won a recall election in 2012. Still, polls show Democratic challengers closer to Walker than in any past elections. In the Wisconsin Senate, Democratic Sen. Tammy Baldwin is running for reelection, and Republicans really want to beat her. state Sen. Leah Vukmir and ex-Democrat and former Kevin Nicholson have embraced Trump in their efforts to unseat her. Baldwin seems to be on solid ground. And in the 1st Congressional District, Paul Ryan is stepping down. Businessman Bryan Steil is the favorite for the Republican nomination (though there are others on the ballot, including Paul Nehlen who is a self-described “pro-White Christian American candidate). Populist ironworker Randy Bryce, known as “Ironstache” and school board member and teacher Cathy Myers are running for the Democratic nomination. There are two other congressional races as well. Vox has much more.
The government of Puerto Rico acknowledged the death toll in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria was more than 1,400 people, a number 20 times higher than the official death toll. The government was widely criticized for undercounting the number of people who died, especially as deaths rose due to suicide, bacterial disease, and lack of access to resources. When the New York Times published the new report, the government pushed back against its own higher numbers.
A white nationalist rally was essentially a non-event on Sunday, one year after clashes in Charlottesville, Virginia left one person dead. The Unite the Right 2 rally drew a couple of dozen supporters, but they were vastly outnumbered by counter protesters, who marched under the message “Unite Against Hate.”
Three of California’s top ten largest wildfires in recorded history are currently burning. The staggering statistic is a concerning omen for what climate change may bring to the American West. Fire fighting efforts have also raised questions about California’s prison labor system. Thousands of state firefighters are prisoners making $1/hour plus $2/day.
South America
“Centuries after Blackbeard’s cannons fell silent and the Jolly Roger came down from rum ports across the Caribbean, the region is confronting a new and less romanticized era of pirates,” writes the Washington Post. Political and economic crisis in Venezuela is disintegrating the rule of law across South America and the Caribbean, and often corrupt government officials are involved in criminal acts off the coast. An interesting read if you have extra time this week.
In an effort to reduce fuel smuggling, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has proposed raising Venezuela’s famously low fuel prices. Venezuela loses an estimated $18 billion per year from smugglers who bring the country’s subsidized fuel to neighboring countries such as Colombia. The price hike would only affect those with no ‘Fatherhood ID,’ a document introduced by Maduro that has been criticized as a method for collecting information on citizens. Venezuela is currently in economic crisis, with inflation expected to hit one million percent this year.
Europe
In Romania, police used brutal force to halt protests in Bucharest that drew more than 100,000 Romanians from around the world rallying against government corruption. International outcry allowed protests throughout the weekend to continue more peacefully. This piece in Politico examines the past and future of civic unrest in Romania.
At least 22 people are dead after a highway bridge collapsed in Genoa, Italy during a violent storm. The bridge linked Italy and France, and as it collapsed cars plunged 300 feet into an industrial zone below.
The Middle East
Last week, a Saudi airstrike hit a bus carrying children returning from a picnic in Yemen, killing at least 51 people, 40 of them children. Riyadh initially said it was a legitimate strike, but is now conducting an investigation. International outcry after the attack led to increased debate over the role of the U.S. and the U.K. in supporting Saudi Arabia in fighting Houthi rebels.
The Turkish lira has fallen by 20 percent after Turkey announced a boycott of U.S. electronic goods. The move is in response to raised tariffs introduced by the U.S. last week. At the root of the dispute is pastor Andrew Brunson, a U.S.-born Turkish resident accused of having links to the Kurdistan Workers Party, which the Turkish government blames for a failed coup in 2016. The U.S. claims that Brunson has done nothing wrong.
More than 8200 cancer patients in the Gaza Strip are unable to receive treatment after Israel partially sealed off the Karem Abu Selem commercial border crossing, causing a severe shortage in some essential commodities. This article tells the stories of some who wonder when or if they will receive their next treatment.
Central & South Asia
In Afghanistan, the Taliban claimed control over Ghazni, a city on the main highway between Kabul and Kandahar. The Afghan government also claims control, and says there is no longer a threat after three days of violent fighting. If the Taliban takes Ghazni, it would be an important victory as the insurgent group would have the ability to cut off northern Afghanistan and Kabul from the south, which is traditional Taliban territory. It would also undermine U.S. strategy in Afghanistan. The events in Ghazni were part of a string of Taliban attacks on four fronts throughout the country, which left more than 200 Afghan defenders dead.
In Myanmar, New York Times journalists toured the Rakihine State, where state-sponsored ethnic cleansing has taken place. Listen to this interview with Hannah Beech, Southeast Asia Bureau Chief for the New York Times, on visiting the state where Rohingya Muslims once lived, how to report with the government watching you, and more.
East/Southeast Asia
After what was hailed as a successful meeting in June between North Korea and the United States, there has been little progress on denuclearization–a core issue in relations between the two countries. National security advisor John Bolton said “North Korea has not taken the steps we feel are necessary to denuclearize.”
The UN Human Rights Panel has accused China of holding a million Uigher Muslims in internment camps in the western region of Xinjiang. The UN claims that that the Uighers are being treated as “enemies of the state” simply because of their ethnicity, while China originally denied the existence of such camps at all. China has since changed its story, saying the camps are actually vocational schools for criminals.
Africa
Democratic Republican of the Congo’s president, Joseph Kabila, announced he would step down voluntarily, something no leader of the country has done since the end of Belgian rule in 1960. After a history of coups and assassinations, Kabila’s decision brings hope for democracy and a peaceful transfer of power. Kabila is unpopular and some activists worry he will back out of his promise to step down as elections draw near.
Zimbabwe President-elect Emmerson Mnangagwa is preaching unity while a Constitutional Court reviews his election win. Some international economic support hinges on the recent election being seen as credible and fair.
One year after devastating landslides killed over 1,000 people in Sierra Leone, the country is still struggling to recover. This week, the mayor of Freetown stressed the importance of halting deforestation and improving sewage systems to lessen the impact of future disasters.
Other
Near Cologne, Germany, excavations revealed an ancient Roman library. It was most likely used to store up to 20,000 scrolls of parchment.
The world has a new oldest known animal. Ediacaran organisms have been studied for decades, but scientists have been unable to identify what they are. New research suggests they are animals, though unlike any on Earth today. The organisms died out around 541 million years ago, before modern animals such as sponges began to appear.
