Flagship

Left wing on track to win French election

A left-wing coalition, New Popular Front, is projected to finish first in France’s national election, exit polls showed, in a major upset over far-right factions that were forecast to win. President Emmanuel Macron’s centrist alliance is set to finish second, with Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally party in third — a shock result, given that days ago, France was “facing the prospect of the first far right victory in its modern history,” Politico wrote. However, the right faced a fresh wave of opposition in the last week, while the left wing billed itself as “the only alternative” to Le Pen and her allies. Prime Minister Gabriel Attal said he will resign, and with no party on track for a parliamentary majority, the country is barreling toward political uncertainty just before Paris hosts the Olympics.

More Dems call on Biden to quit race

Several senior Democratic politicians reportedly said Joe Biden should exit the presidential race, adding to the avalanche of pressure on the US president. Lawmakers return to Washington this week after a recess, and political observers are watching closely to see whether Democratic leaders in Congress ask Biden to quit. The 81-year-old has remained defiant, showcasing his loyal support base at a Pennsylvania church Sunday. But some Democrats are pushing a plan that would involve him ending his candidacy in mid-July, ushering in a “blitz primary” in which delegates select a nominee from a new slate of candidates, Semafor reported. It’s an idealistic plan that aims to chart a positive course for the party, Semafor’s Morgan Chalfant wrote: “Democrats are desperate for a way out of the current mess.”

Foreign media visits destroyed Rafah

Foreign journalists witnessed widespread devastation in Rafah after being allowed into the Gazan city for the first time since Israel’s ground offensive began there. Reporters described Rafah as a “flattened wasteland,” a “maze of rubble,” and “unrecognizable,” two months after Israel launched what it called a “limited” operation. But the level of destruction called that characterization into question, according to the reports; the military said many of the destroyed buildings were either booby trapped or used by Hamas to fire on Israeli forces. Israel’s renewed offensive in Gaza has displaced nearly its entire population of 2 million people. The media convoy visit came days after Hamas softened its position on a ceasefire deal; the group said Sunday that it is waiting for Israel’s response to its latest proposal.

Iran elects reformist president

Iran elected a reformist candidate as its next president, but he is unlikely to rattle the regime’s status quo, analysts said. Masoud Pezeshkian, a heart surgeon who defeated a hardliner rival, has called for increased engagement with the West and negotiations with the US and Europe to end Iran’s nuclear standoff. But he is a regime loyalist, and it’s unclear how much latitude Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei will give him, experts at the Critical Threats Project wrote. Pezeshkian also backs mandatory veiling for women, though he criticized a government plan to violently enforce the law. “Votes for him were not necessarily out of hope for the better,” one Iran expert said, “but fear for the worse.”

Thailand going duty-free-free

Thailand is doing away with duty-free shopping at its international airports to boost tourism spending within the country. Duty-free stores at Thai airports logged nearly $82 million in total sales last year, but travelers would spend an average of about $15 elsewhere in the country if they lost access to those shops, the government estimated. The decision is part of Thailand’s larger goal of becoming an international shopping hub, Nikkei reported. The country recently cut tax rates for alcohol and nightlife venues, and raised the value of tourists’ purchases required to be checked by customs officials. Thailand’s post-pandemic tourism bounceback is picking up; it’s expected to double its visitor total this year compared to 2023, the Bangkok Post reported.

Sports science boosts Indian athletes

Western sports science experts are giving elite Indian athletes a better shot at competing globally. The cricket-obsessed country has long struggled to produce other world-class athletes due to a lack of government resources and facilities: “We were lucky if we got a decent wrestling mat,” said India’s only woman wrestler to win an Olympic medal. But a slew of nonprofits and private academies have imported sports science experts from the US, Europe, Australia, and South Africa, bringing a “radical transformation” in Indian sports over the past decade, the author of a popular wrestling book wrote for The Hindu. Their meticulous science-based training will soon be tested on the biggest international stage: So far, more than 100 Indian athletes have qualified for the Paris Olympics.

