AFP UK

Hong Kong (AFP) – Tens of thousands of cat lovers attend an annual expo in Hong Kong dedicated to all things feline. Alongside accessories, food and personalised jewellery, the best cats around vie for awards in the CFA WCC Cat Show Competition hosted during the three-day event. According to a survey run by the organisers, Hong Kongers are spending more and more on their cats, highlighting the “cat economy” — with sectors from food to pet-friendly tourism — as an increasingly important driver of growth.

RILLY-LA-MONTAGNE (France) (AFP) – Corks aren’t popping for those who work in France’s cherished champagne industry, faced with looming US tariffs. On 7 August, a 15-percent levy on most EU exports to the US is set to come into force, with the French wine industry warning of a “brutal” impact from the tariffs, especially when combined with a declining US dollar. Producers’ associations say a drop in exports and a reduction in US consumption could create a loss of one billion euros and affect 600,000 jobs in France.

Grand Canyon (United States) (AFP) – A timelapse video published on 29 July by the US National Interagency Fire Center shows smoke rising from the Dragon Bravo fire at Arizona’s Grand Canyon National Park, which erupted on 4 July. As of 1 August, the fire had burned nearly 112,000 acres, according to the Fire Center.

Russia (AFP) – A towering plume of ash rises from the Krasheninnikov volcano in Russia’s Far East, which has erupted for the first time in 450 years. The eruption comes days after one of the strongest earthquakes on record hit the region, the nation’s emergency authority has said, and follows the eruption of another nearby volcano, Klyuchevskoy, on Wednesday 30 July.

Lima (AFP) – Digging under a street in the Peruvian capital, Lima, workers installing gas pipes stumbled across a mummy more than 1,000 years old, according to the gas company and archaeologists. The discovery was made on 31 July by the company Calidda, which has reported more than 2,000 archaeological finds since 2004. Archaeologists on the site believe it to be an ancient burial site dated to the pre-Inca Chancay culture.

London (AFP) – The family of an elderly British couple who have been detained in Afghanistan for six months have begun to fear the worst, with concerns mounting over the health of Peter and Barbie Reynolds. “You have to remember their age, 80 and 76,” says Jonathan Reynolds, one of the couple’s four children, who last spoke to his parents on 15 June. Afghanistan’s Taliban authorities have refused to detail why Peter and Barbie were arrested in February. Speaking to AFP via video link from Chicago, Jonathan explains that “they were told by the judge that they were not guilty of any crimes.”

Kerem Shalom crossing (Palestinian Territories) (AFP) – Crowds of Palestinians meet a UN convoy bringing supplies into the Gaza Strip via the Israeli-controlled Kerem Shalom crossing on 30 July, with images showing shots hitting the ground in front of those waiting. According to the UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), these came from the direction of Israeli forces, which have been blamed in recent months for the deaths of at least 1,373 Palestinians seeking aid.

Tacugama (Sierra Leone) (AFP) – In the forests of Sierra Leone, Bala Amarasekaran has spent three decades building a sanctuary, and a life, around orphaned chimpanzees whom he calls family. What began with the rescue of a single malnourished chimp tied to a tree grew into a lifelong mission to protect one of humanity’s closest relatives. Thanks to Amarasekaran’s campaigning, the chimpanzee became Sierra Leone’s national animal in 2019.

Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) (AFP) – Protesters across Brazil burn effigies of US President Donald Trump during a wave of demonstrations against his politically motivated trade tariffs. In recent weeks, the US leader has criticized the prosecution of Jair Bolsonaro, Brazil’s former far-right president and a staunch Trump ally, imposing 50 percent tariffs on exports and slapping sanctions on one of the country’s top judges, measures he has openly admitted are a punishment. The levy on Brazil is among the highest rates imposed on US trade partners as part of Trump’s tariff barrage, with neighbouring Canada facing a 35 percent rate.

Santiago (AFP) – “All of our strength is dedicated to this cause” says the president of Chilean copper giant Codelco, as rescue efforts continue to free five miners trapped by a collapse at one of the company’s mines. One worker was killed and nine others injured in the collapse on Thursday July 31, which occurred at Chile’s El Teniente underground copper mine, the largest in the world. The rescue work was entering a “critical 48-hour period,” adds Maximo Pacheco.

Phnom Penh (AFP) – Cambodia’s Deputy Prime Minister Sun Chanthol calls Donald Trump the “President of Peace” and says that he should be awarded a Nobel Peace Prize, after the US president intervened to help broker a ceasefire in their deadly border conflict with Thailand. The two countries agreed a truce on 29 July following five days of clashes that killed at least 43 people on both sides.

Mercedes (United States) (AFP) – The manufacture of iconic “made in the USA” cowboy boots is set to suffer from President Donald Trump’s 30 percent tariffs on South African exports. Texas’s most renowned makers of the southern US fashion staple source the ostrich leather they require exclusively from South Africa.