A significant dam is destroyed in Ukraine
The Kakhovka dam and electrical plant in southern Ukraine was destroyed yesterday, sending torrents of water by means of the breach and forcing tens of hundreds of individuals to evacuate.
Russia and Ukraine blamed one another for the catastrophe, nevertheless it was not instantly clear who was accountable. Officers in Kyiv mentioned Moscow’s forces had blown up the Russian-controlled dam on the Dnipro River within the predawn hours.
Greater than 40,000 folks may very well be within the path of flooding, a Ukrainian official mentioned. Right here’s a map of the harm.
Downstream, residents described watching in horror as floodwaters swept previous carrying timber and particles from washed-out homes. Greater than 1,300 folks had been evacuated, officers mentioned, as conservationists warned of an enormous and long-lasting environmental catastrophe. The waters are anticipated to peak in the present day, an professional mentioned.
“Individuals listed here are shocked,” mentioned my colleague Marc Santora, who was in southern Ukraine. “They’ve gotten used to all kinds of Russian bombardment, all kinds of horrors, however that is simply a lot larger in each magnitude and the repercussions that it’s going to have throughout society.”
The destruction of the dam got here a day after U.S. officers mentioned it appeared {that a} Ukrainian counteroffensive had begun. President Volodymyr Zelensky blamed “Russian terrorists.” The Kremlin’s spokesman mentioned Ukraine had carried out a “sabotage” assault.
The dam provides water for consuming and agriculture, and to chill reactors and spent gasoline on the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Energy Plant, however the U.N.’s nuclear watchdog mentioned there was “no instant nuclear security threat.”
Evaluation: The dam is much from the intensive combating within the japanese Donetsk area. However its destruction may divert each side’ sources from the counteroffensive.
Different worries: The destruction may additionally wash away underground mines that Russian and Ukrainian forces planted on the banks of the Dnipro, creating new hazards in once-safe areas.
“It’s arduous to overstate how shocking this information is,” my colleague Kevin Draper writes. The PGA Tour and LIV have spent the previous two years competing with and suing one another. Some within the PGA had sharply criticized LIV, each for dividing golf and for associating with Saudi Arabia and its poor human rights report. All lawsuits will now finish between the formal rivals.
Nonetheless, a lot stays unknown concerning the new golf firm, which was created so rapidly that it was introduced earlier than it even had a reputation. One factor is bound: LIV has gained a foothold that ensures its outsize affect within the sport’s future. The governor of the Saudi sovereign wealth fund will turn into the chairman of the brand new firm.
Background: LIV lured a few of the world’s most distinguished gamers, some with contracts mentioned to be value $200 million, and supplied match prize funds that had been the richest in golf historical past. Tiger Woods, who rebuffed a nine-figure supply from LIV, has denigrated the league’s strategy to competitors.
Saudi ambitions: The dominion’s wealth fund has purchased a Premier League crew and sponsors Formulation 1 races. Saudi Arabia can also be bidding to host soccer’s World Cup in 2030.
Harry has his day in courtroom
Prince Harry took the stand in a London courtroom to accuse the Mirror newspaper group of hacking his cellphone over a decade in the past. He spent 5 hours airing grievances in opposition to the tabloids.
Harry mentioned that some journalists “do have blood on their palms” and characterised their habits as “totally vile” and “felony.” He mentioned he had suffered “melancholy and paranoia” from the protection. His testimony will proceed in the present day.
The courtroom look was, in some ways, one other chapter in what has turn into a lifetime of litigation: Harry and his spouse, Meghan, are plaintiffs in no fewer than seven instances in opposition to the tabloids and different information media organizations. Harry has additionally filed claims in opposition to the Dwelling Workplace associated to the lack of his police safety whereas in Britain.
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Across the World
Rising seas and coastal erosion are threatening D-Day websites on France’s seashores. Historians now surprise: Can reminiscence be preserved if the touchdown websites of the Allied invasion disappear?
“If I don’t have the positioning, I lose the historical past of what occurred right here,” a battle monument superintendent mentioned. “Chances are you’ll as effectively keep at dwelling on the sofa and browse a e book.”
Lives lived: Astrud Gilberto sang “The Woman From Ipanema” and helped popularize Brazilian bossa nova within the U.S. She died at 83.
ARTS AND IDEAS
From Blackpink to ‘The Idol’
The primary two episodes of HBO’s new drama “The Idol” had been panned for his or her graphic sexual content material. The community is leaning into the controversy: It’s advertising and marketing the star-studded collection, a few pop star whose life takes a flip after a breakdown, because the “sleaziest love story in all of Hollywood.”
Jennie of Blackpink, the blockbuster Ok-pop woman group, is making her appearing debut as a backup dancer to the present’s aspiring idol, who’s performed by Lily-Rose Depp. On TikTok or Twitter, the variety of posts critiquing the present is more likely to match these commending Jennie’s efficiency.
PLAY, WATCH, EAT
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Tomatoes, salmon and garlic butter make for a fast and attractive pasta dinner.
What to Learn
In Dorothy Tse’s “Owlish,” set in a fictional metropolis that stands in for Hong Kong, an adulterous professor doesn’t see the civic decay round him.
What to Hearken to
John Mellencamp’s new album, “Orpheus Descending,” is a scornful take a look at America.
Vogue
Should you’re packing footwear for journey, think about a “sleaker,” the dressy sneaker that works for each metropolis strolls and nation treks.
Well being
How usually must you wash your hair?
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Play the Mini Crossword, and a clue: Extensively reward (5 letters).
