Flagship

Harris survives first interview

US Vice President Kamala Harris gave her first major sit-down interview since becoming the Democratic presidential nominee, alongside running mate Tim Walz. Harris tied herself to President Joe Biden, praising his stance on Israel and immigration, and his economic record: She was “a better salesperson” for Biden’s tenure “than he ever was,” The New York Times noted. She also said, in a play for swing voters, that if elected she might appoint a Republican to her cabinet. It was “too sane to be great TV,” said Arizona Central, but that was a good thing after years of Donald Trump’s erratic appearances and Biden’s growing struggles to keep his train of thought. Polling averages showed Harris’ lead over Trump growing slightly, including in swing states.

Iran’s uranium stockpile grows

Iran has increased its stockpile of enriched uranium to the point where it is close to being able to build four bombs, the International Atomic Energy Agency said. The nuclear watchdog warned that Tehran was not cooperating with inspectors and that it had installed new centrifuges. The Islamic Republic has an estimated 165 kg (360 lb) of 60% pure uranium, which, if enriched further to 90%, is just 2 kg short of four bombs’ worth. Former US President Donald Trump withdrew from a nuclear deal with Iran in 2018, but Iran’s new president seems willing to return to negotiations. The uranium stockpiles give it leverage, although the US said the country should “start meaningfully cooperating with the IAEA” if it wants a new agreement.

Nigeria receives mpox vaccines

Nigeria became the first African country to receive mpox vaccines. An outbreak of the disease, spread by skin contact, has hit several sub-Saharan African countries, with the biggest impact so far on the Democratic Republic of Congo, which has recorded 18,000 cases and 615 deaths. Nigeria has confirmed 40 cases but suspects many more remain undetected. There is no dedicated mpox vaccine but smallpox vaccines work, and the US granted 10,000 doses to Nigeria, which said it would prioritize health workers and at-risk communities in 13 states. The US envoy said Nigeria was given the first delivery because it had a vaccination plan in place. About 200,000 doses exist in the world, of which another 50,000 are pledged to the DRC, although no delivery date has been set.

Rise in mosquito-borne disease

Mosquito-borne diseases spiked across the world this year. In the US, eastern equine encephalitis, a rare but deadly disease with a 30% mortality rate, has killed five people. In Brazil, cases of Oropouche virus, a disease similar to dengue, are up 800% since last year, while globally this is also the worst recorded year for dengue itself: There have been 11 million confirmed cases and 7,000 deaths, almost double last year’s already high numbers. Experts say climate change is driving the increase, as more areas become habitable to mosquito species that spread disease. Aedes albopictus’ range in Europe doubled between 2013 and 2023, and mosquito season in the US has expanded by two weeks since 1979, New Scientist reported.

China surges forward on fusion

China is pouring resources into nuclear fusion research. Beijing spends an estimated $1.5 billion on fusion, double the US government’s figure. It has “built itself up from being a non-player 25 years ago to having world-class capabilities,” one nuclear scientist told Nature, and has ambitious timelines: It hopes to build a one-gigawatt test reactor in the 2030s and a prototype power plant within a few decades after that. ITER, the huge multinational fusion collaboration based in France, will not begin experiments until 2039, 19 years behind schedule. China’s rapid expansion is also pushing global science forwards, say advocates, who hope fusion will one day provide limitless green energy.

Largest sailing cargo ship sets off

The world’s largest sailing cargo ship is making its maiden transatlantic voyage. The 265-foot Anemos set off from France early this month and is on track to deliver 1,100 tons of cognac and champagne to New York on Sept. 3. Its cloth sails and rigging are automatically deployed and handled — no jolly jack tars in the rigging — and can manage 11 mph on wind power while producing a tenth the carbon of an equivalent diesel ship. Satellite weather monitoring allows it to find the best winds more easily than its forebears did. It’s part of a planned fleet of eight, New Scientist reported, and a report suggests up to 100 partially wind-propelled ships will be operating within the next few years.

Putin-critical film blocked at Venice

A film criticizing Russian President Vladimir Putin was blocked from being shown at the Venice Film Festival. The Antique is about Georgians deported from Russia and was scheduled to be screened today. It was partly filmed in Russia, but authorities tried to obstruct shooting and asked for scenes to be cut. Then a lawsuit was brought against its Venice screening, although the plaintiff denied that Moscow was involved. “We are in the middle of Europe, and we are under censorship,” the film’s director told Semafor’s Ben Smith. It comes at a time when “it has grown harder and harder to release movies that might anger authoritarian states,” Ben wrote, for fear of either reprisals such as hacking or a loss of revenue.

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No escape for Alcaraz

Carlos Alcaraz, the four-time Grand Slam winner and Spanish third seed, lost in the US Open second round to an unfancied Dutchman. Alcaraz, the reigning Wimbledon and French Open champion, never recovered from a shaky start against Botic van de Zandschulp, losing in straight sets — his earliest defeat in a Grand Slam since 2021, when he was just 18. Defending men’s champion Novak Djokovic took a step toward a record 25th major title when his opponent pulled out injured in the third set, while Coco Gauff, who last year became the first teenage American winner of a US Open singles title since Serena Williams in 1999, also reached the third round.

NWSL ditches the draft

US women’s soccer is dropping the draft, to make it more competitive with European rivals. In US pro sports, the worst team last season gets the first pick of promising new players this season. But the English Women’s Super League and other European competitions have no such reward for failure, and the best players can join the best teams — a more appealing proposition, meaning that the US National Women’s Soccer League is at a disadvantage when trying to attract elite footballers. The draft is notable in “a country that champions a market economy,” Sportico noted: It would be strange if “the worst engineering firm in the U.S. could ‘draft’ the valedictorian of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.”

Ryanair chief urges two-drink cap

Michael O’Leary, CEO of the low-cost airline Ryanair, called for a two-drink limit for passengers at airports. He said violent outbursts on his planes were becoming more common, especially for those en route to party destinations such as Ibiza or certain Greek islands. ”We don’t allow people to drink-drive,” he said, “yet we keep putting them up in aircraft at 33,000ft,” with air crew and other passengers bearing the brunt of misbehavior. “Air rage” incidents do seem to be increasing, with UK airlines reporting three times as many in 2022 as in 2019. That said, the tradition of the 8am airport beer is a noble one.

• EU defense ministers hold an informal meeting in Brussels.
• East Timor celebrates its 25th anniversary of independence.
• The second day of the golf Tour Championship takes place in Atlanta.

The number of soft toys seized from fairground-style claw machines by Brazilian police this year. The games are found all over Rio de Janeiro, but are considered games of chance rather than skill — many are programmed to only allow wins on a certain number of pulls, like slot machines, The Associated Press reported — and are thus illegal. Police also believe that organized crime may be behind the growth of the machines: The plushies are often counterfeit, and crime groups also run slot machines and a lottery in the city. The soft toys were donated to families who lost their homes in floods in southern Brazil.

The British Film Institute recommends Black Dog, an absurdist drama set in the runup to the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Director Guan Hu’s film won the Un Certain Regard prize at Cannes this year and follows a released prisoner given a new job with a desert dog-catching patrol. It documents how “China’s economic march forward looks to leave some communities behind,” the BFI said.

• China’s Xi meets top White House official as countries try to ease tensions.
• Ukraine pushes US for support on long-range missile strikes against Russia.
• German officials look to push social platforms on image verification.