Önder Özar Diplomasi Sevgisi: The New York Times Morning Briefing - October 25, 2024 by Justin Porter - covering Kamala Harris’s star-studded campaign as well as plans for a new round of Gaza cease-fire talks.

October 25, 2024

	By Justin Porter

Good morning. We’re covering Kamala Harris’s star-studded campaign as well as plans for a new round of Gaza cease-fire talks.

Plus, an interview with the Taliban’s most fearsome leader.

Kamala Harris with Bruce Springsteen, offering her a bow with palms in front, and Barack Obama backstage.

Kamala Harris, Bruce Springsteen and Barack Obama backstage in Georgia yesterday. Erin Schaff/The New York Times

Harris packs in the star power

Kamala Harris held a rally with former President Barack Obama and Bruce Springsteen in Atlanta yesterday.

She painted Donald Trump as a child, saying that during his administration he had “people who could control him.” But she also made the case that a second Trump administration would be dangerous, pointing out that many of the aides who were able to rein him in, including John Kelly, have spoken out against him. Earlier this week, Kelly called Trump a “fascist,” remarks that Harris is highlighting in two stark new ads.

Harris also addressed young people, who will be integral to her turnout in November. She acknowledged that they were “rightly impatient for change,” having grown up amid a climate crisis and active-shooter drills, watching as the rights that their grandparents had enjoyed were taken away from them. Harris closed the event by telling the crowd, “Your vote is your voice, and your voice is your power.”

Beyoncé is headlining Harris’s next rally, today in Houston. The event will be focused on abortion rights. The country music legend Willie Nelson will also be in attendance.

A renewed push for a cease-fire in Gaza

Negotiators are expected to meet over the weekend in an effort to revive cease-fire negotiations between Israel and Hamas. The head of Israel’s spy agency is expected to meet with the C.I.A. chief, William Burns, and the prime minister of Qatar.

U.S. officials said that they were open to the possibility of a shorter cease-fire to allow more aid into Gaza in exchange for the release of a small number of the dozens of hostages. But it remains unclear whether Hamas was willing to re-engage in the long-stalled talks after Israel killed the group’s leader.

On the ground: Israel said it had struck a Hamas command center inside a compound formerly used as a school in Nuseirat in central Gaza. Video obtained by Reuters taken after the strike shows wounded people, including children, at the compound, which has been housing displaced Palestinians.

Other Middle East news:

Iran has several plans in case Israel launches a strike, but Iranian officials said that if Israel limits its attacks, Tehran may not respond at all.
The main emergency service in Gaza has ceased all rescue operations in the northern part of the territory because of an Israeli offensive in the area.
Lebanon’s military said that three more of its soldiers were killed in an Israeli attack in the south.
France said it would support the recruitment of thousands of extra troops for Lebanon’s military.

Young men ride or walk past an outdoor mural near a vehicle and tree in daylight.

A defaced wall mural reading “Peace for me is the right to vote” in Kabul, Afghanistan. Wakil Kohsar/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

The world opens up to the Taliban

After facing near-total international isolation over recent years for their erasure of women’s rights, the Taliban are now seeing a shift. Dozens of countries have welcomed Taliban diplomats. There has even been talk of removing the group from terror lists.

The diplomatic moves toward normalizing the Taliban reflect a growing consensus among world leaders that the Taliban government is here to stay.

Afghanistan’s best hope for change? Sirajuddin Haqqani was once known as an angel of death who topped the U.S. most-wanted list. But since the Taliban returned to power, he has tried to remake himself into a pragmatic statesman. Our Afghanistan bureau chief, Christina Goldbaum, interviewed him. Here’s what she learned.

MORE TOP NEWS

Three silhouetted people, one carrying an umbrella, walk past vendor stalls on a beach with a darkened, cloudy sky in the background.

Dibyangshu Sarkar/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

India: About a million people were evacuated from parts of the eastern coast, as Tropical Cyclone Dana approached.
Canada: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced significant cuts to the number of immigrant newcomers after years of expansion.
Climate: A U.N. assessment of the world’s climate goals found that countries have made no progress in cutting emissions over the past year.
Russia: At a summit, President Vladimir Putin appeared to acknowledge that North Korean troops had been deployed to his country.
Britain: Lucy Letby, a former nurse who was convicted of the murder of seven babies, lost her bid to appeal one of her convictions.
Turkey: Despite a deadly attack, the government is showing a new openness to reviving talks with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or P.K.K.
Business: Boeing’s largest union rejected a tentative contract, extending a damaging strike after the company reported a $6.1 billion loss.
Mozambique: Daniel Chapo was declared the winner of the presidential election after a process marred by violence and fraud accusations.
Coins: Seven friends testing a metal detector found the Chew Valley hoard — the most valuable treasure ever discovered in Britain.
A.I..: President Biden is expected to sign the first national security memorandum on how the Pentagon and the intelligence agencies should handle artificial intelligence.

SPORTS NEWS

Two workers in Los Angeles prepare the field ahead of the World Series.

Julio Cortez/Associated Press

Baseball: The World Series is here, with the Los Angeles Dodgers and the New York Yankees set to battle for the trophy. Here are our experts’ predictions.
Soccer: When the French superstar Kylian Mbappe made his long-awaited move to Real Madrid, he chose to live in La Finca, an exclusive private development in Spain’s capital.
Formula 1: A breakdown of the Mexico City Grand Prix circuit.

MORNING READ

Shiori Ito stands in shadow next to a desk with a laptop.

Shiho Fukada for The New York Times

The journalist Shiori Ito became the face of #MeToo in Japan when she went public with rape allegations against a well-known television correspondent. Now, as she prepares for the release of “Black Box Diaries,” a documentary she directed about her experiences fighting Japan’s justice system, she’s ready to move on. Ito’s defiance has made her a feminist hero in some circles and a punching bag in others.

Lives lived: Ron Ely, a television actor best known for his role in the 1960s show “Tarzan,” died at age 86.

CONVERSATION STARTERS

A normal partner: Lana Del Ray married her longtime boyfriend, Jeremy Dufrene, a swamp tour guide. Other celebrities have also wed someone who’s not rich or famous.
Math is power: A documentary filmmaker and a mathematician discuss our fear of numbers and its civic costs.
Attention, passengers: American Airlines is testing a system that will produce a sound when a passenger tries to skip the line.

ARTS AND IDEAS

A collage illustration of several black-and-white photos of older people participating in activities including: surfing, playing with children, collecting produce and stretching. Behind them is a collage of graph paper and a blue map.

Illustration by Chantal Jahchan; Photographs by Getty Images

Do people in ‘blue zones’ live longer?

The concept is simple and alluring: There are special regions around the world — called blue zones — where people remain vibrant and active into their 90s and 100s, thanks to a simple set of behaviors that anyone can follow.

It’s sensible enough to sound convincing and ambiguous enough to support a health and longevity empire. In the 20 years since blue zones were first introduced, the Blue Zones brand (now trademarked) has spawned eight books, a Netflix series and several product partnerships, all in the name of helping people attain their longevity goals.

But not everyone is buying into it. Some experts are questioning whether the blue zones themselves might be too good to be true. Here’s what they are saying.