Here’s what you need to know

The EU has urged member states to reduce their gas consumption by 15% until March. The Attention comes when Russia should relaunch gas deliveries via the Nord Stream gas pipeline well below normal volumes.

Two British Conservatives will compete to become Prime Minister. Foreign Secretary Liz Truss is favored to overcome ex-Chancellor Rishi Sunak in the race to succeed Boris Johnson.

Spain and Portugal reported at least 1,169 deaths during a record heatwave. The firefighters are still fighting fires in France, Spain and Portugal as the heat wave is moving east.

The US housing market is starting to cool. Potential buyers are excluded from the market because house prices hit record highs.

Sri Lanka’s parliament has chosen an establishment leader to replace its ousted president. The election of Ranil Wickremesinghe will probably be stimulate more backlash from the protesters.

British footwear brand Manolo Blahnik has won a 22-year brand fight in China. The company can finally do business in the country under its own name thanks to recent reforms of Chinese intellectual property laws.

Six countries have frozen Ukraine’s debt payments. The United States, United Kingdom, Japan, Germany, France and Canada called on other creditors to join to give Ukraine more time to repay its loans.

To monitor

As the US Federal Reserve eyes another 75 basis points rate hike next weekThe European Central Bank (ECB) is expected to announce its first rate hike in more than a decade on Thursday.

The ECB’s decision, which affects 19 eurozone member countries, is part of a global trend of monetary policy tightening in the face of rising inflation that has been driven by supply chain issues related to the covid pandemic and aggravated by the Russian-Ukrainian war.

The expected rise would follow actions taken last week by central bankers in Canada, which raised rates by one percentage point, and the Philippines, which raised them by a surprise 0.75 percentage point. The Bank of England anticipates a half point hike in August. Against the trend, Japan, whose central bank should leave rates unchanged-at least for now.

What is the climate emergency declaration for?

14%: Part of the world’s population that is under a formal climate emergency

As several parts of the world have suffered deadly heat waves in recent weeks, pressure is mounting on countries to declare a climate emergency. But what does formal recognition do, exactly?

There is no common definition of a climate emergency. In some places it is a legal acknowledgment of immediate disaster and a way to access resources. For others, it means commitments to reduce the impact of climate change. And for some, it is only a symbolic recognition of an existential threat.

Since 2016, at least 2,248 jurisdictions, including cities, states and nations, have declared a global climate emergency. And while it’s a step, it’s not really a solution to a long-term societal problem like climate change.

Hollywood should fast forward to the 1990s

Hollywood knows that nostalgia is big money, and lately they’ve been totally obsessed with the 1980s. There’s this show called stranger thingsfor one, but other recent 1980s-focused projects include Wonder Woman 1984, This, spirit hunterand NarcosJust to name a few.

But maybe it’s time for the film industry to wake up, Chrissy, and look back to the 1990s. to the mountain of 1980s ephemera currently playing in theaters and on television.

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Surprising discoveries

Bridesmaid hire services are a fast growing industry in China. Height and other restrictions apply.

The fortunes of a coffee chain speak volumes about economic recovery. At least according to Bloomberg Loan Index.

Facebook’s parent company was sued by a company called Meta over its name change. That’s all very… meta.

In Vermont, a chicken ran under a pickup truck on the freeway and lived to tell the tale. He even got a new name to honor the race of his life.

Authorities discovered an illicit vodka pipeline at the Ukrainian border. In Soviet times, smugglers used pipes like this to carry cheap vodka in neighboring Moldova.