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This morning’s 3-by-3 travels across striking election results in India, a consequential union strike in Nigeria, an 80-year celebration for WWII veterans in Normandy, and more. Let’s fly!

Politics

• Biden restricts asylum at the border

President Biden has signed a proclamation that will bar migrants at the US-Mexico border from being granted asylum if the daily average of border arrests reaches 2,500, immediately removing (and potentially prosecuting) anyone who does not express fear of returning to their home countries. Intended to regain control of the currently overwhelmed border, the directive will still allow those who do express fear and provide justifications to pursue asylum (e.g., human trafficking, severe medical conditions, etc.) to be evaluated for such via an intensified screening process. While Biden is likely aiming to toughen his immigration and border policies in anticipation of the November election, many critics take issue with his use of a section in the Immigration and Nationality Act to limit entries for certain migrants due to a “detrimental” effect on the country — citing it as the same provision invoked by President Trump to institute his controversial “Muslim ban.”

• Modi’s BJP party fails to win majority

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been elected to his third term, but his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) fell short of the 272 seats needed for a majority in parliament — forcing Modi to lean on his National Democratic Alliance coalition of allied parties to retain power. Having won 303 seats in the 2019 election and projected an ambitious 370 seats in this election, this decline in the BJP’s popularity is largely attributed to India’s joblessness and Modi’s discriminatory policies toward religious minorities, namely including the country’s 14% Muslim population. With over 640 million voters having participated in the world’s largest democratic process, Modi is only the second PM in India's history to win a third term — yet the main opposition Congress party finds success in the underperformance of the BJP and intends to continue its attack on Modi and the India he has created.

• China identifies two citizens spying for Britain

China’s Ministry of State Security (MSS) has accused Britain of turning two Chinese citizens who were studying in the UK into MI6 spies, both of whom were employed by the Chinese central government and had access to sensitive state information. A Chinese man was invited to meals by MI6 and offered considerable fees and protections to work for the British government, including twice the money if he could convince his wife to spy as well. The MSS has become a more visible than secretive spy agency during Xi Jinping’s leadership, intending to sniff out any foreign operations, and has been engaged in a heated back-and-forth series of accusations with the UK — from Britain charging 3 people with spying for Hong Kong’s intelligence service in May to Beijing identifying a foreign mole employed by MI6 in January.

Business

• Nigerian union strike crashes electricity and airlines

Nigeria’s two largest union federations began a strike on Monday over the government’s unwillingness to raise the minimum wage to the equivalent of $333 per month, notably causing the electrical grid and several airlines to shut down in Africa’s most populated nation. This is the country’s fourth strike during President Bola Tinubu's one-year tenure, largely due to record-high inflation caused by his ending fuel subsidies and devaluing local currency for foreign investment. The Nigerian Labor Congress and the Trade Union Congress agreed to suspend yesterday when the government indicated it was open to an increase, but the strike will resume after one week if demands for a more liveable wage are not met.

• Global wars cause weapons production to skyrocket

According to Chemring, one of the UK’s largest weapons manufacturers, ongoing wars in the Middle East and Europe will push countries into a 10-year cycle of restocking arms. Both NATO and non-NATO members are replenishing their weapons after providing support to Ukraine and Israel and considerably increasing their defense exports in the past few years, with the UK’s total defense exports rising 70% from 2021 to 2022. Chemring projects its sales to quadruple to approximately 1 billion pounds by 2030, additionally factoring in several nations’ desire to prepare for “an increasingly assertive China.”

• AI creates new ways to grieve loved ones

Several companies are using AI-powered technology to simulate the deceased and assist loved ones in grieving, opening up an untraversed area of emotional, moral, and legal considerations. One leading platform Eternos records a user saying 300 phrases and asks personal questions about one’s life and opinions to build an interactive AI version of the person, while StoryFile takes pre-recorded videos from deceased people and predicts their answers to real-time questions using proprietary algorithms. Though family members are eager to maintain some communication ability, researchers at the University of Cambridge’s Center for the Future of Intelligence note that these innovations will indefinitely represent people who no longer have the power to consent and potentially create platforms where companies advertise other products to bereaved users — raising ethical questions that are yet to be answered in the “Age of AI.”

Culture

• Ex-interpreter of baseball star pleads guilty to fraud

Major League Baseball’s highest-paid player and two-time MVP Shohei Ohtani was betrayed by his long-time interpreter Ippei Mizuhara, who impersonated Ohtani to bank officials in order to steal $17 million. Exploiting his Japanese client’s inability to speak English, Mizuhara used the money to clear his extensive gambling debts and committed tax fraud in the process. Just yesterday, he pleaded guilty to tax and bank fraud charges in an Orange County federal court and was scheduled for an October sentencing hearing — facing up to 30 years and possible deportation to Japan after serving his time.

• WWII veterans honored in Normandy after 80 years

World War II veterans traveled to Normandy, France this past weekend for the 80th anniversary of D-Day, where more than 100 events were organized to celebrate the largest air, land, and sea military invasion in history. Several of America’s remaining veterans, most of whom are now centenarians, were in attendance to remember the more than 2,500 Americans who died that day and the 73,000 total Allied troops who died in the Battle of Normandy that ensued, ultimately forcing German forces back. Potentially the last major anniversary where veterans will be present, governments and citizens across the world remain committed to remembering the defining moment of the war and the incredible sacrifices that were made.

• Katy Perry responds to Harrison Butker’s viral speech

Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker delivered a controversial commencement speech at Benedictine College last month, condemning liberal views on abortion and the LGBTQ+ community and encouraging women to embrace their “most important title” as homemakers. After the NFL separated itself from the speech and countless creators spoke out against Butker’s viewpoints on social media, pop star Katy Perry has now posted a highly edited version with a directly opposite meaning. Perry’s version rearranges Butker’s words to say alternative phrases like “I would venture to guess the women here today are going to lead successful careers in the world” and “Happy Pride to all of you,” captioning the post with “fixed this for my girls, my graduates, and my gays — you can do anything.”

Written by Outer Voice founders

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