German Chancellor Angela Merkel says she is concerned about rising Covid-19 infections, with the country joining a number of European nations that have seen cases climb in recent weeks fuelled by the Delta variant, first detected in India.
Kaifeng city, Henan province (China) (AFP) – Firefighters rescue people stranded, including a baby and a pregnant woman, following devastating torrential rains in China that left at least 33 dead. With many streets still flooded, trucks pumped muddy water from underground tunnels as meteorologists issued “red” rain alerts, warning of the threat of fresh landslides and flooding in surrounding areas.
Oslo (AFP) – Norway holds a remembrance ceremony to honour the 77 people killed on July 22, 2011 in twin attacks by right-wing extremist Anders Behring Breivik.
Darjeeling (India) (AFP) – A red panda cub has been born in an Indian zoo as part of a conservation breeding program to increase the population of the endangered animal. With habitats under threat in the Eastern Himalayas and China, red pandas are considered endangered and are highly vulnerable to infectious diseases. Their copper fur, appearance and small size also make them targets for the exotic pet trade.
Athens (AFP) – People demonstrate in Athens against plans to make Covid-19 vaccinations mandatory for all health workers and retirement home employees, with police using tear gas and water cannon to disperse some protesters.
Tokyo (AFP) – The show director for the Tokyo Olympics opening ceremony, former comedian Kentaro Kobayashi, has been fired on the eve of the event for making jokes referencing the Holocaust, in the latest blow for organisers of the pandemic-delayed Games. Tokyo 2020 has been plagued by a series of gaffes and missteps by Olympic officials, as well as pandemic restrictions.
New Delhi (AFP) – A new attempt at purifying New Delhi’s notoriously polluted air will see forty giant fans push out filtered air in the heart of the Indian capital, but not everyone is convinced.
Pyongyang (AFP) – Pyongyang sweltered on Wednesday as state media issued warnings about a heatwave across North Korea.
Xinxiang (China) (AFP) – Firefighters rescue residents from deadly flooding in China’s Henan province. The rainfall in the region was the heaviest since record-keeping began 60 years ago.
Zhengzhou (China) (AFP) – Vehicles are seen in a pile up on a motorway after record rainfall caused deadly floods in the central Chinese city of Zhengzhou.
Bamako (AFP) – Mali’s transitional president, Colonel Assimi Goïta, says he is “very well” hours after a man tried to stab him following Eid al-Adha prayers at the Grand Mosque in Bamako. The shocking attack follows months of political turmoil in Mali, which is also battling a jihadist insurgency that has claimed thousands of lives and driven hundreds of thousands from their homes.
Durban (South Africa) (AFP) – Small fires still smoulder under the collapsed roof of a label-printing company in Durban days after devastating riots shook South Africa. The Ushukela Industrial Park in the southeastern port city is one of several that has been blitzed in a spree of arson and looting that hit parts of South Africa. Riots and looting first flared in the southeastern province of KwaZulu-Natal (KZN), sparked by the jailing of graft-accused former president Jacob Zuma.
