🇨🇦 Canada telecom execs summoned after wide service outage

The federal industry minister said Sunday he is summoning telecom executives following an outage at Rogers Communications Inc. that disrupted mobile and Internet services across Canada, hampering several crucial services.

In a statement, Francois-Philippe Champagne said he would meet with Tony Staffieri, Rogers’ chief executive officer, and other telecom leaders to discuss improving “the reliability of networks across Canada.” He called the failure “unacceptable.”

Many 911 services couldn’t receive incoming calls, several hospitals reported services affected, and debit card transactions were paused. It was the second significant outage for Rogers in 15 months.

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🚙 Uber co-founder Travis Kalanick reportedly saw violence against drivers as a tool for growth

A new trove of leaked documents has shed an unfavorable light on the early days of Uber. Dubbed the Uber Files, the leak consists of approximately 124,000 company documents, including more than 83,000 emails and text messages exchanged between former CEO Travis Kalanick and other executives, that date to a period between 2013 and 2017.

Working with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), The Guardian shared the trove with 180 journalists at 40 outlets across 29 countries. The documents show a company willing to do things many of its own executives thought were “f***ing illegal.” 

Another selection of documents details the lengths the company went to escape regulatory scrutiny. In at least 12 instances, Uber ordered staff at local offices in six countries, including France, the Netherlands and India, to employ the “kill switch,” an internal tool the company developed to protect its data.

🛰️ 'Deepest View of the Universe': NASA Reveals First Image From New Space Telescope

The first image from the $10 billion James Webb Space Telescope is the farthest humanity has ever seen in both time and distance, closer to the dawn of time and the edge of the universe.

The “deep field” image released at a White House event is filled with lots of stars, with massive galaxies in the foreground and faint and extremely distant galaxies peeking through here and there. Part of the image is light from not too long after the Big Bang, which was 13.8 billion years ago.

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📉 Rivian reportedly plans to lay off around five percent of its workforce

Electric truck maker Rivian is reportedly planning to lay off hundreds of workers. While the company hasn't made a firm decision on mass job cuts, it may shed around five percent of the workforce - with a headcount of more than 14,000, that equates to around 700 employees.

The job cuts would primarily be for non-manufacturing positions in areas where Rivian has expanded too quickly. Teams with duplicate functions are said to be among those the company has targeted. The total number of employees at Rivian has more or less doubled over the last year as the automaker increased production.

The company still expects to build 25,000 EVs this year despite production difficulties. Rivian eventually aims to manufacture 600,000 vehicles per year between its existing plant in Normal, Illinois, and a second planned factory in Georgia that's expected to open in 2024.

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🚀 Massive Fire Breaks Out After SpaceX's Booster 7 Testing Encounters Anomaly

SpaceX conducted an engine test on Monday for the Super Heavy Starship booster that ended with a fire at the launch pad.

The ignition took place at about 4:20 local time and caused a large pressure wave and fireball that damaged the launch pad. Although an official cause has not been detailed, speculation suggests the fire may have been prompted by a potential liquid leak.

Video of the incident showed thick black smoke emitting from the bottom of the launch tower following the test. The booster stage is powered by 33 Raptor engines. Musk plans to use this spacecraft to establish permanent bases on the moon and Mars.

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🏅 Olympic Champion Mo Farah Says He Was Trafficked to UK as a Child

Four-time Olympic champion Mo Farah has disclosed he was brought into Britain illegally from Djibouti under the name of another child. “The real story is I was born in Somaliland, north of Somalia, as Hussein Abdi Kahin. Despite what I’ve said in the past, my parents never lived in the UK,” Farah said in clips of the documentary that were released on Monday.

In the documentary, Farah said he was separated from family after his father was killed during Somalia’s civil war. He was brought to Britain at 9 with a woman under the name of another child, Mohamed Farah. He thought he would be going to stay with relatives, but was forced into domestic servitude.

In July 2000, Farah was granted British citizenship under the name Mohamed Farah, and was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 2017. He would go on to become one of Britain’s greatest sports heroes.

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🦠 New coronavirus mutant raises concerns in India and beyond

The quickly changing coronavirus has spawned yet another super contagious omicron mutant that’s worrying scientists as it gains ground in India and pops up in numerous other countries, including the United States.

Scientists say the variant – called BA.2.75 – may be able to spread rapidly and get around immunity from vaccines and previous infection. It’s unclear whether it could cause more serious disease than other omicron variants, including the globally prominent BA.5.

Experts say vaccines and boosters are still the best defense against severe COVID-19. In the fall, it’s likely the US will see updated formulations of the vaccine being developed that target more recent omicron strains.

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⚡️ At least two dead, four missing after Ukrainian attack on Novaya Kakhovka, says head of city's military-civilian administration

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⚡️ Ukrainian strike on Novaya Kakhovka part of Kiev’s ‘terror tactic’, regional administration

Strike on Novay Kakhovka can be compared to Beirut blast where saltpeter exploded, its catastrophe for city, authorities say

It would appear that Americans are bracing themselves for a nuclear attack. New York City's Emergency Management has published a video telling Americans what they should do in the event of a nuclear strike.

Their recommendations include:

▪️ hiding in the basement as soon as possible;
▪️ staying closer to the center of the building;
▪️ getting rid of radioactive dust and ash;
▪️ following the news and statements from the authorities

The video does not suggest where the nuclear strike might have come from but just begins "So, there's been a nuclear attack. Don't ask me how or why, just know that the big one has hit."

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Veteran US investor Jim Rogers laments the trade tensions which exist between America and China after a 40-year period when each country so greatly enriched the other. "I don't like seeing things like this happen," Rogers told Sputnik adding that the present impasse will probably get worse.

Rogers is also worried that most of the world will have serious problems. The global economy will go into a long recession in the coming years and face very serious issues

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⚡️ The US dollar has reached parity with the euro on the Moscow Stock Exchange and each one trades for 59.3 rubles on Tuesday, according to financial data

📹🎞 Russia's Defense Ministry has published footage showing the defeat of the Ukrainian self-propelled howitzer "Msta-S" by Russian artillery

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⚡️ Lukashenko said that the West's policy is to bring the world to the brink of a big war in which there would be no winner, media reported

⚡️ Putin will meet with Erdogan in Tehran on 19 July. The Russian president will also hold a meeting with Iranian President Raisi and there is a trilateral summit planned, Peskov said

Elon Musk shared his opinion about Trump after the former president called Musk a "bullsh*t artist"

⚡️ Mercenaries from more than 60 countries have arrived in Ukraine since 24 February, Russia's Ministry of Defense has said

⚡️ For the first time, a Russian court has fined Apple 2 million rubles ($34,000) for refusing to localize the personal data of Russians, a Sputnik correspondent reported

Jan. 6 select committee may accuse Trump of having ties with extremist groups.

Investigators are expected to argue that Trump's "Be there, will be wild" tweet posted on Dec. 19 was the catalyst that triggered the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers groups, as well as Stop the Steal activists, to start the Jan. 6 riot.

The panel allegedly also has evidence that some Trump supporters had planned to stay in DC in the days after the inauguration of Joe Biden to encourage opponents of his administration to protest

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Watch: A ceremony to bid farewell to Japan's former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe

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