Monday Briefing | September 19

Stories to Follow

Russians head to the polls Parliamentary elections were held in Russia this week. Exit polls show that President Vladimir Putin and his United Russia party have comfortably secured the lead, claiming 44.5 percent of the vote. Though this comes as no surprise, some have pointed to low voter turnouts as a possible sign that Putin’s popularity is waning. But, Putin has little to worry about having maintained the popular vote despite an economic slump brought on by Western sanctions on Russia over Ukraine.

New York City Bombing Authorities are still looking for the suspect behind the blast on Saturday night which injured 29 people in the Chelsea neighbourhood. A second unexploded bomb was also found nearby. The motivation behind this bombing remains unknown, though such an intentional explosion in a public place is “generically a terrorist activity”, said New York governor Andrew Cuomo.

17 Soldiers killed in Kashmir Militants in the contested Indian territory of Kashmir have killed at least 17 soldiers following an attack on the army base in Uri. India’s Home Affairs Minister has responded by labelling Pakistan a “terrorist state”, though there is no evidence pointing to Pakistan’s involvement in the attack. Kashmir has seen a growing level of unrest over the past 2 months, following the killing of Burhan Wani, a leader of the Kashmiri separatist group Hizbul Mujaheedin.

This Week in JPI

Caught between two goals: Turkey’s Conflicting Quest for Sustainability and Economic Development “Environmental activists, academics, businessmen and the Turkish government can’t seem to decide on how to attain sustainability, a term described by the UN as satisfying the needs of the present without harming the needs of future generations. In 2015, the world body set 17 sustainability goals to which member countries attempt to adhere. But which among these goals—from building resilient infrastructure to combatting climate change—should take priority varies from stakeholder to stakeholder.”

Happening this week

Book Reading: Negin Farsad Author of “How to Make White People Laugh“:
Tuesday, September 20th at 6:00pm-7:30pm| NYU Bookstore, 726 Broadway
From the acclaimed writer, director, and star of the hit documentary The Muslims are Coming! comes a memoir in essays about growing up Iranian-American in a post-9/11 world and the power of comedy to combat racism.
Negin Farsad is an Iranian-American-Muslim female stand-up comedian who believes she can change the world through jokes.

In Your Free Time

If you are in the mood for some melancholic melodies to cool you out of New York’s blazing summer, listen to Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds’ latest release Skeleton Tree. The first album released following the death of Nick Cave’s son last year rich with grief and longing, with Cave’s crackling tenor swerving across each track. The cut ‘Jesus Alone’ has all the creepiness, sincerity and lyricism that we’ve come to love of these Australian artists.

This Monday Briefing brought to you by Prianka Srinivasan