🌏 Retaliation against Johnson

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Key ministers resigned from the British government. The departures of two top ministers, as well as the conservative party vice chair and junior-ranking lawmakers, signaled a loss of confidence in prime minister Boris Johnson amid high-profile scandals.

China is opening up more international flights. Routes to Russia and the Philippines are being added as covid restrictions ease. However, authorities remain cautious as covid cases have surged in Macau and mass testing ramped up in Shanghai.

Restaurants and hotels in India were barred from charging a service tax. The country’s regulators said customers must be free to choose whether to tip, and how much.

Italy is in its worst drought in 70 years. A state of emergency was declared in five regions along the Po river and a number of cities have started rationing water.

Sri Lanka asked its citizens abroad to send dollars home. The country needs foreign currency to restock on oil, which is in critical shortage.

Scandinavian airlines SAS filed for bankruptcy. The announcement comes as 1,000 of its pilots went on strike. Roughly half of its daily flights are expected to be canceled.

Malaysian chicken breeders called for an end to a Singapore export ban. They argue domestic supply has stabilized. Meanwhile, McDonald’s in the Philippines is struggling to source quality poultry.

What to watch for

The billionaires are being dropped off at summer camp. In the small Idaho resort town of Sun Valley, the well-heeled set are flying their private jets in for the annual Allen & Co.-hosted Sun Valley conference, which kicked off on Tuesday and runs through July 10. It’s been called “summer camp” for the ultra-rich, but it’s also a frequent backdrop for media merger and acquisition talks. I mean, what else would you do for some summer fun?

Among the expected attendees: Rupert Murdoch, Andy Jassy, Mark Zuckerberg, Peter Thiel, and Elon Musk, who is in the middle of a much-Tweeted about media deal. Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal is also invited, so there is speculation that Musk will try to use Sun Valley to potentially renegotiate his $44 billion bid to buy Twitter, which is expected to close this fall.

Turkey seeks greener pastures

Turkey is intensifying negotiations between Russia and Ukraine for a Black Sea grain corridor to relieve a global food crisis. But at home, Turkey is struggling to feed its own population, a problem that’s persisted since 2015.

As the country’s inflation rate hits 80% and food prices double, Turkey is looking to Sudan for solutions. It’s reviving a plan from 2014 to purchase a 99-year lease on 850,000 hectares of land in the White Nile basin. The original plan faced roadblocks due to ownership, storage, and political upheaval. This time, Turkey aims to grow corn, cotton, and other crops it can no longer produce due to climate change.

Turkey isn’t alone in making what has been criticized as a neo-colonial “land grab” in Africa. Wealthy countries like Britain and the US are also leasing land. The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization has noted that the most precious commodity countries are claiming in Africa is not land—it’s water.

Zoom in for a closer look

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• Why did the US Supreme Court take a hard right? The Weekend Brief showed why it’ll probably take a whole generation for America’s high court to shift away from its current hyper-partisan conservatism.
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Surprising discoveries

The Eiffel Tower is getting rusty. According to a leaked report, the 133-year-old monument needs a fix-up, but only cosmetic repairs have been planned so far.

Cinemas are banning teens from viewing Minions: The Rise of Gru. The #gentleminions trend, which requires wearing a suit to watch the film, has caused some dapper disturbances.

Sewage water is being used to make beer. Singapore’s “NEWbrew” is a blonde ale made from toilet water that aims to send a message about recycling.

Pokémon made 9 billion new cards last year. Hype to catch ‘em all was so high that the company printed more than a quarter of all the cards it’s ever created from 2020 to 2022.

Sand batteries can store green power for months. Finnish researchers believe they could be a simple and low-cost alternative to other energy sources.

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