Kabul (AFP) – On a stage inside Kabul Stadium, dozens of bodybuilders take turns flexing and posing in a bid to clinch the title of Mr Afghanistan — albeit with their legs modestly covered to just below the knee.
Cape Coral (United States) (AFP) – Fernando Dayan Jorge Enriquez, a champion sprint canoeist who fled his native Cuba three years ago, will head to the Paris Olympics as a member of the Refugee Olympic Team. Jorge Enriquez gave Cuba a gold medal at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic games, but after defecting and crossing the US border with Mexico, he now trains in canals that crisscross Cape Coral, Florida.
Brisbane (Australia) (AFP) – Australian police arrest a married couple on allegations of spying for Russia, accusing them of accessing defence-related documents for Moscow. “We allege they sought that information with the intention of providing it to Russian authorities,” police say at a press conference.
London (AFP) – A look back at 14 years of Conservative rule in the UK through the eyes of Larry the cat, Chief Mouser to the Cabinet Office at 10 Downing Street.
Berlin (AFP) – Germany will phase out the use of components from Chinese telecom giants Huawei and ZTE in its 5G networks, says Interior Minister Nancy Faeser. Speaking at a press conference, Faeser says “we must reduce security risks and…avoid one-sided dependencies”, before citing national security fears “especially with regard to the dangers of sabotage and espionage.”
Alec Baldwin is accused of violating basic gun safety rules and playing “make-believe” with a deadly weapon, as the Hollywood star’s trial for involuntary manslaughter over a fatal shooting on the set of Western movie “Rust” begins.
The Atacama Desert, the driest desert on the planet, is dressed in purple and white flowers over an area of several kilometers, thanks to unusual rains recorded in this area of northern Chile.
Yongin (South Korea) (AFP) – A union representing tens of thousands of workers at Samsung Electronics in South Korea has declared an indefinite extension to a three-day strike in a bid to force management to negotiate.
In space (AFP) – A pair of US astronauts stranded on the International Space Station say they’re confident that the problem-plagued Boeing Starliner they rode up on would soon bring them home, even as significant uncertainties remain.
Gunsan (South Korea) (AFP) – Parts of central South Korea have been battered by record rainfall leading to flooding and a deadly landslide, with the interior ministry reporting four dead. The country’s weather agency says such rainfall is typically only seen once every 200 years.
Prague (AFP) – Prague’s zoo has distributed up to 10 tonnes of ice to their residents as temperatures in the Czech Republic exceed 30 degrees Celsius. Polar bears, elephants, bison, takins, otters and kea parrots enjoy the heaps, a “way to cool down but also a certain kind of entertainment”, according to the staff.
Jerusalem (AFP) – Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant claims that the Israeli army has “eliminated or wounded 60%” of Hamas fighters after nine months of war in the Gaza Strip, describing it as a military “success” to the Knesset. The war was triggered by Hamas’s unprecedented October 7 attack on Israel that resulted in the deaths of 1,195 people, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli figures. The militants also seized 251 hostages. Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed at least 38,200 people in Gaza, says the Hamas-run health ministry.
