Flagship

Bolivia’s apparent coup thwarted

Bolivian police arrested the leader of an apparent attempted coup shortly after soldiers stormed the government palace. General Juan José Zuñiga — who was sacked as army chief earlier this week after making disparaging comments about former President Evo Morales — gathered hundreds of troops in La Paz’s main square in a bid to “restructure democracy” in the country. Morales was forced out of office in 2019 by military leaders after trying to manipulate the results of an election. The coup attempt highlights a growing rift between Bolivia’s rural mountainous regions, which support left-wing governments including the current one, and the more urbanized lowlands, which have backed rightist and military leaders.

Kenya withdraws disputed finance bill

Kenyan President William Ruto withdrew a controversial finance bill after deadly nationwide protests and the storming of the country’s Parliament. The ongoing demonstrations, which have led to at least 23 deaths and hundreds of arrests, mark the most serious crisis in Ruto’s presidency. Although the move will be seen as a major victory for the youth-led movement, Nairobi must now find alternatives for paying creditors the billions of dollars it owes them. Kenya has one of the highest debt burdens in Africa while generating tax revenues of just 19% of GDP. Ruto had framed the tax rises in the bill as indispensable for staving off a debt default. “Ruto’s turnaround may have temporarily quieted protests, but it leaves the country’s finances more precarious than before,” The New York Times wrote.

Court posts abortion document by mistake

Women in the US state of Idaho may regain the right to an abortion in cases of medical emergency, according to an inadvertently posted US Supreme Court document, a move that could open up the right in other states too. After Roe v Wade was overturned in 2022, Idaho and 13 other states banned abortion except to save the life of the mother. The Biden administration sued, saying the ban would prevent treatment unless the woman was “near death,” denying constitutional rights to emergency care. Bloomberg Law noticed a document on the court’s website apparently finding in favor of the White House, which would force all states to allow emergency abortions. The court acknowledged it was “inadvertently and briefly” posted, but stressed that it was not the final decision.

Europe in a Trump II world

A second Donald Trump presidency could push Europe back into “an anarchic and illiberal past,” an international affairs scholar argued, ahead of today’s first presidential debate. Hal Brands wrote in Foreign Policy that while Europe is peaceful now, for most of history it was “fragmented, volatile, and conflict-ridden,” saying that NATO, under the US security umbrella, has helped keep divisions at bay. But with Trump flirting with the idea of the US leaving the alliance, a post-US Europe would have to look after its own defense, reawakening old fears as some countries would have more arms than others.

EU hits Kyiv with farming tariffs

The European Union reintroduced tariffs on key Ukrainian foods. All duties on Ukrainian exports were suspended after Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022, but this month mechanisms were introduced, at the behest of France and Poland, to reimpose tariffs if imports reached a certain level. Imports of eggs and oats reached that threshold, and sugar is expected to soon — Ukrainian sugar exports hit a record level in May, most going to the EU. The decision makes clear that Ukraine’s accession to the EU will not be straightforward, despite talks beginning this week: The country’s huge agricultural exports would make it Europe’s largest beneficiary of farming subsidies, and farmers have complained about a glut of Ukrainian products since tariffs were dropped.

Marcos threatens action against China

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr threatened to “do more” than simply protest against what he called China’s “illegal actions” in the South China Sea. A Philippine sailor was recently injured in an alleged ramming attack by a Chinese vessel, which Marcos called a “deliberate” effort to prevent the resupply of troops stationed on a disputed island. Marcos said his government had filed 100 protests to the Chinese government, to no avail: Exactly what further actions he intends to take were not specified, but tensions in the region are high. Washington reaffirmed its commitment to the Philippines’ defense, and China denied that its actions were unlawful.

Protests against Netanyahu

Israeli anti-government groups began a day of protests against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s administration. Demonstrators blocked a major highway, and will later gather outside Netanyahu’s homes in Caesarea and Jerusalem, saying they will “protest until he falls.” The protesters demand an immediate election and a deal on returning the hostages taken in Hamas’ Oct 7 attacks. The mother of one hostage told crowds that “Netanyahu is the obstacle in negotiations,” Haaretz reported. Netanyahu’s government is already under strain: The centrist Benny Gantz quit the unity war government this month, and the religious-right parties that make up part of the ruling coalition are outraged by a Supreme Court decision requiring religious students to do military service.

Japan’s weak yen brings tourists in

The Japanese yen fell to a 38-year low against the dollar despite attempts by authorities in Tokyo to boost the flagging currency. Although the months-long slide has made imported goods considerably more expensive for Japanese consumers, it has also fuelled tourism, which became Japan’s second biggest export in the first quarter of the year. Cheaper travel has led to spending by foreign visitors quintupling over the past decade, according to Nikkei Asia. But some in the island nation have hit back at “overtourism” including from visitors who don’t respect the environment or local customs. “These places don’t just exist for your Instagram story,” a traveler told The Guardian.

Gene editing breakthrough

A new gene editing method could allow an “unprecedented level of control for manipulating genomes.” The existing CRISPR-Cas9 technique allows snippets of genetic code to be cut and replaced with precision. But it only allows small cuts and changes, and works by damaging the target. The new “bridge editing” system, which like CRISPR uses molecular machinery found in bacteria, allows huge sections of a genome to be altered: One researcher told New Scientist that it would allow scientists to “move beyond inserting individual genes to do chromosome-scale genome engineering.” It has not yet been shown to work in human cells, but even if it does not, will likely be modified so that it can.

Japan’s space troubles

Japan’s new space rocket may already be obsolete. The Mitsubishi Heavy Industries H3 was supposed to launch in 2020, but development problems delayed its first flight until February. It is intended as a rival to SpaceX’s workhorse Falcon 9, but Bloomberg’s business of space editor pointed out that it is fighting an uphill battle: The Falcon is reusable, meaning the price per launch is significantly lower, whereas the H3 — and other rivals, such as the Ariane 6 — are single use. “It takes less work to clean your house than to build your house,” one analyst told Bloomberg. Japan’s space industry recognizes the importance of reusable rocketry, but is nowhere near developing it — China, meanwhile, is racing ahead.

• Italian workers are set to stage the first-ever strike at Milan’s stock exchange.
• Mexican President-elect Claudia Sheinbaum is set to announce the members of her cabinet.
• The US Senior Open golf championship opens in Rhode Island.

The age of Kazuyoshi Miura, the latest signing for Japanese fourth-division soccer club Atletico Suzuka. Miura, aka King Kazu, is a former Japanese international — he played 89 times for his country, scoring an impressive 55 goals, between 1990 and 2000, and was perhaps Japan’s first soccer superstar. But at the age other players might consider retiring, he simply didn’t. In 2020, at 53, he became the oldest player to play in a top-level Japanese league game — he is also the oldest goalscorer in world professional football, breaking a record set by England’s Stanley Matthews in 1965. After briefly moving to Portugal in 2022 he returned to Japan this month: “I’m at quite an age,” he told a news conference, but “retiring isn’t an option.”

Matterhorn by Karl Marlantes, a veteran who spent 35 years on the project. The story is simple: A company of US Marines are ordered to build an outpost on top of a hill in the jungle; then they are ordered to abandon it to march for weeks through the jungle to fight somewhere else; then they are ordered to retake it, uphill against an enemy using their own fortifications against them. “One of the most profound and devastating novels ever to come out of Vietnam — or any war,” wrote Sebastian Junger in his 2010 New York Times review.

• House Republicans weigh punishing a member.
• Top reporters leave Politico.
• Brazil’s top court votes to decriminalize marijuana possession.