Trump Takes On The CIA While ISIS Takes Palmyra
PNUT GALLERY
Fun fact that will make any city dweller jealous: Sweden’s recycling system is so revolutionary, they’ve run out of garbage.
IN A NUTSHELL: MUST READ
Turkey Deals With Bombs In Istanbul And Bills In Ankara
The Turkish government has announced its “vow to avenge” the victims of Saturday night’s twin bombings outside a football stadium in Istanbul. The attacks, which were orchestrated with a car packed with 300kg of explosives and a suicide bomb, killed 38 people and injured more than 160 others. “Sooner or later, we will have our vengeance. This blood will not be left on the ground, no matter what the price, what the cost,” said interior minister Süleyman Soylu in the least comforting way possible. Though there still needs to be an investigation, the government feels strongly that this was the work of Kurdish separatists.
While Turkish citizens mourn the loss from these attacks, President Erdogan’s AK Party submitted a bill to parliament that would grant extended powers to the presidency and abolish the prime ministry. Don’t let it fall under the radar: If this 21-article constitutional change gets adopted, Turkey will no longer function as a parliamentary system but as an executive presidency, a massive power-grab for Erdogan. Supporters of the constitutional change argue that Turkey already has “partial executive presidency” and removing the prime ministry is the natural next step. Critics, however, warn that Erdogan’s accumulation of power will pave the way for authoritarianism. Also, giving one person the state’s entire executive power just feels, well, undemocratic.
NUTS AND BOLTS: SHOULD READ
#Trumpdate: The Donald Takes On The CIA
In an ironic announcement of historical proportions, the CIA announced that it was pretty certain that Russia intervened in America’s elections last month by hacking DNC emails in order to ensure a Clinton loss/Trump victory. The announcement was greeted with some bemusement around the world when they remembered that one of the CIA’s first major projects was to intervene in Italy’s post-war elections in 1948, but it has intervened in a lot more elections since then. Many Senators were much less bemused by the announcement. Four senior US Senators, including Republicans John McCain and Lindsay Graham, said the revelations should “alarm every American” and asked Congress to investigate what happened. The revelation is alarming because of the obvious reason that it might have tipped the election and because of the fact that the Obama Administration and the US government in general has no plan for how to respond to such attacks.
Trump was having none of it. In an interview with Fox, he said the claims were “ridiculous” and that it was just the Democrats making excuses for a landslide loss. (Trump lost the popular vote and his margin of victory in the electoral college ranks 46 out of 58.) The renewed focus on Russia’s role is bound to put Trump’s latest frontrunner for Secretary of State, Rex Tillerson, under heavy scrutiny. Rex is the current CEO of Exxon Mobil and has cultivated a long-standing and warm relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin. His coziness with Putin will make some Republican Senators (like Graham and McCain) uncomfortable.
Palmyra Is Having Terrible Déjà Vu
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights confirmed that ISIS recaptured the historic city of Palmyra this weekend. The militant group took back the ancient city using a similar strategy to when they took Palmyra in May of last year: storm the city’s outskirts to create a mass retreat of the Syrian military. Last time ISIS pulled this stunt, they rampaged through the city’s celebrated ruins and blew up the 2,000-year-old Temple of Bel and the Arch of Victory. They also carried out mass executions in the historic amphitheater and killed Khaled al-Asaad, Palmyra’s leading archaeologist. “It’s a repeat of the same scenario,” said Maamoun Abdulkarim, Syria’s director of antiquities. In a heartbreaking interview with The Guardian, he explained that “today we will watch that same film again, that horror movie, if they stay in the city. It will be an insult to the entire international community and to civilization as a whole. I hope the international community unites on this again. It must not be politicized. Palmyra is an international treasure.”
Pnut Read: What You Need To Know About Today’s ISIS
Two Tragedies Strike Churches In Nigeria And Egypt
Many of Egypt’s Christian minority gathered in the streets of Cairo to show their anger after a bomb targeted the complex of St. Mark’s Cathedral. The bomb killed at least 25 people – many of whom were women and children – in what is the headquarters of the Coptic Orthodox Church and the home of its leader, Pope Tawadros II. Though Coptic communities are often targeted by militant groups, this was one of the deadliest single attacks in years. President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi declared a three-day period of national mourning.
Meanwhile in Nigeria, the roof of the Reigners Bible Church collapsed over the weekend, killing at least 160 people. Udom Emmanuel, the state governor of Akwa Ibom, was inside the church with hundreds of others to ordain the church’s founder Akan Weeks as a bishop. Weeks and Ibom were able to escape, but the death toll is expected to rise. A crane is now being used to sort through the debris and understand why the corrugated iron roof caved in during the ceremony. The building had been under construction in the days leading up to the event, and the Nigerian government has been fighting with corruption in the construction industry, where contractors use sub-standard materials and ofter bribe inspectors.
KEEPING OUR EYE ON
Italy: President Sergio Mattarella has selected foreign minister Paolo Gentiloni to be Italy’s next prime minister. He will be replacing Matteo Renzi, who resigned after a defeat in the referendum over constitutional reforms.
New Zealand: And in other office-swapping news, New Zealand’s governing National Party officially appointed Bill English to succeed John Key as prime minister. Key resigned last week for family reasons and said he would not seek a fourth term in the 2017 election.
LOOSE NUTS: FOR YOUR ENJOYMENT
Ikea Renames Products After ‘Secret Anxieties’
Finally realizing that some of their product names were difficult for an American audience, Ikea is renaming its bestselling products after common anxieties. Now, a single daybed will be called “My partner snores” and the chalkboard formerly known as “Luns” will be called “He can’t say he loves me.” What a magical phrase to give someone as a gift.
Known as “Ikea Retail Therapy,” the rationale behind the marketing campaign is that Ikea’s products are designed to solve everyday dilemmas. A bit strange that none of these products are named “Assembling Ikea furniture,” though.
