San Luis Talpa (El Salvador) (AFP) – Venezuelan migrants jailed in El Salvador get on a repatriation flight at San Oscar Romero International Airport in San Luis Talpa. “Today, we have handed over all the Venezuelan nationals detained in our country, accused of being part of the criminal organization Tren de Aragua,” El Salvador President Nayib Bukele writes on X. IMAGES
Sao Paulo (AFP) – As US President Donald Trump threatens to impose 50 percent tariffs on Latin America’s largest economy, protesters in Brazil’s economic capital of Sao Paulo rally in defense of jobs, local businesses, and national sovereignty. The July 9 announcement, in which Trump vows steep tariffs as retaliation for what he calls a “witch hunt” against his far-right ally Jair Bolsonaro, has drawn criticism in Brazil. Demonstrators stage a symbolic “arrest” of both leaders by dressing up as Trump and Bolsonaro, complete with police uniforms. IMAGES
Buenos Aires (Argentina) (AFP) – Thirty-one years after the bombing of the Argentine Israelite Mutual Association (AMIA) in Buenos Aires, sirens sound at 9:53 a.m. local time (12:53 GMT), the exact time the attack occurred, in memory of the 85 victims. President Javier Milei attends the event alongside his sister, Karina Milei, Secretary General of the Presidency. A truck laden with explosives drove into the AMIA, a Jewish community center, and detonated on July 18, 1994, in the deadliest attack in the South American country’s history. Besides the 85 dead, more than 300 people were injured. IMAGES
Brasília (AFP) – Images outside the Penitentiary Administration Secretariat in Brasilia, where former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro is expected to be fitted with an electronic ankle bracelet, in compliance with restrictive measures ordered by the Supreme Federal Court. IMAGES
Seosan City (South Korea) (AFP) – At least three people have been killed and more than 1,000 evacuated after South Korea was hit by torrential rains, with one region pummelled by the most rainfall per hour since full records began.
Isfara (AFP) – Tajik apricot farmer Uktam Kuziev is worried about the future now that climate change is threatening Central Asia’s vital fruit harvest. This is one of the world’s most exposed regions to the effects of climate change, and its poor, rural farming communities are particularly vulnerable. Mild winters, melting glaciers, late frosts, and water scarcity all pose challenges to cultivation in Tajikistan’s apricot capital of Isfara.
Fiumicino (AFP) – In a vast hangar near Rome’s Fiumicino airport, piles of letters addressed to Pope Leo XIV are being sorted, sent by faithful all over the world to the head of the Catholic Church. “We receive hundreds of letters per day addressed to the pope with peaks of 100 kg per day, so we are talking about 500-550 kg per week on average,” says Antonello Chidichimo, director of the sorting centre.
Grindavík (AFP) – Lava escapes from a fissure during the eruption of a volcano on the Reykjanes peninsula in southwest Iceland, the ninth eruption to hit the region since the end of 2023. Broadcaster RUV reports that the nearby fishing village of Grindavik has been evacuated, as well as the Blue Lagoon, Iceland’s famed tourist spot.
Lucknow (AFP) – Family members, students, and teachers in northern India celebrate the return of astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla to Earth after the SpaceX capsule he was on splashed down off the California coast, completing Axiom Mission 4 and capping 20 days in space. Axiom Space is a private company that organises missions to the International Space Station, flying both wealthy individuals and, as in this case, astronauts sponsored by their governments.
Jordan Valley (AFP) – “We are also committed to protecting the Druze residents,” says Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a visit to a military training base in the Jordan Valley. His comment comes amid deadly clashes in the predominantly Druze province of Sweida in southern Syria, where Israel says it has launched strikes against government forces in defence of the religious minority.
Sweida (AFP) – Members of the Syrian defence ministry forces fire towards Druze fighters amid ongoing deadly clashes in southern Syria’s Sweida province. At least 248 people have been killed in the province following several days of clashes that triggered the deployment of government forces, according to a war monitor. The Druze are a prominent religious community spread across Syria, Lebanon and Israel. In Syria, Druze fighters have clashed both with Bedouin tribes and with forces loyal to the Islamist government, as they struggle to find their place in the new order ushered in by the overthrow of longtime president Bashar al-Assad.
Manchester (AFP) – The return of the prodigal Oasis brothers to Manchester — on the second leg of their highly-anticipated reunion tour — rekindles memories of a time in the 1990s when the city was a cultural epicentre. Oasis then ruled the airwaves, following in the footsteps of Manchester’s other musical giants, such as Joy Division and The Smiths.
