The funeral of Ivana Trump, the ex-wife of Donald Trump, has been held in New York City, bringing the family together for a rare public gathering. Ms Trump, 73, died last week after reportedly falling down the stairs of her Manhattan apartment. Among those in attendance were Donald and Ivana’s three children, Ivanka, Eric and Donald Trump Jr, who all reportedly gave eulogies. The pair were married for 15 years between 1977 and 1992. Originally from what was then Czechoslovakia, Ivana Trump was a notable socialite who became the subject of intense public interest alongside Donald Trump during the 1980s and 1990s. After the pair separated, she went on to launch a line of beauty products, jewellery and clothing.(BBC)…[+]

Ukraine’s First Lady Olena Zelenska says the war in Ukraine has made her nine-year-old son want to be a soldier. In an interview with NBC, Ms Zelenska said that now the only thing her son Kyrylo wants to do is “martial arts and how to use a rifle”. She added that she hoped her son’s childhood would be “given back” to him. Ms Zelenska, the wife of Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky, was on a visit to the US where she had been appealing for more weapons for Ukraine. Speaking about the impact of the five-month-long war with Russia on her son, she said: “Before the war, my son used to go to the folk dance ensemble. He played piano. He learned English.” But following Russia’s invasion, “obviously he wants to be a soldier,” she said. “I cannot bring him back to doing arts and humanities. “And that’s what I really want to ensure is that the childhood of my son is given back to him, and that he enjoys his life to the fullest.” Ms Zelenska, who is also mother to 18-year-old Oleksandra, spoke of the plight of other children and parents during her visit to the US.(BBC)…[+]

Leaves from the lush green tea estates covering the hills of central Sri Lanka end up in cups across the world. Tea is the island’s biggest export, normally bringing in more than $1bn a year, but the industry is being hard hit by the unprecedented economic crisis. Most of Sri Lanka’s tea is grown by smaller farmers, like Rohan Tilak Gurusinghe, who owns two acres of land close to the village of Kadugunnawa. But he’s still reeling from the impact of a sudden, poorly thought-out government decision to ban chemical fertiliser last year.

“I’m losing money,” he tells the BBC despondently. “Without fertiliser or fuel, I can’t even think about the future of my business.” The ban, ordered to try to protect the country’s dwindling foreign reserves, was one of a number of disastrous policy decisions implemented by the now-ousted President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, with agricultural output falling significantly. It was later reversed, but fertiliser has shot up in price and is still difficult to source, while the government is now unable to afford to import adequate supplies of petrol and diesel.(BBC)…[+]

Much of the UK is experiencing a heatwave, with temperatures expected to rise even further to hit up to 42C (107.6F). People have been advised to avoid non-essential travel and many have been working from home. Some schools have closed early, or chosen not to open at all, while the extreme heat is putting pressure on the health service. But countries where temperatures are usually higher have adapted their infrastructure and lifestyle to cope with the heat. Our correspondents explain how. There is no extreme temperature threshold that forces Australian schools to shut. For some students, this knowledge can really melt your icy pole [ice lolly]. Instead, schools aim to keep students as safe and comfortable as possible. Policies vary between states. Many classrooms have air conditioning but others rely on a patchwork of measures.(BBC)…[+]

Ukraine’s first lady, Olena Zelenska, is in the US for a series of high-level meetings and an address to Congress. Her visit comes four months after her husband, President Volodymyr Zelensky, made a virtual speech to Congress, pressing for more military equipment. Ms Zelenska met Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Monday and is due to hold talks with her counterpart Jill Biden on Tuesday, the White House said. She is due to deliver remarks to lawmakers on Capitol Hill on Wednesday. Tuesday’s encounter will be the second time the two first ladies have met, after Dr Biden made an unannounced visit to Ukraine in May.

