Monday Briefing: Children at risk in Gaza

The Kremlin's attempt to minimize Navalny and many of Biden's voters said he's "too old" to govern

View in browser|nytimes.com Continue reading the main story March 4, 2024 By Daniel E. Slotnik Good morning. We're covering a warning from the U.N. that more children in Gaza will die without aid and the Kremlin's attempt to silence information about Aleksei Navalny. Plus: Activism becomes an attraction for an Irish soccer club. Relief supplies arriving in Rafah in southern Gaza on Sunday. Agence France-Presse — Getty Images More Gazan children will die without aid, U.N. warned The U.N. warned that deaths of children and infants in Gaza were likely to "rapidly increase" if food and medical supplies were not sent immediately, days after an aid delivery into the enclave turned into a disaster. The U.N. has warned that many Gazans are on the edge of famine, and some aid agencies have stopped distribution in northern Gaza because of risks there. The convoy that arrived in Gaza City on Thursday ended in devastation. More than 100 Palestinians were killed as thousands gathered around trucks of food and supplies, Gazan health officials said. Accounts of what happened diverged sharply. The Israeli military said that many of the victims had been trampled, though it acknowledged that troops had opened fire after feeling threatened by the crowd. The Gazan health ministry called the episode a "massacre" by Israeli forces. Two more aid convoys organized by the Israeli government and Palestinian businessmen went into Gaza over the weekend. One of the convoys was mostly emptied by desperate Gazans before making it to Gaza City. The U.S. also began airdropping aid, which some aid experts said was insufficient. Related: Vice President Kamala Harris called for an "immediate cease-fire" in Gaza. Israel's lack of a clear plan for governing northern Gaza formed the backdrop to the chaos on Thursday, analysts and aid workers said. Aleksei Navalny speaking in 2013 during his campaign to become mayor of Moscow. Sergey Ponomarev for The New York Times The Kremlin tries to minimize Navalny's influence Moscow is seeking to suppress information about Aleksei Navalny, in life as in death. Russia's president, Vladimir Putin, has not said a word in public about Navalny, the opposition leader who died in an Arctic prison two weeks ago. Russian state television has been almost equally silent. And on Friday, as thousands gathered in Moscow for Navalny's funeral, state news ignored it altogether. The approach is not new. For years, Putin refused to say Navalny's name, state television barely mentioned him and the authorities barred him from running in the 2018 election. But even without the power of television, Navalny managed to make a name for himself in Russia using the internet, which continued to be the way millions of Russians followed news of his death and funeral. His online presence undermined the Kremlin's suggestions about his irrelevance, even as Russia's coercive apparatus went after him with increasing ferocity. In Ukraine: Surprisingly weak Ukrainian defenses have contributed to recent Russian advances, and a Russian missile attack in Odesa killed at least 12 people. The New York Times Even Biden's voters said he was 'too old' A striking 61 percent of the voters who supported Joe Biden in 2020 now believe he is "just too old" to lead the United States effectively, according to a new poll by The New York Times and Siena College. The misgivings about the president's age, which cut across generations, gender, race and education, pose a deepening threat to his re-election bid. Voters have not expressed the same anxieties about Donald Trump, who, at 77, is just four years younger than Biden. Their likely rematch would make them the oldest presidential nominees in history. Supreme Court: The justices may rule today on Trump's eligibility to hold office, one day before the Super Tuesday primaries. Continue reading the main story ADVERTISEMENT THE LATEST NEWS Around the World Arif Ali/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images Pakistan's Parliament approved Shehbaz Sharif for his second term as prime minister, capping weeks of upheaval with a government that faces doubts about its legitimacy. Gangs attacked two prisons in Haiti in the latest instance of escalating violence and disorder in the country's capital. Blasphemy against Islam is a serious offense in Pakistan, and an accusation of it can lead mobs to take matters into their own hands. South Korea is reliant on foreign workers, who often endure abuses like predatory bosses and discrimination. Other Big Stories Federico Rios for The New York Times Migration through the perilous Darién Gap resumed after a roughly five-day pause. There's a measles outbreak in Britain, where vaccine coverage has waned to precarious levels in some communities. Saudi Arabia, the de facto leader of OPEC, said it would extend cuts in oil production through June. A truck driver was trapped in the cab of a tractor-trailer dangling off the side of a bridge in Kentucky for nearly an hour before a firefighter, lowered from the bridge with ropes, rescued her. Big Numbers LeBron James became the first N.B.A. player to score 40,000 career points. "Dune: Part Two" jump-started theatergoing, selling an estimated $81.5 million in tickets in the U.S. and Canada. Opinion David French writes about the growing political gap between women and men. To win national elections, Democrats must emulate their successful governors in red and purple states, writes Frank Bruni. Nicholas Kristof weighs whether the West has a double standard for Israel. Maureen Dowd's dream State of the Union address from President Biden ends with the passing of the torch. A Morning Read Cristina Baussan for The New York Times The tiny island of Alderney feels like a peaceful haven in the English Channel. But reminders of World War II hide behind many of the island's quiet corners. The Nazis ran four camps on Alderney during the war, and it is not clear how many people died there. A report due this spring is meant to offer answers, but not everyone who studies Alderney's past believes it will. Lives lived: Iris Apfel's brash bohemian style knocked the socks off the fashion world and inspired an exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. She died at 102. SPORTS NEWS Paul Pogba: Is this the end for the soccer player? Bahrain Grand Prix: What we learned from Formula 1's season opener. Heading toward a trial: The latest in a tennis sexual abuse lawsuit. ARTS AND IDEAS Paulo Nunes dos Santos for The New York Times Activism helps a small soccer club draw a crowd Jerseys for the small Irish soccer team the Bohemians are being sold far and wide, but it's not because of a star player or the team's outstanding success. Instead, many fans are drawn to the Bohemians because of the team's politics. In a studiously apolitical sport, the Bohemians have become a commercial success by leaning unapologetically to the left. The team's embrace of activism has captured the hearts and minds of a congregation of fans across the world, diffused by geography but united by common priorities. We hope you've enjoyed this newsletter, which is made possible through subscriber support. Subscribe to The New York Times. Continue reading the main story ADVERTISEMENT RECOMMENDATIONS Christopher Testani for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews. Cook: Chashu is a Japanese adaptation of char siu, or Chinese barbecued pork, that's typically served atop a bowl of steaming ramen. Swell: Pants are widening, again. Stream: The documentary "Jodorowsky's Dune" chronicles the "Dune" adaptation that never happened. Read: "The Hunter" — Tana French's new thriller, which is the sequel to "The Searcher" — follows a former police officer from Chicago who settles in a remote village in Western Ireland. Play the Spelling Bee. And here are today's Mini Crossword and Wordle. You can find all our puzzles here. That's it for today's briefing. Thank you for spending part of your morning with us, and see you tomorrow. — Dan You can reach Dan and the team at briefing@nytimes.com. Continue reading the main story Need help? Review our newsletter help page or contact us for assistance. You received this email because you signed up for Morning Briefing: Europe Edition from The New York Times. 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