Flagship

Pressure mounts on Netanyahu

Israelis staged mass protests against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Sunday after the bodies of six hostages were recovered in Gaza, including an Israeli American dual national. A major trade union also called a general strike Monday. Many blamed Netanyahu for the stalled ceasefire and hostage return negotiations, but neither he nor Hamas seem in a rush to agree to such a deal, CNN wrote. Netanyahu believes a deal could undo his government, while Hamas sees allowing tension to boil over into a regional war as a potentially favorable outcome. However, it’s also possible that agreeing a ceasefire now could be seen as a victory for Netanyahu, Foreign Affairs argued, and any subsequent surge of approval may help him survive re-election even if his current government fractures.

German far right make historic gains

Germany’s far right made historic gains Sunday, winning a state election for the first time, exit polls showed. Though the populist and anti-immigration Alternative für Deutschland party fell short of a majority in the state of Thüringia and likely won’t be part of a governing coalition, its showing there — and in nearby Saxony, where it’s forecast to narrowly place second — was a landmark moment for the German far right: “This day will change the country,” a distressed Zeit editor wrote. The AfD has been most ascendant in the former communist east, which has seen economic stagnation, deepening hostility toward migrants, and dissatisfaction with Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s center-left coalition. In both states, the AfD won double the vote share of the three coalition parties — combined.

Saudi delegation visits Chinese EV leaders

Saudi Arabia is looking to China to help it become a new hub for electric vehicles and automation. A Saudi delegation arrived Sunday in China’s Pearl River Delta for a week-long visit that includes a meeting with EV giant GAC Group and battery maker General Lithium, the South China Morning Post reported. China sees the Middle East as a friendly market for its EVs unaffected by European and US tariffs, while Saudi Arabia is keen to diversify its oil-dependent economy. However, the kingdom’s foray into China is primarily designed to secure “immediate economic gains and energy collaboration,” The Diplomat noted, rather than to foster a deeper diplomatic relationship.

NSA targets Chinese economic threats

The US National Security Agency launched a new program to address any economic or technological vulnerabilities that could be exploited by China. The program sends “a different message” to the friendlier tone of US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, analysts said, who on his visit to Beijing last week seemingly sought to reassure China the US will not adopt new measures that could hurt its economic growth. While Sulivan could be replaced in his role following the US November election, the NSA’s program “is not going to change,” analysts noted. However, some experts told the South China Morning Post that fears over Chinese innovation are “exaggerated” and that it still “lags far behind the US.”

China dominates at Paralympics

China leads the medal count at the Paris Paralympics with 60 so far, including 27 gold, extending its winning streak since the 2004 Athens games. But while state media has praised the team’s achievements, international observers accused Beijing of “showing an interest in people with disabilities solely when they can shine in international sport” and failing to tackle day-to-day discrimination faced by 85 million Chinese people with disabilities, Le Monde wrote. Meanwhile, Afghan para-athlete Zakia Khudadadi made history Thursday, winning the Refugee Team’s first medal at the Paralympics in Paris, a bronze in the women’s taekwondo 47 kg weight category.

Moscow gives nuclear warning

Russia said it would shift its nuclear doctrine due to the “escalation course of our Western adversaries.” The announcement Sunday came as Kyiv pushed its allies again for permission to use their long-range weapons inside Russia. Nevertheless, Ukraine’s push into Russia continues: Also on Sunday, Moscow said it shot down 158 drones targeting energy infrastructure. However, Ukraine could lose momentum, Kyiv said, unless it gets long-range weapons permission — something its allies, and particularly the US, are reluctant to give in the face of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s seemingly increased unpredictability. “No one really knows the Russian red line” for nuclear arms use, said a former Soviet arms negotiator.

America’s growing climate risk

Nearly every single American has lived under an extreme weather warning in the last four months. Wildfires in California, widespread flooding, extreme heat in the South and Southwest, as well as unusually early hurricanes and other weather events touched 99% of the country’s residents since May; more than 59 million people were under alerts in a single week in August alone. There have been 19 events inflicting $1 billion or more in damage so far in 2024. And while insurance companies are pouring money into more detailed climate models to predict future risk from a warming planet, these will take time to fine tune: Until then, it may be best to assume everyone is at risk, a Bloomberg opinion columnist noted.

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India conservation effort stalls

India’s cheetah reintroduction project — a flagship environmental policy of Prime Minister Narendra Modi — is in crisis after the only cat it released into the wild so far died. Authorities said the male southeast African cheetah, named Pawan, was found dead in a river Tuesday, with some conservationists refuting preliminary assessments that he drowned since cheetahs are typically adept swimmers. The $58 million project involves the first intercontinental translocation of the wild cats, but critics have argued that India’s reintroduction efforts were poorly planned and will likely achieve nothing “other than [trying] to salvage some prestige,” one Indian biologist said. Pawan’s death, he added, has “dented India’s reputation in wildlife science, management and conservation.”

Frank Lloyd Wright skyscraper on sale

The only skyscraper designed by pioneering US architect Frank Lloyd Wright is up for auction. Price Tower in Bartlesville, Oklahoma, was owned by a nonprofit until last year when two crypto millionaires bought it for $10, promising to pay off the owners’ $600,000 debt and to renovate it. They did neither. The sudden decision to sell, with a minimum price of $600,000, is apparently intended to preserve an “irreplaceable architectural gem,” according to the listing. Lloyd Wright designed more than a thousand buildings over his 70-year career: His best-known works include the Guggenheim Museum in New York and the Beth Sholom Synagogue in Pennsylvania.

AI generates video game in real time

A new artificial intelligence model can play the classic video game Doom in real time. Made by Israeli researchers, GameNGen is based on Stable Diffusion, which generates images from text prompts, like DALL-E. It was trained by playing the game itself, learning to predict what would happen when players pressed a key: The resulting output ran at 20 frames per second and was sufficiently similar to the original so as to fool human raters nearly half the time. “The potential here is absurd,” one app developer said, a nod to Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang’s past prediction that AI could generate new gameplay in real time within a decade, no coding needed.

September 2:

• US and South Korean marine corps conduct joint military exercises in the Korean Peninsula.
• French President Emmanuel Macron meets socialist politician Bernard Cazeneuve, amid speculation he may be named prime minister.
• Pope Francis departs from Rome for what will be his longest visit to Asia yet.

An artist whose embroidered designs are crafted in secret by North Korean artisans is holding a solo show to coincide with the Frieze Seoul art fair this month. Kyungah Ham, whose exhibition Phantom and A Map is showing at Kukje Gallery, sees her complicated process as reflecting the “complex and fraught” dimensions of Korean society. First, a middleman smuggles her sketches to artisans in North Korea. Ham then waits for fragments of embroidery to be secretly returned, before weaving them together to create the finished work. “Embracing unpredictability is the prerequisite for collaboration with these neighbors who are so close but nevertheless strictly forbidden to contact,” the gallery wrote.

• Democrats are feeling good about the election — but not Florida good.
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• How South Africa’s economy could get a $5 billion digital boost.