Taipei (AFP) – US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is given the Order of Propitious Clouds cordon by Taiwan President Tsang Ing-wen for the recognition of her roles and contributions in promoting the relations between Taiwan and the United States. IMAGES
Musandam Governorate, oman (Oman) (AFP) – Roads are destroyed as water overflows from the Al Sarooj Dam in the Wilayat of Madha in Oman’s Musandam Governorate following flash floods in the southern Arabian Peninsula. complete VIDI32FV4J3_EN
Washington (AFP) – US National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby tells reporters that US President Biden welcomes the extension of a truce between Yemen’s warring parties, which he adds “has brought an unprecedented calm in Yemen.” The agreement to extend a four-month long truce for a further two months was reached just hours before it was due to expire, the United Nations announced.
Istanbul (AFP) – The first official shipment of Ukrainian grain since Russia’s invasion reaches Turkish territorial waters near the entrance to the Bosphorus Strait. The Sierra Leone-flagged Razoni is due to be inspected Wednesday near Istanbul by a team that includes Russian and Ukrainian officials before delivering its cargo of 26,000 tonnes of maize to Tripoli, Lebanon. IMAGES
Rustaq (Oman) (AFP) – Visitors at a waterfall in Rustaq, north of Oman, scream as a man is swept downstream during a flash flood. Sightseers make it out by scrambling up a rocky bank as fast-flowing flood water and debris surge in the southern Arabian Peninsula.
Saint-Aignan (France) (AFP) – Fans are given a treat at Beauval zoo park in France as twin pandas Huanlili and Yuandudu celebrate their first birthday in style. Huanlili shows appreciation by taking a lick from the birthday cake, and a bite of bamboo.
Moscow (AFP) – Moscow denounces a potential visit by US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to Taiwan as a provocation, expressing full solidarity with ally China. Faced with unprecedented sanctions and international isolation over its military campaign in pro-Western Ukraine, Russia has sought closer ties with China and expressed solidarity with Beijing over Taiwan.
Yreka (United States) (AFP) – Trees are burnt and buildings are in ruins after California’s biggest fire of the year rips through the Klamath National Forest in the northwest of Yreka. Hundreds of personnel were involved in the fight against the fast-moving McKinney Fire, which has torn through more than 55,000 acres (22,000 hectares) near the border with Oregon, forcing thousands from their homes.
Siem Reap (Cambodia) (AFP) – Families of endangered monkeys swing across the canopy of a jungle near Cambodia’s Angkor Wat temple complex — a sign of ecological rejuvenation decades after hunting decimated wildlife at the site.
Khimki (Russia) (AFP) – US basketball star Brittney Griner appears in court in Khimki, Russia, for a hearing in her trial for charges of drug smuggling. She was arrested at a Moscow airport in February for possessing vape cartridges with cannabis oil, as she traveled to to Russia to play club basketball with UMMC Ekaterinburg. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in a bid to find a way home for Griner as well as Paul Whelan, a former Marine jailed on espionage charges he denies. IMAGES
Kuala Lumpur (AFP) – US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi leaves a hotel in Kuala Lumpur under security escort. Pelosi arrived in Malaysia’s capital city on Tuesday, her second stop in an Asian tour that has sparked rage in Beijing over a possible visit to Taiwan. IMAGES
Porto Velho (Brazil) (AFP) – Aerial images of forest fires in the Brazilian Amazon which increased by 8% in July 2022 compared to the same month last year, according to official data released on August 1st. Satellites of the National Institute of Space Research (INPE) detected 5,373 fire outbreaks in the Amazon last month, compared to 4,977 in July 2021.
