Washington (AFP) – President Joe Biden says he does not expect the United States to go into recession, although GDP figures due later this week may show the economy shrinking for a second consecutive quarter.
Maskwacis (Canada) (AFP) – Pope Francis apologizes for the “evil” inflicted on the Indigenous peoples of Canada on the first day of a visit focused on addressing decades of abuse at Catholic-run residential schools.
New Port Richey (United States) (AFP) – It might not be speedy, but it’s big, hungry and fast-reproducing: the giant African snail, a potential health risk to humans, has once again invaded the southern US state of Florida.
Saint-Denis (France) (AFP) – “Games Wide Open”: almost two years out from the start of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, event organisers have unveiled the slogan for the event.
New York (AFP) – New Yorkers — and their pets — try to stay cool as the city experiences sweltering temperatures after several days of heatwave.
Maskwacis (Canada) (AFP) – Pope Francis prays at the Ermineskin Cree Nation Cemetery in the community of Maskwacis, Canada.
Dikson (Russia) (AFP) – Veterinarians rescue a young female polar bear after the animal got a condensed milk can stuck in its mouth in Russia’s remote Dikson settlement in the Arctic. In images filmed on July 21st, a team from the Moscow Zoo sent by the Russian Natural Resources watchdog tranquillised the animal with a dart, removed the sharp metal from its mouth and treated the cuts to its tongue. The bear, named Monetochka, was transported from Dikson to its natural environment, with a supply of fish left for the animal to eat as it would not be able to hunt on its own for some time.
Qamishli (Syria) (AFP) – Syria’s semi-autonomous Kurdish administration hands Tajikistan 146 women and children related to Islamic State group jihadists, according to a Kurdish official, in the first such repatriation to the ex-Soviet state. The women “did not commit any crimes or terrorist acts in northeastern Syria,” says Kurdish foreign affairs official Fanar al-Kaeet.
Sado (Japan) (AFP) – Under a split-top mountain on the Japanese island of Sado lies a network of centuries-old gold and silver mines that have sparked a new diplomatic row with South Korea. Japan believes that lengthy history and the artisanal mining techniques used there merit recognition on UNESCO’s World Heritage List. But in Seoul, the focus is on what isn’t mentioned in the bid: the use of conscripted Korean labour during the Second World War, when Japan occupied the Korean peninsula.
Nassau (Bahamas) (AFP) – Seventeen suspected migrants from Haiti died in a boat accident off the coast of the Bahamas early on Sunday, says PM Philip Davis, adding “it is presumed that additional persons are missing. Search and recovery continue as we speak.” Human smugglers are known to use the Bahamas, a group of islands near the coast of the US state of Florida, as a jumping-off point for the potentially treacherous sea journey for Haitians seeking to reach the United States.
Xiamen (China) (AFP) – Images of people cooling down at the beach and under the shade as a heatwave strikes Xiamen city in southern China. The city authorities issued an orange alert for high temperatures as the mercury climbed to over 40 degrees Celsius in some parts of the city, according to local media.
Midpines (United States) (AFP) – A helicopter carrying a water bucket flies through plumes of smoke rising from a forest near Midpines, northeast of Mariposa, California. The Oak Fire broke out Friday near Yosemite National Park, where giant sequoias have already been threatened by flames in recent days.
