POLL
How optimistic are the world's millennials?
A Telefónica--Financial Times survey asked more than 12,000 millennials if their country's "best days" lay ahead. Here's the positive vote by region:
Asia
79%
Latin America
78%
Central and Eastern Europe
69%
Middle East and Africa
66%
North America
47%
Western Europe
41%
Iran Poll Watch: After Late Dropouts, Reformers Gain, Voters Complain
BY ARYN BAKER
Days before Iran's presidential vote, what once seemed an exercise in picking the least bad option began to resemble a real race. Two candidates were late dropouts, leaving six men, all handpicked by Iran's religious leadership, to vie for the office.
Only three have a real shot, including archconservative chief nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili--who is perceived to be Supreme Leader Ayatullah Ali Khamenei's preference--and Tehran's conservative mayor, Mohammad-Baqer Qalibaf, who has big-city-management skills. Hassan Rowhani, a moderate and the ballot's sole cleric, was expected to do well with young voters who believe he might carve out more personal freedoms. But for all the supporters waving posters of their favored candidates at campaign rallies--replete with balloons, chants and booming music--many others said they wouldn't participate.
"I'm not voting for anyone," grumbled Mohammad, a graduate student who attended a rally. "It won't make a difference." In 2009 he voted for Mir-Hossein Mousavi, a hugely popular opposition candidate who lost to incumbent Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Millions took to the streets to protest in response to claims of widespread fraud, resulting in a crackdown that saw thousands beaten and scores killed.
This time, Mohammad and many others assumed the results were predetermined: "It's a selection, not an election." So why was he at the rally? He grinned, bopping his head to the blaring techno. "I am here to dance," he joked--dancing is forbidden in Iran. "This is the best disco in town."
ISRAEL
'At the end of the day, Assad, with a very strong Iranian and Hizballah backing, might gain the upper hand.'
YUVAL STEINITZ, Israeli Minister of Strategic and Intelligence Affairs, speaking to foreign journalists on June 10 about the prospect that Syrian leader Bashar Assad could win his country's civil war; other Israeli officials dismissed Steinitz's remarks as personal and "misinformed"
Roundup
Is a Desperate Argentina Resorting to Money Laundering?
With Argentina's economy hard up for hard currency, the government of President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner recently passed a law that grants amnesty to tax dodgers who invest in construction projects or bonds in the state-run oil-and-gas company. Critics say it's an invitation for criminals and drug cartels to launder money. Here's why the Argentine economy tanked:
1 Failed policies
Fernández's policy team, La Cámpora, has restricted imports and set wage, price and capital controls.
2 Weak peso