Our world in photos: August 8

August 8, 2024
Brooklyn Eagle Staff

Data Varfjlomeev, of Germany performs in the rhythmic gymnastics individuals all-round qualification round, at La Chapelle Arena at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Thursday, Aug. 8, 2024, in Paris, France. Photo: Francisco Seco/AP

Taisiia Onofriichuk, of Ukraine, performs her hoop exercise in the rhythmic gymnastics individuals all-round qualification round at La Chapelle Arena at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Thursday, Aug. 8, 2024, in Paris, France. Photo: Francisco Seco/AP

Zohra Aghamirova, of Azerbaijan performs in the rhythmic gymnastics individuals all-round qualification round, at La Chapelle Arena at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Thursday, Aug. 8, 2024, in Paris, France. Photo: Francisco Seco/AP

PARIS — Apparatus here is her dramatically placed red ball: Stiliana Nikolova, of Bulgaria, performs in the rhythmic gymnastics individuals all-round qualification round at La Chapelle Arena at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Thursday, Aug. 8, 2024, in Paris, France. Rhythmic gymnastics is distinguished from artistic gymnastics in both the apparatus and focus of movement. Whereas artistic gymnastics is more technical, emphasizing precision and physical strength, rhythmic gymnastics is all about presentation and style: rhythmic gymnasts perform routines of leaps, contortions, and dance that flow in time to music. Olympic rhythmic gymnastics is a women’s event only; athletes on this floor extend their movement and dance through the use of ropes, hoops, balls, clubs and ribbons.

The group all-around preliminary competitions are scheduled for Friday, Aug. 9.

PARIS — Decked out in official gloves and footwear: Britain’s Bradly Sinden, left, competes with Croatia’s Marko Golubic in a men’s 68kg Taekwondo quarterfinal match during the 2024 Summer Olympics, at the Grand Palais, Thursday, Aug. 8, 2024, in Paris, France. “Tae” means “foot,” “leg,” or “to step on.” “Kwon” means “fist” or “fight.” “Do” means the “way” or “discipline.” Together, the three words define a precise, almost scientific approach to martial arts. Mental and spiritual discipline is also emphasized.

The gold medal match was scheduled for Thursday afternoon (EDT), with Ulugbek RASHITOV of Uzbekistan competing opposite Zaid Kareem of Jordan.

Portious Warren, of Trinidad and Tobago, competes during the women's shot put qualification at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Thursday, Aug. 8, 2024, in Saint-Denis, France. Photo: Bernat Armangue/AP

Raven Saunders, of the United States, competes during the women's shot put qualification at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Thursday, Aug. 8, 2024, in Saint-Denis, France. Photo: Bernat Armangue/AP

PARIS — Hurling power with that support: Chase Jackson, of the United States, competes during the women’s shot put qualification at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Thursday, Aug. 8, 2024, in Saint-Denis, France. However, she failed to qualify for the Olympic shot put final in this athletics category event on Thursday after performing miserably in the heats, according to Reuters.

Jackson had two fouls and then managed only 17.60 meters with her third throw, almost two meters short of the automatic qualifying mark.

Shot put is a track and field event in which competitors throw a heavy metal ball, called a shot, as far as they can from inside a circle. For women, the ball weighs 8.8 lbs; for men, it is 16 lbs.

Italy's Ginevra Taddeucci competes during the marathon swimming women's 10km competition at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Thursday, Aug. 8, 2024, in Paris, France. Photo: Dar Yasin/AP

Dorota Borowska, of Poland, trains ahead of competing in the women's canoe single 200-meter heats at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Thursday, Aug. 8, 2024, in Vaires-sur-Marne, France. Photo: Ebrahim Noroozi/AP

Laura Rogora of Italy competes in the women's boulder and lead semifinal, during the sport climbing competition at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Thursday, Aug. 8, 2024, in Le Bourget, France. Photo: Christophe Ena, Pool/AP

Bruno Lobo of Brazil falls during the men's kite semifinal race during the 2024 Summer Olympics, Thursday, Aug. 8, 2024, in Marseille, France. Photo: Jacquelyn Martin/AP

Ellie Aldridge of Britain celebrates after winning the women's kite final race during the 2024 Summer Olympics, Thursday, Aug. 8, 2024, in Marseille, France. Photo: Carolyn Kaster/AP

Kyrgyzstan's Amantur Ismailov and Azerbaijan's Hasrat Jafarov compete during their men's Greco-Roman 67kg bronze medal wrestling match, at Champ-de-Mars Arena, during the 2024 Summer Olympics, Thursday, Aug. 8, 2024, in Paris, France. Photo: Eugene Hoshiko/AP

Tara Davis-Woodhall, of the United States, competes in the women's long jump final at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Thursday, Aug. 8, 2024, in Saint-Denis, France. Photo: David J. Phillip/AP

VAIRES-SUR-MARNE — ‘Yes, Virginia, the Olympics has a canoe sprint event without rapids’: Valdenice Conceicao Do Nascimento, of Brazil, competes in the women’s canoe single 200-meter heats at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Thursday, Aug. 8, 2024, in Vaires-sur-Marne, France. Canoe Sprint takes place on a flatwater course. The paddler competes in a striding position using a single-blade paddle.

