Tens of thousands of people took to the streets across Turkey to protest against the arrest of Ekrem Imamoglu, the main rival to the president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Mr Imamoglu, the mayor of Istanbul, was detained on corruption charges, which he denies. “I will never bow,” he wrote on X. According to AFP, rallies took place in at least 55 of Turkey’s 81 provinces.


South Korea’s constitutional court reinstated Han Duck-soo, the prime minister, as acting president. Mr Han had replaced Yoon Suk Yeol who was impeached in December after briefly imposing martial law. Mr Han was suspended two weeks later for his alleged role in the coup attempt and for failing to fill three vacancies in the constitutional court. The court is expected to rule on Mr Yoon’s impeachment in the coming days.


Thailand’s prime minister, Paetongtarn Shinawatra, is to face a confidence vote in parliament. The main opposition party has claimed that Ms Shinawatra’s father wields too much influence over her government. Thaksin Shinawatra, who was a divisive populist PM in 2001-06, and who spent years in exile, has trailed policies later adopted by the ruling Pheu Thai party, including legalising gambling and stimulus cheques.


Israel’s cabinet approved a motion of no confidence in the attorney-general, Gali Baharav-Miara, days after it sacked the security chief. It is a first step towards dismissing her. In response, Ms Baharav-Miara accused the government of seeking to operate “above the law”. Meanwhile, families of hostages protested against the government’s decision to resume the bombing of Gaza. Palestinian officials said that more than 50,000 people have been killed there in the past 18 months.


Canada’s prime minister, Mark Carney, triggered a snap election by moving to dissolve Parliament. The governing Liberals are currently favourites to win the vote on April 28th. The party has surged in polls since its unpopular leader, Justin Trudeau, said he would resign as prime minister in January. Donald Trump’s tariffs and taunts have also given the Liberals a boost.


James Hardie Industries, an Australian building-materials company, said it plans to buy Azek, an American home-decking firm, in a deal worth nearly $9bn. The announcement, which comes amid concerns about an American economic slowdown, triggered a sell-off in shares in James Hardie. The firm’s boss insisted that the sector’s long-term prospects were “very, very strong” as mortgage rates are expected to fall.


A delegation of American officials, including Mike Waltz, the national-security adviser, will travel to Greenland later this week. Donald Trump has repeatedly said that America should acquire the autonomous Danish territory. The White House insisted that the group was only travelling to learn about Greenland’s “history” and attend “a dogsled race”. Jens-Frederik Nielsen, Greenland’s incoming prime minister, said the trip showed “a lack of respect”.


Figure of the day: 30. At least that many countries have outlawed all vaping products. 


Photograph: picture alliance

A fragile ceasefire plan for Ukraine

On Monday American mediators in Saudi Arabia will seek to nail down the details of a 30-day partial ceasefire proposed by President Donald Trump. They are expected to begin talks with a Russian delegation, following negotiations with Ukrainian envoys that started on Sunday. The main task will be drawing up a list of protected facilities. The Kremlin wants this restricted to energy infrastructure, narrowly defined; Ukraine and America insist on including other infrastructure, such as ports, civilian buildings and railways.

Russia has yet to show real commitment to a ceasefire. On March 18th, after a call with Mr Trump, Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin, claimed he had ordered a halt to attacks on energy infrastructure. Russia then launched hundreds of drones and missiles at Ukrainian energy sites. Steve Witkoff (pictured), Mr Trump’s special envoy handling communications with Russia, said he believed Mr Putin would act “in good faith”. Volodymyr Zelensky, Ukraine’s president, expressed more doubt: “With each launch, the Russians reveal their true attitude towards peace,” he said.


Photograph: Getty Images

China courts foreign bosses

For global executives eager to schmooze with Chinese policymakers this is a busy time. Following the China Development Forum in Beijing over the weekend, some will be heading straight to another big annual conference in the far south—the Boao Forum for Asia, which begins on March 25th.

Chinese officials are eagerly feeding their message to chief executives rattled by Donald Trump’s erratic economic policy: that their country is a land of stability in a turbulent world. On Sunday China’s prime minister, Li Qiang, said that amid “rising instability and uncertainty” countries need to open up their markets. He also met Steve Daines, a Republican senator who was an intermediary during the first Trump term. Mr Daines told the New York Times he wanted to lay the groundwork for a meeting between Mr Trump and Xi Jinping, China’s leader. But as tensions caused by Mr Trump’s tariffs worsen, China may be hesitant.


