25 talking points for better conversation at cocktails based on what I found interesting this week.
Global Street Smarts
1. India celebrates 75 years of independence - more than half its population is under 25.
2. ConHome's latest Tory leadership election survey: Truss 60 percent, Sunak 28 percent, and 9 percent undecided.
3. UK inflation tops 10%, the highest of wealthy nations.
4. UK NHS: A new Ipsos poll finds the NHS remains top of the list of reasons to be proud to be British.
5. Brazil votes: A poll released on Monday suggested Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva enjoys a comfortable 12-point lead over current Bazilian President Jair Bolsonaro.
6. Biden's approval rating: 42% approve, 56% disapprove.
7. China's youth unemployment is 18.4 percent, and university graduates struggle to find work.
8. Since the start of the Russian invasion, 6,400 Ukrainian men between 18 and 60 have been arrested trying to flee the country
9. Training the Ukrainian Army: An ambitious British-led program provides military training to 10,000 Ukrainian Army recruits and staff.
10. France completes military pullout from Mali: Le Monde reports that after a nearly 10-year-long military intervention in Mali, France says its last soldiers have left the country.
11. Boulangerie, oui: In France, nearly 60% of towns with fewer than 2,500 inhabitants don't have a local bread seller.
12. Quebec will offer a 5th dose of COVID-19 vaccine to all adults as of August 29.
13. The global space sector was worth $470 billion in 2021.
14. US carries out missile test delayed over Chinese drills: The nuclear-capable Minuteman III has a range of 6,000-plus miles and can travel at a speed of approximately 15,000 MPH.
15. Germany to keep the last three nuclear-power plants running: According to a new survey from Der Spiegel, three-quarters of all Germans want to continue the operations of Germany's remaining nuclear power plants.
16. Arizona, Nevada, and Mexico must cut water use from the Colorado River: Under Tier 2 shortage conditions, AZ's annual water apportionment will be reduced by 21%, NV's by 8%, and MEX's by 7%.
17. Apple is exploring manufacturing Apple Watches and MacBooks in Vietnam.
18. Amazon employees are internally testing a TikTok-style photo and video feed in the Amazon app nicknamed "Inspire."
19. American Airlines announced a deposit on 20 Boom Supersonic Overture aircraft.
20. SoulCycle is closing 19 of its 83 studios in the US and Canada.
21. Languishing: Just 31% of workers born after 1989 — Gen Z + younger millennials — say they're "engaged" at work.
22. Bigger than Florida: In 2007, the 100 largest private landowners in the United States owned 27 million acres of property. Fourteen years later, they control 42.2 million acres, an increase of 56 percent.
23. Harvard to offer free MBA tuition to lowest-income students.
24. Foo Fighters' Taylor Hawkins tribute concert will stream live on YouTube and Paramount+, with the first of two tribute concerts taking place at Wembley Stadium on September 3.
25. The San Antonio Spurs and Miami Heat will play a regular-season game in Mexico City on December 17, marking the first NBA Mexico City Game since 2019 and the league's 31st game in Mexico overall.
-Marc
