👋 Elo!*
Welcome to Thursday, where U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is in Poland to discuss Ukraine support, wildfires rage in southern California, and King Charles finds himself at the center of an impromptu rugby hug. And grab your castanets: for Madrid-based media Ethic, Carolina Leport looks at the women who made, and continue to make, flamenco an art form with a particularly feminist twist.
[*Tetum, Timor-Leste]
💡 SPOTLIGHT
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Former Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori enters history on the front page of daily newspaper Diario Correo. The ex-leader has died at 86 years old “after a long battle with cancer,” his daughter confirmed on X. Fujimori, a deeply divisive political figure, ruled Peru from 1990 to 2000 and brought the country back on track after hyperinflation. He was jailed in 2009 for corruption and human rights abuse, and was granted humanitarian pardon this past December.
🌎 7 THINGS TO KNOW RIGHT NOW
• Turkey announces probe into killing of Turkish-American activist in West Bank. Justice Minister Yilmaz Tunc said on Thursday that the country could not remain silent over the death of Aysenur Ezgi Eygi, who was shot and killed by Israeli forces last week while protesting settlements. U.S. President Joe Biden called the killing “unacceptable” and asked for “full accountability,” adding that “Israel must do more to ensure that incidents like this never happen again.” Read more in this article translated from Arabic by Worldcrunch: When U.S. Citizens Die In Palestine — What Really Drives The Double Standard.
• Blinken to discuss Ukraine support in visit to Warsaw. The U.S. Secretary of State will meet with Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk and President Andrzej Duda on Thursday for talks on strengthening military cooperation and how to rally support for Ukraine in its fight against Russia. This comes after Blinken and British Foreign Secretary David Lammy pledged nearly $1.5 billion in additional aid to Ukraine during their visit to Kyiv on Wednesday.
• Lawyers who represented Navalny go on trial in Russia. Vadim Kobzev, Igor Sergunin and Alexei Liptser, who once represented late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, were arrested in October 2023 on charges of involvement with an extremist group. According to Navalny’s allies, the three lawyers were accused of using their status to pass letters from the imprisoned politician to his team. Two more of Navalny’s lawyers are on a wanted list.
• Billionaire Jared Isaacman becomes first non-astronaut to walk in space. Isaacman, a U.S. entrepreneur and pilot, has stepped into space as part of SpaceX’s Polaris Dawn mission, marking a first in the history of space exploration. After Isaacman returned to his seat, it was mission specialist Sarah Gillis's turn to walk in space. For more on this, read this El Espectador article, translated from Spanish by Worldcrunch: Ego Trip? Isaacman Joins Musk And Bezos In The Billionaire Space Race.
• Race for Japan’s next Prime Minister kicks off with record nine candidates. Japan’s governing Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) has announced on Thursday the nine candidates who are vying to replace Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in an election scheduled for September 27. The record number of contenders named include Shinjiro Koizumi, the 43-year-old surfer son of a former prime minister, and nationalist Sanae Takaichi, who aspires to be the first female prime minister. Kishida said in August he would step down, following a series of political scandals.
• Australia strips military medals over Afghan war crimes. In parliament on Thursday, the country’s Defense minister announced several serving and former Australian military commanders would lose their distinguished service medals, following recommendations from the four-year Brereton inquiry. The latter found credible evidence that Australian Defence Force (ADF) personnel in Afghanistan were involved in the unlawful killing of 39 prisoners and civilians.
• Taylor Swift makes VMA history. The U.S. singer dominated the MTV Video Music Awards on Wednesday night with seven trophies, including the night’s top award, video of the year. This brings Swift’s all-time total VMAs to 30, surpassing the previous record of 26 wins as a solo act set by Beyoncé. And learn about how Taylor Swift caused a stadium construction boom in Southeast Asia in this article translated from Chinese by Worldcrunch.
#️⃣ BY THE NUMBERS
108 days, 12 hours and 12 minutes
Lael Wilcox, an American “ultra endurance” cyclist, is now the fastest woman to have cycled around the globe. Her journey, which lasted 108 days, 12 hours and 22 minutes, started and ended in Chicago and took Wilcox through 21,169 km across 21 countries. The previous record was held by Scottish cyclist Jenny Graham in 2018, with 124 days and 11 hours.
📹 THIS HAPPENED VIDEO — TODAY IN HISTORY, IN ONE ICONIC PHOTO
➡️ Watch the video: THIS HAPPENED
📰 IN OTHER NEWS
🇺🇸 The Biden administration's response to the death of Turkish-American activist Aysenur Ezgi Eygi raises the question: does the U.S. only care about its citizens when they agree with U.S. policy?
— AL-MANASSA
💥 The escalation of Russian bombardments on Ukrainian cities should prompt Kyiv’s allies to demonstrate total unity and solidarity against Moscow.
— LES ECHOS
💃 From Carmen Amaya to Rosalía, here’s a look at some of the women who have contributed to the global popularity of flamenco.
— ETHIC
📣 VERBATIM
“A hug? Why not!”
— A video of King Charles sharing a hug with the New Zealand women's rugby union team at Buckingham palace has gone viral on social media. The British sovereign was hosting the Black Ferns — set to play against England's Red Roses on Saturday — at the palace when winger Ayesha Leti-I'iga asked him to share a hug with the team. “Why not?,” he answered before getting a group hug.
✍️ Newsletter by Anne-Sophie Goninet & Chloé Touchard
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