Moscow (AFP) – A Ukrainian drone attack on Moscow leaves a building damaged in a central business district, after the sixth straight night of aerial attacks on Russia’s capital region. IMAGES
Saint-Quentin-de-Baron (France) (AFP) – As the sun rises over the vineyards in Saint-Quentin-de-Baron in the Bordeaux region, grape pickers are already getting to work. Even as most of France swelters under a heatwave, the 2023 harvest gets underway, forcing workers to adapt.
Sète (France) (AFP) – Thrashing oars, baying crowds and men tumbling from three-metre-high platforms into the Sete Royal Canal. This is water jousting, a traditional Languedoc regional sport believed to have been brought to southeastern France in the 13th century. “It’s our national sport” says one of those taking part. “It’s our World Cup”. Water jousting events have been organised in the southeastern French town of Sete every summer since 1744, interrupted only by the Revolution, two World Wars and the Covid-19 pandemic.
Tecoluca (El Salvador) (AFP) – “We’re persevering day by day” says Jose Hurquilla Bonilla, one of more than 12,000 inmates held in El Salvador’s CECOT mega-prison, which has now been in operation for six months. The facility, said to have a capacity of 40,000, is considered the largest in the Americas and was built on the orders of President Nayib Bukele to hold some of the 70,000 suspected gang members arrested during his war on gang violence.
Hong Kong (AFP) – Hong Kong will ban the import of “aquatic products” from 10 Japanese prefectures, says Tse Chin-wan, Secretary for Environment and Ecology, following Japan’s announcement that it would start discharging water from the stricken Fukushima nuclear plant into the ocean from Thursday August 24.
Tokyo (AFP) – Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida urges the “early removal of import restrictions” placed on his country as it prepares to release cooling water from the stricken Fukushima nuclear power plant into the sea. China has banned food shipments from several Japanese prefectures in response to the upcoming release, which is scheduled to begin on Thursday and has drawn criticism from Japan’s domestic fishing industry, foreign governments and environmental groups.
Komotini (Greece) (AFP) – Thick clouds of smoke cover the sky near the Greek cities of Alexandroupoli and Komotini as the country battles its second wave of wildfires in a month. Two people have died in the latest blazes, which have forced widespread evacuations.
Unknown (AFP) – Luis Rubiales, the president of the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF), apologises for kissing star player Jenni Hermoso on the lips after Spain’s win in the Women’s World Cup. Rubiales, 45, says it happened “without any ill intention in a moment of the highest exuberance”. He kissed Hermoso after she collected her medal, provoking an immediate global reaction.
New York (AFP) – Supporters join SAG-AFTRA and Writers Guild of America members as they hold a “National Day of Solidarity” rally outside the Amazon and HBO offices in New York.
Beijing (AFP) – North Korea’s first international commercial flight in three years has landed in Beijing as Pyongyang shows tentative signs of easing its prolonged Covid isolation. North Korea shut its borders in early 2020 in response to the coronavirus pandemic, but there are increasing signals the country may be moving towards reopening. A previously scheduled North Korean flight to Beijing on 21 August was abruptly cancelled, with no official reason given.
Johannesburg (AFP) – Brazilian president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva arrives in South Africa to attend the BRICS summit, a loose association of major emerging economies which includes Brazil, Russia, India, China and this year’s host, South Africa. Lula was greeted on the tarmac by Naledi Pandor, South Africa’s Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, with a traditional dance performance.
Maiduguri (Nigeria) (AFP) – Ever since authorities in northeast Nigeria closed a dozen camps for people displaced by the region’s jihadist conflict, those still open have found themselves overwhelmed, with food aid more and more scarce. But for most, returning to their homes is not an option — where danger and insecurity remain.
