2024
June
14
Friday

Monitor Daily Podcast

June 14, 2024
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When you’re used to getting your way, what happens when people start pushing back? That’s what’s going on in Iran and India, and we examine that dynamic in two stories in today’s Daily. 

The situations are different. Yet they show that when the people are given any political voice at all, dissatisfaction with autocratic ways usually comes to the surface before too long.


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Today's stories

And why we wrote them

Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP
Elon Musk arrives at the 10th Breakthrough Prize Ceremony April 13, 2024, in Los Angeles.

By voting for a huge and unconventional pay package for Tesla’s Elon Musk, shareholders highlight unsettled questions over what’s fair and effective in CEO pay.

Today’s news briefs

Putin cease-fire proposal: Russian President Vladimir Putin promises to order an immediate cease-fire in Ukraine and begin negotiations if Kyiv starts withdrawing troops from the four regions annexed by Moscow in 2022 and renounces plans to join NATO.
Supreme Court gun ruling: The Supreme Court strikes down a Trump-era ban on bump stocks, a gun accessory that allows semiautomatic weapons to fire rapidly like machine guns.
U.S.-Houthi fight intensifies: The U.S.-led campaign against Iran-backed Houthi rebels has turned into the most intense running sea battle the Navy has faced since World War II.
• Hajj pilgrimage begins: Muslim pilgrims converge on a vast tent camp in the desert near Mecca, Saudi Arabia, officially beginning the annual Hajj. 

Read these news briefs.

For some voters, President Joe Biden’s tougher border action may be too little, too late. Here’s the view from a competitive Colorado district in a state grappling with a migrant influx. 

Majid Asgaripour/WANA/Reuters
A newspaper with a cover picture of presidential candidate Masoud Pezeshkian at a newsstand in Tehran, Iran, June 13, 2024.

In Iran, the revolution’s leadership sees every election as a referendum of sorts on its legitimacy. But as hard-liners have sought to solidify their control over the levers of power, political apathy has set in and voter turnout has fallen.

Adnan Abidi/Reuters
People attend Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's swearing-in ceremony at the presidential palace in New Delhi, June 9, 2024.

India has formed a new coalition government – will it last? Only, experts say, if the ruling party can temper its Hindu nationalism and compromise on other key issues after a decade of calling the shots.

Podcast

Why greening a city meant first winning over its jaded residents

Our multimedia reporter (really) likes trees. He rejoins our podcast, on which he’s also a producer, to talk about a story he reported on a hot city’s push to add a cooling canopy – and why that had its earnest planting partners working hard for public trust.  

Turning Trust Into Tree Cover

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The Monitor's View

The world’s most popular sport – football (for Americans, read “soccer”) – is about to find out if greater honesty can be a game changer.

That, at least, is what the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) believes as it institutes new rules in time for its Continent-wide tournament with 24 national teams.

The first match starts Friday in host country Germany with 51 matches spread over 31 days. The viewership of the European Football Championship ranks high in comparison with other quadrennial sports extravaganzas.

For years, UEFA has wanted to end the on-field spectacle in which players on both sides gang up on a referee claiming to speak the truth about a foul (or no foul). The display of dishonesty can be distasteful. Referees feel menaced. Trust between officials and teams breaks down.

“Explaining a decision with up to 22 players mobbing you is impossible for a referee,” stated UEFA managing director of refereeing Roberto Rosetti. “It can lead to a breakdown in communication, with the beautiful game turning very ugly very quickly.”

The new rules aim to bring clarity and simplicity about a ref’s call, perhaps changing player behavior on the pitch (for Americans, read “field”).

For one, only a team captain can now approach the referee, or if the captain is the goalkeeper, another player can step in. Anyone else who dissents or shows disrespect gets a yellow card (for Americans, read “warning”).

“The other players, they have to think about [playing]. That’s it, finish,” said Mr. Rosetti.

A second rule will see referees explaining their decisions in detail to teams – and to spectators. Explanations will be broadcast on giant screens in stadiums. Mr. Rosetti gave an example: “Germany number nine touch the ball with his left arm which was in an unnatural position above the shoulder and making his body bigger.”

In addition, Euro 2024 for the first time will use a new type of ball fitted with sensors that can detect whether a player touched it and that can indicate whether a player was offside. These “robot” balls, which rely on microchips, may help curb cheating.

A team of 18 referees will officiate at Euro 2024, all the way to the final match in Berlin on July 14. With the added transparency, the refs may feel more grace and dignity from the players. And the beautiful game could become a model of how honesty can help any society that wants everyone to play by the same rules.


A Christian Science Perspective

About this feature

Each weekday, the Monitor includes one clearly labeled religious article offering spiritual insight on contemporary issues, including the news. The publication – in its various forms – is produced for anyone who cares about the progress of the human endeavor around the world and seeks news reported with compassion, intelligence, and an essentially constructive lens. For many, that caring has religious roots. For many, it does not. The Monitor has always embraced both audiences. The Monitor is owned by a church – The First Church of Christ, Scientist, in Boston – whose founder was concerned with both the state of the world and the quality of available news.

As our divine Parent, God is not far off and absent, but ever present with us, and we are able to feel and experience His comforting love.


Viewfinder

Mike Segar/Reuters
The largest free-flying U.S. flag in the world hangs from the western span of the George Washington Bridge over the Hudson River between New Jersey and New York City, on the nation’s annual Flag Day, June 14.
( The illustrations in today’s Monitor Daily are by Jacob Turcotte and Karen Norris. )

A look ahead

Thank you for joining us this week. We’ll start next week with the touching story of how the Ukrainian city of Donetsk – once known as the city of a million roses – is now at the center of war. But in modest private gardens, town parks, gas stations, and highway median strips, roses there today have come to symbolize hope and perseverance. 

More issues

2024
June
14
Friday

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