Hillary Clinton’s convention speech: ‘When there are no ceilings, the sky’s the limit’
After days of build-up, and decades of preparation, Hillary Clinton accepted the Democratic party nomination for president. Her speech was part biography, part profession of faith, part political prospectus, part job application and part attack on Donald Trump. “Imagine him in the Oval Office facing a real crisis,” she said. “A man you can bait with a tweet is not a man we can trust with nuclear weapons.” For herself, she said, “when there are no ceilings, the sky’s the limit.” She offered a point-by-point case for her presidency, including a jobs program and investment in infrastructure. The US, Clinton said, was “at a moment of reckoning” and called on voters to reject her opponent. “Powerful forces are threatening to pull us apart, bonds of trust and respect are fraying,” she warned.
Hillary Clinton accepts nomination with ‘boundless confidence in America’s promise’
Earlier, Clinton was introduced by her daughter, Chelsea, who explained how her mother taught her that “public service is about service”. Here, David Smith decodes what Hillary Clinton said in accepting the nomination and what she meant, and, here, four Guardian opinion writers offer their analysis. “After a weak start, she found her foil: Trump,” says Richard Wolffe.
Night four at the Democratic national convention: what we learned
Father of fallen Muslim American soldier challenges Trump
The father of an American Muslim soldier in Iraq stunned the Democratic convention with a challenge to Donald Trump, who he said had “sacrificed nothing and no one”. Khizr Khan paid tribute to his late son, Cpt Humayun Khan, who was killed by a car bomb in 2004, and described his family as “patriotic American Muslims with undivided loyalty to our country”. If it was up to Trump, his son would never have been in America, Khan said.
Trump takes the bait
Without surprise, the Republican nominee went on Twitter to denounce Clinton’s DNC speech, calling it an “insulting collection of cliches and recycled rhetoric”.
Donald Trump takes bait and responds to Clinton’s DNC speech with Twitter salvo
Pope Francis enters Auschwitz death camp in silence
The pontiff walked slowly and alone beneath the infamous gates to Auschwitz-Birkenau emblazoned with the words Arbeit Macht Frei. He did not say a word during his visit and sat alone on a bench for several minutes of contemplation. His only public words were written in the Auschwitz guest book: “Lord, have pity on your people. Lord, forgive so much cruelty.”
No words as Pope Francis visits Auschwitz death camp in silence
Was Russia behind the DNC hack?
Analysts and the US government suspect an official hand behind the breach of the DNC’s emails – and there is a developing theory that a Russian hacker named Fancy Bear and another hacking team believed to be tied to a competing Russian intelligence service, known as Cozy Bear, were working in concert. Cozy Bear is believed to have entered the network a year before and quietly gathered information and emails. Fancy Bear came in later. WikiLeaks, which published the emails, rejects suggestions that it gained the data from either.
Cozy Bear and Fancy Bear: did Russians hack Democratic party and if so, why?
More Syrian civilians killed in latest US airstrike
A day after announcing an inquiry into what watchdogs call the United States’ worst civilian casualty incident in its war against Isis, the US military said more civilians may have been killed in another attack around Manbij city east of Aleppo province. A monitoring group put the death toll in the latest airstrike at 28 civilians, including, once again, women and children.
US military says it may have killed more civilians in latest airstrike in Syria
Norway might give Finland a mountain for its 100th birthday
It’s a thoughtful gift. At 1,324 metres above sea level, the highest point in Finland currently lies on a bleak mountain spur known as Hálditšohkka, part of a far larger fell known as Halti, more than 200 miles inside the Arctic Circle. Halti’s summit, at 1,365 metres high, is a kilometre away in Norway and this would become Finland’s highest peak. “There are a few formal difficulties and I have not yet made my final decision,” said the Norwegian prime minister, Erna Solberg. “But we are looking into it.”
Norway considers giving mountain to Finland as 100th birthday present
Tokyo governor’s race devolves into mud-slinging and misogyny
Voters in Tokyo will go to the polls this weekend to settle a contest between 21 candidates, including Yuriko Koike, a graduate of Cairo University, who would be the first female governor of Tokyo, and only the seventh woman to run one of Japan’s 47 prefectural areas. Koike, an independent, has faced sexist attacks. Earlier this week, a former Tokyo governor, Shintaro Ishihara, referred to the 64-year-old Koike and her makeup in terms that translate as “a caked-up old woman well past her prime”.
Tokyo turmoil: race to rule world’s largest city mired in sex scandal and misogyny
Olympic flame snuffed out by protesters
Striking teachers managed to extinguish the Olympic torch relay after it entered Rio de Janeiro and the runner carrying it had to be escorted to safety. Protesters stoned cars and police responded with teargas and pepper spray. Rio 2016 spokesman, Philip Wilkinson, explained there is a back-up of eight lanterns. “The torch often goes out and is relit. The flame is never extinguished.”
Olympic flame extinguished by Rio protesters
Seeking comfort in drivel
Alexis Petridis considers Khloe Kardashian’s thoughts on vitamin E vaginal oil, topless model Katie Price’s “double-bum selfie”, or the news that Kris Jenner refused to visit Cuba with the Kardashian brood. Compared to the horror of the news, such celebrity nonsense is “like receiving a warm and comforting hug from a dear old friend”.
Seek comfort from the real news in the flotation tank of Kardashian drivel
In case you missed it …
What happens when trolls take the wheel of the clown car of modern politics? For starters, they’re hard to escape from. Milo Yiannopoulos, the professional alt-right provocateur, is a “charming devil and one of the worst people I know”, writes Laurie Penny. “The more famous he gets off the back of extravagantly abusing women and minorities, the more I tell him I hate him and everything he stands for, the more he laughs and asks when we’re drinking.”
My night out in Cleveland with the worst men on the internet
