Thursday briefing: Haley quits
Haley dropped out of the American race
Nikki Haley dropped out of the presidential race, effectively handing the Republican nomination to Donald Trump. She pointedly refused to endorse him, saying instead that he had to earn the support of her voters.
The continuation of Biden versus Trump – a battle that many Americans had hoped to avoid – is now an inescapable reality.
Expect the election campaign to be a bitter, brutal eight-month battle. Both candidates plan to make the race about their opponent, which means some extremely negative campaigning. (Biden, 81, says Trump is a threat to democracy; Trump, 77, portrays Biden as elderly and unfit.)
Biden should be the favorite: He is an incumbent operating against the backdrop of a healthy enough economy, and his opponent is accused of multiple federal crimes. But Trump is leading in the polls. Yesterday he was endorsed by Senate Republican Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, who said Trump had earned “the requisite support from Republican voters.”
Gaza ceasefire talks are stalling as Ramadan approaches
Talks between Israel and Hamas over a ceasefire and the release of Gaza hostages have stalled, according to people briefed on the talks. Hopes that the parties will reach an agreement before Ramadan, which starts on Sunday, are waning.
Negotiators had discussed an initial six-week ceasefire in which Hamas would release about 40 women — including elderly prisoners, sick hostages and five female Israeli soldiers — for a significant number of Palestinian prisoners. But Hamas recently backed away from that proposed deal, making broad demands that Israel has refused to meet, officials said, including committing to a permanent ceasefire during or after three phases of hostage releases.
The US had pushed for an agreement to be reached before Ramadan, when frustration and tempers could flare, making it harder to reach an agreement.
To the ground: A flood of conflicting reports about the ceasefire talks has put Gazans on an exhausting emotional rollercoaster.
Russia hit Odessa during a visit by Zelensky and the Greek leader
A Russian attack on Odessa took place yesterday while President Volodymyr Zelensky and Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis of Greece were visiting the Ukrainian port city. Neither was injured, and it was unclear whether Russia had targeted them — or how close they were to the explosion.
Ukraine said Russia had hit port infrastructure in the city and five people had been killed. Mitsotakis told reporters that at the time of the attack, he and Zelensky were visiting the city’s port and “heard explosions that were very close to us.”
Alexei Navalny: Russians are flocking to the grave of the country’s most prominent opposition leader as they reflect on his legacy.
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A new generation of Chinese models is present during Paris Fashion Week. They do not have the classic Han Chinese features that have long defined beauty standards in China; instead, wrote the head of Vogue China, they are chameleons that can adapt to designers.
García Márquez’s last, almost lost novel
Towards the end of his life, with his memory shattered, Gabriel García Márquez struggled for years to complete Until August, a novel about the secret sex life of a middle-aged married woman.
Ultimately, he delivered a devastating judgment to his youngest son: “He told me directly that the novel had to be destroyed,” said the son, Gonzalo García Barcha.
After much debate, García Márquez’s sons defied their father’s request. So this month, ten years after his death, his final novel will be published in nearly thirty countries, adding a new coda to the Nobel Prize winner’s work. It also contributes to a rich literary history of work released posthumously, despite the authors’ wishes.