Politics
Paris Heatwave Brawls and Unverified Middle East Turmoil
With Paris topping 40°C, reports of brawls over air-conditioner purchases requiring police intervention — against a backdrop of more than 2,000 excess deaths attributed to June's heatwave across France and Spain — drew cold Japanese sarcasm about a city that long resisted air conditioning for aesthetic reasons. An image post claiming Israel's prime minister was thrown out of parliament by lawmakers angry that strikes on Iran were 'too soft' spread widely but could not be confirmed, as did talk of a sharia-enforced 'Islamic district' being built in Arkansas. Japanese reactions ranged from heatwave schadenfreude to weary resignation at Middle East politics.