Morning Report - Harris and Walz's raucous rally

today's middle east story

Hamas names architect of 7 October attack as new leader

What happened
Hamas has named Yahya Sinwar, the military leader who is regarded as the mastermind behind the 7 October attack against Israel, as the new head of its political bureau after the assassination in Tehran of its previous political leader Ismail Haniyeh.

Who said what
Sinwar was a founding member of Hamas and is "seen as the group's most powerful figure", said The Guardian. He spent 23 years in Israeli prisons for attempted murder and sabotage. One former interrogator called him "1,000% committed and 1,000% violent, a very, very hard man".

What next?
Hamas's choice of Sinwar as leader "makes a ceasefire less likely", said The Economist. The appointment "sends a clear signal that Hamas's most extreme faction is now in charge of the entire movement", which is now "increasingly co-ordinated with Iran".

Sinwar will "lead the resistance movement from an unknown location in Gaza", said Al Jazeera, amid "fears of a wider escalation across the region".

Today's health story

The diet shaking up type 2 diabetes

What happened
People can reverse type 2 diabetes with a "soup and shake" diet, according to a study published in The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology journal.

Participants in the year-long NHS programme lived on 900 liquid calories a day before gradually reintroducing solids, while receiving diet and exercise advice. A third lost nearly 16kg and put their diabetes into remission.

Who said what
"We don't know how long the remission will last or how achieving remission can affect the risk of developing diabetes in the future," said Dr Nerys Astbury, professor of diet and obesity at the University of Oxford.

But such "encouraging outcomes from our programme" show that obesity "can be tackled head on", said Dr Clare Hambling, NHS clinical director for diabetes and obesity.

It isn't a diet, "it's a lifestyle change", Marie Laing, who lost three stone, told BBC News. "It's not easy, but it is well worth it to be able to have your life back."

What next?
The NHS is offering the free programme to eligible adults.

It's not all bad

The US gymnastics team has partially credited its success at the Paris Olympic Games to a four-year-old golden retriever who helped manage athletes' stress levels. Beacon, part of USA Gymnastics' mental health program, provided emotional support during training and competitions, boosting the team's morale and performance, and earning him "celebrity standing in both gymnastic and dog-loving circles", said The Guardian. Beacon "picks up on the stress and will pull to that person immediately", according to his handler, former rhythmic gymnastics coach Tracey Callahan Molnar. The US women's team said it had collectively benefitted from Beacon's calming presence, which contributed to their eight-medal haul.

under the radar

The deadly 'goat plague' threatening Greek feta

Feta cheese – Greece's "white gold" – is under threat after a deadly "goat plague" resurfaced in Europe.

The "highly contagious" peste des petits ruminants (PPR) virus was detected for the first time in Greece on 11 July in the central Thessaly region, but spread quickly across the country and into neighbouring Romania, said Euronews. More than 300,000 animals have since been tested and about 9,000 euthanised.

Greek authorities have temporarily banned the movement or slaughter of sheep and goats to stem the spread, and the EU has adopted "urgent procedures" for Greece and Romania. But the disease poses a "significant threat" to the production of Greece's trademark feta cheese, "a cornerstone of its economy".

PPR was first discovered in Ivory Coast in 1942, but has since spread around the world to more than 70 countries. It does not affect humans, but it can kill between 80% and 100% of infected goats and sheep.

At the moment the risk of PPR reaching the UK is "negligible", according to an assessment by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) quoted by the Mail Online. Importing live animals from Greece was banned after a separate disease – goat pox – was detected last October.

But cheese and milk are still being imported from Greece, including nearly 4,000 tonnes between 1 May and 12 July. About 1.6% of those products were unpasteurised; i.e. they have not been heat-treated to kill pathogens. "We will continue to monitor the situation as this is an important exotic disease that will be a concern for the EU," said Defra.

on this day

7 August 1948

Thirty-year-old Fanny Blankers-Koen capped off "an astonishing display of brilliance" at the London Olympics in the 4x100m relay, said the Games' official site. Critics had said the Dutch housewife should stay home with her children, to which she replied: "I'll show you." And so she did, winning four gold medals in athletics: the 100m, the 80m hurdles, the 200m and the 4x100m relay. She's gone down in Olympic history as the "flying housewife".

Today's newspapers

'Child rioters'

The ongoing unrest across the UK continues to dominate the papers. The Telegraph notes comments from Director of Public Prosecutions Stephen Parkinson who said anybody involved in the violence across the UK will face the most severe possible criminal charges, including terrorism. Meanwhile, the Daily Mail warns that children as young as 11 have been involved in the violent scenes across the country. "Shame of the child rioters," it says.
The FT reflects on Kamala Harris choosing Tim Walz as running mate, who will "draw in more working-class voters" for the Democrats.

See the newspaper front pages

tall tale

Church restoration anything but divine

A recent renovation of a historic Spanish church has sparked outrage among locals and restoration experts. Several features of the Ermita de Nuestra Señora del Mirón, located to the north east of Madrid, were "crudely repainted", including a cherub with "simple facial features and bright red lips", said the Daily Mail. The president of the country's conservators and restorers association, Francisco Manuel Espejo, described the work as more than "a failed restoration" and more of "an attack on our heritage".

Harris introduces running mate Walz at raucous rally