Our daily trip around the world

🌎🌡️ A global ocean temperature record may have been set off the coast of Florida. A buoy in Manatee Bay reported a preliminary high temperature of 101.1°F Monday afternoon, which is thought to be the hottest in recorded history. But there are a couple caveats: 1) the reading came from shallow, murky water, which has a darker surface and absorbs relatively more heat; 2) there aren’t any official records for ocean temps, so the claim of an all-time high is based on a 2020 study that recorded temps of 99.7°F in Kuwait Bay. But regardless of the exact number or whether it’s a global record, any sustained period above 84°F can be deadly for Florida’s coral reef, which is the largest in the nation.

🇨🇳 China’s second-highest ranking diplomat was removed from his position yesterday following a month-long absence from the public view. Chinese lawmakers didn’t explain the decision to replace Foreign Minister Qin Gang with his former predecessor Wang Yi, though a lack of information isn’t uncommon in the country’s secretive political system. Qin hasn’t attended any of his scheduled diplomatic engagements since late June, with Beijing publicly attributing his absence to health issues – a common excuse that’s sometimes genuine, but also used as a cover for other reasons.

🇮🇱⚖️ Some Israeli citizens are pushing back against a new judicial reform law approved this week. Thousands of Israeli doctors walked off the job yesterday in a 24-hour strike against the new measure, which restricts the Supreme Court’s ability to strike down government or executive decisions on the basis of reasonability. Meanwhile, a new survey found 68% of Israeli startups have taken action to relocate parts of their business outside the country in response to the measure. And at least three petitions were filed to Israel’s Supreme Court yesterday asking it to strike down the law – which, if it does, would spark a direct conflict between it and the Knesset (effectively Israel’s version of Congress).