World

POLL

How optimistic are the world’s millennials?

A Telefónica–Financial Times survey asked more than 12,000 millennials if their country’s “best days” lay ahead. Here’s the positive vote by region:

Asia

79%

Latin America

78%

Central and Eastern Europe

69%

Middle East and Africa

66%

North America

47%

Western Europe

41%

Iran Poll Watch: After Late Dropouts, Reformers Gain, Voters Complain

BY ARYN BAKER

Days before Iran’s presidential vote, what once seemed an exercise in picking the least bad option began to resemble a real race. Two candidates were late dropouts, leaving six men, all handpicked by Iran’s religious leadership, to vie for the office.

Only three have a real shot, including archconservative chief nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili–who is perceived to be Supreme Leader Ayatullah Ali Khamenei’s preference–and Tehran’s conservative mayor, Mohammad-Baqer Qalibaf, who has big-city-management skills. Hassan Rowhani, a moderate and the ballot’s sole cleric, was expected to do well with young voters who believe he might carve out more personal freedoms. But for all the supporters waving posters of their favored candidates at campaign rallies–replete with balloons, chants and booming music–many others said they wouldn’t participate.

“I’m not voting for anyone,” grumbled Mohammad, a graduate student who attended a rally. “It won’t make a difference.” In 2009 he voted for Mir-Hossein Mousavi, a hugely popular opposition candidate who lost to incumbent Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Millions took to the streets to protest in response to claims of widespread fraud, resulting in a crackdown that saw thousands beaten and scores killed.

This time, Mohammad and many others assumed the results were predetermined: “It’s a selection, not an election.” So why was he at the rally? He grinned, bopping his head to the blaring techno. “I am here to dance,” he joked–dancing is forbidden in Iran. “This is the best disco in town.”

ISRAEL

‘At the end of the day, Assad, with a very strong Iranian and Hizballah backing, might gain the upper hand.’

YUVAL STEINITZ, Israeli Minister of Strategic and Intelligence Affairs, speaking to foreign journalists on June 10 about the prospect that Syrian leader Bashar Assad could win his country’s civil war; other Israeli officials dismissed Steinitz’s remarks as personal and “misinformed”

Roundup

Is a Desperate Argentina Resorting to Money Laundering?

With Argentina’s economy hard up for hard currency, the government of President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner recently passed a law that grants amnesty to tax dodgers who invest in construction projects or bonds in the state-run oil-and-gas company. Critics say it’s an invitation for criminals and drug cartels to launder money. Here’s why the Argentine economy tanked:

1 Failed policies

Fernández’s policy team, La Cámpora, has restricted imports and set wage, price and capital controls.

2 Weak peso

High inflation weakens the peso, so Argentines shift their savings to dollars, making dollars scarcer.

3 Housing-market crash

Since real estate is dollar-based, sales have dropped 41%, with the construction industry also taking a huge hit.

Europe’s Rising Rivers

GERMANY

Clouds reflect in the floodwaters of the overflowing Elbe River near central Tangermünde on June 11. Weeks of heavy rains from late May to early June led to at least 22 deaths and extensive damage throughout central Europe. Germany has pledged $130 million for victims. The rising Danube River threatened major cities such as Vienna and Budapest.

Four Essential Facts About

Who’s Protesting in Turkey

Antidevelopment and youth demonstrators were initially focused on protecting Gezi Park from being razed for a mall, but now they want Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan to go. Here’s who’s trying to make that happen and why:

The Women

Their argument is that Erdogan is antiwomen, evidenced by his advocating at least three children per family, his antiabortion stance and his failure to halt gender violence

The Secular

They see an authoritarian Erdogan slowly pushing Turkey back to its Islamic and conservative roots (in part by restricting alcohol and chastising a couple for kissing in public)

The Outsiders

Occupy Wall Street protesters rallied in New York City against the heavy-handed police crackdowns; before it was raided on June 11, Taksim Square resembled Zuccotti Park

The Poor

Erdogan has pushed urban construction, leading to gentrification that uproots impoverished and minority communities

UNITED STATES

$33.8 MILLION

Amount an anonymous bidder paid for the roughly 8-by-6-ft. 17th century Clark Sickle-Leaf Carpet; the previous record for a Persian rug was $9.6 million, set in London in 2010

Trending In

HUMAN RIGHTS

The U.K. will pay 5,228 Kenyan survivors of the Mau Mau uprising nearly $20 million for abuses committed by British colonial forces in the 1950s

DRESS CODES

Arriva, the train company that barred male drivers in Sweden from wearing shorts (they wore skirts in protest), reversed its ban

PUBLIC HEALTH

In Cape Town, about 180 people, some carrying human waste, were arrested for protesting inadequate sanitation facilities in South Africa

RETRIBUTION

A Kuwaiti court sentenced a teacher to 11 years in jail for allegedly inciting regime change and insulting the Emir on Twitter