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Photograph: Getty Images

Louisiana’s congressional map at SCOTUS

On Monday America’s Supreme Court hears Louisiana v Callais, a case that could decide control of the House of Representatives in next year’s midterm elections. After the 2020 census Louisiana’s legislature drew a map that included just one district (of six) where black voters form a majority. A court, noting that nearly a third of Louisiana’s voters are black, said that arrangement violated the federal Voting Rights Act (VRA) of 1965 and ordered lawmakers to add a second majority-black district. But the redrawn map drew fire from plaintiffs who claim that the “sinuous and jagged” new district is “racially balkanising”. They persuaded a different court that it violates the equal-protection clause of the 14th Amendment.

Louisiana says the redrawn map seeks to balance its competing obligations to the VRA and the constitution. It contends that its main goal was not racial but political: to protect the seats of certain Republicans, including Mike Johnson, the House speaker.


Photograph: dpa

At last, German business looks cheerier

In the next two days two closely watched gauges of the German economy are due to be published: the Hamburg Commercial Bank’s purchasing-managers’ index on Monday, followed by the Ifo institute’s business-climate index on Tuesday. Both will probably show an improvement from last month. February’s Ifo index was unchanged from January’s as business leaders remained sceptical about the prospect of economic growth.

But lately their mood has improved. Bosses are encouraged by the bold steps of Friedrich Merz, the chancellor-in-waiting. His big reform, to exempt defence spending from the strict fiscal limits enshrined in the German constitution and to set up a €500bn ($540bn) infrastructure fund, passed both houses of parliament last week. They hope that other badly needed structural reforms will follow, and that Germany will at last haul itself out of recession. Mr Merz’s coalition government is expected to be ready to take office just after Easter.


Photograph: Shutterstock

Curbing bullfighting in Mexico City

This week Mexico City is set to enforce a new law that bans traditional bullfighting. Rather than imposing a total prohibition—as five of the country’s 31 states have done—the capital city aims to modify the spectacle. Under the “non-violent” bullfighting rules, killing or injuring bulls will be prohibited. Sharp objects, including swords and spears, are banned; matadors will only be able to use capes. In addition, the bulls’ horns must be protected and their time in the arena will be capped at 15 minutes.

The compromise is intended to appease the industry, which generates $50m of revenue annually in Mexico City. But it may satisfy few people. The sport’s supporters—a quarter of the city’s population, according to a recent survey—accuse the authorities of diluting a tradition. Yet animal-rights activists argue that, even without bloodshed, the sport causes stress to bulls. Their viewpoint may prevail globally: more and more countries are imposing restrictions on bullfighting.

 

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A fifth Democrat legislator–Angie Craig, a congresswoman from Minnesota–called on President Joe Biden to step aside, suggesting that his television interview on Friday has failed to quell an uprising in his party. During it, Mr Biden struck a defiant tone. Asked by ABC news whether he would step aside if Democratic grandees urge him to, he said “they’re not gonna do that”. Pressed whether he has a viable shot considering his approval rating of 36%, he replied: “that’s not what our polls show”.

Voters in France go to the polls on Sunday in the second and final round of a parliamentary election, with attention focused on the prospects of Marine Le Pen’s hard-right, anti-immigration, National Rally party (RN). It took a massive lead in the first round on June 30th but since then, left-wing parties and President Emmanuel Macron’s centrists have teamed up to make an outright RN victory less likely.

Sir Keir Starmer, Britain’s new leader, promised to scrap a controversial policy that sends asylum-seekers to Rwanda. Speaking at his first press conference as prime minister, Sir Keir said the Rwanda scheme was “dead and buried”. He travels to Scotland on Sunday in the first leg of a tour of all four nations of the United Kingdom, before heading to Washington for a NATO summit.

“Patriots for Europe”, a right-wing political group set up by Viktor Orban, the Hungarian prime minister, won enough support from members of the European Parliament to secure the parliament’s formal recognition. Mr Orban, who took over the EU’s rotating presidency this month, hopes to use the bloc to “change European politics”. It wants to halt European support for Ukraine in its war against Russia, among other things.

