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- Israel kills 33 in strike on Gaza school
Israel kills 33 in strike on Gaza school
Global 3-by-3
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This morning’s 3-by-3 travels across propaganda balloons in South Korea, a record-breaking cow in Brazil, a surprising Team USA cricket win, and more. Let’s fly!
Politics
Israel kills 33 in strike on Gaza school
An Israeli military strike in central Gaza yesterday morning killed at least 33 people (3 women, 9 children, and 21 men), hitting a school where Hamas militants were supposedly operating. While Israel’s spokesperson has indicated the intent of a limited strike to neutralize 30 individuals planning attacks within three specific classrooms, receiving intelligence that no women or children were present in the targetted areas, the UN agency dedicated to Palestinian refugees said that 6,000 displaced people were sheltering in the school at the time of impact and could not confirm militants were present inside. As violence and devastation persist, Prime Minister Netanyahu has been confirmed to address the U.S. Congress at the end of July, representing many lawmakers’ continued solidarity with Israel — perhaps influenced by the interests of 8 Americans still held hostage by Hamas.
South Korea drops propaganda balloons on North Korea
Led by North Korean defector Park Sand-hak, a South Korean activist group called “Fighters for Free North Korea” flew 10 balloons over the border tied to 200,000 anti-government leaflets, USB sticks with South Korean music and dramas, and $1 U.S. bills. It was a direct response to North Korea flying 600 trash-filled balloons to their southern neighbor last week, retaliating for prior leaflets sent by Park’s group in May and acting in defense of Kim Jong Un’s rule. Though South Korea’s military found no presence of dangerous biological or chemical substances in the trash, this back-and-forth has infuriated both governments and led to the suspension of a 2018 tension-easing agreement — meaning that South Korea will now be able to conduct anti-North Korea loudspeaker broadcasts at the border and firing exercises, with the North likely to respond militarily as well.
Russia expands its military footprint in Africa
Russia’s foreign minister visited Burkina Faso in a multi-country tour to offer the West African nation more support in combatting violent extremist groups, notably on trend with several countries in the Sahel region of West Africa turning toward Russia and away from Western powers. Using private security companies Wagner and Africa Corps, Russia has deployed mercenaries to protect several African governments (e.g., Sudan, Libya, Mali, Niger), defend against insurgency, and resolve long-standing conflict, choosing not to interfere with local politics in the process. With many African nations expelling France and the U.S. in recent years, frustrated with the colonial history, lack of social progress, and forced imposition of democratic values, Russia is already benefitting from its approach to increase military presence in exchange for mining deals across the abundant region — from gold in the Central African Republic to diamonds in Zimbabwe to cobalt in Congo.
Business
Tokyo government is creating a dating app for citizens
In a country where marriage is declining, birth rates are at an all-time low, and the labor shortage is severe, Tokyo’s City Hall is building a dating app called “Tokyo Futari Story” for citizens to begin using later this year — intending to foster romantic connection amid a highly intense workplace culture. As Japanese young adults display less desire to get married and have children, consistent with young adults globally, the city is also organizing matchmaking events and marriage counseling services. Decades since Japan’s baby boom era of the 1970s, the national government has guaranteed cash incentives for families with children and invested in child-care facilities, all while encouraging more immigration to strengthen the domestic workforce.
Brazil’s most expensive cow signals growing cattle industry
Brazil has raised a $4 million cow weighing more than 2,400 pounds, the most expensive ever sold at auction and a testament to lengthy innovations taken by the country to expand its cattle industry — already the world's leader having exported over 2 million tons of beef in 2023. With a commitment to scale, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has been working to open new and lucrative markets, urging Japan’s prime minister to import Brazilian beef and getting 38 Brazilian meatpacking plants authorized by China. Though 86% of the nation’s greenhouse emissions are attributed to its food production (caused by the carbon released by slashed rainforests and the methane that cows burp), efforts to raise heavier cows for earlier slaughter are predicted to reduce livestock emissions.
ByteDance finds a loophole to use Nvidia’s AI chips
The U.S. has banned Nvidia (the global leader in AI chip production that just surpassed $3 trillion in market value) from exporting its chips to China since 2022, but TikTok’s Chinese owner ByteDance has exploited a legal opportunity to utilize them. American cloud company Oracle is reportedly renting out its US-based servers containing Nvidia’s powerful H100 chips and allowing ByteDance to train AI models domestically — technically staying within the lines of the U.S. regulations but failing to protect developments that could easily be sent back to their headquarters. In a moment when ByteDance is the target of American lawmakers, many of whom passed legislation to ban TikTok in the U.S. if it is not sold off, the Commerce Department is aiming to close this loophole by requiring U.S. cloud companies to verify the identities of their foreign customers and announce any potentially malicious activity — though this rule is yet to be implemented.
Culture
USA cricket team upsets Pakistan at T20 World Cup
Hosting and playing in the T20 Cricket World Cup for the first time, Team USA secured an unexpected tiebreaker win against powerhouse Pakistan — a prestigious team that reached the final of this tournament in 2022 and won it in 2009. Though cricket is not yet mainstream in the States, the sport has seen considerable growth after Major League Cricket was established domestically in 2023 with 6 teams, backed by celebrity investors such as Satya Nadella, Ross Perot Jr., and Shah Rukh Khan. Team captain Monank Patel, who won Man of the Match for his 50 runs, said it was “a big day for the USA cricket community” and is hopeful as they prepare to play India next, the world’s #1 ranked team.
Alleged inspiration for “Baby Reindeer” sues Netflix
Netflix has been sued by the person who allegedly inspired the character of Martha in its popular “Baby Reindeer” series created by Richard Gadd — a woman who stalks and assaults a younger man based on Gadd himself. Fiona Harvey, a lawyer living in London, filed the lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California and seeks $170 million for defamatory damages, claiming that she is not a stalker, has never been convicted of anything the show suggests is “based on a true story,” and has been exposed to public ridicule due to the character’s close resemblance to her. Netflix has indicated its intent to defend against Harvey’s claims and “stand by Richard Gadd’s right to tell his story.”
World’s 50 Best Restaurants list puts Spain on top
World’s 50 Best Restaurants released its 2024 prestigious list to recognize fine dining and held the awards ceremony in Las Vegas, naming 6 Spanish restaurants in total, 3 in the top five, and Barcelona’s Disfrutar as the winner. Known as the Oscars of global fine dining, the annual honor is selected by 1,080 chefs and food experts from 27 distinct global regions. Paris and Bangkok tied as the most awarded cities with 4 restaurants each, while the U.S. scored two placements as the host country — Atomix in New York City and SingleThread in California’s Sonoma Valley.
Written by Outer Voice founders
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