Pope Francis answers the media as he leaves the Gemelli Hospital in Rome. The pontiff was hospitalized last week for an abdominal surgery.
👋 مَرْحَبا*
Welcome to Friday, where African leaders are on a peace mission in Kyiv, Pope Francis has left hospital and, yes, it is that hot. Meanwhile, Ukrainska Pravda has an exclusive interview with Georgian President Salomé Zourabichvili, who tries to set the record straight on where her country stands vis-à-vis its Russian neighbor.
[*Marhaba - Lebanese]
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🌎 7 THINGS TO KNOW RIGHT NOW
• African leaders in Ukraine: An air raid alert was issued in Kyiv as African leaders visit Ukraine on a peace mission. South African President Cyril Ramaphosa arrived in the Ukrainian capital this morning and was welcomed by Ukraine's special envoy for Africa and the Middle East and South Africa's ambassador to Ukraine.
• Nine survivors of Greek boat wreck arrested, as toll likely to multiply: Nine survivors of a migrant boat disaster in Greece have been arrested on smuggling charges. They are suspected of belonging to the network of smugglers who organized the crossing. Meanwhile, authorities are struggling to account for up to 750 missing passengers. So far, only 104 survivors have been rescued, and another 78 corpses have been recovered.
• Pope Francis leaves hospital nine days after surgery: Pope Francis left Rome's Gemelli hospital "in better shape than before" nine days after abdominal surgery. After numerous health problems, including a lung ablation and colon operation, the Pope could be medically incapacitated for some time. Some observers are asking if there could be a kind of constitutional crisis at the summit of the Roman Catholic hierarchy.
• Pentagon leaker Jack Teixeira charged with six federal counts: The Air National Guard member Jack Teixeira behind the recent Pentagon leaks has been charged with six federal counts of retaining and transmitting sensitive national defense information after being arrested in April. He is accused of leaking military secrets on Discord discussion forums, including documents related to spying in South Korea and Ukraine's air defenses.
• Highway collision in Canada kills at least 15: A semi-trailer collided with a bus carrying senior citizens in a rural area of the Canadian province of Manitoba, killing at least 15 people, while 10 others were taken to hospital, including the drivers of both the semi-trailer and the bus. This is one of the worst accidents ever recorded in Manitoba.
• Japan adopts a softened law on LGBTQ+ understanding: Japan has passed a law designed to promote understanding of the LGBTQ+ community, deemed too permissive by conservatives and offering no human rights guarantees for LGBTQ+ advocates. The bill, which initially stated that discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity should not be tolerated, has been replaced by "there should be no unfair discrimination."
• New dinosaur discovered on the Isle of Wight: A new species of armored dinosaur has been discovered on the Isle of Wight, off the southern coast of England. The fossilized remains of the dinosaur were found in rocks dating from 66 to 145 million years ago. The new giant reptile was named Vectipelta barretti after Professor Paul Barrett, who has worked at the Natural History Museum in London for 20 years.
🗞️ FRONT PAGE
Granma, the Cuban Communist Party’s daily, dedicates its front page to the meeting of Army General Raul Castro with Iranian President Seyed Ebrahim Raisi, who is concluding his tour in Latin America. Castro thanked the Iranian President for his support and reaffirmed the strong relations of friendship and cooperation between the two countries. “The position of [Iran] and these three countries is to stand against imperialism and unilateralism”, said Raisi before departing on his trip, where he also visited Nicaragua and Venezuela. Critics have singled out leftists in Latin America for “cozying up” to the Iranian regime.
#️⃣ BY THE NUMBERS
+ 1.5 °C
Researchers at the EU’s Copernicus Unit reported that the start of June saw global surface air temperatures rise 1.5 °C (2.7 °F) above pre-industrial levels for the first time. That is the threshold which governments said they would try to stay at the 2015 Paris Climate summit. “The world just experienced its warmest early June on record,” stated Samantha Burgess, deputy director of the Copernicus Climate Change Service. Temperatures have since dipped, but this global record indicates more temperature extremes ahead, along with the increased likelihood of extreme events.
📰 STORY OF THE DAY
“Ukraine will win the war” — Georgia's president tries to quell doubts from Kyiv
Russia's invasion of Ukraine has revealed fault lines in Georgia. Many in the country strongly condemn Russia, but some pro-Russian voices have positioned the country as a Kremlin ally. In an exclusive interview with Ukrainska Pravda, Georgian President Salomé Zourabichvili draws the line on what side of history her country will ultimately stand.
🇬🇪🇺🇦 “Each time you go to Ukraine or you meet with Ukrainians or Ukrainians who are here, there is this feeling of mutual real friendship, not something that is created. I think it's due to the fact that we have gone through many of the same things, not only recent history, but the past two centuries and more. We have experienced the same developments and that really creates a lot of mutual understanding.”
🇷🇺 What will the next steps to restore some ties with Russia be? There are rumors that maybe you will also restore the rail connection with Russia. “I think there are many rumors. I think that basically, Russia has felt that there is some room for maneuver and they are now poking — it's very typical of Russian tactics. They are losing the war with you. In my view, they've already lost on many grounds — political, psychological, international.”
✊ How do you see Ukrainian victory? And what will the victory of Ukraine mean for the Georgian people and for you as President of Georgia? “Well, it won't only be a victory for the Georgian people. It will be for the whole of Europe, because I think that everybody now understands what Russia is. I think maybe they don't understand very well what it would mean if this Russia were to win. We understand what it will mean; we, as Georgians. who have gone through the same battles.”
➡️ Read more on Worldcrunch.com
📣 VERBATIM
“There is no football if there is racism – so let’s stop the games.”
— FIFA chief Gianni Infantino said a “zero tolerance” approach of racism in football games must be implemented and asked for referees to stop matches if an incident occurs. This comes in the wake of a meeting between Infantino and Real Madrid’s Vinicius Junior, who was the target of racist abuse by fans in Spanish stadiums throughout the season. The FIFA chief also called for “criminals” to be “banned from stadiums” and taken to court: “racism is a crime,” he added.
👉 MORE FROM WORLDCRUNCH
• MBS Forever? The Saudi Crown Prince Is A Real Problem — And Here To Stay — FRANCE INTER
• Domestic Violence: Why Do Some Women Retract Accusations? — CLARÍN
• Work → In Progress: AI, The Pros And Cons Of Your New Sort-Of Colleague — WORLDCRUNCH
✍️ Newsletter by Marine Béguin, Chloé Touchard, Valeria Berghinz and Anne-Sophie Goninet
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