👋 Aloha!*
Welcome to Monday, where Claudia Sheinbaum becomes Mexico’s first woman president, the ANC has lost its majority hold on South African politics and President Biden wants to force Israel to sign a six-week truce deal. Meanwhile, we take a closer (and global) look at how homeownership for young people is becoming less attainable in the face of record high home prices, cost of living crises and high debt. It’s an economic shift that is changing the very nature of society.
[*Hawaiian]
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🗞️ FRONT PAGE
Mexican newspaper Síntesis Hidalgo dedicates its front page to the victory of Claudia Sheinbaum, as the first female president in the country’s history. The 61-year-old ally of outgoing president Andrés Manuel López Obrador won around 58-60% of votes. “I won’t fail you!” she said to the excited crowd, thanking the millions of Mexican women and men who decided to vote for her.
🌎 7 THINGS TO KNOW RIGHT NOW
• Mexico elects Claudia Sheinbaum as first woman president. Preliminary results showed the climate scientist and former mayor of Mexico City won between 58% and 60% of the vote in Sunday's election, giving her a lead of about 30% points over her main rival, businesswoman Xóchitl Gálvez. Sheinbaum will take over her mentor and outgoing leader Andrés Manuel López Obrador on Oct. 1. For more, check this analysis in Spanish translated by Worldcrunch: Can Marxism And Feminism Ever Join Forces? Mexico's Next President May Find Out.
• Israeli strikes kill at least 11 overnight in central Gaza as U.S. expects Israel to accept ceasefire plan. White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said the U.S. has “every expectation” Israel will “say yes” to the three-part plan unveiled by President Joe Biden last week if Hamas takes the deal. The plan includes a six-week cessation of hostilities in Gaza as well as a “surge” of humanitarian aid.
• Volodymyr Zelensky thanks Philippines president Ferdinand Marcos Jr for support during rare Asian trip. After taking part to the Shangri-La defense forum in Singapore over the weekend, the Ukrainian president was in Manila on Monday to urge leaders to attend an upcoming Swiss-organized global peace summit on the war in Ukraine which he says China and Russia are attempting to “disrupt.”
• Georgia’s speaker signs “foreign agents” bill into law. This comes after government lawmakers voted last week to overcome a veto by President Salome Zourabichvili who has criticized the controversial bill, saying it will restrict media freedom and undermine Georgia’s chances of joining the European Union.
• Iran's acting Foreign Minister visits Beirut in first official trip since predecessor’s death. Ali Bagheri Kani arrived in Lebanon on Monday before going to Syria “to meet with the two countries’ officials as well as the officials of the resistance front to discuss ways to counter (Israel),” Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency reported. Kani’s visit comes as Tehran-backed Hezbollah and Israel engage in daily cross-border exchanges of fire in south Lebanon. Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian died in a helicopter crash last month that also claimed the life of Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi. Read more in this article translated from Persian to English by Worldcrunch: Why Iran's Regime Can't Quash Raisi Assassination Suspicions.
• Serbia ruling nationalist party declares victory in local vote amid opposition claims of irregularities. Municipal elections in dozens of cities and towns took place on Sunday throughout the Balkan country, including a rerun vote in capital Belgrade, where allegations of fraud in a previous poll had sparked weeks of protests nearly six months ago. If confirmed, the victory would cement the right-wing Serbian Progressive Party’s hold on power in Serbia.
• Indian music label is no longer YouTube’s most-subscribed channel. T-Series, which had held the record for five years, was overtaken by U.S. influencer MrBeast with 269 million subscribers. The 26-year-old, known for his massive stunts, was already the individual with the largest following on the video streaming platform.
#️⃣ BY THE NUMBERS
3:08 a.m.
After a rain delay of about two hours, the Roland-Garros match between Serbian world n.1 Novak Djokovic and Italy’s Lorenzo Musetti, started Saturday just after 10.30 p.m, Paris local time. The game, which lasted four hours and 29 minutes, ended at 3:08 a.m Sunday morning — broke the record for the latest match finish at Roland Garros by almost two hours. In his on-court interview after clinching the match 7-5/6-7/2-6/6-3/6-0, the reigning French Open winner said, “It's impossible to sleep … so much adrenaline. If you're having a party, I'm coming.”
📰 STORY OF THE DAY
Young people denied the dream of homeownership — why it's a worldwide trend
Homeownership for young people is becoming less attainable across the globe, in the face of record high home prices, cost of living crises and high debt. The economic shift is changing the very nature of society.
📉 Young people are buying fewer homes — and it's not by choice. Homeownership is declining globally, with rates dropping in “several major advanced economies,” according to the Economist, a consequence of drastically changing labor markets, scarcity and inflation that has been pricing millennials out of achieving a life milestone that young people have been aiming to achieve for generations. Across Europe, homeownership rates among 25-34 year olds dropped from 25% in 2005 to 11% in 2018, according to Eurostat.
🏠 In Italy, the declining rate of homeowners tears at the basic fabric of society. There is a tendency for Italians to prioritize homes as an investment and traditional symbol of family, with some 74% of the population living in homes they own. However, stagnant wages, high youth unemployment rates (34.7%), and rising interest rates in Italy are making it increasingly hard for young people to buy homes and start families. Older generations are far more likely to be homeowners, with 55% of homeowners in the country having no children, according to Eurostat.
💸 In sunny Sydney, Australia, the housing supply hasn’t caught up with post-pandemic demand, driving up rental and home prices. Sydney’s median house price is forecasted to increase 5.9% annually until 2026, with the average property price already topping 1.4 million AUD in 2024 (over $900,000). Intergenerational inequality debates have been at the center of the country’s dialogue. With Boomers and Gen Z’ers often butting heads, with the latter arguing that the would-be ‘Australian Dream’ is now an empty promise.
➡️ Read more on Worldcrunch.com
📹 THIS HAPPENED VIDEO — TODAY IN HISTORY, IN ONE ICONIC PHOTO
➡️ Watch the video: THIS HAPPENED
📣 VERBATIM
“Our people have spoken, whether we like it or not, they have spoken.”
— After the African National Congress (ANC) party lost its absolute majority for the first time since apartheid ended 30 years ago, South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa said it was nonetheless a good sign for democracy in Africa, saying that the South African people “have demonstrated clearly and plainly that our democracy is strong and it is enduring.” The ANC and the opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) party are now expected to try to work out a coalition deal within two weeks.
👉 MORE FROM WORLDCRUNCH
• An Image For My Life? What Drives — And Haunts — A Photojournalist In Gaza — DARAJ
• How Translation Of The Quran In Persian Can Be A Tool Of Reform In Iran — KAYHAN-LONDON
• A Colombian Pop Song, García Márquez Idolatry And The Sins Of Censorship — EL ESPECTADOR
✍️ Newsletter by Anne-Sophie Goninet and Agnese Tonghini
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