Russia steps up attacks on Ukraine’s ports
Days after Russia reneged on a multinational deal that brought much-needed grain to the world market, two Ukrainian ports critical to the world’s food supply were hit by airstrikes and at least 19 people were injured. UN Secretary-General António Guterres strongly condemned the attacks.
Separately, the White House warned that the Kremlin has been mining sea routes and may be setting the stage for attacks on commercial transport ships. The waters where Russia is said to have placed the mines lie in an area already mined by Ukraine to deter an amphibious assault.
The goal, John Kirby, a spokesman for the National Security Council, said at a news conference, could be to involve Ukraine should a civilian ship in the Black Sea be damaged in the coming days. “We believe this is rather a coordinated effort to justify attacks on civilian ships in the Black Sea and then blame Ukraine,” he said.
Answer: Ships heading to Russian ports or to ports in occupied Ukraine, Ukraine’s defense ministry said, will now be considered “military cargo, with all the associated risks”.
Warnings for more heat in August
Last month was the warmest June since global temperature records began in 1850, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said yesterday. The agency warned that August could also see unusually high temperatures throughout most of the US
According to the EU’s Copernicus Climate Change Service, the first two weeks of July were most likely the warmest on Earth on record for any time of the year.
Successive heat waves in southern Europe over the past week have forced those who can afford it to seek shelter in air-conditioned homes and offices or seaside retreats. But for many seniors, heat has become the new Covid, reinforcing their isolation and prompting governments and social services to take extraordinary measures to protect them.
The British Conservatives lose 2 out of 3 seats in the by-election
Voters in three British electoral seats went to the polls yesterday to select replacements for a trio of lawmakers from the ruling Conservative Party who have left parliament, including former Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
The Conservatives narrowly retained Uxbridge and South Ruislip, by a margin of 495 votes. The small, centrist Liberal Democrat party won in Somerset and Frome by just over 10,000 votes. And in Selby and Ainsty, the largest opposition party Labor won by more than 4,000 votes.
With high inflation and high interest rates, labor unrest flaring and the healthcare system struggling, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s Conservatives had braced themselves for the possibility of losing all three games.
Background: The votes, known as by-elections, take place when a seat in the House of Commons becomes vacant between general elections. They were seen as a critical test of Mr. Sunak’s popularity.
THE LAST NEWS
Around the world
Southerners wait for the same sandwich every summer: thinly sliced, salted and peppered tomatoes and “twangy” Duke’s mayonnaise between soft white bread.
The key to the sandwich is good timing — a home-grown, truss-ripe tomato picked by a farmer during peak season isn’t ready until it’s ready. And while cherry, Campari, and other small greenhouse tomatoes can be delicious, what you really want is a large, peak-season steak or heirloom that still has the heat of the sun as you slice into it.
SPORTS NEWS FROM ATHLETICS
Megan Rapinoe’s game: The star of American women’s soccer shares an analysis of some of the most notable plays of her career.
Destroyed hotels, diplomatic squabbles, missing players: When pre-season football trips go wrong.
Who should win the Open Championship the most? Rory McIlroy may be the betting favourite, but other golfers are still hoping for success at Royal Liverpool.
ART AND IDEAS
The evolution of hip-hop
Hip-hop is a source of constant innovation; a historical text ripe for theft; a continuation of rock, soul and jazz traditions that also expressly loosen their cultural grip. The Times collected oral histories from 50 genre titans over the past more than five decades to chart its winding, circuitous path from myriad viewpoints. Read the full collection here.
“When you do it, you feel like you’re on your own planet, right? But when people dig it and you start to see other people drawing inspiration from what we did, it let us know we were onto something and it also made the world a little less scary. — Q-Tip
“What has kept me sane is never being xenophobic about the British. They are really, really, really, really, really good at rapping.” — Count Sweatshirt
“In Brooklyn, there was a melting pot of every existing Caribbean community. It wasn’t just hip-hop. You had Haitians, Trinidadians, Guyanese, Jamaicans, Bajans, Panamanians.” — Busta Rhymes
