✅  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

• Kyiv targeted with more Russian missile attacks, with most intercepted: At least one person was killed as Russia launched its ninth wave of missile attacks of the month on Kyiv. According to authorities in the Ukrainian capital, 29 of the 30 missiles launched by Russia were intercepted in the sky, but debris is also dangerous.

• Thai opposition parties form coalition to take on military: Opposition parties in Thailand have joined forces to create a coalition to challenge the decade-long rule of the military establishment. After the leader of Thailand's Move Forward party Pita Limjaroenrat emerged victorious in Sunday's elections, seven other parties announced Thursday that they’ve joined his coalition that would constitute the necessary majority to rule.

• Central Asia summit in China: Central Asian heads of state converged in China's historic city of Xian on Thursday for one-on-ones with Chinese leader Xi Jinping to seal pledges of "enduring" friendship, paving the way for a summit expected to result in a regional pact with Beijing.

• Ecuador President Guillermo dissolves Congress: Ecuador President Guillermo Lasso dissolved the parliament to avoid impeachment, pledging to hold new elections within six months. Lasso is accused of embezzlement in a country already facing ongoing political crisis and social unrest.

• Four children found after a plane crash in the Amazon: Seventeen days after a plane crash in the Amazon, reports indicate that four children, including a baby, have been found alive. Three adults appear to have been killed in the crash.

• Deutsche Bank agrees to pay $75 million to settle Epstein lawsuit: Deutsche Bank has agreed to pay a $75 million settlement in response to a lawsuit brought by women who accused Jeffrey Epstein of sex trafficking, which Deutsche Bank is alleged to have facilitated.

• Tiktok banned for the first time in the U.S.: Montana is about to become the first U.S. state to ban the use of the TikTok app on personal devices. The law signed by Governor Greg Gianforte will go into effect on January 1, banning the app for hundreds of thousands of users according to a statement from Tiktok.

🗞️  FRONT PAGE

"Underwater" titles Rome-based daily newspaper La Repubblica, as deadly flooding continues to plague northern Italy. Evacuations are still underway after two days of extreme rainfall caused landslides and flooding. At least nine people have been killed, with estimates of billions of euros of damage. Formula One has canceled this weekend’s nearby Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix.

#️⃣  BY THE NUMBERS

$38 million

In New York, a Hebrew Bible that is more than 1,100 years old, dating from between 880 and 960, and one of the oldest surviving biblical manuscripts was sold for a record $38 million at a Sotheby’s auction. This nearly complete Hebrew Bible was purchased by a former U.S. ambassador to Romania, Alfred H. Moses. The bible will be sent to Tel Aviv to become part of the collection of the American Friends of ANU - Museum of the Jewish People.

📰  STORY OF THE DAY

"The Idiot Has Started A War" — A Secret Meeting With Exiled Russian Author Dmitry Glukhovsky

Dmitry Glukhovsky, author of acclaimed futuristic fiction including Metro 2033, is currently standing trial in absentia in Moscow after blasting Vladimir Putin just after the invasion of Ukraine. Glukhovsky has gone into hiding, but German daily Die Welt’s Jan Küveler managed to meet up with him in a secret location in Berlin.

📖 Glukhovsky’s Metro novel series and the computer games based on them have sold millions of copies and made the 43-year-old famous. They take place in a future version of Russia, after a nuclear apocalypse. The first novel was published in 2007, when Putin had been in power for seven years.

⚖️ When the Russian invasion started, he wrote an online piece expressing his anger towards those who’d started this war. In response, his apartment in Moscow was seized. Since last June, he has been the subject of an international manhunt. His trial in absentia began in March.

❓ The whole world is wondering what is going on inside Putin’s mind, why he is doing this. Glukhovsky believes it is a combination of cowardice and the fear of not having achieved anything that will secure him a legacy.

➡️ Read more on Worldcrunch.com

📹 THIS HAPPENED VIDEO — TODAY IN HISTORY, IN ONE ICONIC PHOTO

➡️ Watch the video: THIS HAPPENED

📣 VERBATIM

“There's police stations, cops on every corner. There's no reason to be afraid in New York.”

— Following a statement about a "relentless … near catastrophic car chase" from a spokesperson for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, the BBC spoke with Sukhcharn Singh, a New York taxi driver who had driven the royal couple in Manhattan during a portion of the would-be “chase” Tuesday evening. Singh confirmed that paparazzi did surround his cab at one point when it was blocked behind a garbage truck. "They looked nervous, I think they were being chased the whole day or something.” But Singh downplayed the supposed life-threatening drama. “I think that's all exaggerated,” he said. "New York City's the safest place to be.”