World roundup: May 12 2023

Stories from Egypt, Ukraine, Brazil, and elsewhere

TODAY IN HISTORY

May 12, 1364: Jagiellonian University is founded as the “University of Kraków” by Polish King Casimir III, making it the oldest university in Poland. The institution hit a rough patch after Casimir’s death in 1370, but had its funding restored and a permanent location obtained for it by King Władysław II Jagiełło (r. 1386-1434). After having been known as the Kraków Academy for much of its existence, the university’s name was changed several times around the Third Partition of Poland in 1795, eventually settling on its current moniker in 1817 in honor of Władysław II’s Jagiellonian dynasty.

May 12, 1551: The National University of San Marcos is founded in Lima, Peru, under a decree from Holy Roman Emperor Charles V. Initially called the “Royal and Pontifical University of the City of the Kings of Lima,” it is officially the oldest still active university in the Americas and is sometimes called the “Dean of the Americas” for that reason. The Dominican Republic’s Universidad Autónoma de Santo Domingo is unofficially even older, having been founded in 1538, but it didn’t receive its official charter until 1558.

INTERNATIONAL

In today’s global news:

• Worldometer is tracking COVID-19 cases and fatalities.

• The New York Times is tracking global vaccine distribution.

MIDDLE EAST

TURKEY

Turkish presidential challenger Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu on Thursday accused the Russian government of trying to manipulate Sunday’s election by producing “deepfake” videos targeting former candidate Muharrem İnce. I’m not entirely clear about what Kılıçdaroğlu is alleging, but since İnce’s abrupt withdrawal from the contest on Thursday it’s emerged that he was motivated to drop out in part by what Al-Monitor is calling a “fabricated sex tape” that circulated online. İnce apparently accused Kılıçdaroğlu’s Republican People’s Party (CHP) of involvement in a plot to force him from the race. I guess Kılıçdaroğlu is accusing Russia of trying to frame the CHP.

None of this makes much sense given that conventional wisdom was that incumbent Recep Tayyip Erdoğan benefited from İnce’s presence in the race and Russia, in this scenario, would be trying to orchestrate Erdoğan’s victory. Maybe that’s why Kılıçdaroğlu’s claims seem so vague. Hinting at unspecified Russian electoral shenanigans could just be a closing swipe at Erdoğan.