Europe

MADRID (AP) — Spain’s general election on Sunday could make the country the latest European Union member swing to the populist right, a shift that would represent a major upheaval after five years under a left-wing government.

Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez called the early election after his Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party and its small far-left coalition partner, Unidas Podemos (“United We Can”), took a beating in local and regional elections.

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian forces shot down scores of exploding drones and six cruise missiles from a pre-dawn Russian attack on the port of Odesa on Tuesday, Ukrainian authorities said, a day after Moscow broke off a deal that had allowed Kyiv to ship vital grain supplies from the Black Sea city during the war.

The Russians first sought to wear down Ukraine’s air defenses with the drones and then targeted Odesa with six Kalibr cruise missiles, the Ukrainian military’s Southern Command said.

17 July 2023; MEMO: Russia, on Monday, suspended the Black Sea grain deal, the Kremlin said, Anadolu Agency reports.

17 July 2023; MEMO: Insurers are reviewing whether to freeze cover for any ships willing to sail to Ukraine after Russia, on Monday, quit a UN-backed deal that allows the export of grain through a wartime Black Sea safe corridor, industry sources said, Reuters reports.

MOSCOW, July 17. /TASS/: The Black Sea agreements have been effectively terminated on Monday - the part of the deal concerning Russia has not been fulfilled, Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Monday.

"The Black Sea agreements are no longer in effect. The deadline, as the Russian president said earlier, is July 17. Unfortunately, the part of the Black Sea agreement that concerns Russia has not yet been fulfilled. As a result, it has been terminated," he said.

MOSCOW, July 17. /TASS/: The Kiev regime’s attack on the Crimean Bridge will not be left unanswered, Russian President Vladimir Putin vowed on Monday.

"Naturally, Russia’s response will follow. The defense ministry is working on relevant proposals," he said at a government meeting on the situation around the Crimean Bridge.

MOSCOW, July 17. /TASS/: Russia is expecting the international community to make an appropriate assessment of the terrorist attack on the Crimean Bridge, the Russian Foreign Ministry said.

"The Russian Foreign Ministry strongly condemns the terrorist attack on the Crimean Bridge, which is a purely civilian facility. We expect that the international community and specialized multilateral structures will be principled and render a proper assessment of this latest crime perpetrated by the Ukrainian authorities," the Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Monday.

MOSCOW, July 17. /TASS/: Dmitry Medvedev, the deputy chairman of Russia’s Security Council, on Monday urged his country to use force, as well as targeted and "far from humane" measures against terrorists in the wake of the latest attack on the Crimean Bridge.

"The global track record and our own experience show that there is no using international sanctions, or issuing warnings against terrorists. They understand only the language of force. Only targeted and quite inhumane steps [should be taken]," Medvedev wrote on his Telegram channel.

KYIV, July 17 (Reuters) - Russia halted participation on Monday in the year-old U.N.-brokered deal that lets Ukraine export grain through the Black Sea, spreading fear in poorer countries that price rises will put food out of reach.

Hours earlier, a blast knocked out Russia's bridge to Crimea in what Moscow called a strike by Ukrainian sea drones. Russia said two civilians were killed and their daughter wounded in what Moscow cast as a terrorist attack on the road bridge, a major artery for Russian troops fighting in Ukraine.

LONDON, July 17 (Reuters) - Singer Elton John appeared by videolink in a London court on Monday to give evidence at Oscar-winning actor Kevin Spacey's sexual assault trial.

Spacey, 63, has pleaded not guilty at London's Southwark Crown Court to 12 charges of sexual offences allegedly committed against four men in Britain between 2001 and 2013.

The offences allegedly took place at a time when he was mainly living and working in Britain, including from 2003 as artistic director of the Old Vic theatre in London.