The UN’s cultural agency has added the cooking of borsch – a soup usually made with beetroot and potatoes – in Ukraine to its list of endangered intangible cultural heritage. Unesco said the war in Ukraine had “threatened” the cooking of borsch. “Victory in the war for borsch is ours!” Ukraine’s Culture Minister Oleksandr Tkachenko said. Russia’s foreign ministry ridiculed the move stating that Russia’s version of the dish has no need of safeguarding. Borsch is a hearty soup, usually coloured red from beetroot – though green and white varieties also exist. While Ukraine considers borsch to be its national dish, it is also widely consumed in Russia, other ex-Soviet countries and Poland. As a result, its origins are contentious.(BBC)

Two children and an adult have died of starvation in South Sudan as the suspension of food aid begins to hit, aid workers have told the BBC. The deaths occurred in a displacement camp in the northern Warrap state. It comes after the UN’s World Food Programme (WFP) said it had suspended rationing programmes in parts of the country due to a lack of funding. In June, the body said it needed $426m (£352m) to continue distributing food. But that aid has not been forthcoming as the international community has focussed on other overlapping crises, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Sami Al Subaihi, a Médecins Sans Frontières worker at the camp, said that one of the children was just five years old.(BBC)…[+]

A prime beachfront resort seized from its black owners nearly 100 years ago has been returned to their descendants by officials in Los Angeles. Bruce’s Beach was purchased in 1912 to create a beach resort for black people at a time of racial segregation in southern California. Located in the desirable city of Manhattan Beach, it was forcibly taken by the local council in 1924. But on Tuesday, Los Angeles officials voted to return the land to the family. Willa and Charles Bruce bought the two lots of land for $1,225 in 1912. The beach is now worth an estimated $20m (£16.45m). Willa told a reporter at the time: “Wherever we have tried to buy land for a beach resort, we have been refused, but I own this land and I am going to keep it.” Over the next decade, Bruce’s Beach became a “citadel for African Americans coming there for leisure from all over the rest of southern California,” family spokesman Chief Duane Yellow Feather told the BBC last year.(BBC)…[+]

Japan is sweltering under the hottest day yet of its worst heatwave since records began in 1875. The blistering heat has drawn official warnings of a looming power shortage, and led to calls for people to conserve energy where possible. But the government is still advising people to use air conditioning to avoid heatstroke as cases of hospitalisation rise with the heat. Weather officials warn the heat is likely to continue in the coming days.  Heatwaves have become more frequent, more intense, and last longer because of human-induced climate change. The world has already warmed by about 1.1C since the industrial era began and temperatures will keep rising unless governments around the world make steep cuts to emissions.(BBC)…[+]

Singer R. Kelly could face decades in prison when he is sentenced on Wednesday, nine months after being found guilty of running a scheme to sexually abuse women and children. In September, a New York jury convicted the disgraced pop star of racketeering and eight counts of sex trafficking. The 55-year-old R&B singer will spend at least 10 years in prison, with the maximum possible sentence being life. Prosecutors have said he should spend at least 25 years behind bars. His legal team have argued that he deserves no more than the minimum sentence of a decade because he is “not currently a risk to the public”. The singer – known for the hit songs I Believe I Can Fly and Ignition (Remix) – was found to have been the ringleader of a violent and coercive scheme to lure women and children for him to sexually abuse. The six-week trial heard how he trafficked women between different US states, assisted by managers, security guards and other entourage members, over two decades.(BBC)…[+]

Japan’s government has urged people in Tokyo and its surrounding area to use less electricity on Monday, as it warned that supplies will be strained as the country faces a heatwave.  The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry expects demand for power to be “severe” this afternoon local time. It said people should switch off unnecessary lights but still use air conditioning to avoid heatstroke. For weeks, officials have warned of a power crunch as temperatures rise. Over the weekend, the temperature in central Tokyo rose above 35C, while the city of Isesaki, northwest of the capital, saw a record 40.2C. That was the highest temperature ever recorded in June for Japan. June marks the start of summer in Japan, with temperatures typically staying below 30C during the month. In a statement on Sunday, the ministry said that excess generating capacity for electricity was expected to drop to 3.7% on Monday afternoon in Tokyo and eight surrounding prefectures. It views a buffer of 3% as necessary for stable power supply.(BBC)…[+]

