Le Weekend: Music Labels vs. AI, Oslo’s Humblebrag, Robot Skin

🎲  OUR WEEKLY NEWS QUIZ

What do you remember from the news this week?

1. Who made news at a court hearing in the remote Northern Mariana Islands in the Pacific?

2. Which Latin American country faced an apparent coup attempt, with soldiers storming the presidential palace?

3. What prompted nationwide protests in Kenya?

4. Clocking in at 80 hours 53 minutes and 28 seconds, Frenchwoman Christelle de Franceschi broke the world record for: Longest game of pétanque / Continuous swearing / Swimming in the Seine / Longest accordion concert

[Answers at the bottom of this newsletter]

#️⃣  TRENDING

Oslo's tourism board has released its latest ad campaign, which has quickly gone viral. Using typically dry Nordic humor, the video opens on a local man saying “I wouldn’t come here,” before proceeding to tongue-in-cheekily listing the Norwegian capital’s supposed flaws, such as the lack of lines at museums or restaurants. “The fact that [Oslo] is not as famous and crowded as some other capital cities is something we should start highlighting as a benefit,” said Anne-Signe Fagereng, director of marketing for Visit Oslo.

🎭  5 CULTURE THINGS TO KNOW

• Glastonbury welcomes first Indonesian band: The metal group Voice of Baceprot, composed of three Muslim women, is the first Indonesian act to perform at the world-famous music festival in western Britain, which kicked off this week. Headliners this year include Dua Lipa, Coldplay, SZA, Shania Twain, The National, Janelle Monae and Charli XCX.

• Major record labels sue AI song generators: The Recording Industry Association of America — which represents labels including Sony Music Entertainment, Universal Music Group Recordings and Warner Records — filed lawsuits this week against two major AI-powered music generators Suno and Udio over copyright infringement. The RIAA claims the AI generators are siphoning their music to spew out new, similar works and is asking for $150,000 per work in compensation.

• Harry Potter and the Very Expensive Watercolor: An artwork made for the first edition of J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone has become the most valuable Harry Potter item ever sold after it fetched $1.9 million at auction in the U.S. on Wednesday. The original watercolor illustration made by Thomas Taylor in 1997, which depicts the young sorcerer standing in front of the Hogwarts Express, was first auctioned in 2001 for £85,750, before the book series was complete.

• K-pop group Seventeen named Goodwill Ambassador for Youth: South Korean band Seventeen has been named UNESCO's first-ever Goodwill Ambassador for Youth, becoming the first K-pop artists to be awarded the distinction. Speaking at the nomination ceremony at UNESCO headquarters in Paris on Wednesday, Joshua, a Los Angeles-born group member said that he and his bandmates believed “that youths have the most creative ideas and the strongest determination to make the world a better place.”

• The UAE launches video game competition to boost culture: The United Arab Emirates has launched a video game design competition, that will award Dh100,000 ($27,230) to the project that incorporates the most elements likely to encourage people to learn more about “Emirati cuisine, UAE landmarks, heritage crafts, pearl diving, falconry, Arabic calligraphy, the lunar mission or the UAE’s AI vision.”

🇮🇱🇵🇸 The “upside down” logic of the Israeli-Palestinian negotiations

For three decades, negotiations to solve the Palestinian cause focused on giving Israel guarantees for its security and continued existence, not to end the occupation and the suffering of the Palestinians. And this is all being repeated in the ongoing ceasefire negotiations, says Khaled Dawood in an analysis for Egypt-based news website Al-Manassa. “As long as this approach — of allowing Israel to be excluded from international laws and treaties — continues, there will be no end soon to the crimes of the Zionist occupation,” the journalist writes.

Read the full story: Bullying, Feet-Dragging, Gaslighting: How Israel Uses Negotiations As A Weapon

🇧🇴 Bolivia’s coup attempt, a godsend for Evo Morales?

Bolivia’s President Luis Arce briefly joined his old boss and now bitter rival Evo Morales in condemning this week’s attempted coup. The event is giving Arce an opportunity to consolidate his support, though it is not clear how he will extract himself from a social and economic crisis that has played into the hands of former president Morales, his rival to lead the country's socialist movement. Will the attempted coup reignite an internal war? asks Marcelo Cantelmi in Buenos Aires-based daily Clarín.

Read the full story: Will Evo Morales Use Bolivia's Failed Coup As A Path Back To Power?

💸 Bankruptcies, microloans, inflation: Russia's looming economic recession

Over the past year, Russians have taken out microloans for a record one trillion rubles ($11.4 billion) — 30% more than in 2022. But citizens' incomes are not keeping up with expenses. For economists, it's the clear sign of a looming economic crisis. “Microloans are a hole of depth from which it seems impossible to escape. If you do not repay the debt, it will grow, and sooner or later you will have to deal with debt collectors,” Vadim, 19, tells Russian independent media Holod.

Read the full story: A Trillion Rubles Of Microloans: How Household Debt Is Pushing Russia Into Recession

🫣 BRIGHT IDEA

Researchers from Tokyo have just discovered how to 3-D print human skin and stick it to a robot’s face, aiming to grant them special abilities and properties. Taking inspiration from real human tissue, the scientists have found a way to adhere bioengineered skin onto robot faces giving it increased mobility, self-healing abilities, embedded sensing capabilities — and an “lifelike” (read, “eerie”) appearance. The finding could be useful in future research into skin aging, cosmetics, surgical procedures, plastic surgery and more.

❤️ SMILE OF THE WEEK

On a biology test in an Indian high school, students were asked to draw a diagram of a heart explaining the functions of the individual chambers. One diagram has been circulating on social media in which the student in question labeled the heart with the name of girls that held a place in his instead.

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⏩  LOOKING AHEAD

• On Sunday, French voters will cast their ballot in the first round of the country’s early legislative election, to elect the members of the French National Assembly just weeks after President Emmanuel Macron dissolved it. The far right party Rassemblement National holds a large lead in the polls. On July 4, the UK will hold its first general election since Brexit. Some the center-right Conservative party, which has been in power since 2010, may lose its majority, as Labor party leader Keir Starmer is currently leading the polls over current Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.

• Taliban confirmed they would attend the UN-led meeting on June 30 and July 1 in Qatar after the organizers said that women would be excluded from the meeting. Although the Taliban is not recognized as the official government body and did not attend the previous meeting, they wish to be seen as the legitimate rulers and wish for the Afghan Civil Society to be excluded from the talks.

• On June 29, the 111th edition of Tour de France will start in Florence, Italy. For the first time ever, the tour will not finish in Paris, due to the preparation of the 2024 Summer Olympics; it will instead end in Nice, on July 21. This year’s edition will also mark the 100th anniversary of the first Italian victory in the tour, by Ottavio Bottecchia in 1924, hence the Italian start.

News quiz answers:

1. Julian Assange found himself in Saipan, the capital of the U.S. territory of the Northern Mariana Islands, ahead of a court hearing before flying home to Australia. The hearing was part of ongoing legal matters involving Assange, drawing significant attention due to his high-profile status.

2. In Bolivia, President Luis Arce thwarted an apparent attempted coup on Wednesday. The presumed culprit, Army General Juan Jose Zuniga, was arrested, hours after he led troops and tanks to storm the presidential palace in the capital, La Paz.

3. Kenya’s nationwide protests were prompted by proposed tax hikes. The controversial tax plan sparked a series of violent demonstrations with protesters storming the parliament.

4. Christelle de Franceschi broke the world record for longest accordion concert, playing for 80 hours 53 minutes and 28 seconds, surpassing her previous record of 76 hours.

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*Photo: Voice of Baceprot/IG