Los Angeles (AFP) – Business owners in the Fashion District of downtown Los Angeles say raids by the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency targeting undocumented immigrants are keeping Latino customers away and bringing sales down. “With Latinos no longer coming, we are going bankrupt,” says Manuel Suarez, a street vendor who sells toys.
London (AFP) – London swelters in the United Kingdom’s third official heatwave of the year, with temperatures rising above 30 degrees Celsius and extending into the weekend with several heat health alerts in place. England experienced its warmest June since records began in 1884, while the UK recorded its second-warmest June over the same period.
Langeais (AFP) – Sandbanks are starting to appear along the Loire in France as the river’s level has dropped, a consequence of a lack of rainfall and intense heat in June and July.
Ankara (AFP) – Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says his country has achieved victory following the symbolic destruction of weapons by Kurdish rebels. “Turkey has won. 86 million citizens have won,” says Erdogan. The ceremony, held on Friday in Iraq’s Kurdistan region, marked a major step in the transition of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) from armed insurgency to democratic politics — part of a broader push to end one of the region’s longest-running conflicts.
Perth (AFP) – German backpacker Carolina Wilga lost hope of rescue after 11 nights in the Australian bush and only made it out by “sheer luck”, says a police inspector in Perth.
Peking (AFP) – “I’m diving to beat the heat,” says 70-year-old Bai Xiaopeng, one of dozens of elderly Beijing residents taking a dip in the Longtan River to cool down as a heat alert is in place and temperatures are expected to exceed 35 degrees over the next few days.
Brüssel (AFP) – The European Commission says it will “assess” the details of a deal between Paris and London on returning migrants arriving in the UK, as other EU countries fret over the impact. “On the specific envisaged cooperation between France and the United Kingdom, the Commission will assess the concrete modalities of this cooperation,” EU spokesman Markus Lammert says, adding that “the rising number of migrants smuggled across the Channel is alarming”.
Nairobi (AFP) – The coffin of a bystander who died days after being shot by Kenyan police during clashes with protesters leaves a morgue in Nairobi. Boniface Kariuki, who was unarmed and selling face masks when he was shot point-blank in the head, is set to be buried in his hometown of Kangema.
Genf (AFP) – More than 3,000 people have died amid escalating gang violence in Haiti since the beginning of the year, says the United Nations. “So far this year, from the first of January to June 30, at least 3,141 people were killed across Haiti,” Ravina Shamdasani, spokeswoman for the UN rights office, tells reporters in Geneva.
Srebrenica (AFP) – Relatives of victims of the Srebrenica massacre visit the graves of their loved ones ahead of official commemorations where the remains of seven victims will be laid to rest. Thousands of people have gathered in Srebrenica to commemorate the genocide committed 30 years ago by Bosnian Serb forces, one of Europe’s worst atrocities since World War II. “My children are gone. I’ve been living for thirty years waiting to join them,” says Nezira Mehmedovic.
Kuala Lumpur (AFP) – US Secretary of State Marco Rubio is seen speaking to Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov ahead of the East Asia Summit as part of the ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Kuala Lumpur on Friday. IMAGES
Rio de Janeiro (Brésil) (AFP) – People attend a demonstration calling to tax the super-rich and demanding the end of the six-day workweek in Rio de Janeiro IMAGES
