Flagship

Thousands flee Gaza’s second-largest city

Thousands of Palestinians fled Khan Younis on Tuesday after Israel’s military ordered a mass evacuation, signaling that a ground invasion of Gaza’s second-largest city is likely. The order has put already-displaced Palestinians in a “harrowing, horrific, and incredibly difficult” situation, a UN official said, forcing them into overcrowded and under-resourced camps. “We have no other choice now but to die in our homes because there is no place left that we have not been displaced to,” one Palestinian told the BBC. The order comes as tensions between Israel’s military and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government hit a record high as Israeli generals — worried about a potential conflict with Hezbollah — press for a truce in Gaza, even if Hamas is not defeated.

Dozens killed in India stampede

A stampede at a religious gathering in northern India on Tuesday killed more than 100 people, mostly women and children, and left dozens more injured. It was one of the deadliest recent such tragedies, which are commonplace in India owing to state and federal officials’ repeated failures to manage crowds. “As a nation we are good at drawing crowds, but not good at managing them,” a member of India’s parliament told The New York Times. “Every year, these kinds of incidents keep repeating themselves, and we learn nothing.” Some Indian states are turning to AI tools and surveillance drones to keep crowds safe at large festivals, but like event organizers across the world, struggle to contend with climate change-fueled extreme heat.

Democrats break silence on Biden

A Texas lawmaker on Tuesday became the first congressional Democrat to call on US President Joe Biden to step down following his disastrous debate performance against Donald Trump. Despite the White House’s damage control efforts, prominent Democrats are going public with their criticism of Biden, and Rep. Lloyd Doggett broke the dam on what Politico described as a “collective action problem” of concerned party members reluctant to speak out against the president. Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi told MSNBC it’s a “legitimate question” whether Biden’s performance was just “an episode or… a condition.” A new Reuters poll showed that one in three Democrats think Biden should quit the race, while a CNN poll found that Vice President Kamala Harris would outperform Biden in a hypothetical matchup against Trump.

Trump hush money sentence delayed

A New York judge on Tuesday delayed former US President Donald Trump’s sentencing in the Stormy Daniels hush money case to at least Sept. 18. It’s the first “practical fallout” from Monday’s historic Supreme Court decision that granted presidents immunity for “official” acts, Politico wrote; Trump’s convictions included actions that took place during his presidency. While the immunity ruling relates to a federal case involving Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election, his attempt to apply it to the Manhattan case “demonstrates the influence the decision may have on his other criminal prosecutions,” according to Politico. The delay is also a victory for Trump, as it pushes his sentencing from days before the Republican National Convention to less than two months before the election.

Tesla’s China shipments slump

Tesla’s electric vehicle sales in China slumped by more than 24% in June compared with 2023, marking the fourth time this year that the EV giant’s shipments to China have fallen in the face of domestic competition. However, the carmaker had a better-than-expected second quarter globally, it announced Tuesday, beating analysts’ projections that it would sell fewer than 444,000 vehicles. It’s a “comeback performance” for Tesla, one analyst told The Washington Post, adding “the mojo is back in the Tesla story” after a shaky first quarter. Still, Tesla is facing a challenge in China — the world’s largest EV market — due to a lack of affordable new models, with Chinese EV-maker BYD posting a 21% increase in Q2 sales, according to Reuters.

Philippines and China talk tensions

China and the Philippines agreed to “de-escalate tensions” in the South China Sea following several direct confrontations between the Philippine Navy and the Chinese Coast Guard in recent weeks. Despite “frank and constructive discussions” in Manila on Tuesday, according to the Philippines foreign ministry, officials admitted that “significant differences remain” and did not outline specific actions to ease tensions. China, which claims most of the sea as its maritime territory, has been using water cannons and military-grade lasers against Philippine Navy ships guarding disputed reefs, which experts have warned is bringing the world “dangerously close” to an armed conflict. Beijing is also testing the extent of Washington’s commitment to defend the Philippines as the US expands its military presence in the country.

Join Semafor on July 10th in Washington D.C. for an in-depth discussion on fostering a regulatory environment that supports innovation while ensuring financial stability and security, with policymakers and industry leaders.

RSVP for in-person or livestream access here.

Moderna wins funds for bird flu jab

The US government will give Moderna $176 million to fund a trial of its bird flu vaccine. The H5N1 strain of bird flu virus has been detected in dairy cows in 12 US states, and at least three farm workers have also been infected. Moderna’s vaccine uses messenger RNA — the technology used in its COVID-19 vaccine — to target the H5N1 strain, among others, while Pfizer has a similar vaccine in trials. Existing bird flu jabs rely on traditional manufacturing methods, which are slower and less able to respond to mutations in the virus than mRNA-based vaccines. US officials still rate the public health risk of bird flu as low, the Financial Times reported, but want to boost vaccine supplies should human-to-human transmission become widespread.

Bionic leg offers hope to amputees

A bionic leg controlled by the nervous system allowed amputees to walk faster and more naturally than existing prosthetic limbs, MIT researchers found. The prosthesis amplifies signals from muscles in the remaining part of the leg, Nature reported, allowing users to move it using their thoughts and reflexes. Subjects also had surgery to reconstruct their leg muscles, creating a more normal sensation of the limb’s position than if the muscles were severed as in a standard amputation. The robotic leg improved walking speed by 41% over a control group, and made climbing stairs easier. The project’s leader, who had both legs amputated after a mountaineering accident, called it “almost miraculous” and said he would consider using the prosthesis in future.

California’s carbon capture projects

Two innovative carbon capture projects got underway in Los Angeles County, as global emissions hit record levels. A wastewater treatment plant that removes carbon dioxide from the atmosphere broke ground this week, while another California group unveiled the US’s first direct air capture system for mass production: a shipping container-sized machine that can remove 500 tons of CO₂ a year. Three other groups plan to use ocean water to sequester carbon dioxide, The Los Angeles Times reported. It can’t come too soon: According to the IPCC, at least six billion tons of CO2 will need to be removed from the atmosphere each year in order to limit global warming to 1.5°C by 2050, even if emissions are severely reduced.

Afghan women cricketers’ plea

Afghan women cricket players in exile are calling on the International Cricket Council for backing to form a team. “A profound sadness remains that we, as women, cannot represent our country like the male cricketers,” the players wrote from Australia, where 25 members of the former national women’s team fled after the Taliban took over Afghanistan in 2021, banning women from participating in sports. Their request comes after the Afghan men’s team beat Australia in the T20 World Cup and reached the semi-finals for the first time in the tournament’s history. The players noted that the men’s team has received more than $10.5 million per year in ICC funding — despite Afghanistan no longer having a women’s program, as required by the cricketing body’s regulations.

• South Africa’s new cabinet ministers are sworn in at a ceremony in Cape Town.
• The annual weigh-in ceremony takes place ahead of Nathan’s Famous Fourth of July International Hot Dog Eating Contest.
• Paris unveils the transformed Place de la Concorde as a 2024 Olympics venue for skateboarding and breaking.

Some of the artists not selected for the UK Royal Academy of Arts’ summer exhibition will see their work displayed at a “rejects show.” The institution chose 1,700 artworks this year, turning away more than 10 times that number , including some pieces that garnered acclaim on social media. But gallerist Shona Bland organized Rejects 2024 to underscore that “being rejected is a huge part of being an artist” and can lead to bigger and better opportunities, she told The Guardian. Big names that have previously been rebuffed by the Academy include modernist painter Édouard Manet and street artist Banksy.

• Viktor Orbán makes a surprise visit to Kyiv.
• Biden’s next big test is the NATO summit.
• The man who led South Africa’s opposition into a coalition government.