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.
New York (AFP) – Images of Donald Trump’s convoy leaving the New York attorney general’s office in New York City, after some six hours of questioning under oath over alleged fraud at his family business, having earlier vowed he would invoke his constitutional right to remain silent.
Cirencester (United Kingdom) (AFP) – In Ashton Keynes, a village located near the official source of the river Thames, a dry earthy path is now visible where the river usually flows. Locals say they “haven’t seen it as dry and as empty as this” as England experiences record heat and low rainfalls this summer.
Riga (AFP) – During an official visit to Latvia, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin says there is no doubt that Russia has committed a significant portion of its most capable forces to the effort in Ukraine. He also believes that sanctions will make it more difficult to regenerate the Russian army.
Nairobi (AFP) – A quiet Nairobi wakes up after a close-fought general election which will see a new president elected. Residents call for peace as they anxiously await the results. “People voted peacefully, returned to work and I see Kenya moving forward. There will be peace” remarks one.
Ouistreham (France) (AFP) – A stranded beluga whale, which was discovered more than a week ago in France’s Seine river, had to be euthanised upon arrival in the Normandy seaside town of Ouistreham after being transferred there by truck, announces Guillaume Lericolais, deputy prefect of Lisieux.
La Paz (AFP) – Riot police in Bolivia’s La Paz fire tear gas to repel a crowd of coca farmers detonating dynamite in an attempt to shut down a parallel market for the plant. Members of the Association of Coca Producers (Adepcoca) say the market is illegal and claim that it enjoys government support, in a dispute over control of the coveted commercialization of the plant.
Virginia Beach (United States) (AFP) – A high school student in the US state of Virginia thought she was taking medication that her friend had procured to treat pain and anxiety. Instead, the pill she took was fentanyl, a synthetic opioid that killed her almost instantly. “You’re being poisoned by that because you don’t know that that’s what you’re getting. And kids, people, adults, they’re dying from it,” shares Makayla Cox’s mother at her house in Virginia Beach. Deaths are rising especially quickly among young people, who obtain counterfeit prescription drugs through social media, explains Ray Donovan, chief of operations at the US Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA).
