In Ukraine, Russian missiles struck a residential high-rise in the city of Kryvyi Rih Monday, killing at least six people, including a 10-year-old girl and her mother. Dozens more were injured in the attack. One resident said she raced to the scene of the blast after receiving a panicked call from a friend who lived nearby.

Kryvyi Rih resident: “I only heard 'Help me.' So we jumped into our car and drove here. What we saw was pure horror, committed by the Russian — I don’t want to say the word here. They hit a residential building, and her block is just next to it, so everything in her apartment was ruined. She survived and is alive, thank God.”

Kryvyi Rih is the birthplace of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Elsewhere, officials in Ukraine’s Russian-occupied Donetsk region say two people were killed and six others injured when Ukrainian artillery fire struck a civilian bus. In Moscow, Russia’s Defense Ministry says Ukraine launched a fresh wave of drone attacks on Russia’s capital, with one of the devices striking an office tower that had been hit in a previous attack on Sunday.

The governments of Burkina Faso, Guinea and Mali have warned other West African nations not to intervene in Niger following last week’s coup that deposed democratically elected President Mohamed Bazoum. A Burkina Faso government spokesperson made the announcement Monday after the ECOWAS bloc of West African nations imposed sanctions and threatened to restore Bazoum by force.

Jean Emmanuel Ouédraogo: “We warn that any military intervention against Niger is tantamount to a declaration of war against Burkina Faso and Mali. We warn that any military intervention against Niger would entail a withdrawal of Burkina Faso and Mali from ECOWAS, as well as the adoption of self-defense measures in support of the armed forces and the people of Niger.”

Burkina Faso and Mali are led by military rulers following recent coups. On Monday, Germany suspended aid to Niger, after the European Union and France cut humanitarian and military aid last week. Meanwhile, the Biden administration has stopped short of calling President Mohamed Bazoum’s ouster by his own presidential guard a “coup.” Such a declaration would trigger an end to U.S. military aid to Niger, where in 2019 the U.S. opened a massive new drone base. The U.S. also has about a thousand military personnel in Niger. They are saying they’re now being confined to the U.S. military base. We’ll have more on the coup in Niger after headlines.

In Senegal, at least two people were killed Monday as protests erupted following the arrest of opposition leader Ousmane Sonko. The Senegalese government also dissolved Sonko’s Patriots of Senegal party after officials accused him of inciting violent protests last month in the capital Dakar. This is the first time a political party has been banned in the West African nation since its independence from France in 1960. Sonko is a likely candidate in the 2024 presidential election who’s popular among younger Senegalese voters. He’s been accused of plotting an insurrection and criminal association with a “terrorist” body — charges he and his supporters say are false.

In Lebanon, fighting between rival armed groups inside the largest Palestinian refugee camp continued for a third day Monday after attempts to broker a ceasefire failed. Another four people were killed, bringing the death toll to nine. Dozens of others have been injured. Families are trying to escape the Ein el-Hilweh refugee camp, which houses tens of thousands of Palestinians, but many have nowhere else to shelter. Meanwhile, the United Nations has suspended its aid and operations at the camp amid the violence between militant factions and members of the Fatah group.

In northern China, at least 11 people are dead and more than two dozen missing, after the remnants of last week’s Super Typhoon Doksuri flooded Beijing for the fourth consecutive day. It’s one of the worst storms to hit China’s capital region in over a decade. Another major storm, Typhoon Khanun, is bearing down on the Japanese island of Okinawa and could turn toward mainland China later in the week.

Here in the U.S., a wildfire that erupted Friday in the Mojave Desert has exploded in size, consuming more than 77,000 acres in California and Nevada. It’s among dozens of wildfires burning across the United States. Elsewhere, a summer heat wave in the southern U.S. enters its third month today, with record temperatures forecast for cities in Texas and the Gulf Coast. In Arizona, Phoenix recorded a high temperature of 108 degrees Monday, ending a record-breaking string of 31 consecutive days with highs above 110 degrees.

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak says he will authorize more than 100 new licenses for oil and gas drilling in the North Sea to maximize domestic extraction of fossil fuels. Sunak announced the plan on Monday during a visit to a Shell gas terminal in northeastern Scotland. Sunak insisted his plan is compatible with the U.K.’s commitments to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak: “Now, when it comes to our energy security, we are still going to need oil and gas. Twenty-five percent of our energy will come from oil and gas even in 2050. Far better that we get that from here at home.”

Geologists say the Rosebank field in the North Sea holds about a half-billion barrels of oil, more than enough to prevent the U.K. from meeting its climate commitments. Friends of the Earth Scotland said in a statement, “Burning oil and gas is driving extreme weather and killing people on every continent, yet Rishi Sunak is gleefully encouraging the arsonists to go and put more fuel on the fire.”

The U.S. State Department says it will soon introduce a resolution at the United Nations Security Council authorizing a multinational armed force to be deployed to Haiti as the island nation grapples with worsening political instability and gang violence. Last weekend, Kenya’s government offered to send 1,000 police officers to Haiti to support Haitian police, an offer applauded by U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres. Many Haitians remain opposed due to the disastrous history of U.N., U.S. and foreign interventions in Haiti.

The filmmaker, artist and activist Katharine Kean, known by her initials K.K., has died at the age of 84 after a long struggle with cancer. Kean founded the Haitian restaurant and cultural center Tap Tap in Miami, and her films celebrated Haitian history and culture. She also documented how the United States twice supported coups against Haiti’s democratically elected President Jean-Bertrand Aristide. Following the second coup in 2004, K.K. Kean helped organize a flight that brought Aristide from exile in the Central African Republic to Jamaica.

The Pentagon says President Biden has selected Colorado Springs to host the permanent headquarters of U.S. Space Command, reversing a decision by former President Trump to move the facility to Huntsville, Alabama. The announcement on Monday came as Republican Senator Tommy Tuberville of Alabama continued to block the Senate from confirming Biden’s military nominations over the Pentagon’s policy of paying for employees’ abortion-related travel expenses.

U.S. health officials are urging states to retain more low-income people in Medicaid, as they warn too many recipients are now losing their coverage. Some 4 million people have recently been dropped from Medicaid over paperwork issues as states continue to purge the rolls after the lifting of a pandemic-era rule on eligibility. That figure is likely higher, as only 38 states have voluntarily made their data public.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken has rejected a call by Australia’s top diplomat to end the Biden administration’s efforts to extradite WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange to the United States to face espionage and hacking charges. Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong made the remarks during a joint press conference with Blinken after talks in Brisbane on Saturday.

Penny Wong: “We have made clear our view that Mr. Assange’s case has dragged on for too long and our desire that it be brought to a conclusion. And we’ve said that publicly, and you would anticipate that that reflects also the position we articulate in private.”

A growing number of Australian elected officials, including Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, have urged the U.S. to drop its case against Assange, who is an Australian citizen. Secretary Blinken responded Saturday, saying Assange was charged with “very serious criminal conduct.”

Secretary of State Antony Blinken: “The actions that he is alleged to have committed risked very serious harm to our national security, to the benefit of our adversaries, and put named human sources at grave risk.”

Australian lawmaker Andrew Wilkie, who is co-chair of the Bring Julian Assange Home Parliamentary Group, rejected the claims by Secretary Blinken, calling them “patent nonsense.” He told The Guardian, “Mr. Blinken would be well aware of the inquiries in both the U.S. and Australia which found that the relevant WikiLeaks disclosures did not result in harm to anyone.”