 Cleaning up in Kyiv on Wednesday after an aerial attack.Laetitia Vancon for The New York Times |
| Aerial assaults hit Ukraine and Russia |
| Exploding drones were launched into six regions of Russia overnight on Wednesday, Russian officials said, damaging military cargo planes at an airfield 30 miles from the border with Estonia, a NATO member, in an apparent sign that Ukraine was increasingly capable of striking back deep inside Moscow’s territory. |
| Around the same time, Russia unleashed an aerial assault on at least three regions of Ukraine, officials in that country said, including one of the most significant barrages the Kyiv region has received in months. Ukraine’s air force said it had shot down 43 of 44 incoming missiles and drones. |
| The assault in Russia came after months of Moscow’s deadly missile and drone strikes on Ukrainian cities, infrastructure and military targets. Ukrainian officials did not claim responsibility for the overnight strikes on Russian soil, in keeping with standard practice. |
| Strategy: Attacks on Russian soil are also intended to pierce Russian propaganda by showing Russians that their military is vulnerable, and to bolster morale among Ukrainians wanting payback. |
| In other news from the war: |
| The U.S. has new intelligence that shows arms negotiations between Russia and North Korea are advancing, a White House spokesman said.Germany sent tanks to Ukraine that are so old that former tank drivers who trained decades ago are teaching troops how to operate them.The Pentagon announced $250 million in new military hardware and ammunition for Ukraine. |
| Ukraine has insisted that F-16 planes would make a difference, but the U.S. maintains that other resources are far more important in what is, right now, primarily a ground war. |
 Celebrations erupted in the streets of Gabon after the coup.European Pressphoto Agency, via Shutterstock |
| A coup in Gabon |
| Military officers in Gabon said they had seized power early yesterday, overturning disputed election results that returned the incumbent, Ali Bongo Ondimba, to office. The president, detained inside his residence, issued a video plea for help. But celebrations erupted in the streets outside, as many Gabonese cheered the apparent demise of a family dynasty that has dominated for a half-century. |
| By the end of the day, the officers had announced Gen. Brice Oligui Nguema, Bongo’s cousin and the head of the Republican Guard, which is responsible for protecting him, as Gabon’s new leader. |
| Context: If it succeeds, the coup in Gabon would be the latest in an extraordinary run of military takeovers across a swath of Africa — at least nine in the past three years, including one last month in Niger. |
 “I would like to remind these people that backwardness is useless,” Pope Francis said.Gregorio Borgia/Associated Press |
| Sharp remarks from Pope Francis |
| Speaking in Lisbon early this month, in comments that were made public this week, Pope Francis expressed his dismay at “a very strong, organized, reactionary attitude” opposing him within the U.S. Roman Catholic Church, one that fixates on social issues like abortion and sexuality to the exclusion of caring for the poor and the environment. |
| Quotable: “I would like to remind these people that backwardness is useless,” Francis, 86, said. “Doing this, you lose the true tradition and you turn to ideologies to have support. In other words, ideologies replace faith.” |
| Other news: Theodore McCarrick, a former Catholic cardinal, is not competent to stand trial on sexual abuse charges, a Massachusetts judge ruled. |
| THE LATEST NEWS Around the World |
 Ivan Alvarado/Reuters |
| Chile’s president announced a plan to find the remains of people killed decades ago during the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet.China’s biggest property developer, on the brink of default, announced plans to issue about 350 million shares at a discounted price.Some humanitarian groups are calling on the Biden administration to soften its position on the Taliban to alleviate Afghanistan’s desperate poverty and hunger.A forthcoming referendum in Australia that aims at improving Aboriginal representation in the government has exposed racial fault lines and become ensnared in a bitter culture war. |
| Other Big Stories |
 Suwayda24, via Agence France-Presse — Getty Images |
| Protests in Syria calling for the ouster of the authoritarian government have gathered momentum in scenes reminiscent of the Arab Spring uprising.Hurricane Idalia brought destructive winds and life-threatening storm surges to the Florida coast before sweeping into Georgia.For Britain’s opposition Labour Party, the road to returning to power is likely to run through Scotland — starting with an election this fall near Glasgow.Mitch McConnell, the Senate Republican leader, froze for several moments in public for the second time in recent weeks. |
| What Else Is Happening |
| Flip-flopping, distortions and lies: Vivek Ramaswamy, a Republican presidential candidate, mimics Donald Trump’s media strategy.The police in Nigeria arrested over 60 people who attended what the authorities said was a same-sex wedding, which is illegal in the country.The U.S. government is taking legal action to assert control over who can recover artifacts from the Titanic wreck, potentially blocking an expedition planned for next year.In Canada, a dozen beekeepers converged to get five million angry bees off a road. |
| A Morning Read |
 Dmitry Kostyukov for The New York Times |
| In part of Paris’s 14th Arrondissement, a grass-roots initiative is working to improve ties among residents. |
| Members of the group, called the Republic of Super Neighbors, hold weekly brunches, after-work drinks and community gatherings. Their mission is to transform neighbors who interact five times daily into those who do so 50 times a day — one of many in cities around the world that riff on the idea of hyperlocality. |
| Lives Lived |
| Nicholas Hitchon, who appeared aged 7 in “Seven Up!,” a 1964 British documentary, and reappeared in subsequent installments for more than a half-century, has died at 65. |
| SPORTS NEWS |
| John Isner’s last hurrah: The elder statesman of American men’s tennis is playing his final U.S. Open. |
| U.S. Ryder Cup team: Key questions were answered after the squad was announced. |
| Bolstering the Aston Martin brand: How the team is looking to capitalize on the Formula 1 boom. |
| Cautionary tale: It happens every year — a promising young player wins a match or two at a Grand Slam, and all of a sudden, the next big thing has arrived. |
| ARTS AND IDEAS |
 via Wesley Wofford |
| A fraught tribute to an abolitionist heroine |
| A year ago, the city of Philadelphia invited a sculptor to design a public statue of Harriet Tubman. Complaints poured in, partly because the selected artist was a white man, and the city eventually issued an open call for submissions. Five semifinalist designs, all created by Black artists, were ultimately selected. |
| “We know the depth and value of our stories,” said Vinnie Bagwell, a 65-year-old artist from New York who is one of the semifinalists. Wesley Wofford, above, the artist who was originally commissioned, was dismayed by the public outcry. “Art is supposed to be a universal language that transcends gender, race and culture,” he said. |
| RECOMMENDATIONS |
 Chris Simpson for The New York Times. Food stylist: Maggie Ruggiero. Prop stylist: Suzie Myers. |
| Stud a simple green salad with slices of warm goat cheese. |