BYD, a Chinese electric-vehicle company, announced plans to purchase a 20% stake in Rever Automotive, its car distributor in Thailand. The announcement came days after BYD opened its first factory in Thailand, which is its biggest market outside China. Thai officials have begun an investigation into aggressive discounting by BYD dealers after complaints by other distributors.

An Israeli strike hit a school run by UNRWA, the UN’s refugee agency in Gaza, killing at least 16 people and injuring many more, according to Palestinian officials. The building was sheltering displaced people in the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza. Earlier, Israel said it would send a delegation to Qatar to resume ceasefire talks with Hamas.

The leaders of three military governments in West Africa met in Niamey, Niger, where they established the “Alliance of Sahel States”. The governments in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger have all been installed by coups since 2020. In January they withdrew from the Economic Community of West African States, the region’s main bloc, which is to hold its own summit in Nigeria on Sunday.

Word of the week: umrah, a Muslim pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia that takes place all year round. Read the full story.

In the run-up to America’s presidential election, we’ve launched The US in brief—a daily update to help you keep on top of the political stories that matter. Sign up here to receive it as a newsletter, each weekday, in your inbox.


photo: reuters

France’s parliamentary vote

The French will vote on Sunday in the final round of their snap parliamentary election. The chances of Marine Le Pen’s hard-right National Rally (RN) securing a majority of seats have receded somewhat since the first round on June 30th, as tactical deals were struck among 224 candidates in 577 constituencies. Scores of candidates from both the left-wing New Popular Front and from President Emmanuel Macron’s centrist alliance have stood down, in order not to split the anti-Le Pen vote.

By Friday, the last day for the publication of polls under electoral rules, they suggested that the RN could gain 174-250 seats, short of the 289 needed to control parliament. Even without a majority, however, Ms Le Pen’s party may be asked by Mr Macron to try to form a government. If she accepts, she would put forward Jordan Bardella, her 28-year-old protégé, to be prime minister. Mr Bardella may not manage to scrape together a majority. But the invitation itself would represent a political earthquake.

photo: getty images

Death Valley lives up to its name

In Death Valley National Park, mostly in eastern California, there is a famous thermometer. Tourists brave the region’s scorching temperatures to pose in front of it. But that photo opportunity might best be avoided this weekend. Between Sunday and Tuesday the mercury may reach even 54.4°C (130°F), the highest reliably recorded temperature on earth. (In 1913 one observer in the park recorded 56.7°C, though that number is disputed.)

The peak heat in Death Valley is no outlier. Heatwaves are wreaking havoc across the northern hemisphere, where more than 85% of the world’s population lives. Climate change, caused by greenhouse-gas emissions, has led to the world’s average temperature rising by 1.2°C since the 19th century. Heatwaves are among the deadliest consequences, putting vulnerable people, especially the old and poor, at grave risk. Governments must do more to protect them as sizzling summers become the norm.

 
photo: getty images

Bulls on the charge in Pamplona

On Sunday the first bull run of the festival of San Fermín begins in Pamplona, in northern Spain. The weeklong jamboree centres around the daily running of six bulls down an 848-metre stretch of narrow streets, with white-clad, red-handkerchiefed people running pell-mell ahead of them. Most injuries are caused by falls, though last year a visitor took a horn to the scrotum.

Then, each afternoon, the six bulls will be killed in a bullfight. Spain has recently undergone a periodic bout of debating the bloody practice. Adherents consider it sublimely beautiful (it is not a sport, as the bull has little chance of “winning”, supporters acknowledge). But the culture minister, from a far-left party, has called it “animal torture”. Colombia banned bullfighting this year; Catalonia no longer hosts bullfights. But in some places—Seville, Madrid and of course Pamplona—it is deeply rooted, and going nowhere fast.

photo: ap

Just when you thought it was safe to watch the TV…

There is supposedly no such thing as bad publicity. But not in the case of sharks. “Jaws”, a blockbuster film of 1975, not only created a widespread fear of the fish, but also encouraged people to hunt them for sport. (Steven Spielberg, the director, has lamented the film’s role in the “decimation of the shark population”.) In response, executives at the Discovery Channel launched “Shark Week” in 1988, a series of documentaries to educate the public about the creatures and aid conservation efforts.

