WORLD BRIEFING: August 7, 2024
America’s introduction to Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota began with a half-hour of cheering for Vice President Kamala Harris and ended with some of the sharpest attacks Democrats have leveled against former President Donald J. Trump and his running mate, Senator JD Vance of Ohio. Before a raucous crowd in Philadelphia, Ms. Harris and Mr. Walz presented the Minnesotan as a folksy former schoolteacher and football coach who had inspired his students, served in the military and improved his constituents’ lives. But it was his ability to deliver searing yet accessible attacks against their Republican opponents that won Mr. Walz a place on the national ticket, and during his first rally, he did not miss his marks. “Donald Trump sees the world a little differently than us,” he said. “First of all, he doesn’t know the first thing about service. He doesn’t have time for it because he’s too busy serving himself.” Then came the dagger. “Violent crime was up under Donald Trump,” he said, before pausing for effect. “That’s not even counting the crimes he committed.” The Harris campaign’s presentation of Mr. Walz brought an end to its two-week sprint to find a running mate, a process that typically takes months and involves a series of public tryouts. Instead, Ms. Harris’s search for a partner took place largely behind closed doors. Ms. Harris, in her remarks, hailed Mr. Walz as not only the governing partner she had sought but a person of decency who she said would set an example to inspire the nation. “Tim Walz was the kind of teacher and mentor that every child in America dreams of having and that every kid deserves,” the vice president said. “The kind of coach — because he’s the kind of person — who makes people feel like they belong and then inspires them to dream big. And that’s the kind of vice president he will be. And that’s the kind of vice president America deserves.” - NYT
Hamas on Tuesday named Yahya Sinwar, its top official in Gaza who masterminded the Oct. 7 attacks in Israel, as its new leader in a dramatic sign of the power of the Palestinian militant group’s hardline wing after his predecessor was killed in a presumed Israeli strike in Iran. The selection of Sinwar, a secretive figure close to Iran who worked for years to build up Hamas’ military strength, was a defiant signal that the group is prepared to keep fighting after 10 months of destruction from Israel’s campaign in Gaza and after the assassination of Sinwar’s predecessor, Ismail Haniyeh. It is also likely to provoke Israel, which has put him at the top of its kill list after the Oct. 7 attack, in which militants killed 1,200 people in southern Israel and took about 250 as hostages. - AP
Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said “it may be just and moral” to starve 2 million Gaza residents until Israeli hostages are returned, but “no one in the world would let us.” In a speech on Monday, the far-right minister said Israel should take control of distributing aid inside Gaza and claimed that Hamas was in control of distribution channels within the strip. “It is impossible in today’s global reality to wage war – no one in the world would let us starve and thirst two million citizens, even though it may be just and moral until they return our hostages,” he said, adding that if Israel controlled aid distribution instead of Hamas, the war would have ended by now and the hostages would have returned. “You cannot fight Hamas with one hand and give them aid with the other. It’s his (Hamas’) money, it’s his fuel, it’s his civilian control of the Gaza Strip. It just doesn’t work,” he said. - CNN
Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus will head Bangladesh’s interim government after longtime Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina fled the country amid a mass uprising that left hundreds of people dead and pushed the South Asian nation to the brink of chaos. The decision, announced early Wednesday by Joynal Abedin, the press secretary of the country’s figurehead President Mohammed Shahabuddin, came during a meeting that included military chiefs, organizers of the student protests that helped drive Hasina from power, prominent business leaders and civil society members. A longtime political opponent of Hasina, Yunus is expected to return soon from Paris, where he is advising Olympic organizers, media reports said. An economist and banker, he was awarded the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize for his work developing microcredit markets. Yunus has been hailed for bringing thousands out of poverty through Grameen Bank, which he founded in 1983, and which makes small loans to businesspeople who wouldn’t qualify for regular bank loans. Other members of the new government would be decided soon, after discussions with political parties and other stakeholders, Abedin said. The president had dissolved Parliament on Tuesday, clearing the way for an interim administration and new elections.
Niger's ruling military junta has announced it is breaking off diplomatic relations with Ukraine, becoming the second African state to sever ties with Kyiv following comments by a Ukrainian official perceived as lending support to rebels in neighboring Mali. The move comes as Russia continues to expand its influence in the Sahel region by supporting military regimes confronted with separatist and Islamist rebellions. Ukraine has yet to comment on Niger's move, which comes after Mali's military rulers on August 4 also cut diplomatic ties with Ukraine over its alleged involvement -- which Kyiv denies -- in an attack by rebels that resulted in the killing of dozens of Malian soldiers and Russian mercenaries. - RFE/RL
Meanwhile, the Financial Times reports that Russian forces have made swift and significant territorial gains in eastern Ukraine in recent weeks — “capturing almost double the amount of land liberated by Ukraine in 2023—taking advantage of Kyiv’s shortages and blunders.”
Paris Olympics news…
The Olympic medals have come in a flurry for Ukraine in recent days: golds at the track and on the fencing piste, a silver in gymnastics, two other bronzes. Ukraine’s 140 Olympians have shown remarkable perseverance since Russia’s invasion in February 2022, preparing for the Paris Games either in other, safer nations, or at home to the grim soundtrack of air-raid alerts and missile attacks. Some high jumpers trained by flashlight during power outages. Another improvised his weight lifting by attaching car tires to a metal rod. Roughly 500 high-level current and former athletes and coaches have died in the fighting, according to Ukraine’s sports ministry and Olympic committee. At least 518 stadiums and training centers have been damaged or destroyed. Tens of thousands — or more — young athletes of various levels have been displaced inside and outside Ukraine. - NYT
Planned familiarization training sessions for the marathon swimming races at Paris 2024 Olympics have been canceled amid more concerns over the quality and safety of the water in the River Seine. The open water swimming events at these Games have been dogged with controversy, with the men’s triathlon seeing training swims canceled twice before the race itself was postponed by a day. The mixed relay went ahead as planned on Monday but only after familiarization sessions over the weekend were shelved, before Belgium’s squad pulled out after one of their team members fell ill following her women’s competition. - NYT
Italian gold medal swimmer Thomas Ceccon had to go to extreme lengths to get some sleep - after he was spotted napping in a Paris park. Ceccon hit the headlines this week after moaning about conditions of the Olympic Village - despite picking up two medals at Paris 2024. Just days ago he was also dubbed the "world's sexiest swimmer" after flashing his abs on the podium as Italy claimed bronze in the men's 4x100m freestyle relay. But Ceccon joined a growing list of athletes complaining about the 'subpar' standards in the Olympic Village. He still managed to pick up gold in the 100m backstroke on Monday, despite his protests over the living conditions. And now the Italian star has sought to solving the problem is own way - by sleeping outside to seek a rest from - The Sun
