👋 नमस्ते*
Welcome to Thursday, where Russia has launched a massive missile attack on Kyiv, floods in Pakistan displace 250,000 people and today’s quiz question is about a lawsuit involving Sting. Meanwhile, Emma Confrère in French daily Le Figaro focuses on the rise of cryptocurrency sponsors in sports, from Formula 1 to soccer.
[*Namaste, Nepali]
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🗞️ FRONT PAGE
American local newspaper The Minnesota Star Tribune dedicates its front page to the recent shooting in a Minneapolis catholic church. An assailant armed with three guns fired through its stained-glass windows where parish school students were attending Mass on Wednesday, killing two children and wounding 17 other people, officials said. The shooting ended when the lone suspect, identified as Robin Westman, 23, “took his own life” at the rear of the church, according to Minneapolis Police.
🌎 7 THINGS TO KNOW RIGHT NOW
• Massive Russian missile attack on Kyiv. An overnight Russian drone and missile attack on Ukraine’s capital has killed at least 15 people, including three children, and wounded dozens of others. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the attack showed the world Russia’s answer to diplomacy amid efforts by U.S. President Donald Trump to end the war, writing on social media that “Russia chooses ballistics instead of the negotiating table.”
• Spain and Portugal wildfires drive worst EU season on record. A record 1 million hectares have burned across the European Union so far this year, making it the worst wildfire season since records began in 2006. Spain and Portugal have been hit especially hard, with roughly 1% of the entire Iberian Peninsula scorched, according to EU scientists. This comes as a study by World Weather Attribution said on Thursday that climate change that has driven scorching temperatures and dwindling rainfall made massive wildfires in Turkey, Greece and Cyprus this summer burn much more fiercely.
• White House sacks U.S. health agency chief after vaccine standoff. Health scientist and longtime civil servant Susan Monarez was fired from her role as head of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). This comes after she refused to step down during a stand-off with vaccine skeptic Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
• Argentina’s Milei pelted with stones while campaigning. Argentine President Javier Milei came away unharmed, but the attack on his motorcade by demonstrators cut short the rally and caused tensions just days before consequential provincial elections in Buenos Aires, where more than a third of Argentines live and the cradle of the country’s left-leaning opposition movement. The incident comes as a corruption scandal threatens to entangle Milei’s inner circle, including his sister and chief of staff, Karina Milei.
• Floods affect 1.2 million, displace nearly 250,000 in eastern Pakistan. Rescuers in boats raced to reach stranded families in Pakistan’s populous eastern Punjab province on Thursday, after three major rivers burst their banks because of heavy rain and the release of water from overflowing dams in neighboring India. At least 15 people were killed a day earlier in Gujranwala district and nearby villages, according to police. Forecasters said more rain was expected Friday, after a two-day pause, and could continue into next week.
• Kim Jong-un to join Vladimir Putin at China military parade. This will be the North Korean leader’s first visit to China in six years. Kim and Russian President Putin will be among 26 foreign leaders who attend next Wednesday’s parade in Beijing to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II and China’s resistance against Japan’s wartime aggressions.
• News Quiz! Andy Summers and Stewart Copeland, members of seminal UK rock band The Police are reportedly suing frontman Sting. Over what?
A. Missing royalties from “Every Breath You Take”
B. Lingering injuries from old band fights
C. Unfair use of “Roxanne” on a TikTok dance
D. Shares of his $300 million catalogue sale
[Answer below]
📣 VERBATIM
“I implore that […] humanitarian law be fully respected, in particular the prohibition of collective punishment.”
— Pope Leo XIV demanded that Israel stop its “collective punishment” of the Gaza population as ten Palestinians including two children have died from starvation in the last 24 hours. At least 313 people have died from hunger, including 119 children, since the war in Gaza began. Last week, a UN-backed monitoring body confirmed that Gaza was suffering from famine and warned that without more aid, increasing numbers of people would lose access to food.
📰 IN OTHER NEWS
🏎️ From Formula 1 circuits to the podiums, cryptocurrency sponsors are ubiquitous. Particularly young sports fans are digitally oriented, and tend to be more “crypto-native”, which makes them a natural target for the industry.
— LE FIGARO
🇹🇳 Since January, a wave of self-immolation in Tunisia has brought a phenomenon that’s existed since the revolution back into the spotlight, signaling both social and individual unrest.
— INKYFADA
🇲🇩 European leaders were in Moldova on Wednesday to celebrate the anniversary of the country’s independence and to lend political support to pro-European President Maia Sandu, amid renewed Russian pressure.
— FRANCE INTER
✍️ Newsletter by Emma Albright
Quiz Answer: A. Singer Sting has reportedly been sued by his former Police bandmates over alleged lost royalties from their hit song “Every Breath You Take.” In the suit, filed in the high court in London, guitarist Andy Summers and drummer Stewart Copeland claim they never received songwriting credits on the 1983 single. The pair also allege they have never been paid for their writing contributions.
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