FIFA backtracks on moving Mexico-England kick-off after storm fears and Aguirre fury · Pollar

Today’s Brief

Kyiv burns, France counts 2,025

Russia pounds Kyiv as heat, quakes and alliance strains stretch governments across continents

The day’s hardest news came with a familiar pattern: governments faced shocks they could not fully control, then argued over who should pay, move or apologise. War hit Kyiv, heat killed in France, Venezuela dug through rubble and NATO allies prepared for another bruising encounter with Donald Trump.

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Russia claims capture of Kostyantynivka
Declares full control of the fortified city in eastern Ukraine, though independent verification of the military claim remains pending.

In the spotlight

Other · Updated 15m ago

Culture, media and the new divides

The report that a former MEP investigating Pegasus spyware was himself targeted with it indicates a serious breach of privacy and potential obstruction of justice at a high level within the EU.

FIFA backtracks on moving Mexico-England kick-off after storm fears and Aguirre fury · Pollar