Thursday Briefing: NATO accuses China

The alliance said that Beijing had enabled Russia's war against Ukraine.

View in browser|nytimes.com July 11, 2024 By Natasha Frost Good morning. We're covering a major declaration by NATO and mounting pressure on President Biden. Plus: An open letter from Emmanuel Macron. The heads of government of NATO member nations, at the summit in Washington. Eric Lee/The New York Times NATO accuses China of supplying Russia's attacks on Ukraine For the first time, NATO has joined in Washington's denunciations of China's military support for Russia, accusing Beijing of enabling Russia's war against Ukraine. In a declaration, the military alliance demanded that China halt shipments of "weapons components" and other technology critical to the rebuilding of the Russian military. China cannot enable the war "without this negatively impacting its interests and reputation," the declaration said, particularly calling out China's "large-scale support for Russia's defense industrial base." Potential costs were not specified, though the natural first step would be economic sanctions that barred China from parts of global markets. The declaration also blames China for "malicious cyber- and hybrid activities, including disinformation" aimed at Europe and the U.S. Background: Many European leaders initially dismissed the agreement between Russia and China for a "partnership without limits" as unlikely or unrealistic. But 29 months after the invasion of Ukraine, that view has changed drastically. Ukraine: Leaders issued an official document that solidifies the alliance's "irreversible" commitment to move the country closer to membership. Nancy Pelosi, the congresswoman and former speaker of the House. Haiyun Jiang for The New York Times Calls grow for Biden to drop out President Biden faced more pressure to step aside yesterday, as Democrats aired concerns that he would lose to Donald Trump in November. Speaking on a news show, Nancy Pelosi, congresswoman and former speaker of the House, said that "time is running short" for Biden to reconsider, adding that she would back him "whatever he decides." Some other Democratic lawmakers, including Senator Tim Kaine of Virginia, have appeared to follow her lead, focusing on Biden's past decisions to be a realist about his political fortunes and put his country first. Explicit calls for Biden to withdraw have also increased. Senator Peter Welch of Vermont became the first Democratic senator to publicly call on the president to withdraw, and Representative Pat Ryan of New York became the eighth member of Congress to publicly call on him to drop out of the race. Response: Biden has tried to silence his doubters by criticizing the Democratic "elites" whom he portrays as having turned on him, my colleague Peter Baker writes. Hollywood: George Clooney, who hosted a $28 million fund-raiser last month for the president, also pleaded with him to step aside in a Times opinion essay, adding that he had seen Biden's decline up close. "The one battle he cannot win," he wrote, "is the fight against time." President Emmanuel Macron of France. Manuel Balce Ceneta/Associated Press Macron ends his silence In a letter to the French people, scheduled to be published today, President Emmanuel Macron of France said that it would take "a little time" to build a "broad gathering" of what he called "republican forces" able to form a coalition government. "Nobody won" recent legislative elections, he said, a comment likely to irk the New Popular Front, a resurgent left-wing alliance that came in first with about 180 seats in the National Assembly and that said it would name its choice for prime minister this week. Macron is almost certain to reject that choice, risking a potentially explosive clash with the left. Analysis: Experts see the elections in Britain and France less as a resurgence by the left than as a trend of intense political polarization across Europe. MORE TOP NEWS Omar Al-Qattaa/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images War in Gaza In Gaza City: The Israeli military told residents to flee south through four "safe corridors," a sign that renewed fighting was likely to continue. Death toll: The Gazan authorities say that at least 27 people were killed in a strike near a school turned shelter. Two-thirds of U.N. school buildings in the enclave have been hit since October, according to UNRWA, the U.N. agency that helps Palestinians. Hezbollah: Its leader said "the only way" to stop the cross-border hostilities with Israel was to negotiate an end to the fighting in Gaza, putting pressure on talks. Other Big Stories Olympics: