👋 Lasso fyafulla!*
Welcome to Thursday, where Bolivian police arrest a top general after a failed coup attempt, Kenya’s president backtracks on tax hikes amid nationwide protests and Elvis’ blue suede shoes (unstepped on) go under the hammer. Meanwhile, Israa al-Aaraj in Arabic-language media Daraj looks at how Palestinians have been forced to turn to primitive and polluting clay ovens after bakeries shut down amid the constant bombing and fuel shortages.
[*Tamang, Nepal]
✅ SIGN UP
This is our daily newsletter Worldcrunch Today, a rapid tour of the news of the day from the world's best journalism sources, regardless of language or geography.
It's easy (and free!) to sign up to receive it each day in your inbox: 👉 Sign up here
🗞️ FRONT PAGE
“Will a TV duel decide the U.S. election?” wonders Berlin-based daily Der Tagesspiegel, as it features silhouettes of candidates Donald Trump and Joe Biden on its front page. The debate, which will take place in Atlanta on Thursday night, will be the first time a sitting president faces a former one, with questions for both candidates about their competency and age.
🌎 7 THINGS TO KNOW RIGHT NOW
• Bolivian police arrest leader of apparent coup attempt. Gen Juan José Zúñiga was taken into custody hours later on live TV after he allegedly ordered hundreds of troops and armored vehicles to storm the presidential palace in La Paz, before later withdrawing. Zúñiga declared that he wanted to "restructure democracy" after several recent decisions by Bolivian President Luis Arce to crack down on opponents.
• Israel warns it can send Lebanon “back to Stone Age” as UN seeks de-escalation. Israel has said it does not want war with armed Iran-backed Lebanese faction Hezbollah. The United Nations humanitarian affairs chief warned such a conflict would be “potentially apocalyptic.” The border dividing the two countries has seen daily exchanges of fire between Israeli forces and Hezbollah since the current conflict in Gaza broke out on October 7. For more on what an all-out war in Lebanon would look like, read this piece translated from French.
• Kenya braces for fresh protests despite president's tax climbdown. Police put up roadblocks on streets leading to the presidential palace on Thursday as some protesters vowed to “occupy State House,” despite President William Ruto’s decision to withdraw a proposed tax hike that sparked a week of demonstrations and left 23 people dead.
• Trump, Biden gear up for historic U.S. presidential debate. President Joe Biden and former president Donald Trump will face off in a debate Thursday night in Atlanta. Not only is this the first ever matchup between a sitting president and a former one, but it's also the first debate for either candidate in this year's election. Both candidates have stepped up their personal attacks, with national polls showing the pair neck and neck.
• Russia starts new trial of jailed U.S. ex-marine Gilman. Russia on Thursday began a new trial of Robert Gilman, a former U.S. Marine who is already serving a prison sentence for attacking a police officer while drunk, on four new charges. In October 2022, Gilman was sentenced to 4-1/2 years in a Russian penal colony for the drunken attack on the police officer
• Taiwan warns against travel to China after execution threat. Taiwan's government raised its travel warning for China on Thursday, telling its citizens not to go unless absolutely necessary, following a threat from Beijing last week to execute those deemed "diehard" Taiwan independence supporters.
• Elvis Presley’s actual blue suede shoes are up for auction. The shoes, which are size 10 and a half and stamped with the “Nann-Bush” brand, were worn by Presley both on and off stage during the 1950s, according to a description on the auction site. Now, fans have the opportunity to purchase the shoes as they go up for grabs at British auction house Henry Aldridge and Son for an estimated $126,000 to $152,000.
#️⃣ BY THE NUMBERS
$1.9 million
An artwork made for the first edition of J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone has become the most valuable Harry Potter item ever sold after it fetched $1.9 million at auction in the U.S. on Wednesday. The original watercolor illustration made by Thomas Taylor in 1997, which depicts the young sorcerer standing in front of the Hogwarts Express, was first auctioned in 2001 for $108,000, before the book series was complete.
📰 STORY OF THE DAY
Bread and fumes: Gaza fills with primitive clay ovens as bakeries shut down
Faced with a deepening shortage of resources and shuttered bakeries, Palestinians are resorting to makeshift means to survive, using clay ovens fueled by firewood from destroyed homes to cook their food. Resourcefulness that fights famine in the short term but may have long-term health effects, reports Israa al-Aaraj in Arabic-language independent digital media Daraj.
🍞 Before the war, Gaza had 2,120 bakeries and consumed 14,000 tons of flour every month, according to the Palestinian statistics bureau. Now, more than eight months into the Israel-Hamas war, almost all gas-operated bakeries in Gaza have been destroyed, damaged or have stopped working due to a lack of fuel, Government Media Office said. Since the closure of the Rafah crossing, when Israel took over the Palestinian side last month, cooking gas has also been scarce.
🔥 Faced with this shortage of resources, Palestinians in Gaza are resorting to primitive means to stay alive: They are using clay ovens fueled by firewood from destroyed homes to cook their food. Some have also begun to use their ovens as a source of livelihood, baking bread and selling it to neighbors and displaced people using "pay what you want" pricing. “Clay ovens are the only means we can resort to in order to compensate for the severe shortage of bread, in light of its high prices that are beyond our capabilities," said Muhammad Abed
⚠️ In addition to the relentless bombing, there are reports of fires in shelters and tent camps mostly due to wood fires for cooking. Dr. Mohammed al-Madhoun, a pulmonologist at the al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah, said smoke from the bombing and from plastic and other materials used for baking can cause significant respiratory damage.
➡️ Read more on Worldcrunch.com
✉️ Want to receive all Worldcrunch articles by email? Subscribe to The Latest here (and check our other — free! — newsletters while you’re at it!)
📹 THIS HAPPENED VIDEO — TODAY IN HISTORY, IN ONE ICONIC PHOTO
➡️ Watch the video: THIS HAPPENED
📣 VERBATIM
“The people have spoken.”
— Kenya’s President William Ruto said in a televised address on Wednesday that a controversial bill containing tax hikes which led protesters to storm Parliament will be withdrawn. His comments came after at least 23 people were killed and scores more wounded in Nairobi during rallies against the contentious bill. Despite this dramatic U-turn, more protests are expected on Thursday, with some calling for Ruto’s resignation and calling his address a “PR” move.
👉 MORE FROM WORLDCRUNCH
• Iran Elections: Lessons In How To Disguise A Voter Boycott — KAYHAN-LONDON
• A New "Iron Curtain"? Why Russia's Crackdown On Western Media Is So Ominous — FRANCE INTER
• The Foreign Policy Stakes Of French Elections Are Huge — And Nobody Seems To Notice — LES ECHOS
✍️ Newsletter by Emma Albright and Anne-Sophie Goninet
Let us know what’s happening in your corner of the world!