After more than four years of war between Russia and Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin has made a rare admission that the conflict has caused a national problem. In this case, it’s a significant fuel shortage driven by Ukrainian drone strikes that’s exacerbating economic strain across Russia, and the issue may not be abated any time soon. 

‘Certain deficit’
The country is now facing a “certain deficit” of fuel, said Putin on state television. Russians are “well aware that problems for ⁠drivers and for businesses persist,”he said to senior petroleum industry officials, according to Al Jazeera. “Unfortunately, there are still queues at petrol stations too.”

The shortage largely stems from Ukrainian attacks on Russian oil infrastructure. Ukraine has “stepped up attacks on Russian energy facilities in recent months, hitting Russia’s crude oil,” said Al Jazeera. As a result, the “amount of crude oil Russia processed into fuel in June was down 25% from a year ago” and hit the “lowest level in over two decades,” said Gary Peach, an oil markets analyst at Energy Intelligence, to The Associated Press.

Ukraine has “clearly scaled up the quantity of their drones and the quality of their drones,” said Christina Harward, an expert at the Institute for the Study of War, to Deutsche Welle. Ukraine has also made an “effort to identify and destroy Russian air defense systems.”

‘Situation is not very good’
The fuel shortages have led to social and financial unrest. The “lines are growing at Russian gas stations, and so is the frustration and uncertainty” as the deficits drag on and oil prices go up, said the AP. “I think the situation is not very good,” one motorist waiting in line said to the outlet. Numerous cities have rationed fuel, with “hourslong queues of cars snaking beside roads.”

And it doesn’t appear the crisis is going anywhere, as “half of Russia’s 83 regions are now reporting shortages,” said the Center for European Policy Analysis. For now, Russia has “enough fuel for the army, key industries and agriculture, but everywhere else the choice is between paying more and waiting longer.” A Gallup survey found that “60% of Russians interviewed between March and May said their local economic conditions are getting worse.”

In the U.S., though paid sick leave depends largely on state laws, local ordinances and employer policies, making coverage vary considerably, a note from a doctor is rarely needed unless it’s an extended period of time. But in Germany, workers will now have to report to a doctor in person to get a sick note on the first day they are ill under sweeping new reforms. The German government is “tired of its workers calling in sick,” said the Deep Dive, but unions and family doctors are opposed to the new law. 

What’s Germany doing?
“The number of sick days is too high,” said German Chancellor Friedrich Merz when announcing the plan. The government is “creating a set of tools that will enable those involved, both employees and companies, to correct this.”

The “tough” new rules are “aimed at boosting Germany’s stagnating economy,” said The Telegraph. Although they will be “welcomed” by employers, they have “angered” the country’s “powerful trade unions.” The services sector union, Verdi, accuses Merz of creating a “culture of distrust of employees.” Doctors also have “opposed” the new system because they believe the new requirements will “swamp” general practitioners with “unnecessary appointments.”

What are policies like elsewhere in Europe?
In the Netherlands, employers are generally obliged to pay employees on sick leave 70% of their wages for up to two years. Norway is even more generous, providing up to a year of income replacement at 100% of salary (subject to an earnings cap). And in the U.K., employees who earn over $167 per week and are off sick for four or more days in a row are entitled to $165 per week of statutory sick pay for up to 28 weeks. This equates to around 15% of the average weekly wage. 

How many sick days do people take?
On average, Americans take roughly one to three days of sick leave per year. And in Germany, workers take about three weeks, or 15 working days. This is lower than in France, but higher than in Denmark, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Sweden and the U.K.

Firefighters work to contain the flames at a warehouse facility in a wildfire near Oraiokastro, Greece. Fires across southern Europe, including France, Portugal and Spain, have forced more than 10,000 people to flee their homes, and strong winds and high temperatures are expected to worsen conditions in the coming days.
Konstantinos Tsakalidis / Bloomberg / Getty Images

It’s unseasonably warm in some parts of the world, and the indoors beckons as many of us try to escape the heat. This month’s releases include the highly anticipated conclusion of Colson Whitehead’s trilogy, an author’s first foray into romantasy, and a Chinese take on Cinderella.

‘Dominion’
Jean Kwok, best known for “contemporary family dramas” like “Girl in Translation” and “Searching for Sylvie Lee,” “swerves into romantasy with this Chinese mythology-infused epic,” said The New York Times. “Dominion” is the first book in a planned trilogy that follows Rubi Morningtail, a refugee who lost her memory after a demonic attack. (July 14, $32, Penguin Random House)

‘Cool Machine’
The highly anticipated conclusion of two-time Pulitzer Prize winner Colson Whitehead’s “Harlem Trilogy” arrives this summer. Following 2021’s “Harlem Shuffle” and 2023’s “Crook Manifesto,” readers with an “appetite for Whitehead’s noir fiction and stylishly exuberant storytelling” are rewarded with an “atmospheric, stylish finale” that takes place during 1980s New York, said The Independent. (July 21, $30, Penguin Random House)

‘Fishbone Cinderella’
Young adult fiction author Elizabeth Lim makes her adult debut with a “historical fantasy inspired by the Chinese version of Cinderella,” in which magical fish bones replace a fairy godmother, said Literary Hub. The story follows a Chinese girl who “only manages to escape the Japanese soldiers during the Sino-Japanese War by turning invisible” and, in turn, learns of a family curse that could be related to her newfound magic, said Book Riot. (July 28, $30, Penguin Random House)