Britain’s Leadership Crisis And A Russo-Turkish Manhunt

PNUT GALLERY

Given that many of you will be celebrating the land of the free and home of the brave, we’re taking Monday off. Enjoy chanting USA! USA! in American flag chubbies with an ice cold can of America, the beer. 

IN A NUTSHELL: MUST READ

Brexit: Responsibility Is For Losers

Like a dog who finally caught his tail and isn’t sure what to do about it, Boris Johnson, one of the leaders of the UK’s “Leave” campaign, decided yesterday that he wasn’t up for being PM. English people breathed a sigh of relief that they wouldn’t be led by a man whose sentence completion rate barely surpassed Trump’s but were also indignant at the cavalier attitude exhibited by a man who pushed them to making such a big bet on their future. 

Who will assume the heavy mantle of leadership?

It seems that the race to replace David Cameron amongst the Tory party, and subsequently as PM, comes down to Theresa May, seen as the next Margaret Thatcher, and Michael Gove, a man known for dismissing “expert” opinion. With the Conservatives battling it out and the Labour Party in chaos, the fear is that far-right, pro-Brexit UKIP, currently with one seat in Parliament, will stand to gain the most in the next general election. Splendid! 

Pnut Read: We’ve Got The Full Lowdown On Brexit For you

Turkey Begins Its Hunt For Passports

While Turkish police carried out raids against suspected ISIS cells in Istanbul and Izmir, the identities of the three attackers from the airport bombing were released, and boy does it make Russia look awkward. On a day of painfully bad timing, Russian President Vladimir Putin lifted the country’s ban on chartered tours to Turkey just moments before international headlines identified the attackers as “ex-USSR.”

The three foreign nationals involved in the murder of 43 people at Ataturk airport were Russian, Uzbek and Kyrgyz, and are possibly linked to the Yarmouk Battalion, a Chechen faction of ISIS. Led by Akhmed Chatayev, the group is responsible for the recruiting and training of Russian-speaking ISIS militants. Despite the poorly timed announcements, this won’t dissolve Russia and Turkey’s fledgling attempts at friendship. Putin himself is trying to fight ISIS recruitment in former USSR countries, where he believes there have been between 5,000 and 7,000 recruited.

Pnut Read: The Origins Of ISIS

NUTS AND BOLTS: SHOULD READ

US Military Bans Its Previous Ban On Transgender Enlistment

History was made after the Pentagon realized that someone’s gender identity has nothing to do with their qualifications or ability, and announced yesterday that it would end its ban on transgender people being able to serve openly in the US military. The decision follows major changes in recent years including the role of women in the military as well as gay, lesbian and bisexual service members. At the upper end of the estimates, there are as many as 11,000 transgender active duty service members who will be affected by the decision, which Defense Secretary Ash Carter called “a matter of principle.” 

Rodrigo Duterte May Have ‘Catfished’ The Philippines

Rodrigo Duterte has long been called the “Donald Trump of Asia” for his unrehearsed speeches laden with profanity, his endorsement for extra-judicial killings and his anti-establishment appeal. Yesterday, the foul-mouthed celebrity was sworn in as President of the Philippines, and took on a completely new tone in his inaugural speech. Refraining from his usual curse words and insults, President Duterte extended an olive branch to the political elites. All of a sudden, the man who once said Manila Bay “would grow fat” from all the criminals that would die under his new death penalty became a bashful, humble gentleman in his speech, promising his constituents that he respects the limits of his power. He no longer sounds like the president the Philippines signed up for, but maybe that’s a good thing. 

America’s Love For Beer Is Causing A Mexican Water Crisis

Fourth of July is when America’s love for beer becomes a national symbol, but lately the country’s beer consumption has directly caused Mexico to incur a serious water shortage. The American demand for Mexican beer has become so popular, Mexican breweries like Corona and Modelo needed to use the water from arid land near the US border, leaving the entire municipality of Zaragoza dry. The US is the largest importer of Mexican beer, and so long as American beer retains its poor, watery reputation, demand for Mexican beer will continue and the water shortage is likely to persist.

KEEPING OUR EYE ON…

Denmark: For the first time since the controversial law passed, Danish police are now confiscating valuables from asylum seekers in the country. Police seized the equivalent of $11,875 from five Iranian citizens yesterday. 

Serial: Adnan Syed, the focus of the NPR podcast Serial, has been granted a new trial, according to his attorneys. The podcast highlighted Syed’s unusual and often botched trial for the murder of his ex-girlfriend in 2000. 

Tesla: The innovative car maker confirmed its first fatality in an Autopiloted Tesla Model S. The vehicle crashed into a tractor-trailer that crossed in front of it on a divided highway.

West Bank: A 13-year-old Israeli girl was stabbed to death in her bedroom by a Palestinian man in the Kiryat Arba settlement in the West Bank. The attacker was subsequently shot by security guards. 

LOOSE NUTS: FOR YOUR ENJOYMENT

Special Brexit Edition: Things We Love About Britain

By any measure, it has been a rough week for those sceptered isles. So to make our British readers feel better about themselves we thought we would give you a quick recap of some good things you’ve contributed to the world: the Beatles, Kate Middleton, Monty Python, the Queen’s dainty wave, driving on the wrong side of the road, America (albeit reluctantly), Harry Potter, the sexy actors from Game of Thrones, black cabs, room temperature beer (not), the Industrial Revolution, Parliamentary Democracy, hobnobs and, oddly enough, the European Union. Cheer up ol’ chaps!

Weekend Reads:

• How Brexit will change the world. 
• Here’s the career advice that Obama gives to his interns. 
• Lunch with the Financial Times with writer Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, author of Americanah (FT paywall).
• Bernie Sanders: Democrats need to wake up. 
• On gender and writing: how a journalist became a reluctant memoirist. 
• Casual sex: everyone is doing it.
• Another secession? Don’t mess with Texit.
• Editorial: The world’s losers are revolting, and Brexit is only the beginning.
• How David Cameron blew it. 
• The stories of the Victorian British aristocrats who converted to Islam.
• Uruguay may have the model for making abortion safer. 
• The badass librarians who saved ancient manuscripts from al Qaeda.