2024
September
17
Tuesday

Monitor Daily Podcast

September 17, 2024
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Paris is once again buzzing about the Olympics. Yes, Parisians understand that the once-dreaded Games that became a monthlong joyfest are now in the history books. But does that mean the party has to end?

Mayor Anne Hidalgo thinks not. Her ask: to make permanent the iconic Olympic rings’ presence on the even more iconic Eiffel Tower. That idea is driving what one might call a very spirited debate. Check out Colette Davidson’s lively story today and see where you land.


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Today’s stories

And why we wrote them

The U.S. justice system is meant to treat every defendant equally. But when that defendant is both a former president and a presidential candidate, courts are showing the flexibility that accompanies foundational principles.

Today’s news briefs

• Pagers explode across Lebanon, Syria: Officials in Lebanon say more than 2,700 people were wounded and nine killed. Hezbollah blamed Israel. The Israeli military has declined to comment.
• Germany expands border checksThe move is part of a bid to crack down on irregular migration and crime following recent extremist attacks. 
• Meta bans Russian state media: The social media company alleges the outlets used deceptive tactics to amplify propaganda.
• Venezuela’s human rights: U.N. human rights experts say the government has intensified repression in the wake of the disputed July presidential election.
• Lithium drilling: A Native American tribe in Arizona is trying to persuade a U.S. judge to extend a ban on exploratory drilling near lands tribal members have used for centuries.

Read these news briefs.

Monitor Breakfast

Troy Aidan Sambajon/The Christian Science Monitor
Sen. Gary Peters of Michigan, chair of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, spoke to reporters at a Monitor Breakfast at the St. Regis Hotel in Washington Sept. 17, 2024.

Sen. Gary Peters of Michigan, at a Monitor Breakfast, talked about assuring candidates’ safety after assassination attempts – and about the safety of immigrants in Springfield, Ohio.

Pakistan’s democracy is at an unprecedented crossroads as the government, army, and judiciary decide whether to try former Prime Minister Imran Khan in a military court. 

Gonzalo Fuentes/Reuters
The Olympic rings are displayed at the Eiffel Tower, on the day of a parade for all the French athletes who participated in the 2024 Olympics and Paralympics, in Paris, Sept. 14, 2024.

The Paris Olympics are over, but many in the city are still basking in the glow – including the mayor, who now wants to keep the Olympic rings mounted on the Eiffel Tower indefinitely. Do Parisians want to bask that much?

Books

Karen Norris/Staff

Sometimes, what you need is a good murder mystery. Our resident mystery fan Yvonne Zipp takes readers on a whirlwind tour of five novels packed with new and returning characters – quirks included.    


The Monitor's View

Reuters
Supporters of Venezuela's opposition protest in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Aug. 17.

On the morning after Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro hastily claimed victory in his bid for reelection – without verified results from the polls – his counterpart in Chile posted on the social platform X: “The Maduro regime must understand that the results it publishes are hard to believe.” That observation, notable for its gentle lack of direct accusation, may have set a tone for ending repression without violence in Venezuela.

Since the July 28 ballot, Mr. Maduro has sought to crush dissent with thousands of arbitrary detentions, arrest warrants for opposition leaders, and the muzzling of social media platforms. Election officials have refused to release the official election results. Tallies obtained by opposition supporters from roughly 80% of polling stations on election night and posted online show Mr. Maduro losing by a 2-to-1 margin.

Yet rather than push Mr. Maduro into a corner, the international community sees honesty as a more effective solution to the crisis than accusation. In a resolution on the Venezuelan crisis adopted Monday, the European Parliament stated that “respecting the will of the Venezuelan people, as expressed in the election, remains the only way for Venezuela to restore democracy.”

Even more punitive diplomatic moves have come with carrots. Although the Biden administration announced new sanctions last week against Mr. Maduro and a short list of sympathetic judges and senior military officers, it has kept alive an offer of amnesty for the president in exchange for ceding power.

For their part, the people of Venezuela have responded to the violent crackdown with prayer vigils and nonviolent protests. Although opposition leaders have been driven underground or into exile, they vow no revenge in seeking a negotiated transition. A truthful account of the election, they say, is not just a prerequisite for dialogue and reconciliation but a solvent for fear as well.

“We are going to go through a process where ... never again will a Venezuelan be afraid to say what they think,” said opposition leader María Corina Machado in an interview with Rolling Stone magazine earlier this month.

Amid the world’s various conflicts, societies and mediators have sought diverse templates for peace – including, for example, arming Ukraine to defend itself against Russian aggression. In Venezuela, the template for progress is telling the truth. That has helped cultivate a more robust civil society than ever before. As Ms. Machado noted, “That starts with speaking the truth.”


A Christian Science Perspective

About this feature

As we accept the biblical message that we’re as perfect as God, we experience greater health and harmony.


Viewfinder

Lee Jin-man/AP
Visitors dressed in South Korean traditional Hanbok attire stroll around the Gyeongbokgung Palace during the Chuseok holiday in Seoul, South Korea, Sept. 17, 2024. The ancient holiday is rooted in celebrating a good harvest and is a time of family gatherings.
( The illustrations in today’s Monitor Daily are by Jacob Turcotte and Karen Norris. )

A look ahead

Thanks for reading the Monitor today. Tomorrow, we’ll look at Project 2025, and how the obscure issue of presidential transition planning became central to the 2024 campaign in the United States.

More issues

2024
September
17
Tuesday
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