Outrage Against Israel Spreads, Kyiv Strikes, Banana Quiz

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🗞️ FRONT PAGE​​

For its front page, Milan-based newspaper Corriere della Sera featured a file photo of President Vladimir Putin giving an award to Russian conductor Valery Gergiev, who was uninvited Monday from performing in Italy due to his close ties with the Russian leader. Gergiev was scheduled to participate in a classical music concert in the Royal Palace of Caserta, north of Naples, on Sunday. The performance was canceled after more than 16,000 people signed a letter objecting to the invitation. 

🌎 7 THINGS TO KNOW RIGHT NOW

• World Health Organization condemns Israeli attacks on facilities in Gaza. The UN health agency said Israel’s ground offensive in central Gaza has crippled its operations after Israeli forces attacked its staff residence and destroyed its main warehouse in Deir al-Balah Monday. The assault has already displaced tens of thousands and aggravated a hunger crisis, with clinics reporting malnourishment and 19 deaths since Saturday according to Hamas-run health ministry. Israel has not commented. The UK, France, Australia, Canada and 21 other countries, plus the European Union, said in a joint statement Monday that the suffering of Palestinians has “reached new depths,” and that the war in Gaza “must end now.” The statement comes as dozens have been killed in recent days while waiting for humanitarian aid.

• Ukraine, Russia to hold another round of talks in Turkey on Wednesday. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said another round of talks between Russia and Ukraine was set for  Wednesday. Two previous negotiations had resulted in large-scale prisoner swaps. A Russian memorandum demands Ukrainian withdrawal from four regions and recognition of its seized territories, including Crimea, while Ukraine insists on a ceasefire, prisoner and civilian releases and the return of abducted children.

• Death toll in Bangladesh fighter jet crash into school rises. The death toll in a Bangladeshi Air Force fighter training jet crash rose to 31 people, including 25 students, and injured more than 170, a government official said Tuesday. Bangladesh is observing a day of national mourning after a Chinese-made F-7 BJI aircraft on Monday slammed into the Milestone School and College during a training exercise in the heart of the capital, Dhaka. 

• Migrants tortured in El Salvador, Venezuela says. Venezuela has opened an investigation into alleged human rights abuses suffered by 250 migrants repatriated Friday from El Salvador, where they had been detained since March after U.S. deportation. Venezuelian Attorney-General accused the Cecot prison of systemic torture, sexual violence, beatings and starvation, presenting images of injured detainees at a press conference Monday. El Salvador has yet to respond. Caracas will probe El Salvador President Nayib Bukele and senior officials, and has urged the International Criminal Court and UN to intervene.

• Princes William and Harry’s cousin, 20, found dead in UK. Rosie Roche, a 20-year-old distant cousin of Prince William and Prince Harry was found dead in Norton, England. The granddaughter of Princess Diana’s uncle, died at her family home July 14, according to police authorities. A firearm was reportedly found near Roche’s body per the outlet. The police “have deemed the death as non-suspicious,” said the local coroner, adding that “there was no third-party involvement.”

• “Cosby Show” actor, dies at 54 in Costa Rica drowning. Malcolm-Jamal Warner, who as a teenager played Theo Huxtable in the iconic 1980’s The Cosby Show, died at 54 in an accidental drowning in Costa Rica, authorities there said Monday. Warner was swimming at Playa Cocles in Limon province when a current pulled him deeper into the ocean; he was rescued by people on the beach but showed no vital signs when attended by Red Cross responders. Warner was one of the prime representations of American teenage life and Black boyhood on an American TV show.

• News Quiz! At a French museum, a visitor took down Maurizio Cattelan’s conceptual work “Comedian” (a banana taped to the wall), peeling the fruit and eating it. What did the Italian artist say in response?

A. It was overripe anyway
B. The culprit understood the essence of my work
C. The culprit should have also eaten the peel and duct tape 
D. Oh no, another banana split!
[Answer below]

#️⃣ BY THE NUMBERS

240,000

The Trump administration released some 240,000 pages of FBI records on Martin Luther King Jr., including information related to his 1968 assassination, on Monday. King’s two living children, Martin III and Bernice, who had been opposed to the release, issued a statement urging people to view the documents “within their full historical context.” They pointed out that their father was the target of an FBI surveillance campaign that violated his privacy, and argued that he was killed as part of a conspiracy “including government agencies.” The records were released amidst bipartisan calls for President Trump to release files from the Jeffery Epstein sex trafficking investigations.   

📰 IN OTHER NEWS

⚖️ In Frankfurt, a recent trial opened the door to holding accountable those who thought themselves safe from the law by sneaking out of Syria. Meanwhile, back in Damascus, justice that is geographically closer to the crimes seems impossible to hope for.
— DARAJ

✈️ Some of Colombia’s wealthiest families prefer to move abroad, with their money, following a custom of the super-rich in many places. They should remember, the homeland they spurn gave them all the opportunities to become rich.
— EL ESPECTADOR

⚠️ In the midst of discussions about the use of artificial intelligence, ecofascist narratives have crept in. How did this happen? What are the dangers?
— VOLCÁNICAS

📣 VERBATIM

“It is a question of national pride.”

– Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said that his country would not stop its uranium enrichment program following U.S. and Israeli air strikes that damaged nuclear facilities last month. In an interview that aired on Fox News on Monday, Aragachi also said Iran is “open to talks” with the U.S. to reach a “negotiated solution” for the nuclear program.