Note: This story first appeared in The Beautiful Game by CNN Sports, our daily newsletter on all things World Cup. To subscribe, click here. My voice still hasn’t recovered from the noise I made when Harry Kane scored the equalizing goal in England’s win against the Democratic Republic of Congo yesterday. As a huge Three Lions fan, it was a moment of utter relief made even sweeter when Kane smashed home the winner moments later. If I wasn’t already getting married in the next few weeks (Editors’ note: Congratulations, Ben!), I’d genuinely consider proposing to the superstar striker. Regardless, he’s getting an invite to the top table.
https://edition.cnn.com/2026/07/02/sport/the-beautiful-game-july-2
Russia’s decision to launch a full-scale invasion of Ukraine has now cost the country some 450,000 lives, according to a new study that estimates the war’s total casualty numbers to have surpassed 2 million. The research by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) estimates Russia has suffered 1.4 million casualties, including killed, wounded and missing soldiers – a stunning number that amounts to roughly 1% of the country’s population. The losses are not spread evenly across Russia, with poorer areas and ethnic minorities suffering significantly higher casualty rates. Stories of male populations of small remote villages being virtually wiped out are becoming more common in Russian opposition media. And according to the study, Russia is currently unable to recruit new troops at the same rate as it is losing them.
https://edition.cnn.com/2026/07/02/world/russia-war-casualities-ukraine-2-million-intl
Iryna Moskaeva and her children jumped out of their beds and started running after an explosion rocked their Kyiv apartment early on Thursday, one of many residential buildings hit during a massive Russian attack that killed at least 25 people across the Ukrainian capital. But there was nowhere to go. “All the windows in the room were shattered, and the door was jammed – I couldn’t open it,” the 61-year-old told CNN. Moskaeva, who was eventually rescued by firefighters, said this was the second time that a Russian attack had damaged her home. “The first time there was an attack like this, I started crying – I was shaking so badly,” she related. Now unable to enter her apartment and going to stay with relatives, she said she was worried about getting to work on Monday. “How am I supposed to get there? There’s no power, no clothes to change into, there’s nothing.”
https://edition.cnn.com/2026/07/01/world/russian-strikes-kyiv-zelensky-intl-hnk
https://edition.cnn.com/2026/07/02/world/video/ukraine-long-range-strikes-pressure-putin-intl-dsk
The Vatican announced Thursday that priests and members of a breakaway Catholic group that ordained four new bishops in defiance of Pope Leo XIV’s wishes are in schism and excommunicated. The Society of Saint Pius X, an ultra-traditionalist group, went ahead with the ordinations on Wednesday without papal approval and despite appeals from Leo to reverse the decision. In response, the Vatican’s doctrinal office on Thursday published a decree saying that the four bishops are excommunicated, along with the two bishops who participated in the ordination ceremony. Excommunication means they are excluded from the sacraments of the church.
https://edition.cnn.com/2026/07/02/europe/vatican-excommunicates-breakaway-catholic-group-intl