Good morning.
Vladimir Putin has praised North Korea for backing Russia in its war against Ukraine as he travels to Pyongyang to seek continued military aid, his first visit to the authoritarian state since 2000.
The Russian president is expected to sign a partnership agreement with the isolated country during his visit. It was unclear when he would arrive, with Wednesday expected to the main day of his state visit, when there will be an official ceremony and he is expected to receive a guard of honour.
Nato’s outgoing secretary general, Jens Stoltenberg, said Putin’s visit to Pyongyang, which has supplied shells to Moscow despite being under UN sanctions, showed how “dependent” the Kremlin was on authoritarian leaders to fight the Ukraine war.
How much artillery has North Korea provided? Seoul has identified at least 10,000 shipping containers suspected to contain ammunition and other weapons sent to Russia, the South Korean defence minister, Shin Won-sik, told Bloomberg News. They could contain up to 4.8m shells.
How does that compare to Ukraine’s allies? It does not bode well for Kyiv – EU countries failed to meet a target of 1m shells to Ukraine over the last year, sending just half.
Millions face record-high temperatures of up to 105F in US heatwave
Extreme heat is spreading across the midwest and north-east, with New York City opening cooling centers and some places preparing for what may be their longest heatwave in decades.
About 265 million people in the US are expected to experience air temperatures of 90F or above, according to meteorologists from WeatherBell Analytics. Temperatures of 105F are forecast for some by next Sunday – 25 degrees above normal.
Officials told citizens to take the risks of extreme heat seriously. “We want to be clear, this is extremely hot for June and New Yorkers should not underestimate the heat,” New York’s mayor, Eric Adams, said in a press conference on Monday, adding that “summers are different than they were before” owing to the climate emergency.
Which cities are likely to be affected? Chicago, St Louis, Indianapolis, Detroit, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Boston, New York City and Albany.
Likud lawmaker compares anti-government protesters in Israel to ‘a branch of Hamas’
A lawmaker from the prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party has likened anti-government protesters in Israel to “a branch of Hamas”.
Speaking to a radio station, Nissim Vaturi said: “There are a few branches of Hamas – the fighting branch of wicked terrorists who murder children, and the branch of the protests,” the Times of Israel reports.
The protesters rallied outside the Israeli parliament in Jerusalem on Monday, calling for fresh elections in an attempt to replace Netanyahu, as they staged a week of daily protests against his management of the Gaza war and failure to negotiate the return of the Israeli hostages. Nine people were arrested.
How many hostages remain in Gaza? Of the 251 hostages seized by Hamas on 7 October, 116 are still in Gaza, including 41 who the army says are dead. An anonymous senior Israeli negotiator told AFP on Monday that “tens” of hostages held by Hamas in Gaza were certainly alive.
What is the latest from Gaza? Seventeen people were killed overnight in two separate strikes on Nuseirat refugee camp, which accommodates displaced families recently evacuated from Rafah, Al Jazeera reports.
In other news …
Eight alleged members of a German far-right group are to go on trial accused of plotting a coup in a high-security case in Munich, as the country struggles with fears about the rise of the extreme right.
Thailand’s senate has passed a historic bill recognising marriage equality, clearing the way for it to become the first south-east Asian country to legalise same-sex marriage.
A federal judge has temporarily blocked an Iowa law that allowed law enforcement to institute criminal charges against people with outstanding deportation orders or who had previously had been denied entry to the US, saying it was unconstitutional.
Joe Biden is expected to open a citizenship pathway for spouses and children of US citizens, with immigrants who have lived in the US for 10 years able to pursue legal status.
Stat of the day: North Korea exported 1,680 tonnes of human hair to China last year
Last year, North Korea exported 1,680 tonnes of false eyelashes, beards and wigs worth about $167m to China, Chinese customs data shows. Human hair has increasingly become an industry in North Korea, as the manufacture of beauty products is not subject to UN sanctions, and is sold to the west under a “made in China” tag.
Don’t miss this: Wedding wars. How photographers took over – and the clergy fought back
Wedding photography has transformed over the years, with what used to be a three-hour job morphing into a 16-hour day of capturing every last detail. Sometimes there are drones and even “content creators” employed alongside the traditional photographer. But not everyone’s happy. Emine Saner looks at how wedding photography has changed in the era of Instagram – and how some clergy are pushing back.
Climate check: Athletes warn intense heat could risk sportspeople’s lives at Paris Olympics
Athletes have warned that what could be the “hottest Games on record” may threaten lives at the Paris Olympics, with sportspeople collapsing or even dying during the competition. They argue that the 2021 Tokyo games “offered a window into an alarming, escalating norm for summer Olympics” – the hottest in history, with temperatures at 93F.
Last Thing: Brief encounters – short shorts in the spotlight at Gucci menswear show
Four years on from Paul Mescal being pictured in circa 2020 in a pair of short shorts from his time playing Gaelic football, “thigh guy summer” continues. Now that trend is more than a hashtag: it’s high fashion after the Gucci’s menswear show, where 41 of 46 outfits featured teeny-tiny shorts at around the 3in and 5in inseam mark.
Sign up
First Thing is delivered to thousands of inboxes every weekday. If you’re not already signed up, subscribe now.
Get in touch
If you have any questions or comments about any of our newsletters please email newsletters@theguardian.com
