First Mussolini, Now Meloni

Start your day smarter with the most important world news, plus intriguing and offbeat stories. www.ozy.com [OZY]( [OZY]() Your World. Bold & Bright [Presidential Daily Brief]( Sponsored by [Cariuma]( Start your day smarter with a dossier on the most important world news, rounded off with a shot of intriguing and offbeat stories. Like the president, you deserve no less. Sep 26, 2022 Today Italy appears to have elected its first far-right leader since World War II. The pound tumbled to its lowest ever rate against the dollar. A Russian man who refused to fight in Ukraine shot a draft officer at point-blank range. And deadly protests in Iran continued for a 10th night. All this and more in today’s PDB. [Autumn Breeze & Sneakers Please]( [Cariuma]( Every season is sneaker season if you ask us. Summer is winding down and beach days are slowly turning into skatepark nights. And if you’re searching for some classic, comfy, and transitional footwear to guide you through this next season, [Cariuma]( has got you covered. The Oca Low Canvas sneaks are a signature staple – featuring organic cotton, a perfectly weighted rubber sole, and a classic cap-toe design for a crazy-comfy, go-to look. No wonder it’s a staple in OZY’s wardrobe, not just for autumn, but for every season. Grab yourself a pair with our exclusive code, [OZYSEPT](, which scores you 15% off on any sneaker of your choice. [Shop Now]( IMPORTANT When in Rome Partial Results: Far Right’s Meloni On Track to Be Italian PM Giorgia Meloni is set to win 26% of the vote, putting her on course to become Italy’s first female prime minister and its first far-right leader since World War II. Matteo Salvini and Silvio Berlusconi, the other members of her right-wing coalition, fared poorly — but their collective 44% puts them well ahead of the center-left alliance’s 26%. While the world is worried about what Meloni’s win might mean for Italian foreign policy, political science professor Gianluca Passarelli says she’ll likely focus on domestic affairs: “I think we will see more restrictions on civil rights and policies on LGBT and immigrants.” (Sources: [BBC](, [AP]() Rock Bottom The Markets Have Spoken: Pound Hits All-Time Low Against Dollar Sterling crashed almost 5% Monday to hit $1.0327, its lowest rate against the dollar since decimalization in 1971. The currency had already dropped 3.61% Friday after Britain’s new finance minister Kwasi Karteng announced historic tax cuts funded by massive state borrowing, including $78 billion in just the next six months. Prime Minister Liz Truss, who’s been in power less than three weeks, has taken widespread flak for launching such a bold plan just a day after the central bank hiked interest rates. Market strategist Marc Chandler described the plunge as “incredible” and predicted an emergency Bank of England meeting. (Source: [Reuters]() Not Without a Fight Draft Officer Shot in Latest Show of Anger at Putin’s Mobilization Seconds after saying he wouldn’t fight in Ukraine, a man in the Siberian town of Ust-Ilimsk shot the leader of the local military draft committee three times at point-blank range. While some reports suggested the commander had died, regional governor Igor Kobzev wrote that he was in critical condition — and he warned that the shooter would “absolutely be punished.” Elsewhere, over 100 people in Russia’s mainly Muslim region of Dagestan were arrested following violent clashes with police. Over 2,000 people have been arrested nationwide for protesting the mobilization, but violence against authorities has been rare. (Sources: [The Guardian](, [BBC]() ‘Death to the Dictator’ Iran Protests Gather Steam, Death Toll Passes 50 Protests following the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, who died after being arrested by morality police for failing to wear a headscarf, persisted for a 10th straight night. The official death toll is 41, but Norway-based group Iran Human Rights says at least 57 people have been killed — probably many more. People around the country have taken to the streets to protest not only the oppression of women, but also the state of the economy and — especially in northern Iran — the treatment of the Kurdish minority. Common chants heard at protests include “Death to the dictator” and “Women, life and freedom.” (Sources: [NYT](, [The Guardian]() Briefly Here are some things you should know about today: School shooting. A