✅  SIGN UP

This is our daily newsletter Worldcrunch Today, a rapid tour of the news of the day from the world's best journalism sources, regardless of language or geography.

It's easy (and free!) to sign up to receive it each day in your inbox: 👉 Sign up here

🌎  7 THINGS TO KNOW RIGHT NOW

• Ukraine update: Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant is still disconnected from Ukraine’s power grid after shelling hit the area. The situation could lead to a “nuclear disaster”, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said. Meanwhile, Russia has claimed responsibility for the Chaplyne train attack that killed over 200 people in eastern Ukraine earlier this week.

• Solomon Islands ghosts U.S. vessel: A U.S. Coast Guard ship was unable to dock in the Solomon Islands after Honiara didn’t respond to its request to refuel and provision. Tensions are high between both countries as the Islands signed a security pact with China in May.

• Turkey, Finland and Sweden officials to meet: Finland is expected to host a meeting with Turkey and Sweden officials this Friday to discuss Turkey’s security concerns over the two Nordic countries joining the NATO alliance. This meeting “aims to establish contacts and set goals for cooperation”, Finland’s Foreign Minister said.

• Judge orders release of Mar-a-Lago affidavit: The Justice Department has ordered the unsealing of the redacted version of the affidavit that justified the warrant for the Mar-a-Lago raid in Florida. Several sensitive documents had been discovered in the former U.S. President Donald Trump’s resort.

• Suspended Thai PM stays on as Defense minister: In a Twitter post and first address since he was suspended, Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha said he “will continue his duty and responsibility as defense minister”. He was suspended by a Court as the country’s leader on Wednesday.

• Japan announces spending for Abe’s funeral: Japan announced it will spend $1.83 million for the state funeral of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who was shot last month during a campaign speech. The decision has sparked considerable debate in the country, notably because of the former leader’s ties with the Unification Church.

• Unvaccinated Djokovic out of U.S. Open: Serbian tennis champion Novak Djokovic announced he will miss the U.S. Open tournament, which kicks off next week, due to his COVID-19 vaccination status.

🗞️  FRONT PAGE

In Italy, La Repubblica dedicates its front page to "a modern Mata Hari". A 10-month investigation revealed that a woman going by the fake name of "Maria Adela" working for Russian intelligence services infiltrated NATO circles in Italy until 2018 and obtained information by befriending members of the organization.

#️⃣  BY THE NUMBERS

0.81

South Korea recorded the world’s lowest fertility rate in 2021, with the rate sinking 0.03% lower than the previous year. The average rate to maintain a stable population is 2.1. The low fertility rate is in part due to an intense workplace culture, gender inequality and the rising cost of living. To encourage fertility, South Korea is offering "baby vouchers" and simultaneous parental leave, hoping to reverse the tendency.

📰  STORY OF THE DAY

The dark hidden cost of the mineral that makes green energy possible

As the world moves to renewable energy, demand for lithium has surged. But the race to extract the precious mineral comes with hidden costs for local communities and the environment. So just how green is the energy transition after all? asks Camila Parodi in international non-profit organization Climate Tracker.

🍃 Since 1997, U.S. company Livent has been extracting lithium, a metal that is crucial for renewable technologies, from the Salar del Hombre Muerto, a salt flat in northern Argentina. Close by, the local community is recording the deterioration and loss of biodiversity of this sensitive and unique wetland area.

🇦🇷 During the last 15 years, the province of Catamarca in northwestern Argentina has occupied a central place in the global mining map. The oldest lithium extraction project in the country operates there, run by the company Livent, which describes itself as making "high-performance lithium products and solutions." In 2018, the company submitted an Environmental Impact Report for the expansion of the “Fénix” Project with the aim of obtaining groundwater from the Los Patos River sub-basin in the Antofagasta area.

🥂 While officials and businessmen make toasts on the millionaire investments left by lithium and talk about energy transition, the local communities ask just who is benefitting: “Who is going to have those high-end vehicles? Who is the transition intended for? For those who have money. We don't have that money, that's why they don't care about our voices."

➡️ Read more on Worldcrunch.com

📣 VERBATIM

The jury’s out!

— When asked whether Emmanuel Macron was “friend or foe” during a series of questions in Norwich, as part of the race to elect the UK’s future Conservative leader and Prime Minister, Foreign Secretary and candidate Liz Truss suggested that she had mixed feelings about the French president. She said that she would judge him based on “deeds not words” if she was elected PM. Her opponent Rishi Sunak replied that Emmanuel Macron was a “friend.” Truss’s response has been widely criticized for undermining the UK’s relationship with France, including within her own party, although the quip was met with applause from the Norwich crowd.