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Today’s 3-by-3 travels across a women’s rights success in Gambia, a natural gas discovery in Bolivia, the 2024 Emmy nominations, and more. Let’s fly!

Politics

• Bangladesh job quota causes deadly protests

Bangladesh’s High Court recently reinstated a quota system reserving 30% of government jobs (commonly regarded as stable and lucrative) for family members of those who fought in the 1971 Bangladesh War of Independence, sparking protests among students who feel the policy is discriminatory and should be replaced with a merit-based system. Violent clashes at Dhaka University on Monday injured at least 100, with multiple conflicts between student protesters and pro-government students and police leaving at least 6 people dead across the country. As authorities now call for all public and private universities to close indefinitely and the government raids the opposition Bangladesh National Party for its supposed role in the violence, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina continues to support the quota as a way to reward the sacrifice of “freedom fighters” — notably including many in her Asami League party which led the liberation movement against Pakistan.

• Biden considers historic Supreme Court reforms

As the November election draws near and concerns about judicial adherence to the Constitution rise, President Biden is considering proposals to reform the Supreme Court with term limits and an ethics code — shifting from his long-standing rejection of such reformation. Former President Trump was able to nominate 3 justices while in office, constructing a conservative-leaning court that has overturned pivotal decisions such as abortion rights and affirmative action and prompting Biden to nominate a record number of judges across federal courts during his term. Recent polls indicate that 2 in 3 Americans favor term limits or a mandatory retirement age for justices, and many people doubt the Supreme Court’s commitment to impartiality outside of the political system, but these reforms have been historically opposed by Republican lawmakers and would require congressional approval to take effect — including a contentious 60 votes in the Senate.

• Gambia votes to maintain ban on female genital cutting

Despite activists’ fears that Gambia would reverse its ban on female genital cutting and become the first country in the world to do so, the West African nation voted to maintain the ban — outlawing a harmful religious practice that has affected about 30 million women globally in the past 8 years. More than half of Gambian females ages 15 to 49 have undergone this “sexual purity” procedure and will likely suffer long-term health consequences such as urinary tract infections, menstrual problems, childbirth difficulties, and psychological trauma. The ban reversal was first proposed by the Gambia Supreme Islamic Council (a leading organization in the largely Muslim country) and voted forward by a majority of lawmakers in March, but an awareness campaign led by doctors and religious figures was successful in changing the tide — aligning with more than 80 other countries that have prohibitive laws.

Business

• Bolivia expects economic revival with natural gas discovery

The Bolivian government has discovered a “mega field” of natural gas reserves near the South American country’s capital, marking its biggest find in two decades and signaling a potential revival for a gas industry that thrived in the early 2000s. President Arce expects the field, valued at $6.8 billion with approximately 1.7 trillion cubic meters of gas, will compensate for recent failing production and significantly increase Bolivia’s $2 billion worth of natural gas exports last year. Discovered by Bolivia’s state-owned energy company and its commissioned exploration projects, Arce has called this “the most important discovery since 2005” — likely hoping to rescue his unpopular administration amid economic shortages and a recent military coup attempt against him.

• Hong Kong develops ChatGPT-like tool amid blocked access

As the AI race between Beijing and Washington continues, artificial intelligence leader OpenAI has withheld China from its list of “supported countries and territories” — leading Hong Kong’s government to develop its own AI chatbox and tool in place of ChatGPT. Developed by the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, the program aims to improve the efficiency of civil servants by drafting, translating, and summarizing documents — likely to be further improved by Chinese-language AI models made by Alibaba and Baidu. Even so, critics wonder if China can produce something comparable to ChatGPT and become a true leader in artificial intelligence when government censorship limits the material from which Chinese chatboxes can learn.

• Indonesia’s nickel dominance threatens local environment

Indonesia currently has 27 nickel smelting factories and 22 more planned, having successfully produced over half of all global nickel ore last year for the increasing demands of electric vehicle batteries and clean energy. Though the Asian nation’s economy stands to flourish from a projected 80% increase in nickel production by 2040, the environmental impact entails polluted rivers, damaged coastal areas, and more than 285,000 spare miles of destroyed Indonesian rainforest since 1950 — largely due to the coal-fired power plants that nickel production requires. Electric vehicle batteries have driven the most considerable growth, with Tesla’s 2023 impact report identifying Indonesia as critical for its future and Indonesia courting the auto leader to increase its current 13% share of Tesla nickel.

Culture

• Jack Black cancels tour due to insensitive comments

As one half of the comedy rock duo Tenacious D, beloved actor and performer Jack Black has canceled the group’s active tour due to his bandmate’s insensitive political comments. When asked by Black to make a birthday wish during their Sunday performance in Sydney, Kyle Gass said, “Don’t miss Trump next time” — referring to former President Trump’s recent assassination attempt. Black quickly condemned the comment on social media by saying he “would never condone hate speech or encourage political violence in any form” and putting Tenacious D’s creative plans on hold. Though Gass has publicly apologized for his “severe lack of judgment,” the duo’s future remains unclear.

• Latin music is the fastest-growing U.S. streaming genre

The preeminent entertainment data company Luminate recently published its midyear report to indicate the most notable trends and insights of today’s music industry, from Taylor Swift’s “The Tortured Poets Department” topping U.S. sales to Benson Boone’s “Beautiful Things” accruing the most worldwide streams. Latin music has officially become America’s fastest-growing streaming genre after placing in the top 3 fastest-growing genres last year, with regional Mexican music driving this growth as the largest Latin music subgenre — accumulating 13 billion U.S. streams across breakout artists like Peso Pluma, Fuerza Regida, and more. Even at a time when digital music is dominant, album sales in vinyl, CD, and cassette formats have increased by 3.8% since last year — mostly driven by top-of-the-chart artists who engage their fanbases in increasingly physical ways.

• “The Bear” sets a comedy-series record with 23 Emmy noms

FX has earned an impressive Emmy year with 23 nominations for “The Bear” and 25 nominations for “Shogun,” the most of any nominee in an awards edition with fewer entries than usual — likely due to last year’s five-month writers’ strike and a May 2024 eligibility cutoff for nominees. After two successful years at TV’s biggest award show, “Abbott Elementary” and its notably diverse team will return with 7 nominations, including Quinta Brunson in both the best comedy actress and best comedy writing categories. Selena Gomez was nominated for the first time in the best comedy actress category as well, and Lily Gladstone and Kali Reis became the first female Indigenous actors to be nominated for the prestigious award.

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