Seoul (AFP) – Scenes of devastation in a basement flat in Seoul where three tenants, including a disabled woman and a teenager, drowned in floods triggered by record-breaking rains. South Korea’s capital has moved to ban the cramped basement flats, made famous by Oscar-winning movie “Parasite”, after four people drowned in subterranean dwellings this week.
Kyiv (Ukraine) (AFP) – Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky warns that Russia is ‘putting all of Europe under the threat of a nuclear catastrophe’, with its occupation of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, Europe’s biggest. Russia and Ukraine have both accused each other of shelling the facility.
Fagradalsfjall (Iceland) (AFP) – Several thousand onlookers venture down the steep, winding trail around Mount Fagradalsfjall to admire the week-long volcanic eruption near the Icelandic capital Reykjavik, “a once-in-a-lifetime experience,” says British tourist Celine Paul.
Hostens (France) (AFP) – Firefighters battle a fire in Hostens, in southwest France’s Gironde, on the border with the Landes department. Close to 6,800 hectares of pine forest have gone up in smoke.
Khartoum (AFP) – Sudanese women and men show the of their traditional facial scars, an ancient practice that was once common among African tribes but which has greatly diminished over the years.
Bristol (United Kingdom) (AFP) – The menu at The Canteen in southwest England doesn’t just let diners know how much a dish costs. They can also check its carbon footprint.
Pyongyang (AFP) – Kim Jong Un’s powerful sister, Kim Yo Jong, says the leader had been ill during the coronavirus outbreak. This is the first time North Korea has indicated its leader — whose health is the subject of extraordinarily close scrutiny by analysts — had been infected by the coronavirus. Yo Jong also claimed the country’s Covid-19 outbreak was caused by South Korea, warning of “retaliation”.
Kabul (AFP) – Young Taliban members like Gul Agha Jalali used to spend nights planting bombs — hoping to target an Afghan government soldier or, better still, a foreign serviceman. One year after the Taliban return to power, the 23-year-old Taliban member is now studying English, and has enrolled in a computer science course in the capital, Kabul.
Kardamena (Greece) (AFP) – Images of the Greek coastguard transporting rescued migrants back to land after their boat sank. An air and sea operation by the Greek coastguard has rescued 29 migrants after the boat sank in the Aegean Sea off the islands of Karpathos and Rhodes, leaving dozens missing.
Sameiro (Portugal) (AFP) – Firefighters battle a blaze in in the heart of Portugal’s Serra da Estrela National Park, which has been raging for the past four days. The fires, according to estimates, have already destroyed more than 4000 hectares of forest.” We were able The fires, according to estimates, have already destroyed more than 4000 hectares of forest. “I have never, ever seen anything like this. It’s a catastrophe, it breaks my heart,” says 69-year-old Duarte, a local resident.
Washington (AFP) – US Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi says she is “proud” of her trip to Taiwan, which was intended “to praise Taiwan”, not “to talk about China”, during a press conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC.
Ein Bokek (Israel) (AFP) – Israeli artist Sigalit Landau wades into the warm, briny waters of the Dead Sea to inspect her latest creations — everyday objects coated in salt crystals that glisten in the bright morning sun. The lowest point on Earth is also Landau’s studio where she submerges objects — from a ballet dress to a lampshade’s wire frame — for weeks until they are magically transformed by ice-like layers of salt.
