Good morning.
The former Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi has died, according to the news agency Ansa.
The media tycoon, 86, who had been diagnosed with leukaemia, died at San Raffaele hospital in Milan, where he had spent six weeks this spring being treated for a lung infection.
Berlusconi, one of Italy’s most flamboyant politicians, led three Italian governments between 1994 and 2011. His Forza Italia party is a junior partner in the current ruling coalition. He made a political comeback in 2017 despite a career tainted by sex scandals, numerous allegations of corruption and a tax fraud conviction.
Fears over Republicans’ belligerent rhetoric around Trump indictment
As Donald Trump prepares for a court appearance this week on charges related to the retainment of classified documents, his Republican allies have responded with belligerent and conspiracy-laden rhetoric that some fear may trigger political violence.
“We have now reached a war phase,” tweeted the Arizona congressman Andy Biggs. “An eye for an eye.”
An estimated 12 million adults – 4.4% of the US population – believe violence is justified to return Trump to power, according to a recent survey by the University of Chicago’s Project on Security and Threats.
“What’s happening in the United States is political violence is going from the fringe to the mainstream,” Robert Pape, a professor at the University of Chicago who leads CPOST, told the Guardian.
Trump is scheduled to appear in federal court in Miami on Tuesday.
Ukraine claims to have liberated three villages in western Donetsk
Almost a week after the launch of counteroffensive operations, Ukraine’s armed forces are claiming to have liberated three frontline villages in western Donetsk.
Footage showed soldiers raising the Ukrainian flag over the village of Blahodatne – one of the main axes of the counteroffensive so far – as well as troops in front of their unit’s banner in Neskuchne. Later on Sunday, the deputy defence minister Hanna Maliar said forces had taken a third village, Makarivka.
“In the areas where our troops are on the defensive, no position was lost,” Maliar said on the Telegram messaging app.
Follow the Ukraine live blog here.
Number of nuclear weapons held by major powers on the rise
The number of operational nuclear weapons in the arsenals of the major military powers has increased once again, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute thinktank.
There are an estimated 12,512 warheads globally, of which 9,576 are in military stockpiles ready for potential use – up 86 from a year ago. While Russia and the US possess almost 90% of all nuclear weapons globally, the thinktank estimated 60 of the new warheads were held by China, which is believed to have increased its number of warheads from 350 in January 2022 to 410 in January 2023.
In other news …
An elevated section of Interstate 95 in Philadelphia collapsed early yesterday from a vehicle fire, causing large tailbacks through the area.
The California governor, Gavin Newsom, will sit down with Fox News’s Sean Hannity tonight, in an interview that is fueling speculation about the governor’s presidential aspirations.
Poor air quality has returned to the north-east US as Canadian wildfires continue to burn, causing orange skies, thick smog and record-setting pollutant levels.
South Korean authorities arrested a British man attempting to free-climb Seoul’s 123-story Lotte World Tower, the world’s fifth tallest building.
Stat of the day: big water brands are forecast to produce an extra 280m plastic bottles over the next four years
Photograph: Mario De Moya/Alamy
Big water brands are expected to grow more than 10% in the next four years – an equivalent of more than 280m extra plastic bottles, according to a report by the consultancy Retail Economics. “We need to make changes to turn the tide on this issue before it’s too late,” said Retail Economics’ chief executive, Richard Lim.
Don’t miss this: how eDNA is revealing the ocean’s hidden life
The use of environmental DNA – known as “eDNA” – to monitor biodiversity has soared over the past 10 years. By extracting the minute traces of DNA that animals shed as they move through their environment, scientists can determine the presence and diversity of species with unprecedented accuracy, providing a snapshot of the intricacies of an ecosystem.
… or this: misery for workers – and passengers – with the rebound of air travel
Though summer air travel is expected to surpass pre-Covid levels, unresolved labor issues remain for US airline workers who bore the brunt of pandemic shutdowns and then the spike in air rage that followed. Workers warn that these unresolved issues, which have led to an increase in operational problems, are likely to be felt by the passengers as well.
Climate check: who is to blame for New York wildfire pollution?
Unprecedented wildfires burning across Canada made the air over New York City more hazardous this week than in any other place on Earth. The author Kate Aronoff writes that the blame for the air quality belongs to fossil fuel billionaires, with 88 of the world’s top greenhouse gas-emitting companies contributing to global temperature rise and the ensuing dryness that has made wildfires more fearsome.
Last Thing: historic night for non-binary actors at the 2023 Tony awards
Last night, J Harrison Ghee and Alex Newell became the first non-binary winners of acting Tonys, with Ghee winning for their role in a musical for Some Like It Hot and Newell for their role in Shucked. “I have wanted this my entire life,” Newell said, before adding: “I should not be up here, as a queer non-binary fat Black little baby from Massachusetts.”
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