8: Cameroon’s 92-year-old president Paul Biya has already done it again, and again, and again, and again, and again, and again – and this Sunday he will seek re-election yet again, for his 8th term in office. His health is so poor that last year he was briefly believed to be dead, and he has only appeared in one campaign event, but he’ll likely win, having disqualified his most prominent challenger.
2: EU Commissioner Ursula von der Leyen comfortably survived two separate no-confidence votes in the European Parliament on Thursday. The measures were brought to the floor by groups from the left and from the right. Both accused von der Leyen of rolling over in trade talks with the US, and for pursuing a deal with the South American Mercosur bloc that could hurt Europe’s farmers.
6 billion: The rules-based order really is falling apart, everywhere. Astronomers have identified a “young rogue planet” hundreds of light years from Earth that is currently “gobbling up” its surroundings at a rate of 6 billion tons per second. No word on whether the UN Security Council will issue a statement urging planet “Cha 1107-7626” to stop this unprovoked expansion, but scientists are excited about the insights that it provides on early planet formation.