Shark Week is now one of the hits of the entertainment calendar. Discovery says it is the longest-running cable-TV event. This year’s extravaganza, hosted by John Cena, a former wrestler, begins on Sunday. Commissioners seem keener to terrify viewers than mollify them, with programmes such as “Belly of the Beast: Bigger and Bloodier”, “Great White Serial Killer: Sea of Blood” and “Deadliest Bite”. Galeophobes would be better off watching something else.

photo: getty images

Boeing’s woes over the 737MAX

Boeing must decide on Sunday whether to accept an offer from America’s Department of Justice to plead guilty to fraud in connection with two deadly plane crashes involving its 737MAX some five years ago. The aerospace giant is accused of violating a deal that it made with the authorities to head off a charge of conspiracy to defraud the government. It did this by allegedly misleading regulators over the cause of the crashes. The blowout of a door panel on another 737MAX in January appeared to invalidate an agreement to oversee safer manufacturing.

The Department of Justice may impose a fine on Boeing. If Boeing rejects the offer it faces a criminal trial, or might have to make another deal that would include even greater regulatory oversight of the company’s production process. Such an outcome could further hamper the rate at which it makes new planes.

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Vladimir Putin, Russia’s leader, touched down in Vietnam ahead of talks with the country’s top brass. The visit follows Mr Putin’s trip to North Korea, where he cemented his dangerous bromance with Kim Jong Un. Vietnam has hosted Joe Biden, Xi Jinping and now Mr Putin in the past nine months. The country’s leaders say they pursue “bamboo diplomacy”, a foreign policy not unlike the flexible branches of the plant. Vietnam has not condemned Russia’s war in Ukraine, a stance Mr Putin recently praised as “balanced”.

America approved the sale of drones and missiles worth around $360m to Taiwan. The sale includes loitering munitions such as the 720 Switchblade, which hovers near its target before attacking. Taiwan’s president, William Lai Ching-te, thanked America for approving the deal. Since his inauguration in May, China has increased its military activities near the self-governing territory.

Ilya Sutskever, the co-founder of OpenAI, the firm behind ChatGPT, said that he would launch a rival artificial-intelligence company. Safe Superintelligence will focus on growing its AI model “while making sure…safety always remains ahead”, he said. Mr Sutskever left OpenAI earlier this year, seven months after unsuccessfully trying to oust Sam Altman, its chief executive.

The leader of Hizbullah, the Iran-backed militia that controls Lebanon, warned that the group would fight “without rules and without limits” in any war against Israel. Both sides have exchanged fire since Israel invaded Gaza, but have so far shied away from all-out war. The Hizbullah leader also threatened Cyprus, accusing the country of allowing Israel to use its airports for military exercises.

Gordon Black, a sergeant serving in the American army, was sentenced to nearly four years in prison in Russia. Mr Black is accused of stealing money from his Russian girlfriend and threatening to murder her while staying in Vladivostok, a city in Siberia. Prosecutions for domestic violence, which was partially decriminalised in 2017, are rare in Russia.

Louisiana passed a law requiring that classrooms in public schools—from nurseries to universities—display the Ten Commandments. From next year each will have a poster with a specific version of the religious imperatives, printed in “large, easily readable font”. It is the first such law to be passed, and will probably face legal challenges for violating the constitutionally mandated separation of church and state.

Two climate protesters were arrested for spraying Stonehenge, an ancient monument in the south of England, with orange paint. Just Stop Oil, a campaign group, said that the paint was cornflour-based and would wash away. Visitors to the UNESCO world heritage site were aghast; some tried to stop the protesters. Rishi Sunak, the prime minister, weighed in despite his busy election schedule, calling it a “disgraceful act of vandalism”.

Figure of the day: 11,000, the number of containers filled with arms that North Korea has shipped to Russia since September, according to American officials. Read the full story.

In the run-up to America’s presidential election, we’ve launched The US in brief—a daily update to help you keep on top of the political stories that matter. Sign up here to receive it as a newsletter, each weekday, in your inbox.

