Over 100 people were reported dead after a powerful earthquake measuring 7.4 on the Richter scale shook central and western Colombia on Monday morning. The tremors began at 7.34 am local time and lasted four minutes, according to the Colombian Geological Service, which said the epicenter was located in the western municipality of San José del Palmar, located in a rural, mountainous area in the Chocó department.

The strongest quake recorded in the country in the last decade was felt as far as Panama and Ecuador, and comes less than two months after neighboring Venezuela experienced two back-to-back earthquakes that have killed over 6,000 people.

Many of the victims died in the metropolitan area of the city of Pereira, said the mayor, Mauricio Salazar. There was also a lot of damage in Cali, the capital of the Valley of Cauca, where Mayor Alejandro Eder said around 30 structures have collapsed with “people trapped inside.”

Authorities in Manizales, Armenia and Buenaventura have also reported fatalities and structural damage. Cali, Pereira, Armenia and Manizales are together home to over 3.5 million people, making it likely that the casualty count will keep rising.

The newly inaugurated president of Colombia, Abelardo de la Espriella, had not yet made any official statements after arriving in Bogotá a few hours after the quake; instead he posted a message on social media: “I’m on top of the situation. I am deeply saddened by what affected families and regions are going through.”

The president also wrote earlier that a Unified Command Center has been set up to coordinate rescue action. Through this center, the government has declared a national disaster, which will allow resources to be mobilized faster; however, authorities have stopped short of declaring a state of economic and social emergency, which would allow the president to issue decrees. 

In Cali, where dozens of structures have sustained damage, Mayor Alejandro Eder asked citizens to “remain calm and walk out of buildings” if they see any large cracks.

Colombia is a country at high risk for quakes as it sits on three tectonic plates. There is an average of 50,000 tremors a month, but most of them are too weak to be felt by human beings. In 1999, a magnitude 6.2 quake shook the city of Armenia, killing nearly 1,000 people. Earlier, in 1983, a quake in Popayán resulted in 287 fatalities.

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Closed stores and major shopping streets looking nearly deserted. The sight surprises tourists visiting cities such as Berlin or Munich. Commercial life pauses for one day, Sunday, meant for rest and during which making noise is also prohibited. Now, a German government reform that opens the door to greater flexibility for Sunday openings has reignited debate over a century-old tradition that increasingly lacks support and which many say fosters unfair competition, since customers can shop online on Sundays.

“It may seem strange to tourists that the shops are closed, but it’s the same for everyone,” says Ulf Rating, owner of Big Brobot, a small clothing and book store in the center of the popular Berlin neighborhood of Friedrichshain. “It’s old-fashioned, it’s from another era, but it protects me,” he concedes, referring to the fact that if establishments were allowed to open, he or his partner would have to be at the store instead of with their families, because they could not afford to hire anyone. “We’re happy it’s not possible,” he says.

In his view, changing the law would only benefit big chains and retailers that can pay for extra staff. “It makes no sense to me. That’s why I would like it to remain as it is,” he adds. Despite being located in a neighborhood that attracts many tourists on Sundays because of its flea markets, he does not believe opening that day would bring him much benefit, because he would have to close another day to rest and “the big businesses would take the customers.”

Not far from there, another long-established shop in the neighborhood sees it differently. “My boss Pia would like to open on Sundays,” says Shannon, a sales assistant at the clothing store Prachtmädchen. She believes it would be good for small retailers to open in an area with many passersby. “I’m Australian, and when I arrived in Berlin it surprised me. Back home everyone can decide whether to open or not,” she explains. She also notes that workers would earn more and students and young people could combine study with a side job.

Meanwhile, the popular Vollkornbäckerei Hartwich bakery on Warschauer Str., which could open on Sundays, prefers not to. “We don’t want to, even though we can,” one of its assistants says. “Most people don’t want to work on Sunday and that’s better. We’re fine with it,” she adds.

After years of crisis and economic stagnation, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz is keen to push through one reform after another in a desperate attempt to spur growth in a country hit by U.S. tariffs and Chinese competition. The coalition’s ambitious package between conservatives and social democrats proposes a small change that, nevertheless, has sparked a heated debate. In principle, the reform would allow some establishments (primarily bakeries and pastry shops) to open for eight hours instead of the current three. It would also apply to public libraries, although those establishments do not make sales.

