New Delhi (AFP) – European Council president Charles Michel says Russian attacks on Ukrainian ports “must stop”. Speaking to reporters in New Delhi ahead of the G20 summit, Michel says that “over 250 million people face acute food insecurity worldwide” and by threatening the movement of grain, “the Kremlin is depriving them of the food they desperately need.”
New York (AFP) – People in New York are divided in their opinions on a new law implemented by the city that bans short-term rentals, targeting hosting platforms like Airbnb. The new rules prohibit rental periods of less than 30 days unless the host lives in the property and is present throughout the stay. “It’s probably necessary” says one resident, while a business traveler questions the decision: “it really makes no sense”. The new law is, in part, aimed at easing the strain on housing supply in a city where rents average at $5,000 per month.
United Nations (United States) (AFP) – “Children are now migrating within Latin America and the Caribbean at an unprecedented rate” says Garry Conille, UNICEF’s Regional Director for the region. The first half of 2023 saw 40,000 children cross the Darien Gap, a dangerous jungle route taken by migrants travelling from Colombia into Panama. This figure matches the number from the entire year of 2022, which was itself a record, Conille explains.
Farkadóna (Greece) (AFP) – Firemen use boats to rescue elderly residents of the village of Farkadona in central Greece as flood water levels continued to rise in the streets of the village. Fierce storms have battered Greece, Turkey and Bulgaria, following a period of extreme heat and devastating wildfires. In Greece, the death toll from Storm Daniel has risen to seven, while wildfires razed at least 150,000 hectares of land over the summer killing at least 26 people.
New Delhi (AFP) – British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and his wife, Akshata Murty, arrive in India for the G20 summit which starts on 9 September. In 2022, India surpassed the United Kingdom as the world’s fifth-largest economy. Sunak, who is of Indian heritage, is on his first visit to the country since becoming prime minister. Sunak’s wife, Akshata Murty, is the daughter of one of India’s wealthiest men.
Hong Kong (AFP) – Hong Kong is experiencing its heaviest rainfall in almost 140 years, with cars submerged in flood water and landslides hitting parts of the city. The latest torrential rains come just days after Typhoon Haikui shut the megacity down as the region suffers from storm conditions. Experts say climate change has increased the intensity of such storms, with more rain and stronger winds becoming the norm.
Beirut (AFP) – Lebanese protesters spray paint slogans that read “your day will come very soon” outside Lebanon’s Central Bank in Beirut, where a small group of depositors gather to demand access to their blocked savings. Lebanon is in the midst of a crippling economic crisis that the World Bank has dubbed as one of the worst in modern history. Depositors have been locked out of their savings by cash-strapped banks for nearly four years, and the Lebanese currency has lost more than 90% of its value against the US dollar.
Umm ‘Amūd (Syria) (AFP) – Traditional mud-brick houses that the people of northern Syria have built for thousands of years risk disappearing, as 12 years of war have emptied villages and left the buildings crumbling. “Our village once had 3,000 to 3,500 residents and some 200 mud houses,” says Mahmud al-Mheilej, standing beside deserted homes with weeds growing from the roofs.
La Orilla del Agua (Mexico) (AFP) – Digging under abandoned houses in Mexico’s Jalisco state, Jose Servin has been searching for his son’s remains since 2018. He is just one parent to have lost a child to the country’s powerful drug cartels, and for whom old wounds have been reopened by the recent abduction of five young friends in the Jalisco city of Lagos de Moreno. Aged between 19 and 22, they are believed to have been tortured and killed by cartel members in a state that has registered 15,000 missing persons since 1962, the highest in Mexico.
Kyiv (Ukraine) (AFP) – With their prosthetic limbs on the pitchside, a group of wounded Ukrainian servicemen play football as a way of moving forward and adapting to their life-changing injuries. “I knew there was a risk” says Oleksandr, who lost his leg to a Russian shell near Kharkiv. “It’s not easy to withstand this” says another player, Oleg, who has seen others break down after suffering serious injuries on the conflict’s frontlines.
Beijing (AFP) – A Chinese delegation will visit North Korea will demonstrate “the deep friendship” between the two countries, says Mao Ning, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson. The delegation, described as “high level” will visit North Korea this week and attend celebrations for the 75th anniversary of the country’s foundation.
Mount Fuji (Japan) (AFP) – With millions of visitors every year along with the buses, supply trucks, noodle shops and fridge magnets, Mount Fuji is no longer the peaceful, scenic pilgrimage site it once was. Now Japanese authorities have had enough, saying that the number of hikers trekking up the world-famous volcano — night and day — are so numerous that it’s dangerous and an ecological embarrassment. Authorities announced in August that they would impose crowd control measures for the first time if paths got too busy.
