Rome (AFP) – Michelangelo dreamed it, Olivier Grossetête did it: the artist from Marseille has created a cardboard bridge over the Tiber River in Rome to link the gardens of the Villa Farnesina to the Farnese Palace, a splendid Renaissance building that houses the French embassy. The 18-metre structure is suspended by three helium-filled balloons measuring six metres in diameter.
Sukkur (Pakistan) (AFP) – Freshwater dolphins are flourishing in a stretch of Pakistan’s main river after a helping hand from fishermen mobilised to defend a rare species driven to near-extinction.
Yangon (AFP) – Residents across Myanmar’s biggest city are defying a military curfew in a desperate search for oxygen to keep their loved ones breathing as a new coronavirus wave crashes over the coup-wracked country.
Sydney (AFP) – Police guard the entrances of a Sydney apartment block where nine people have tested positive for Covid-19. The building was placed under strict lockdown, as authorities step up efforts to curb a coronavirus outbreak. Residents put up signs reading “send beer” and “where is the vaccine?” in the buildings’ windows. Australia’s latest Covid-19 outbreak began in mid-June and has since grown to 767 cases.
Nasiriyah (Iraq) (AFP) – Aerial images show the aftermath of a fire which enveloped a Covid isolation unit and killed 64 in southern Iraq. The deadly blaze at Al-Hussein Hospital in the provincial capital Nasiriyah, which medics said was fuelled by the explosion of oxygen canisters, was the second such fire in Iraq in three months.
Berlin (AFP) – German Chancellor Angela Merkel says Germany is not planning to follow France and other countries in introducing compulsory Covid-19 vaccinations for parts of the population.
Tokyo (AFP) – In Tokyo’s busy business area of Shinjuku, a giant 3D cat on a 4K billboard greets shoppers. Passers-by are flocking to photograph it, with many unable to believe how lifelike it is.
Dallas (AFP) – A cartridge of Nintendo’s classic video game “Super Mario 64” sets a world record, selling for $1.56 million (€1.32 million) after a 20% buyer’s premium at the Dallas-based Heritage Auctions. The sale, the first ever of a game cartridge to surpass $1 million, came just two days after a sealed copy of “The Legend of Zelda”, made for the old Nintendo NES console, sold for a then-record of $870,000.
Tokyo (AFP) – Yoko Nishimura, a Japanese mother and housewife, recreates a dish to be served at the Olympic village. She was one of the winners in the Olympic village food recipe contest, in which her recipe was selected to bring the taste of Japan to athletes competing at the Games. The athletes will also be able to enjoy typical Japanese dishes such as tempura, ramen and wagyu beef — but only at cafeterias inside the village due to tough virus restrictions.
Nasiriyah (Iraq) (AFP) – Protesters gather at an Iraqi hospital where at least 52 people have died and several others wounded in a massive fire that engulfed a coronavirus isolation ward. The fire broke out at the Al-Hussein hospital in the southern city of Nasiriyah late Monday.
Milan (AFP) – At the Bagni Misteriosi in Milan, a historic swimming pool in the Italian city, one of the most eagerly awaited events of the summer calendar took place on Monday with a performance by the La Scala ballet.
Nasiriyah (Iraq) (AFP) – Protesters gather at an Iraqi hospital where at least 52 people have died and several others wounded in a massive fire that engulfed a coronavirus isolation ward. The fire broke out at the Al-Hussein hospital in the southern city of Nasiriyah late Monday.