This has revived the debate over whether Sunday rest is a beneficial tradition or an anachronism that should be eliminated as other countries have done, at least in tourist areas of major cities. Currently, exceptions apply, among others, to shops in train stations and airports, gas stations and pharmacies, as well as to souvenir, plant and newsstands. But the legal change under consideration has provoked a deeper discussion about whether stores should open on Sundays.

The debate has taken place within Chancellor Merz’s own Christian Democratic Union (CDU). MP Stefan Nacke, a member of the Bundestag’s Labour Committee, told Die Zeit: “Anyone who wants to turn Sunday into a regular shopping day confuses modernization with constant availability. Sunday rest protects workers, families and communal social life.” Meanwhile, the CDU’s economic wing points out that consumption is one of the most important pillars of the economy.

In 1919, Sunday rest was enshrined in the Weimar Republic’s constitution. It stated that Sundays and public holidays “shall continue to be protected by law as days of rest from work and of spiritual elevation.” That provision was incorporated into the current Basic Law, adopted in 1949. But local regulations and permits vary. In Berlin, for example, four Sundays of opening were authorized this year. Also, in Berlin, Hamburg or North Rhine-Westphalia, for example, sales are permitted 24 hours a day from Monday to Saturday. Bavaria, by contrast, is one of the most restrictive states.

Churches and social organizations argue that Sunday rest offers a break from consumerism and fosters social cohesion. However, proponents of abolishing it point out that more and more people shop at online stores like Amazon or from Chinese merchants, while urban centers lose appeal because of rising vacancies and closures.

One of the businesses most affected by online commerce is bookstores. “I’ve thought many times that it would be good to open the shop on Sundays. We’re an independent bookstore and independent retailers face a lot of pressure in Germany, probably across Europe, mainly because of online commerce that is available every day, even on Sundays. And that hurts us,” says David Mesche, one of the two owners of the small independent Buchbox bookstore chain, which has three shops in Prenzlauer Berg and one in Friedrichshain.

He would like bookstores to have at least a special status and be allowed to open like libraries. “During the pandemic we were allowed to open in Berlin because politicians recognized that this is a cultural good,” he recalls. He also thinks it would be fair to pay workers more for Sundays. Ultimately, opening that day would also bring great benefits to cities, where tourists could visit small neighborhood businesses, something that “would raise the area’s value and make it more interesting for tourists.”

The German Retail Federation (HDE) is calling for openings to be allowed on at least 10 to 12 Sundays a year nationwide. “Sunday is one of the busiest days for e-commerce, so special Sunday openings would be an opportunity to gain ground against online retail,” explains Steven Haarke, HDE’s director general for Labor, Education, Social Policy and Collective Bargaining, referring to openings that, as he notes, would start at 1.00 pm, so they would not interfere with religious services.

“For many people it’s a leisure day, when restaurants and cultural and leisure centers are open as usual,” he says. “Retail, by contrast, is often left out, although shopping today is much more than merely buying provisions. For many people, shopping is part of their leisure activities and provides an important boost to keep city centers lively.” Haarke criticizes Germany as “unnecessarily restrictive” compared with other European countries.

In two recent independent polls by INSA and YouGov, around half of respondents supported the ban, a backing that has declined over the years. This is also reflected in conversations with consumers in shops. “I like that it’s a quiet day with everything closed,” says Theresa as she browses clothes in a mall shop. But her friend Antje sees it differently and points out that if shops opened on Sundays people “wouldn’t flock” to buy groceries the day before a closure, especially when there is a public holiday and stores are closed for two consecutive days.

However, the services union Verdi insists on the need for workers to be able to rest. “Longer retail hours do not generate more business volume nor do they help make city centers livelier,” explains Corinna Gross, head of Verdi’s retail group. “On the contrary, they are a powerful tool in the unfair competition of large retail groups. They cause a shift of turnover from rural areas to cities and from small and medium-sized enterprises to retail giants. The result is increasingly desolate urban centers, with the same chains as always.” In her view, the debate has not changed, and she recalls that Verdi is part of a pro-Sunday-rest alliance of unions and churches that joined more than 20 years ago to defend what they consider “a social achievement.” “Sunday work in the retail sector is an attack by employers on the work–family balance of more than three million retail workers,” she says.

