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Lula da Silva, Brazil's wildly popular former leader, is dominating this year's presidential election. He’s also in prison, having been convicted of corruption in April. Lula’s supporters saw the verdict as a right-wing attempt to derail his campaign, but one fact remains: he’s unlikely to appear on the ballot in October. As João Feres Júnior and Fabio Kerche write, that makes Brazil’s presidential race a free-for-all, with 12 candidates running and no clear favourite.
Burundians will go to the polls today in a referendum that could extend presidential terms from five years to seven. If the proposal passes, it would greatly consolidate leader Pierre Nkurunziza’s power. Mimmi Söderberg Kovacs, Angela Muvumba Sellström and Jesper Bjarnesen explain why that’s a serious threat to the country’s democracy.
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With over a dozen candidates and an incarcerated front-runner, Brazil’s 2018 presidential election has political analysts shrugging their shoulders.
AP Photo/Leo Correa
João Feres Júnior, Rio de Janeiro State University; Fabio Kerche, Fundação Casa de Rui Barbosa
Leftist former President Lula da Silva is the clear favorite in Brazil's 2018 presidential race, leading his closest rival — a firebrand conservative — by 15 points. The only problem: He's in jail.
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Environment + Energy
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Matt Bertone, North Carolina State University
This Speed Read makes the case why you should be nice to spiders you encounter in your home and consider a live-and-let-live policy.
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Louise Rollins-Smith, Vanderbilt University
Chytrid fungus has caused a global "amphibian apocalypse," killing frogs worldwide. Now some appear to be evolving resistance – but a closely related fungus threatens newts and salamanders.
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Politics + Society
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Mimmi Söderberg Kovacs, Uppsala University; Angela Muvumba Sellström, Fondation Maison des Sciences de l'Homme (FMSH) – USPC; Jesper Bjarnesen, Nordic Institute Africa
If the referendum goes President Pierre Nkrunziza's way, it will also be a further blow to ordinary Burundians, who live in a state of hardship and adversity.
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Ahmet Erdi Öztürk, Université de Strasbourg; Fatih Ceran
Turkey’s June 24 elections are the first in 16 years that could be politically meaningful. Opposition parties seem revitalised and could launch anti-Erdoğan coalition into the second round.
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Joshua Roose, Australian Catholic University
Preventing attacks in Indonesia by militants returning from the front lines in the Middle East may take more coordination with Australia.
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Arts + Culture
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Lara-Stephanie Krause, University of Cape Town
It's not far-fetched to suspect that the common understanding of the idea of "mother tongues" in South Africa is coloured by outside influences.
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Science + Technology
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Josh Lepawsky, Memorial University of Newfoundland
No amount of post-consumer recycling can recoup the waste generated before consumers purchase their devices.
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