The French government has put thousands of homeless immigrants on buses and sent them out of Paris ahead of the Games. U.S.: The actor Alec Baldwin went on trial over the fatal shooting of a cinematographer on the set of the movie "Rust." Read takeaways from the first day. Russia: A lawyer for the jailed dissident Vladimir Kara-Murza said his client was "stable" after being moved to a prison hospital without explanation. Britain: Rwandan officials said their government did not have to repay the money it received from Britain as part of a scrapped plan for the African country to take in migrants. Spain: Some tourists to Barcelona are experiencing hostility from locals who are angry over housing shortages and the cost of living. West Africa: Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger withdrew from a West African economic bloc that allows free movement between countries. Crime: The police in England apprehended a man suspected of killing three women with a crossbow. Culture: The literary world is reeling after Alice Munro's daughter revealed that her stepfather sexually abused her as a child and that her mother stayed with him even after he was convicted of the assault. SPORTS NEWS At Wimbledon: Lorenzo Musetti sliced Taylor Fritz out of the tournament, Centre Court emptied early and Barbora Krejcikova called out the haters. Read more from Day 10. Copa América: U.S. Soccer fired the men's national team coach, Gregg Berhalter, after a disappointing group-stage exit from the tournament. Euros 2024: A stunning last-minute goal against the Netherlands put England in the final, where it will face Spain. Gymnastics: At this year's Olympics, U.S. athletes will wear leotards decorated with more than 10,000 crystals. MORNING READ Ketan Mehta The writer-director Nikhil Nagesh Bhat bristles when people put a Bollywood label on "Kill," his claustrophobic action film that pits a commando against bandits during a train robbery. Bhat spoke with us about crafting gory fight sequences in tight spaces, the real-life inspiration for "Kill," and his love for James Cameron's "Aliens." Read the interview. Lives lived: Carol Bongiovi, the mother of the pop star Jon Bon Jovi and a former Playboy bunny and U.S. Marine, died at 83. CONVERSATION STARTERS Not too "wiggy": Shani Lechan makes luxury human-hair wigs that are worn by neighborhood moms and by supermodels like Naomi Campbell. Overlooked no longer: A century ago, Alice Milliat fought for the inclusion of female athletes in the Olympics. Her contribution is now being recognized. Analytic voyeurism: How do identity, income and geography affect what groceries land in our carts? A.I. supremacy: Lee Saedol was once the finest Go player of his generation. A decisive loss to a computer program effectively ended his career. ARTS AND IDEAS The New York Times 25 years of memorable literary moments The New York Times Book Review looked back on moments that made news in the book world this century. Here's a selection: 2001: Oprah picks Jonathan Franzen's novel "The Corrections" for her book club. When the author skewers her taste — "schmaltzy, one-dimensional" books — she rescinds the invitation. 2007: Amazon releases its first Kindle. It costs $399 and sells out in 5.5 hours. 2013: E L James's "Fifty Shades of Grey" series, which brought erotica into the mainstream, hits a milestone of more than 100 million copies sold. 2022: More than 30 years after Iran's ayatollah called for Salman Rushdie's death over the novel "The Satanic Verses," a knife-wielding man stabs the author at a literary event. 2024: Before he died in 2014, Gabriel García Márquez asked that his final novel, "Until August," be destroyed. His family decides to publish it anyway. (Read the full list, and catch up with our ranking of the best books.) We hope you've enjoyed this newsletter, which is made possible through subscriber support. Subscribe to The New York Times. RECOMMENDATIONS Christopher Testani for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews. Cook: This bright pasta is studded with shrimp and cherry tomatoes. Travel: The lavender fields of central Spain rival vacation favorites like Provence in France. Quit: Giving up vaping isn't easy. Here are some tips on how to stop. Read: Take yourself on a literary tour of Prague. Listen: Catch up with our playlist of songs that hit No. 1 on the charts this year. 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. See you tomorrow. — Natasha Reach Natasha and the team at briefing@nytimes.com. Need help? Review our newsletter help page or contact us for assistance. 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