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IMPORTANT
| | Corn Again | First Ship Carrying Ukrainian Grain Leaves OdesaThe Sierra Leone-flagged Razoni left the Black Sea port Monday, laden with 26,000 tons of corn. “The first grain ship since Russian aggression has left port,” tweeted Ukraine’s Minister of Infrastructure Oleksandr Kubrako. “Thanks to the support of all our partner countries and the U.N. we were able to full implement the Agreement signed in Istanbul.” The corn’s bound for Lebanon, which has been gripped by a severe food and financial crisis since 2019. Ukraine is one of the world’s primary grain producers but experts warn that finding crews and insurers willing to run the Russian gauntlet might be tricky. (Sources: AP, The Guardian) |
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| | Will She, Won’t She? | Pelosi Arrives in Singapore — But Will She Go to Taiwan? U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi arrived in Singapore early Monday for the first leg of an Asian tour that’ll see her discuss trade, climate change, the COVID-19 pandemic and “democratic governance.” A statement issued by Pelosi’s office Sunday said she’ll also visit Malaysia, South Korea and Japan — but it neither confirmed nor denied whether she’ll be stopping in Taiwan as originally planned. Chinese President Xi Jinping warned President Biden to “honor the one-China principle,” as “those who play with fire will perish by it.” Biden has reportedly pressured Pelosi not to visit the island, which claims sovereignty from China. (Sources: AP, Reuters) |
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| | | Bye-Bye, Bill | Bill Russell, Basketball Legend and Civil Rights Hero, Dies at 88 His longtime Boston Celtics coach Red Auerbach called him “the single most devastating force in the history of the game,” and a 1980 poll named him the greatest player of all time. The 6-foot-10-inch rebound king won 11 NBA titles — and was equally impressive off the court. He marched with Martin Luther King Jr., defended Muhammad Ali’s refusal to fight in the Vietnam War, and took a knee in solidarity with Colin Kaepernick. “Today, we lost a giant,” tweeted former President Barack Obama. “As tall as Bill Russell stood, his legacy rises far higher — both as a player and as a person.” (Sources: NYT, WaPo) |
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| | Record Blaze | At 52,000 Acres, McKinney Fire is Now California’s Largest in 2022 A fast-growing wildfire that started in the Klamath National Forest in Northern California Friday eclipsed the Oak Fire near Yosemite as the state’s largest of 2022. No deaths or injuries have been reported but it’s already destroyed 100 structures and put 3,000 people under evacuation orders. Heat from the fire caused the formation of a huge cloud called a pyrocumulonimbus — or as NASA calls it “the fire-breathing dragon of clouds” — which could cause thunderstorms and further fires. More than 50 large wildfires and fire complexes have burned across the U.S. so far this year — and August has barely begun. (Source: NYT) |
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| | Briefly | Here are some things you should know about today: It’s come home. England’s women’s soccer team won their country’s first major title in 56 years, defeating Germany 2-1 in the final of the Euro 2022 at Wembley Sunday. (Source: Mirror) Depraved. 84 men have been arrested in connection with the gang rape of eight women during a music video shoot near Johannesburg, South Africa last week. Police have vowed to expedite DNA matching. (Source: EWN) Accidental discharge? Almost six years since Bianca Rudolph was killed by a shotgun while on safari in Zambia, her dentist husband Larry has been charged with foreign murder and mail fraud. He’s pleaded not guilty. (Source: CNN) |
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INTRIGUING
| | Point of No Return | Total Climate Meltdown Can’t Be Stopped, Says New BookBill McGuire’s new book Hothouse Earth hits shelves at a time when much of the Northern Hemisphere is enduring devastating heat waves, droughts and wildfires. But this is just the beginning, argues the emeritus professor of geophysical and climate hazards: we’ve passed the point of no return and must now brace ourselves for climate breakdown. “A child born in 2020 will face a far more hostile world than its grandparents did,” McGuire insists. But quite how hostile is up to us. If current global-warming trends continue the future will be truly calamitous — but if we act now it could be merely “grim.” (Source: The Guardian) |
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| | | Mixed Messages | Prosthetic Leg Airbrushed Out of Poster Designed to Foster Inclusivity How the mighty have fallen. Last week Spain’s equality ministry received widespread praise for its “Summer is ours too” body-positivity campaign featuring women of different shapes, sizes and ethnicities — including one who’s had a mastectomy — relaxing on a beach. Now it’s emerged that the agency that made the image didn’t get permission from at least two of the women, and that, for some mystifying reason, Sian Green-Lord’s prosthetic leg was “edited out” of the picture. “I’m literally shaking, I’m so angry I don’t even know where to begin to explain this and how it has actually made me feel,” said Green-Lord. (Sources: Metro, BBC; Images: @sianlord_, Ministerio de Igualdad) |
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| | Big Bird | Traumatized Ostrich Dies After 6-Hour Highway Ordeal The bird caused early morning chaos on the highway between Krugersdorp and the South African capital of Pretoria. After a tipoff from a woman buying corn at a roadside stall, rescuers were eventually able to locate her: “I saw her nearly cause a dozen accidents, and the fact that no one hit her was a miracle,” said Brendan Murray from the Owl Rescue Centre. Police manning a nearby roadblock refused to temporarily close the highway, claiming it was “not their concern.” When the ostrich was finally caught she collapsed and died before a vet could reach her. (Source: News 24) |
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| | Leaving a Void | ‘Star Trek’ Trailblazer Nichelle Nichols Dies at 89Nichols played Lieutenant Uhura, the educated and competent communications officer on the starship U.S.S. Enterprise — among the first Black female characters depicted in a position of authority. She also had, with William Shatner, what’s thought to be the first interracial kiss in U.S. television history. And she went on to recruit women and minorities for NASA. To think it all could have been so different — Nichols almost quit as Uhura at the end of the first season in 1967, but Martin Luther King Jr. told her that her work as a role model for Black women was too important. (Source: NYT) |
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| | | Horror Crash | No Major Injuries as Cyclist Vaults Barriers Into CrowdNext time they might not be so lucky. A high-speed crash during the final lap of the men’s scratch race at the Commonwealth Games saw England’s Matt Walls catapult over the railings and into the crowd. Walls was treated by paramedics for 40 minutes before being taken to the hospital (and later discharged). Seven other riders were involved in the crash, including two who required hospital treatment, and two bloodied fans were treated for cuts and bruises. Six-time Olympic medalist Laura Kenny called for higher barriers: “It’s the third time … I’ve witnessed someone go over the top.” (Sources: Sky News, The Guardian) |
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