July 7 update

A fifth Democrat legislator–Angie Craig, a congresswoman from Minnesota–called on President Joe Biden to step aside, suggesting that his television interview on Friday has failed to quell an uprising in his party. During it, Mr Biden struck a defiant tone. Asked by ABC news whether he would step aside if Democratic grandees urge him to, he said “they’re not gonna do that”. Pressed whether he has a viable shot considering his approval rating of 36%, he replied: “that’s not what our polls show”.

Voters in France go to the polls on Sunday in the second and final round of a parliamentary election, with attention focused on the prospects of Marine Le Pen’s hard-right, anti-immigration, National Rally party (RN). It took a massive lead in the first round on June 30th but since then, left-wing parties and President Emmanuel Macron’s centrists have teamed up to make an outright RN victory less likely.

Sir Keir Starmer, Britain’s new leader, promised to scrap a controversial policy that sends asylum-seekers to Rwanda. Speaking at his first press conference as prime minister, Sir Keir said the Rwanda scheme was “dead and buried”. He travels to Scotland on Sunday in the first leg of a tour of all four nations of the United Kingdom, before heading to Washington for a NATO summit.

“Patriots for Europe”, a right-wing political group set up by Viktor Orban, the Hungarian prime minister, won enough support from members of the European Parliament to secure the parliament’s formal recognition. Mr Orban, who took over the EU’s rotating presidency this month, hopes to use the bloc to “change European politics”. It wants to halt European support for Ukraine in its war against Russia, among other things.

BYD, a Chinese electric-vehicle company, announced plans to purchase a 20% stake in Rever Automotive, its car distributor in Thailand. The announcement came days after BYD opened its first factory in Thailand, which is its biggest market outside China. Thai officials have begun an investigation into aggressive discounting by BYD dealers after complaints by other distributors.

An Israeli strike hit a school run by UNRWA, the UN’s refugee agency in Gaza, killing at least 16 people and injuring many more, according to Palestinian officials. The building was sheltering displaced people in the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza. Earlier, Israel said it would send a delegation to Qatar to resume ceasefire talks with Hamas.

The leaders of three military governments in West Africa met in Niamey, Niger, where they established the “Alliance of Sahel States”. The governments in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger have all been installed by coups since 2020. In January they withdrew from the Economic Community of West African States, the region’s main bloc, which is to hold its own summit in Nigeria on Sunday.

Word of the week: umrah, a Muslim pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia that takes place all year round. Read the full story.

In the run-up to America’s presidential election, we’ve launched The US in brief—a daily update to help you keep on top of the political stories that matter. Sign up here to receive it as a newsletter, each weekday, in your inbox.

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photo: reuters

France’s parliamentary vote

The French will vote on Sunday in the final round of their snap parliamentary election. The chances of Marine Le Pen’s hard-right National Rally (RN) securing a majority of seats have receded somewhat since the first round on June 30th, as tactical deals were struck among 224 candidates in 577 constituencies. Scores of candidates from both the left-wing New Popular Front and from President Emmanuel Macron’s centrist alliance have stood down, in order not to split the anti-Le Pen vote.

By Friday, the last day for the publication of polls under electoral rules, they suggested that the RN could gain 174-250 seats, short of the 289 needed to control parliament. Even without a majority, however, Ms Le Pen’s party may be asked by Mr Macron to try to form a government. If she accepts, she would put forward Jordan Bardella, her 28-year-old protégé, to be prime minister. Mr Bardella may not manage to scrape together a majority. But the invitation itself would represent a political earthquake.

photo: getty images

Death Valley lives up to its name

In Death Valley National Park, mostly in eastern California, there is a famous thermometer. Tourists brave the region’s scorching temperatures to pose in front of it. But that photo opportunity might best be avoided this weekend. Between Sunday and Tuesday the mercury may reach even 54.4°C (130°F), the highest reliably recorded temperature on earth. (In 1913 one observer in the park recorded 56.7°C, though that number is disputed.)

The peak heat in Death Valley is no outlier. Heatwaves are wreaking havoc across the northern hemisphere, where more than 85% of the world’s population lives. Climate change, caused by greenhouse-gas emissions, has led to the world’s average temperature rising by 1.2°C since the 19th century. Heatwaves are among the deadliest consequences, putting vulnerable people, especially the old and poor, at grave risk. Governments must do more to protect them as sizzling summers become the norm.

 

photo: getty images

Bulls on the charge in Pamplona

On Sunday the first bull run of the festival of San Fermín begins in Pamplona, in northern Spain. The weeklong jamboree centres around the daily running of six bulls down an 848-metre stretch of narrow streets, with white-clad, red-handkerchiefed people running pell-mell ahead of them. Most injuries are caused by falls, though last year a visitor took a horn to the scrotum.

Then, each afternoon, the six bulls will be killed in a bullfight. Spain has recently undergone a periodic bout of debating the bloody practice. Adherents consider it sublimely beautiful (it is not a sport, as the bull has little chance of “winning”, supporters acknowledge). But the culture minister, from a far-left party, has called it “animal torture”. Colombia banned bullfighting this year; Catalonia no longer hosts bullfights. But in some places—Seville, Madrid and of course Pamplona—it is deeply rooted, and going nowhere fast.

photo: ap

Just when you thought it was safe to watch the TV…

There is supposedly no such thing as bad publicity. But not in the case of sharks. “Jaws”, a blockbuster film of 1975, not only created a widespread fear of the fish, but also encouraged people to hunt them for sport. (Steven Spielberg, the director, has lamented the film’s role in the “decimation of the shark population”.) In response, executives at the Discovery Channel launched “Shark Week” in 1988, a series of documentaries to educate the public about the creatures and aid conservation efforts.

Shark Week is now one of the hits of the entertainment calendar. Discovery says it is the longest-running cable-TV event. This year’s extravaganza, hosted by John Cena, a former wrestler, begins on Sunday. Commissioners seem keener to terrify viewers than mollify them, with programmes such as “Belly of the Beast: Bigger and Bloodier”, “Great White Serial Killer: Sea of Blood” and “Deadliest Bite”. Galeophobes would be better off watching something else.

photo: getty images

Boeing’s woes over the 737MAX

Boeing must decide on Sunday whether to accept an offer from America’s Department of Justice to plead guilty to fraud in connection with two deadly plane crashes involving its 737MAX some five years ago. The aerospace giant is accused of violating a deal that it made with the authorities to head off a charge of conspiracy to defraud the government. It did this by allegedly misleading regulators over the cause of the crashes. The blowout of a door panel on another 737MAX in January appeared to invalidate an agreement to oversee safer manufacturing.

The Department of Justice may impose a fine on Boeing. If Boeing rejects the offer it faces a criminal trial, or might have to make another deal that would include even greater regulatory oversight of the company’s production process. Such an outcome could further hamper the rate at which it makes new planes.