gunman wearing a T-short adorned with Nazi symbols killed at least 13 people, including seven children, at a school in the Russian city of Izhevsk before committing suicide. His motives remained unclear. (Source: [AP]() Outbreak! The number of confirmed ebola cases in Uganda has risen to 16, with a further 18 people suspected of having the disease. Four people have died since the outbreak was announced in early September. (Source: [Al Jazeera]() After Fiona. Hundreds of thousands of Canadians in the Atlantic provinces remain without electricity as authorities struggle to clean up after Hurricane Fiona. The body of a woman who’d been swept out to sea has been recovered. (Source: [CBS]() [BESTSELLING IS BACK…for a second]( [Cariuma]( To call [Cariuma’s]( OCA Low Canvas shoes a bestseller is an understatement. They’ve collected a 61,000+ person waitlist and are finally back in stock for readers like you. 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Now Belgian “surveillance artist” [Dries Depoorter]( has paired freely available webcam footage — from Times Square, Wrigley Field and Dublin’s Temple Bar — with public Instagram posts to show the lengths folks will go to in order to get a good shot. He says it exposes the artifice of social media and the perils of public surveillance. Professor Suresh Venkatasubramanian agrees, but he has concerns over Depoorter’s methodology: “You don’t break into someone’s house to show them you can break into their house.” (Source: [NYT](, Image: [driesdepoorter]() How Green Is Thy Valley? Utah, Land of Mormon Lawns and Megadroughts For many of Utah’s 2 million Mormons a green lawn is a symbol of religious devotion, inspired by an Old Testament verse that states “the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose.” Problem is, Utah is the second-driest state in the U.S. and it’s currently in the throes of a crippling megadrought. While many Mormon families and churches kept the sprinklers flowing all summer long, there’s a growing trend toward more responsible environmental stewardship within the church. Marlene Esplin saw letting her lawn die as an expression of faith: “Why not let the desert bloom as a desert?” she asked. (Source: [The Guardian]() Cash in the Attic Maine Man Buys Medieval Document at Estate Sale Will Sideri was hoping to find a cake mixer when he spied an interesting framed document on the wall. A sticker dated it to 1285 — and, curiously, priced it at $75. Sideri, who’d taken a manuscripts class at college, suspected the page was authentic, so he texted a pic to his old professor and rushed home to get his checkbook. Within hours academic experts had confirmed that it was from The Beauvais Missal, a 700-year-old medieval prayer book — and that it was worth as much as $10,000. “I have something very vintage,” said Sideri. “Like 1285 vintage.’’ (Sources: [AP](, [The Maine Monitor]() Pink Void Roger Waters’ Polish Shows Canceled After Ukraine Comments Concert promoter Live Nation Poland said the Krakow shows won’t be going ahead without giving a reason. In early September, Waters — the creative force behind British band Pink Floyd — penned an [open letter]( to Ukrainian first lady Olena Zelenska in which he objected to the West sending weapons to Ukraine. He also accused her “old man,” President Zelenskyy, of kowtowing to “extreme nationalists” who “set your country on the path to this disastrous war.” Waters released a statement saying he hadn’t canceled the shows. Instead he blamed a Krakow city councilor for asking the city to declare Waters persona non grata. (Source: [CNN]() Marathon Man Eliud Kipchoge Shatters His Own Marathon Record in Berlin The 37-year-old Kenyan megastar crossed the line in 2:01:09 to shave 30 seconds off the world record he set on the same course in 2018. Incredible though the time was, for much of the race it looked like he might actually break the mythical two-hour barrier: He reached the halfway mark in a staggering 59:51, but slowed slightly in the final stages of the race. Though Kipchoge has already run a sub-two-hour marathon, that was achieved with a phalanx of pacemakers and didn’t meet World Athletics criteria. Meanwhile, the women’s race was won by Ethiopia’s Tigist Assefa in 2:15:37. (Sources: [BBC](, [The Guardian]() Catch the Newest Episodes of The Carlos Watson Show, Season 4! COMMUNITY What else are you curious about? 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