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Damaskus (AFP) – A Syrian court sentences former ruler Bashar al-Assad to death in absentia, after convicting him over charges of “war crimes” and “crimes against humanity” during the country’s civil war. It is the first such ruling under Syria’s transitional leaders who ousted Assad in December 2024, vowing to provide justice and accountability for crimes committed under his rule. Assad fled to Moscow as Islamist-led forces closed in on Damascus after a lightning offensive. More than half a million people were killed in Syria’s civil war and millions displaced, while tens of thousands disappeared, many into the country’s prison system.

Guatemala-Stadt (AFP) – With flowers and candles, Indigenous Maya people conduct a thanksgiving ritual on an archaeological site near Guatemala City and honor their ancestral traditions on the UN’s international Indigenous Peoples’ Day. The group gathers around a fire at the Kaminaljuyu site to say prayers and burn offerings.

Guatemala-Stadt (AFP) – With flowers and candles, Indigenous Maya people conduct a thanksgiving ritual on an archaeological site near Guatemala City and honor their ancestral traditions on the UN’s international Indigenous Peoples’ Day. The group gathers around a fire at the Kaminaljuyu site to say prayers and burn offerings.

Pereira (Colombia) (AFP) – Rescuers from the Colombian army help clear debris in Pereira a day after a powerful 7.4-magnitude earthquake struck the country, killing at least 181 people. IMAGES

Pereira (Colombia) (AFP) – Colombian volunteers and rescuers clear rubble with their bare hands and buckets to search for survivors after the country’s strongest earthquake in a decade killed at least 132 people and flattened buildings.

Pereira (Colombie) (AFP) – Emergency services, civilians and members of the armed forces clear rubble in the Colombian town of Pereira, following a deadly 7.4 magnitude earthquake that shook several cities across the country’s coffee-producing region and the Pacific coast. At least 111 people have died, an unknown number of people are still buried under debris, and over 1,500 buildings have been damaged. IMAGES

Pereira (Colombie) (AFP) – Emergency services, civilians and members of the armed forces clear rubble in the Colombian town of Pereira, following a deadly 7.4 magnitude earthquake that shook several cities across the country’s coffee-producing region and the Pacific coast. At least 111 people have died, an unknown number of people are still buried under debris, and over 1,500 buildings have been damaged. IMAGES

Manizales (Colombie) (AFP) – Clean-up operations have begun in the Colombian town of Manizales, following a deadly 7.4 magnitude earthquake that shook several cities across the country’s coffee-producing region and the Pacific coast. At least 111 people have died, an unknown number of people are still buried under rubble, and over 1,500 buildings have been damaged. IMAGES

Manizales (Colombie) (AFP) – Clean-up operations have begun in the Colombian town of Manizales, following a deadly 7.4 magnitude earthquake that shook several cities across the country’s coffee-producing region and the Pacific coast. At least 111 people have died, an unknown number of people are still buried under rubble, and over 1,500 buildings have been damaged. IMAGES

London (AFP) – Aerial images show the dried-out banks of a pond in London, as the UK’s Met Office says a new heatwave is set to hit southern and central England. According to provisional figures, last month was the driest July on record for England and Wales.

Gaza (AFP) – Gaza beekeeper Ibrahim al-Dabba and his sons tend beehives on a rooftop after he lost around 400 hives east of the city during the war. “Just as we are displaced in the streets, the bees are also displaced on the rooftops,” says al-Dabba, head of the Beekeepers Cooperative in the Gaza Strip.

Gaza (AFP) – Gaza beekeeper Ibrahim al-Dabba and his sons tend beehives on a rooftop after he lost around 400 hives east of the city during the war. “Just as we are displaced in the streets, the bees are also displaced on the rooftops,” says al-Dabba, head of the Beekeepers Cooperative in the Gaza Strip.