Hollande meets religious leaders, Clinton makes history, killing is contagious

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French president François Hollande met religious leaders in a show of interfaith solidarity the day after France was shocked by the brutal killing of a priest in a church in Rouen. Christian, Jewish, Muslim and Buddhist leaders stood by the president at the Élysée Palace and pledged to resist attempts by Isis to divide the country.

The attack by Isis-inspired jihadis comes just days after 84 people were killed in Nice in an act also claimed by the group. The revelation that one of the attackers in Rouen was already under police surveillance after attempting to travel to Syria has increased criticism of the French government’s security record.

But intelligence analysts warn it is difficult to thwart lone wolves like those behind the attacks in France as individuals become radicalised increasingly quickly through the internet and social media. (Reuters, FT)

In the news

Hillary makes history Hillary Clinton has been selected as the Democratic presidential nominee, making history as the first woman to be picked by a major political party to run for the White House. But her party remains divided, with some supporters of former nominee Bernie Sanders insisting the primary was rigged against him. (FT)

Low pay in the UK British workers have suffered the biggest pay cut of any leading economy except Greece since the financial crisis. A report published by the TUC on Wednesday shows that real earnings have declined more than 10 per cent since 2007, leaving the UK equal bottom in a league table of wages growth. (FT)

Dolly clones all grown up Debbie, Denise, Dianna and Daisy — identical sisters of Dolly the sheep, cloned 20 years ago — are nine years old and in good health. Scientists studying the sheep said their good health helped alleviate concerns that cloned offspring were ageing prematurely. (FT)

Deloitte resigns as 1MDB auditor The departure of a third auditor for a Malaysian government investment fund is putting focus on another global company that apparently failed to raise questions about what investigators are calling a large-scale fraud. (WSJ)

Europe’s Brexit czar European Commission head Jean-Claude Juncker has appointed former EU commissioner Michel Barnier to lead the negotiations with Britain over the terms of its exit from the EU. His appointment comes as UK prime minister Theresa May comes under growing pressure from Liam Fox, the trade secretary, to pull out of the EU customs union. (Guardian, FT)
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It’s a big day for

Pope Francis will test his diplomatic skills on this first trip to Poland, the day after a priest was killed in France by jihadis. The Polish government has appointed a dedicated secretary of state to plan for the visit. (FT)

South China Sea tensions Leaders from China and the Philippines will meet in Manila in an attempt to resolve the territorial disputes in the region. (WSJ)

Food for thought

Xi’s China: Command and control The second part of our series on President Xi Jinping focuses on how he has transformed the People’s Liberation Army. (FT)

Killing contagion The spate of massacres this summer suggests that public, widely covered rampage killings have led to a kind of contagion, prompting a small number of people with strong personal grievances and scant political ideology to mine previous attacks for both methods and potential targets. (NYT)

Will Nato and Erdogan part ways? A weakened military, a widespread belief in Turkey that the US played a role in a failed military coup and western worries over President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s increasingly undemocratic ways are making it more likely that the alliance and Ankara will split. (Al-Monitor)

Young, tattooed and backing the National Front The FT’s Paris bureau chief Anne-Sylvaine Chassany recounts an eye-opening encounter with a twenty-something Frenchwoman, and what it reveals about how the far right is pulling in the youth vote. (FT)

The value of a poor memory If you are the forgetful type or tend to fumble the facts when reminiscing, psychologists have some comforting words: it does not matter. Inaccurate memories are just as helpful as accurate ones in shaping identities and aiding goal-setting, according to a slew of recent research. (WSJ)

Video of the day

Turkey in turmoil Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan has tightened his grip on power, arresting or detaining more than 60,000 people. The FT’s executive comment editor Jonathan Derbyshire and executive newspaper editor Hugh Carnegy discuss what’s at stake with author Alev Scott. (FT)