Hard Numbers: Kenya election result challenged, US-South Korea war games, Meloni under fire in Italy, getting hitched en masse in Peru

Raila Odinga and his running mate Martha Karua after handing over their petition at the Supreme Court challenging the presidential election results.
John Ochieng / SOPA Images via Reuters

14: Raila Odinga, who came in second in Kenya’s recent and extremely close presidential election, has challenged the result in the Supreme Court, describing the outcome as “fraudulent” and undermining the findings of an independent monitoring organization. The court has 14 days to issue a verdict, with many fearing a repeat of the post-election violence that plagued the nation in 2017.

4: The US and South Korea this week began their largest joint military exercises in four years. Seoul and Washington say they are trying to bolster their defensive capabilities in light of the heightened nuclear threat from North Korea. Pyongyang, however, is likely to see the exercises, which will last until Sept. 1, as a provocation.

45: Italy’s far-right coalition is leading with 45% in polls ahead of next month’s general election. But Giorgia Meloni, the frontrunner for PM and head of the coalition’s most popular party, the Brothers of Italy, is facing criticism for tweeting a video of a Ukrainian female refugee being raped by a migrant in Italy. The avowedly anti-immigrant Meloni pledged to “restore security,” but she stands accused of using sensitive imagery for political gain.

50: More than 50 couples married in a mass ceremony at Peru's Lake Titicaca. The communal event was organized by the municipality and included the traditional Andean ritual of a shaman (spiritual leader) making an offering to the Earth on the couples’ behalf.

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