Chinese uni offers first coffee major

A Chinese university is offering the country’s first undergraduate degree in coffee science and engineering. At Yunnan Agricultural University, located in the province where 99% of China’s coffee is grown, students will learn flavor chemistry and techniques that could boost the domestic talent pool for production. As the 13th-largest coffee grower in the world, China only accounts for 1.1% of global production — but its coffee consumption market is expanding, despite being known for its predominantly tea-drinking culture. Thanks in part to Chinese chains that replicate Western cafe culture and business models, the country now has the world’s most branded coffee shops at nearly 50,000, overtaking the US in the last year.

Heat ups wheat, coffee prices

Climate change is hitting food supplies. Farmers in Italy told the Financial Times that increasing temperatures and dwindling rainfall make olive-growing increasingly difficult: Olive prices hit 20-year highs this year. Brazilian oranges, African cocoa, and Vietnamese coffee also saw reduced yields and higher prices. An investor said wheat, palm oil, sugar, and pork prices were all up: Wheat in particular struggles as temperatures rise, and flooding has devastated rice fields, notably in Pakistan. A European Central Bank analysis projected that food prices could boost inflation rates by 1.8% by 2035, and governments may have to take steps to reduce inflation.

Greece tries out six-day workweek

Greece introduced a six-day working week for some industries. Workers can choose to work 48 hours rather than 40, and get paid 40% extra for the overtime. It’s a contrast with the growing trend elsewhere in Europe for four-day weeks, but the Greek government is hoping it will combat undeclared and thus untaxed work — Greece has a large tax evasion problem. The prime minister called the move “growth-oriented,” and said it brings the country in line with the European Union’s own 48-hour limit. Only workers in businesses that operate 24 hours in rotating shifts are eligible for the move.

Roku feature hated by film buffs

The smart TV provider Roku turned on motion-smoothing for all users. Most video plays at 24 frames per second. Motion smoothing increases the frame rate, reducing judder. But film buffs hate it, saying it gives film a vaguely uncanny, cheaper, reality-TV feel known as the “soap opera effect.” Tom Cruise launched a 2018 campaign asking TV viewers to turn it off before watching the latest Mission: Impossible, and Martin Scorsese and Christopher Nolan proposed a “filmmaker mode” for new TVs. Rian Johnson, director of The Last Jedi, called motion smoothing “liquid diarrhea.” The latest Roku upgrade makes turning it off impossible, prompting The Verge to write “Dear Roku, you ruined my TV.”

June 8:

• Washington hosts allies ahead of Tuesday’s NATO summit.
• Philippine and Japanese defense and foreign ministers meet in Manila to bolster strategic partnerships.
• The 21st season of The Bachelorette premieres in the US, with the franchise’s first Asian American lead.

The number of pounds of frozen garbage removed near Mount Everest’s peak during this year’s climbing season. A team of Nepalese Sherpas and soldiers also dug up four dead bodies and a skeleton, the Associated Press reported. One Sherpa said it would take years to clean up all the frozen trash still buried on the highest camp atop the world’s tallest mountain, estimating it could total as much as 11,000 pounds of tents, food packets, and oxygen bottles.

A new film documents the love story of a Russian couple popular on social media for illegally scaling the world’s tallest buildings. Angela Nikolau and Ivan Beerkus, who are known as “rooftoppers,” fell in love while climbing up a construction crane on a tower in China — without harnesses and safety nets. Skywalkers: A Love Story, which releases on Netflix next week, culminates in their attempt to climb up the Merdeka 118 skyscraper in Kuala Lumpur, the world’s second-talling building. The couple broke through security on the night of the 2022 men’s soccer World Cup final. “We don’t take physical risks for the sake of it,” Nikolau said. “We want to create images that are beautiful and unusual.”

• Keir Starmer’s Labour aims for foreign policy reset.
• A ‘scared’ Biden aide sounds an alarm.
• The AI industry starts to focus on a potential Trump presidency.