From Italy and the World

Ukrainian servicemen fire a BM-21 Grad multiple launch rocket system towards Russian troops near a front line in Donetsk region, Ukraine on June 21. Oleksandr Ratushniak/Reuters Heavy fighting continues in the eastern Donetsk region as Russian forces keep their focus in the areas of Lyman, Bakhmut, Avdiivka and Mariinka, according to the…

Kyiv CNN  —  The 34-foot vessel speeds along Ukraine’s Dnipro River at maximum velocity, before its captain shouts: “Hold!” It does a snap turn and then smoothly moves on, in a seamless motion, barely slowing down. With little armor, the US-donated Dauntless Sea Ark patrol boat relies on speed to…

Paris CNN  —  A fiery gas explosion in central Paris resulted in reported injuries to several people and drew hundreds of firefighters to the scene on Wednesday afternoon. Some 270 firefighters were deployed to the scene near Rue Saint Jacques in the city’s fifth arrondissement, and have contained the fire,…

CNN  —  The French government has decided to dissolve a climate activist group, following a series of fiery clashes between demonstrators and police. The decision to shut down Soulèvements de la Terre (the Earth Uprisings), an umbrella organization of climate activist groups, was taken by the French cabinet following a…

Andrey Vorobyov/Telegram Russia’s counter-drone measures have successfully thwarted a Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) attack near a military base outside of Moscow Wednesday, according to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.  “There was an attack, the counter-drone means coped with their task. Now the relevant authorities are investigating [the incident],” Peskov told journalists.  The…

CNN  —  Andrew Tate, the self-proclaimed “misogynist” online influencer, was appearing in a Bucharest court alongside his brother Wednesday on charges of human trafficking and rape. Tate told reporters as he entered the Bucharest Tribunal that he believes “in God and I believe in the justice system, and we are…

CNN  —  The footage is grainy and disturbing. A Ukrainian soldier from the 73rd Naval Special Operations Center fights his way through a trench, apparently on the southern front, shooting Russian soldiers repeatedly at point-blank range. The dust kicked up adds to the sense of chaos, and the dense panic…

Southern Ukraine CNN  —  Two Ukrainian jets roar just above the trees, flying in formation as they make their way towards the front lines of Ukraine’s counteroffensive. The Soviet-era Su-25s glide slowly, loudly, spewing thick black smoke as they go. They seem to hug the ground — flying as low…

CNN  —  Temperatures in parts of the North Atlantic Ocean are soaring off the charts, with an “exceptional” marine heat wave happening off the coasts of the United Kingdom and Ireland, sparking concerns about impacts on marine life. Parts of the North Sea are experiencing a category 4 marine heat…

CNN  —  Estonia’s parliament passed on Tuesday a law legalizing same-sex marriage, becoming the first ex-Soviet country to do so. Two adults will be able to marry “regardless of their gender,” after the parliament approved amendments to the country’s Family Law Act, according to a press statement. The amended act…

CNN  —  Online influencer Andrew Tate, his brother Tristan and two Romanian citizens were indicted Tuesday on charges of human trafficking, rape and setting up a criminal gang, according to a statement from Romanian prosecutors. The Tate brothers and two Romanian female suspects are under house arrest pending a criminal…

Russian servicemen stand guard at the Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine on June 15. Olga Maltseva/AFP/Getty Images/File Russia appears to be transferring its personnel and heavy military equipment from other parts of Ukraine to support its front line in the Zaporizhzhia area, Ukrainian and UK officials say.…

CNN  —  The US Coast Guard launched a search and rescue operation Monday to locate a submarine that went missing during an expedition taking tourists to the wreckage of the Titanic, CNN partner CTV News reported. The group conducting the trip, Oceangate Expeditions, said it is “exploring and mobilizing all…

CNN  —  The climate crisis is taking an enormous toll on Europe, which was ravaged by extreme heat, drought, wildfires and glacier melt last year, a new analysis has concluded. A joint report by the World Meteorological Organization and the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service found that last summer…

CNN  —  Jailed opposition leader Alexey Navalny appeared before a Russian court Monday to defend himself against fresh charges of extremism, in a trial that could extend his prison term by decades. Navalny, already serving sentences totaling 11-and-a-half years in a maximum security facility, was charged in 2021 with the…

CNN  —  Swiss voters have approved a new law to cut the use of fossil fuels and significantly reduce levels of planet-heating pollution, as the country faces alarming levels of glacier melt. The law, which was approved by just over 59% of voters during a referendum held on Sunday, requires…

CNN  —  Russia’s Ministry of Defense has claimed that a Ukrainian stronghold was destroyed by a remotely-controlled tank packed with a huge amount of explosives, in what appears to be a new battlefield tactic. In a post on its Telegram channel at the weekend, the ministry said that “about 3.5…