US: These text messages. UK: Kangeroo testicles!

Do your texts look like this? Sometimes you have text messages that say things like, “ … assuming President Z convinces Trump he will investigate / “get to the bottom of what happened” in 2016, we will nail down date for visit to Washington.” Wait, that’s not what your texts look like? Also, British politics are legit funny today. Check out the morning meme link for more. (We’re still beta-testing this newsletter. Let us know your thoughts by replying to this email.) [Kurt Volker, President Donald Trump's former envoy to Ukraine, arrives at the US Capitol.]( Text messages offer insider account Trump's former special representative for Ukraine negotiations, Kurt Volker, [thought it was "crazy"]( to withhold military aid, according to evidence presented on Thursday in an impeachment probe of President Donald Trump. Volker testified for more than eight hours in the US House and also turned over text messages between himself, diplomats in Kyiv and others involved with Ukraine, including Rudy Giuliani, Trump's personal attorney. Documents: [Read the texts]( (PDF) Ukrainians are used to corruption but remain determined to root it out Many Ukrainians are reacting with a shrug to the drama playing out in Washington, DC. Anne Applebaum, a Pulitzer Prize-winning historian and expert on Central and Eastern Europe, [told The World]( that Ukrainians are accustomed to powerful forces meddling in their judicial system. But even as they find corruption foisted on them, Ukrainians have remained determined to root out unethical practices in their own country. "The idea of a person in power pressuring foreign colleagues to manipulate the judicial system, to put pressure on prosecutors, to create fake evidence in a case that everybody knows is false and conduct a fake investigation — this is exactly what Ukrainians, in particular, have been trying to get out of their political system for 20 years," Applebaum said. Death toll in Iraq rising As unrest rapidly accelerated in the last 24 hours in Iraq, the death toll from violent demonstrations surged to 46 on Friday. In an overnight TV address, Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi said he understood the frustration of the public but there was [no "magic solution"]( to Iraq's problems. Hong Kong bans face masks [Anti-government protesters react in a cloud of tear gas during a demonstration on China's National Day.]( Hong Kong's embattled leader Carrie Lam has invoked colonial-era emergency powers for the first time in more than 50 years in a dramatic move intended to quell escalating violence in the Chinese-ruled city. Protesters are now banned from wearing masks in public. See how protesters have been both protecting their identities and their lungs from tear gas [in this photo essay](. Outrage still tangible in Kashmir It's been almost two months since India moved to integrate the disputed territory of Jammu and Kashmir more closely into India proper by stripping it of its special status. Sardar Masood Khan, the president of Pakistan-administered Jammu and Kashmir, known as Azad, or Free Kashmir, says the people there are outraged. “We were all outraged. My own personal reaction was one of condemnation of Indian actions …” [Khan said](. “And then I used the word colonization, because on that day, they also announced that Hindus from all over India would be brought to Kashmir and settle there. These would be illegal settlements, like you have in the West Bank or the Gaza Strip.” Photos: [Barricades and books: Life in a restive Kashmir neighborhood]( Cheesed: Chef takes Michelin to court after losing coveted star [A chef holds a Michelin Guide 2018 during the Michelin Guide 2018 award ceremony.]( It began when the world’s esteemed little red guidebook may have mistaken the yellow in a cheese soufflé for cheddar. It was not cheddar, French celebrity chef Marc Veyrat says, but an emulsion of three cheeses with saffron. But the dish may have cost Veyrat a Michelin star. Veyrat is [suing Michelin for the records]( of the visits to his restaurant, La Maison des Bois. Also: [See the cheese in question]( as it melts into a mushroom soup. Morning meme: In the face of the UK’s Brexit crisis, there’s still time for [a kangaroo testicle jibe](. (Sound on.) In case you missed it on The World: [Kurt Volker, US President Donald Trump's former envoy to Ukraine, arrives at the House of Representatives.]( - [Deadly risks for journalists in Mexico]( - [Combating a culture of corruption]( - [China's economy]( - [Trump expands the trade war to the EU]( - [Deadly protests in Baghdad]( - [Hopi remains return to US]( - [The curious case of the little red guide and yellow cheese]( - [Saudi government efforts to silence dissents on- and offline]( - [Kurt Volker testifies before Congress]( - [China and Biden]( [The World on Facebook]( [The World's Twitter account]( [Edit your subscription]( | [Unsubscribe]( | [View in your browser]( Top of the World is brought to you by [PRI's The World](.