Globe Trot: Islamist party loses majority in Turkish parliament

TURKEY: Islamist President Reccep Tayyip Erdogan lost with his party a majority in Parliament in a historic election on Sunday, halting his efforts to rewrite Turkey’s constitution to give himself more power. The victory came to a striking coalition of liberals and secularists together with Kurds, and represents new clout for the Kurdish HDP. Kurdish forces in Turkey, along with Kurds in Iraq, have been holding ground against ISIS at the Turkey-Iraq border, gaining respect and local authority.

CHINA: The work of Hudson Taylor has spread throughout Asia, turning its recipients 150 years ago into senders today.

GERMANY: At the G7 meeting in Germany, President Barack Obama drank nonalcoholic beer and sat feet away from Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, without recognizing or acknowledging him. Today the two met formally and the early takeaway is a comment by Obama regarding the fight against ISIS: “We don’t yet have a complete strategy.”

AUSTRALIA: Locals are rescuing one old Anglican church, but even in remote Tasmania, church officials warn they are following a global trend of shuttering many church building for lack of funds and churchgoers.

THE HORSE: American Pharoah’s win at the Belmont Stakes ended the 37-year drought for the Triple Crown but also was a landmark in overseas financing of high-stakes horse racing. Ahmed Zayat, the horse’s controversial Egyptian-American owner, is from a prominent Cairo family—his father was a personal doctor to Anwar Sadat—who made his fortune by learning how to sell beer to Muslims. Zayat also is a rare breed: a Muslim who claims to be Jewish. There’s nothing like watching a great horse run, in case you missed Saturday’s Belmont Stakes.

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