Yellow police tape now cordons off the drinking place in the South African city of East London where 21 teenagers died in unexplained circumstances.  A forensic team has been going through the site at the Enyobeni Tavern to try to understand what exactly took place. There were no visible injuries on the bodies of the deceased, the authorities have said, so a crush seems an unlikely explanation. Some have said the victims were poisoned, but this is not confirmed. South Africa’s liquor board has said the owners of the tavern would face criminal charges after allegedly breaching licensing agreements. Some family members of the victims have been gathering at the tavern to try and find out the latest news. Among them was Xolile Malangeni. His 17-year-old daughter, Sinako, snuck out of her home on Saturday night but never returned. “[She] always loved and took care of me when I was ill,” her father told the BBC with tears in his eyes. The youngest of those who died was 13 and the oldest was 17, according to Police Minister Bheki Cele – but a detailed list of the victims has not yet been produced. The minimum drinking age in South Africa is 18, so they should not have been allowed in.(BBC)…[+]

Russia is believed to have defaulted on its debt for the first time since 1998 after missing a key deadline. Russia has the money to make a $100m payment, which was due on Sunday, but sanctions made it impossible to get the sum to international creditors. The Kremlin had been determined to avoid the default, which is a major blow to the nation’s prestige. Russia’s finance minister called the situation “a farce” and it is not expected to have short-term impact. This is because Russia does not need to raise money internationally as it is reaping revenue from high-priced commodities such as oil, according to Chris Weafer, chief executive at Moscow-based consultancy Macro Advisory. But he said it would create a “legacy” problem if the situation with Ukraine and international sanctions improves. “This is the sort of action that will hang over the economy and make recovery much more difficult when we get to that stage,” he said.(BBC)…[+]

Israeli forces – and not Palestinian militants – shot dead a high-profile Al Jazeera journalist, the UN’s human rights office has concluded. A spokeswoman said the findings were the result of “independent monitoring” of the incident on 11 May. The killing of Shireen Abu Aqla, who was reporting on an Israeli operation in the occupied West Bank, caused widespread outrage. Palestinians have blamed Israel. Israel says blame cannot yet be determined. The 51-year-old Palestinian-American journalist was one of the region’s most experienced and admired correspondents. Abu Aqla, who was wearing a protective vest with the word “Press” on it as well as a helmet, was shot in a road near where a gun-battle had taken place between Israeli forces and Palestinian militants. The Israeli military said its forces had gone into Jenin to apprehend “terrorist suspects” following a wave of deadly attacks against Israelis by Palestinians, two of whom came from the Jenin district.(BBC)…[+]

For many, after-work drinks are a common way of relaxing after a busy week. But one worker in Japan could be nursing a protracted hangover after he lost a USB memory stick following a night out with colleagues. Why? It contained the personal details of nearly half a million people. The unnamed man placed the memory stick in his bag before an evening of drinking in the city of Amagasaki, north-west of Osaka. He spent several hours drinking in a local restaurant before eventually passing out on the the street, local media reported. When he eventually came around, he realised that both his bag and the memory stick were missing.  The Japanese broadcaster NHK reports that the man, said to be in his 40s, works for a company tasked with providing benefits to tax-exempt households. He had transferred the personal information of the entire city’s residents onto the drive on Tuesday evening before meeting colleagues for a night on the town. City officials said the memory stick included the names, birth dates, and addresses of all the city’s residents. It also included more sensitive information, including tax details, bank account numbers and information on families receiving social security.(BBC)…[+]