BBC News Briefing

6 August, 2024

Sofia Lotto Persio

Hello. Vice-President Kamala Harris has picked Minnesota Governor Tim Walz to be her running mate in the US presidential election. Anthony Zurcher explains the factors behind the choice. From Israel, Paul Adams reports on allegations of abuse in prisons against both Palestinians and Israeli detainees. We're also speaking to the athlete hoping to win the Refugee Olympic Team's first gold medal, and taking a look at street artist Banksy's latest graffiti in London.

GET UP TO SPEED

Tropical Storm Debby has unleashed prolonged downpours and flooding to historic southern US cities, even as it weakened from a category one hurricane that hit Florida, causing power outages and at least five deaths.

Some 40 protesters in northern Nigeria have been arrested for waving Russian flags during demonstrations against the high cost of living.

The family of a father-of-three who was killed by a crocodile in Australia has remembered him as a "hero" for letting go of his wife's arm after realising she was about to fall into the water with him.

QUESTIONS ANSWERED

The 'dark horse' running with Harris

An illustration shows Tim Walz in front of a stylised version of the US flag

Tim Walz, 60, is the Minnesota governor and a former member of Congress. Credit: BBC

Just hours before appearing at a rally in Philadelphia, presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris announced she picked Minnesota Governor Tim Walz as her running mate. He is expected to join Ms Harris on a tour of battleground states ahead of the Democratic National Convention on 19 August.

Anthony Zurcher, North America correspondent

What made Mr Walz stand out?

The former high-school teacher and football coach won attention among Democrats for his affable style and ability to land rhetorical blows on Donald Trump without seeming too aggressive. The “weird” label he applied to the former president and his running mate became a Democratic mantra in just a matter of days - and it is now a standard part of Ms Harris’s stump speech.

How might Mr Walz broaden Ms Harris's appeal to undecided voters?

While Minnesota is not a battleground state, the Harris campaign may hope that Mr Walz has midwestern appeal in places like Wisconsin and Michigan, which will help decide this election. By taking a Republican-held House seat in 2006, he has already shown he can win round a significant number of rural and Republican voters.

How big of a factor does name recognition play?

The governor may not have been a household name among Democrats a few weeks ago, but sometimes the dark horse wins the race.

Read in full

Profile: Mr Walz's resume includes being a public school teacher, football coach and National Guardsman before he entered politics. His record as a politician too could have broad appeal at a time of polarisation.

Voters' panel: Democratic voters share what they think of Ms Harris's choice.

Follow live: At the Philadelphia rally, all the signs in blue and white read "Harris Walz". Get the latest.

AT THE SCENE

Israel and the West Bank

Accounts of Israeli jail abuse

Sari Khourieh wears glasses and a white shirt as he poses for a picture in front of bookshelves filled with law books.

Mr Khourieh, an Israeli Arab lawyer from Haifa, is still struggling to make sense of what he witnessed. Credit: BBC

Israel’s leading human rights organisation, B’tselem, has released a report denouncing inhuman treatment of Palestinian detainees. It is the latest in a series of accounts, including one by the UN last week, detailing allegations of prisoner abuse, which the Israeli authorities reject.

Paul Adams, diplomatic correspondent

Israeli citizens like Sari Khourieh say it has also happened to them. Mr Khourieh was held at the Megiddo prison in northern Israel for 10 days last November. The police said that two of his Facebook posts had glorified the actions of Hamas – a charge quickly dismissed.

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But his brief experience of prison – his first – nearly broke him.

"They just lost their mind," he says of the scenes he witnessed at Megiddo. "There was no law. There was no order inside." Mr Khourieh says he was spared the worst of the abuse. But he says he was stunned by the treatment of his fellow inmates.

Keep reading

'Still alive': For six years Paul Adams has been in contact with a young graduate in Gaza. Her text messages give a unique insight into what she has experienced during the current conflict.

Hamas hierarchy: The group has named Gaza strip chief Yahya Sinwar as its new overall leader following the killing of political head Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran last week.

Wider conflict: An air strike in southern Lebanon followed by drone strikes on towns in northern Israel have added to simmering tensions between Israel and Hezbollah. Meanwhile, in the occupied West Bank, Israeli forces said they have conducted two air strikes that, according to local authorities, killed at least 10 Palestinians.

THE BIG PICTURE

A chance to make Olympic history

Dominic Lobalu competes in a long-distance running event in London.

Mr Lobalu was born in 1998 into a country in the middle of a long-running civil war. Credit: Getty Images

South Sudanese-born Dominic Lobalu is preparing for his bid to become the first gold medallist from the Refugee Olympic Team (boxer Cindy Ngamba won the first medal for the team - a bronze - on Sunday). The 25-year-old, who grew up in a refugee camp in Kenya before claiming asylum in Switzerland, spoke to BBC Sport Africa about his painful past, and hopes for the future.

Read the story

A dark sky with some low-lying clouds is cast in a purple hue around the path of a bright fork of white lightning, which strikes on land close to Lake Catatumba

FOR YOUR DOWNTIME

A storm chaser's dream

A remote part of Venezuela gets stunning lightning displays 150 nights a year.

Take a look

And finally... in London

Street artist Banksy has graced two areas of south-west London with signature stencil-styled pieces in the past two days. Both graffiti depict animals - a goat in the first and two elephants in the other. Banksy has claimed the artwork by posting their pictures on his Instagram account - but as the images do not feature a caption, fans are free to speculate about their meaning.

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– Sofia

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