Aung San Suu Kyi Partial Pardon, Moscow Building Hit Twice, Endangered Venice
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🌎 7 THINGS TO KNOW RIGHT NOW
• Myanmar junta partially pardons Aung San Suu Kyi: Myanmar's ruling military pardoned jailed former leader Aung San Suu Kyi on five of the 19 offenses for which she was convicted, although she will remain under house arrest. Meanwhile, the country’s military has officially postponed government elections originally set for this month, after extending a state of emergency, citing ongoing violence as the reason for the delay. The state of emergency was first declared in November 2020 when the military seized power after arresting Suu Kyi over allegations of electoral fraud.
• Drone hits same Moscow building twice in two days: A skyscraper in Russia's capital Moscow has been hit by a drone attack for the second time in two days. According to Mayor Sergei Sobyanin, several drones were shot down overnight but “one flew into the same tower at the Moskva City complex” that was targeted on Sunday. Russia released a statement on Tuesday saying three Ukrainian unmanned boats tried to attack Russian naval ships in the Black Sea and had been destroyed. Kyiv has not commented on either issue.
• Burkina Faso and Mali juntas issue war warning: The military juntas in Burkina Faso and Mali have said any forcible attempt to restore President Mohamed Bazoum in neighboring Niger will be seen as a declaration of war on them. This follows a threat from a regional bloc that it would "take all measures" if the president was not reinstated. Both Burkina Faso and Mali have severed ties with the West, in particular with France, and embraced new alliances with Russia.
• Taliban, U.S. hold first official talks since Afghanistan takeover: Taliban leaders have met officials from the United States in Qatar for the first time since their return to power in Afghanistan, two years ago. A spokesman for the Afghan Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the two sides discussed confidence-building measures during the two-day talks — including the lifting of sanctions and travel bans, as well as the return of Afghan central bank assets held abroad.
• Record floods kill 11 in Beijing: At least 11 people have died and 13 others are missing as torrential rains hit Beijing. The remnants of last week's super storm Doksuri flooded the Chinese capital for the fourth straight day on Tuesday even as another typhoon approached the eastern coast. More than 50,000 people in the city have been evacuated so far.
• UNESCO recommends adding Venice to endangered list: The UN’s cultural agency has recommended that Venice be added to a list of World Heritage sites in danger. The Italian city is at risk of “irreversible” damage from overwhelming tourism, overdevelopment and rising sea levels due to climate change, the UNESCO report says.
• Euphoria star Angus Cloud dies at 25: Angus Cloud, who starred on HBO’s hit series Euphoria, has died at age 25 in his family home in Oakland, California. According to a statement released by his family, Cloud attended his father's funeral in Ireland last week and “intensely struggled with this loss.”🗞️ FRONT PAGE
As the Danish and Swedish governments are looking to de-escalate tension after a series of public demonstrations that involved the burning of religious texts, Copenhagen-based tabloid Ekstra Bladet has proclaimed a state of “Koran Panic.” The Danish government has said it will explore legal means of banning such protests in certain circumstances, citing security concerns.
#️⃣ BY THE NUMBERS
248,901
According to Panama’s Deputy Director of Migration, an estimated 248,901 people have crossed the treacherous Darien Gap migration route since January — surpassing the record total set in 2022. This sliver of land between Colombia and Panama was once considered uncrossable due to the danger it posed, but this year has seen an unprecedented number of migrants risking the journey to reach the U.S, hoping to find a better life. Approximately 20% of them are thought to be children, half of them under five years old.
📰 STORY OF THE DAY
Italy's legendary clubbing scene gives way to the nomadic dance life
Four decades ago, there were 9,000 dance clubs in Italy. Today, there are just 3,000. Where is everyone going instead, and why? asks Franco Giubilei in Italian daily La Stampa.
🇮🇹🎧 As the sun sets on one era, a new one comes, at least for the dancing bodies of young Italians: they dance on the beach, on agricultural sites, or in villas rented out and made available for partying. They dance wherever there is a DJ, space to move and enough isolation so as not to anger any neighbors. Whilst the spirit of dancing wherever reigns victorious, there are casualties: “Two out of three nightclubs are closing down nowadays," says Gianni Indino, national director of Silb, an association for club management.
⏪ “The real explosion of nightclubs, or discos, occurred from the end of the 70’s through the 80’s and all the way until the new century," DJ Cirillo says. "We really experienced clubbing culture at its height in Italy, but in the last few years that energy has depleted. Nowadays, only Ibiza can hold its head up in the game. The truth is that there were too many options, and most of those options were lacking in quality.”
🕺💃 This is an irreversible trend, and a sign of decline that, as always, will nevertheless move us forward, and where people will continue dancing, says DJ Cirillo, “It’s impossible to turn back time and live in the past. Fortunately, it is possible to adapt, like my club the Cocoricó did, renovating to fulfill the requests of the modern music scene. We must also consider the impact of social media, ever-evolving and intruding, that plays a role in the lack of creativity in many venues.”
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📣 VERBATIM
“Any military intervention against Niger would be tantamount to a declaration of war against Burkina Faso and Mali.”
— The military governments of Burkina Faso and Mali have issued joint statements on their national broadcasters warning that they would take any military intervention against the leaders of last week’s coup as a “declaration of war,” the consequences of which “could destabilize the entire region.” West African leaders threatened force against the junta in response to the military coup that deposed Niger’s President Mohamed Bazoum last week. The coup is also condemned by international powers including the African Union, the U.S., the UN and the EU, who fear instability in the region and opportunities for actors like the Russian mercenary group Wagner.
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✍️ Newsletter by Emma Albright, Chloé Touchard, Anne-Sophie Goninet, and Valeria Berghinz
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