Competitive Canoe Sprint racing dates back to 1869 in Great Britain. It took over half a century for the first international body to form for the paddle sport. That organization was established a century ago (1924) in Copenhagen. Canoe Sprint debuted at the Olympic Games in 1936, hosted in Berlin.

WISCONSIN — The new tag team in a very high-stakes Olympics: Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris is welcomed by Democratic vice presidential nominee Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz before she delivers remarks at a campaign event, Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2024, in Eau Claire, WI. Two days later, on Thursday, Aug. 8, the duo spoke to several dozen United Auto Workers members at Local 900 Hall in Detroit, which represents Ford’sMichigan Assembly Plant. After President Joe Biden ended his reelection campaign last month and endorsed his vice president, organized labor quickly rallied around Harris, who secured an endorsement from the AFL-CIO, followed by the United Auto Workers.

Several unions — including UAW, SEIU and the National Education Association, of which Walz is a member — have also backed him, particularly for his labor-friendly policies.

BUENOS AIRES — Employment is a critical issue everywhere: Protesters demanding work opportunities gather in Plaza de Mayo after marching from San Cayetano church to downtown Buenos Aires, Argentina, Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2024, on the feast day of St. Cajetan, known as the patron of the unemployed.

St. Catejan was born in the late 15th century as Gaetano dei Conti di Thiene CR. He was an Italian Catholic priest and religious reformer, co-founder of the Theatines, a Catholic order of clerics.

Argentina has a significant Italian population, which honors St. Catejan, as does the Spanish-speaking population.

SALT LAKE CITY — Signs and prayers urging mankind to refrain from pretending to be God: Nicholas Cote, western regional organizer of Conservatives Concerned About the Death Penalty, prays during a gathering held in a free speech zone established by the Utah Department of Corrections near the Utah State Correctional Facility in Salt Lake City, Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2024, before the execution of Taberon Honie. He was executed by lethal injection in the early morning hours of Aug. 8. Taberon Honie, a member of the indigenous Hopi nation, killed a woman named Claudia Benn in 1998. She was the mother of a woman with whom he was having a troubled relationship.

Honie’s daughter, Tressa, spoke with Fox News about the prospect of losing her most supportive family member, even though other family members were pushing for his execution.

NAIROBI — Objecting to a government that doesn’t work to prevent hunger: A protester is arrested in Nairobi, Kenya, Thursday, Aug. 8, 2024, during a demonstration against hunger. The protesters were also calling for President William Ruto to resign. Police hurled tear gas at protesters on Thursday as a new Cabinet was sworn in.

The protests in Nairobi have continued even though Ruto dismissed almost all of his ministers and added opposition members to what he called a “broad-based” government.

PARIS — Hard to tell if this is agony or ecstasy … okay, it’s ecstasy: Spain players celebrate after winning during penalties shoot out of a women’s Water Polo semifinal match between Netherlands and Spain at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Thursday, Aug. 8, 2024, in Paris, France. The earliest form of water polo was originally considered a dangerous sport. It first developed in the rivers and lakes of mid-19th century England as an aquatic version of rugby. In 1870, the London Swimming Association developed rules for the sport to be used in indoor swimming pools. The first international match took place in 1890 between England and Scotland, with Scotland winning 4-0.

Introduced to the U.S.A. in 1888, water polo took the form of football rules; although the rest of the world uses the Scottish rules.

BEIJING — Skeletons of China’s economic illusion: A rider passes by an abandoned construction project on the outskirts of Beijing, Thursday, July 25, 2024. An Aug. 1, 2024 article published in the Architectural Digest points out that the abandoned buildings are part of a wider real estate crisis. Pointing to a plethora of partially-constructed “half-built almost communities,” such as The State Guest Mansions, Architectural Digest writer Katherine McLaughlin explains that it represents a shift from China’s previous real-estate-driven economy that encouraged large-scale developments. An aging population, their ability to afford such property, the pandemic and other issues led to an imbalance between supply and demand.

Developers in China have defaulted on loans they took out and are otherwise in debt.