Minab (AFP) – Residents of Iran’s southern city of Minab visit the ruined Shajareh Tayebeh school and graves of children, six months after a strike during the opening hours of the US-Israel war with Iran killed at least 155 people, most of them children. “The only things I could recognise were his socks and shoes. That’s how I identified my child,” says painter Javad Shahrjou, whose seven-year-old son Alireza was killed in the strike.
Gedaref (Sudan) (AFP) – In Sudan’s breadbasket of Gedaref, farmers are battling both drought and soaring production costs as they try to salvage this year’s harvest. Across the country, farmland that could feed the world’s largest hunger crisis many times over lies fallow. The powerful El Nino climate pattern strengthening in the Pacific Ocean, which impacts winds and rains across the world, has delayed crucial rains and led water levels in the life-giving Nile to drop precipitously.
Moskau (AFP) – The head of the CIA, John Radcliffe, did not meet President Vladimir Putin on his visit to Moscow but had “contacts” with Russia’s special services, the Kremlin says, without elaborating what was discussed. “There have been contacts through the security services. I can tell you that there have been no meetings with the President of Russia,” says Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.
Jerusalem (AFP) – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says a diplomatic deal is not possible with the “savages” who rule Iran as he hails US President Donald Trump’s new campaign of economic pressure. Netanyahu has long been sceptical of diplomacy with Iran, openly campaigning against a 2015 nuclear deal brokered by then US president Barack Obama, but he has been publicly careful not to criticise Trump while he sought a negotiated settlement.
Copiapó (AFP) – Northern Chile’s Atacama Desert, one of the driest places on Earth, is blanketed with a riot of colourful wild flowers after unusually heavy rains triggered a rare ‘flowering desert’ event.
Al-Qadarif (AFP) – In Sudan’s breadbasket of Gedaref, farmers are battling both drought and soaring production costs as they try to salvage this year’s harvest. Across the country, farmland that could feed the world’s largest hunger crisis many times over lies fallow. The powerful El Nino climate pattern strengthening in the Pacific Ocean, which impacts winds and rains across the world, has delayed crucial rains and led water levels in the life-giving Nile to drop precipitously.
Nashville (AFP) – Nashville residents pay homage to country music icon Dolly Parton, laying flowers outside the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, after her team confirmed she has died after a “brief battle with cancer”. More than just a singer, Parton wrote some 3,000 songs, starred in major Hollywood films and donated millions to charities in her home state and beyond.
Ottawa (AFP) – Canada says that its counter-tariffs responding to US President Donald Trump’s latest duties will range between 15 percent and 50 percent, as a trade war intensifies between the historically close allies. “Canada will match the United States’ tariffs dollar for dollar, rate for rate,” says Canadian Minister of Finance and National Revenue François-Philippe Champagne during a press conference.
Beijing (AFP) – China says it will safeguard its interests after Washington laid out plans for the “economic asphyxiation” of Beijing’s economic partner Iran. “Cooperation between China and Iran has always been conducted within the framework of international law and should not be interfered with or disrupted,” foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian tells a regular news briefing.
Rome (AFP) – Just a few metres from the Colosseum, Italians try their luck at a temporary curling rink in the scorching summer heat. Three ice-free lanes have been set up near the famous Roman amphitheatre by a group of tutors, who help curious onlookers grasp the basics of the winter sport. “What’s brilliant about doing it here in Rome in the summer is precisely that you can enjoy all this,” says tourist Pietro Valli, pointing at the Colosseum behind him.
Pomas (France) (AFP) – Roofs were torn apart and buildings were damaged after a tornado tore through the village of Pomas, in the south of France, injuring at least 39 people. “Right now, people are in a state of shock,” says Herve Gine, the mayor of Pomas. “Some people have lost everything,” he adds. French authorities had placed large parts of the country’s southwest on an orange weather alert due to severe storms, with numerous areas experiencing power outages and disruptions to transport.
Pflugdorf (Germany) (AFP) – Spectators cheer as grimacing competitors, using just their middle finger, heave a small leather loop with all their might at the German finger wrestling championships in the southern village of Pflugdorf-Stadl. In these contests, which last from a few seconds to nearly a minute, two opponents try to pull each other across the table. This traditional Alpine sport popular in Bavaria and Austria, is now organised with various weight and age categories. “It’s excruciating. The pain in the fingers,” says Ferdinand Seitz.