 

photo: sandra navarro

Malaysia and China strengthen ties

On Thursday Li Qiang, China’s prime minister, wraps up a three-day visit to Malaysia. The countries are marking the 50th anniversary of their establishing diplomatic relations. Today ties between them are strong. On Wednesday Mr Li met Anwar Ibrahim, Malaysia’s prime minister, who earlier this week described Xi Jinping, China’s ruler, as an “outstanding leader”. Mr Anwar also announced that Malaysia would like to join the BRICS, a bloc of ten economies that includes China.

Investment is why Malaysia wants to be close. China is its largest trading partner. On Wednesday China agreed to buy Malaysia’s fresh durian, a pungent fruit adored by Chinese consumers. China wants other things, too, including influence in South-East Asia. Through its Belt and Road Initiative, China has ploughed money into Malaysian infrastructure. Mr Li visited the East Coast Rail Link, a China-funded venture, during his trip. Such projects are, however, becoming less popular. Malaysia increasingly courts Chinese financing for new priorities, such as e-commerce.

photo: epa

No rate cuts before Britain’s election

Rate-setters at the Bank of England will meet on Thursday, a day after the welcome news that the headline annual inflation rate in Britain has returned to its 2% target. Nonetheless, the majority of the Monetary Policy Committee is unlikely to vote for a cut in the bank’s benchmark interest rate, currently 5.25%, quite yet.

The reason for this reticence is that much of the decline in headline inflation stems from a sharp decline in energy prices. That probably won’t happen again. Other gauges of inflationary pressure are falling more slowly. Annual core inflation—which excludes volatile food and energy prices—remains well above target, at 3.5%. Wage growth and services inflation, which the MPC watches closely, are also high.

Still, cuts should be on the way soon. Unemployment is up to 4.4%, a post-pandemic high, and labour-market surveys suggest further weakening is ahead.

photo: ap

Colombia attempts to reform

Thursday marks the end of a legislative session in Colombia, after which any bills that have not progressed are thrown out. The country’s first left-wing government, which came to power in August 2022, is racing to pass reforms intended to reduce inequality in one of the world’s most unequal countries.

On Friday the lower house approved a pension bill, the biggest change to Colombia’s social-security system since 1993. It will expand pension coverage to almost everyone of retirement age, from a quarter of them now. On June 11th legislators began the long process of debating a labour-reform bill; they have since approved the majority of its articles.

But it isn’t all smooth sailing. The pension reform could face opposition in court. A new education law which seeks to improve access to schools and universities looks sunk. It enraged the largest teachers’ union, which said a proposed change would have funnelled public money to private schools.

photo: alamy

Solar season

On Thursday the northern hemisphere will enjoy its summer solstice, the moment in the year when it can expect most sunlight. Since the vast majority of the world’s solar power capacity is in the northern hemisphere—almost half of it in China—this makes it, in principle, the technology’s best week of the year.

To mark this midsummer abundance The Economist is this week looking at all manner of matters solar. An essay makes the case that the technology’s exponential rise is far from over. A piece in the Middle East and Africa section considers the dramatic effects the technology is having in easing South Africa’s brownouts. In the Business section we look at the troubled state of the Chinese solar industry, which has produced a booming technology without booming profits. And elsewhere we contemplate the way the sun has inspired artistic recognition from the stone age on.

photo: getty images/prime video

Revisiting Federer’s swansong

If you were to make a documentary about Roger Federer, you might start at the beginning, showing his days as a ball boy, years as a junior champion and almost two decades competing at the highest echelons of tennis. You might look at how he developed his signature, graceful style, or his sweeping one-handed backhand.

Yet “Federer: Twelve Final Days”, released on Prime Video on Thursday, takes a different approach. The film focuses on the period up to and including Mr Federer’s last-ever game of high-level tennis at the Laver Cup in 2022. It takes his brilliance as given and does not analyse his technique; instead, the prospect of retirement prompts Mr Federer to reflect on the rewards and challenges of a life lived for sport. Mr Federer won plenty of silverware—including 20 grand slams—during his career. But the documentary suggests that his bond with Rafael Nadal, his longtime rival on the court, was as cherished a prize.

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