Kunheim (France) (AFP) – Pokaa, a two-year-old golden retriever with a keen nose for the coronavirus, works at a nursing home in France’s Alsace region. The first dog of his kind in France, Pokaa is able to pick up on positive Covid cases 48 hours before a PCR test would, according to the director of the charity HANDI’CHIENS.
Bormes-les-Mimosas (France) (AFP) – In a video posted on Tik Tok and Instagram, French President Emmanuel Macron answers a question about the health pass and says it allows businesses and places of culture to remain “open” in the face of the Delta variant, which he says is “even more formidable”.
Varympompi (Greece) (AFP) – People on the outskirts of Athens are left to grapple with the devastation caused by forest fires. More than 500 firefighters, a dozen water-bombing planes and five helicopters have been battling the blazes outside the capital which are now reportedly under control.
Vatican City (AFP) – Pope Francis returns to work full-time following a colon operation, urging the international community to help a struggling Lebanon on the anniversary of the explosion that killed over 200 people.
Jalalabad (Afghanistan) (AFP) – Afghans in Jalalabad city chant “Allah-u Akbar” (God is greatest) in support of the Afghan security forces, as part of calls to gather on rooftops at 9 pm following similar scenes the night before in the western city of Herat, that is under siege, after government forces countered the latest Taliban assault.
Beirut (AFP) – Lebanese march towards Beirut port to mark a year since a cataclysmic explosion ravaged the city, protesting impunity over the country’s worst peacetime disaster at a time when its economy was already in tatters.
Fueled by hot and dry weather, the Dixie Fire in Northern California continues to grow, prompting more orders for residents to flee their homes. The blaze has swelled to almost 255,000 acres in size and is 35 percent contained, local authorities say.
Berdigestyakh (Russia) (AFP) – Russia’s Yakutia region, which has a border with the Arctic Ocean and sits atop permafrost on a territory nearly five times the size of France, is a canary in the coal mine for the global climate crisis. And with this summer being Yakutia’s driest in 150 years, according to local officials, the region became a tinderbox that has seen wildfires tear through more than 1.5 million hectares (3.7 million acres) of its swampy taiga forest.
Canberra (AFP) – Australia’s Prime Minister Scott Morrison announces one-off payments to many Indigenous Australians living in former Commonwealth territories who were forcibly removed from their homes as children. The federal government redress scheme is part of a Aus$1 billion (US$740 million) plan to reduce the sharp disadvantages faced by Indigenous Australians.
Japan’s Hiromu Inada is watching the Tokyo Olympics hoping to pick up some tips from the athletes before he competes in next year’s Ironman world championship, at the age of 90. Inada, who turns 89 in November, already holds the Guinness World Record for the oldest person to complete an Ironman competition — a gruelling format involving swimming 3.86 kilometres, biking 180.25 kilometres and running a 42.19 kilometre marathon. A three-time winner of the competition in his age group, his commitment to sport is so deep that he records footage of athletes at the Games and watches it to analyse leg movements and posture.
Marseille (AFP) – Several dozen people demonstrate in front of the University Hospital Institute (IHU) in Marseille against the compulsory vaccination of hospital staff. The French Constitutional Council has validated the law introducing the health pass and compulsory vaccination of caregivers, two key measures in President Emmanuel Macron’s anti-Covid strategy which are increasingly being contested in the streets.
Pescara (Italy) (AFP) – Firefighters work to tackle wildfires on Italy’s Adriatic coast and in the Sicily region after more than 800 flare-ups were recorded in the country in one weekend. EU data show this year’s fire season has been significantly more destructive than most, with experts saying that climate change is increasing both the frequency and intensity of such blazes.