Ms Zelenska has no official portfolio in the Ukrainian government. But after nearly five months of Russia’s war in Ukraine, Kyiv is keen to seek more military aid and political backing from the US. Congress has already approved nearly $40bn (£33bn) in aid to Ukraine that is due to be fully delivered by the end of September. On Monday, Ms Zelenska also met Samantha Power, head of the US Agency for International Development.(BBC)…[+]

Former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan has renewed his call for early elections after a stunning by-election upset saw his party take control of a crucial provincial assembly. His PTI party won 15 of 20 seats up for grabs in Punjab, beating their arch-rivals the PML-N on their home ground. The result is a foretaste of what could happen in a general election due by October 2023 but which could be sooner. Mr Khan was ousted as prime minister in a no-confidence vote in April. The result in Punjab is a major blow for current Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who leads the PML-N. His already weak coalition government’s fate now hangs by a thread. Pakistan is reeling from unprecedented inflation and energy shortages – now political instability could spiral out of control. Punjab, Pakistan’s most populous province, has long been a bastion of support for the PML-N of Mr Sharif, and his older brother, three-time former PM Nawaz Sharif.(BBC)…[+]

Mexico’s navy has held a ceremony to honour 14 marines who died when the helicopter they were travelling in crashed in the north of the country. President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said the marines had been supporting the operation in which drug lord Rafael Caro Quintero was captured on Friday. The navy said that the crash had been an accident and that its cause was still being investigated. Only one of those aboard the Black Hawk helicopter survived the crash. President López Obrador said it had come down shortly before landing in Los Mochis – in northern Sinaloa state – “after fulfilling its mission of lending support to those carrying out the arrest warrant for Rafael Caro Quintero”. Quintero – who was on the FBI’s 10 most wanted list – was one of the co-founders in the late 1970s of the now-defunct Guadalajara drug cartel.(BBC)…[+]

Six people have been killed in Russian shelling of the town of Toretsk in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine, say Ukrainian emergency services. Rescuers found five bodies in the rubble of a house, while another person died in hospital, they add. Heavy fighting continues in the east, with Russia slowly advancing.

Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu has ordered generals to focus on destroying Ukraine’s long-range missile and artillery weapons. The defence ministry said the weapons were being used to shell residential areas of eastern Ukraine under the control of Russian-backed separatists, and to set fire to wheat fields and grain storage silos. The ministry also said that a Russian missile strike on Sunday on the Donetsk village of Kostiantynivka had killed up to 250 mercenaries fighting on the Ukrainian side, as well as destroying 19 military vehicles. The claims could not be independently verified.(BBC)…[+]

Emirates has rejected Heathrow Airport’s demands for airlines to stop selling summer tickets, calling the move “unreasonable and unacceptable”.  The airline accused the airport of having a “blatant disregard” for customers after it capped passenger numbers to 100,000 per day over summer. Emirates said the airport now faced “an ‘airmageddon’ situation due to their incompetence and non-action”. Heathrow said it had no choice but to introduce a limit on passenger numbers. “For months we have asked airlines to help come up with a plan to solve their resourcing challenges, but no clear plans were forthcoming and with each passing day the problem got worse.” Emirates said it was given 36 hours to cut passenger numbers, and therefore flights, and was threatened with legal action for not complying. “This is entirely unreasonable and unacceptable, and we reject these demands,” it added.(BBC)…[+]

Italy’s government under Prime Minister Mario Draghi is close to collapse after populist coalition partner Five Star pulled out of a major confidence vote. The ex-head of the European Central Bank has led a unity government since February 2021. But Five Star leader Giuseppe Conte accused him of not doing enough to tackle the cost of living crisis. Despite comfortably winning Thursday’s vote in the Senate, Mr Draghi’s political future is now in doubt. The prime minister has insisted repeatedly that the government will not continue without Five Star. After the vote he immediately set off to see President Sergio Mattarella, who was expected to ask him to remain in office. If the man dubbed “Super Mario” does decide to resign for lack of political support, Italians may be asked to go to the polls as early as this autumn.(BBC)…[+]