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Voters in Connecticut, Minnesota, Vermont, and Wisconsin will head to the polls this Tuesday, August 11, to take part in primary elections that will help determine the candidates for the November midterm elections. The contests include races for governor, the Senate, and the House of Representatives, as well as numerous state legislative offices.

The election comes 84 days before the November midterms and will be particularly significant for the Democratic Party, which is facing an internal dispute between its moderate and progressive factions. In Minnesota and Wisconsin, two of the most closely watched contests will pit candidates associated with different wings of the party against one another, while Connecticut will also put the political futures of two veteran Democrats to the test.

In Vermont, Democrats will make a sixth attempt to find a candidate capable of defeating Republican Gov. Phil Scott, while Minnesota Republicans will seek to end a long drought in statewide elections.

What is on the ballot in each state?

In Connecticut, the main contest will be the Democratic primary for governor. Incumbent Gov. Ned Lamont is seeking a third term against state Rep. Josh Elliott. The winner will face Republican state Sen. Ryan Fazio in November. Republicans have not controlled the governor’s mansion since 2011, and Lamont was reelected in 2022 with 56% of the vote.

There will also be a Democratic primary in the 1st Congressional District, where 78-year-old Rep. John Larson is seeking a 15th term. It is the first time since his election in 1998 that he has faced a primary challenge, with former Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin, Ruth Fortune, and state Rep. Jillian Gilchrest as his opponents.

In Minnesota, attention is focused on the Democratic primary for the U.S. Senate. Rep. Angie Craig and Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan are competing to replace Sen. Tina Smith. Flanagan has the backing of progressive figures including Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders, and Ilhan Omar, while Craig has the support of Hakeem Jeffries, Nancy Pelosi, and Pete Buttigieg.

Republicans will also choose their Senate nominee from a nine-candidate field that includes former sports commentator Michele Tafoya.

In Vermont, Democrats are seeking to defeat Republican Gov. Phil Scott. Economist Amanda Janoo and Aly Richards are competing for the nomination. Richards has the backing of former Democratic governors Howard Dean and Madeleine Kunin. Scott faces no opposition in the Republican primary and enters the general election with a significant advantage: he won 73% of the vote in his 2024 reelection. He has also distinguished himself through his criticism of Donald Trump and has said he voted for Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election.

In Wisconsin, the main contest will be the Democratic primary for governor, which will determine Tony Evers’ successor. Four candidates remain in the race: state Rep. Francesca Hong, Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley, former state cabinet secretary Joel Brennan, and state Sen. Kelda Roys. Hong, a democratic socialist, has emerged as one of the leading candidates. Crowley briefly dropped out of the race in July and later returned with Evers’ endorsement. The winner will likely face Republican Rep. Tom Tiffany, who is endorsed by Trump.

What is at stake for the parties?

The primaries come after Abdul El-Sayed’s victory in the Democratic Senate primary in Michigan on August 4, a result that intensified attention on the struggle between the party’s progressive wing and its moderate factions.

Wisconsin is also one of the country’s key battleground states. The governor’s race could determine which party controls the state government, while a competitive House race could help determine the balance of power in Congress.

Minnesota, meanwhile, has gone decades without electing a Republican in a statewide race. The last Republican to win a statewide contest was Gov. Tim Pawlenty in 2006, while Norm Coleman was the last Republican to win a Senate election, in 2002.

In Connecticut, Democrats hold two-to-one majorities in both chambers of the state Legislature. In Wisconsin, Republicans currently hold narrow majorities in the state Senate and Assembly.

When do polls close, and when will results come in?

In Vermont, polls close at 7:00 om ET. Connecticut and Wisconsin will close at 8:00 pm, while Minnesota will close at 8:00 pm CT, equivalent to 9.00 pm ET.

The first results will begin to come in shortly after polls close, although the pace of counting will depend on local jurisdictions.