Buenos Aires (AFP) – Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva arrives at Brazil’s Embassy in Buenos Aires ahead of the Mercosur summit, marking a key diplomatic engagement in South America’s main regional bloc amid shifting regional dynamics. IMAGES
Santa Marta (Colombia) (AFP) – The Colombian navy seize for the first time an unmanned narco-submarine equipped with a Starlink antenna off its Caribbean coast. The vessel was not carrying drugs, but the Colombian navy and Western security sources based in the region told AFP they believed it was a trial run by a cocaine trafficking cartel. IMAGES
Paramaribo (AFP) – The land spit at the tip of the Suriname river estuary is rapidly vanishing as erosion, caused by rising sea levels linked to climate change, gobbles up entire swathes of the capital Paramaribo’s coastline. Suriname, South America’s smallest country, is one of the most vulnerable in the world to rising sea levels.
Kopenhagen (AFP) – In Copenhagen, a city programme is rewarding eco-friendly tourists and locals for picking up rubbish, taking public transport or staying in the city longer than three days. From mid-June until late August, the CopenPay initiative offers around 100 activities in exchange for free or reduced prices on a selection of experiences. “It’s pretty cool, and also you’re doing something helpful, and also you’re having a good time,” says Rocio Gomez, a tourist from Mexico.
New York (AFP) – Music mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs has been found not guilty of racketeering and sex trafficking but convicted of a less serious prostitution charge after a high-profile seven week trial in New York. The jury found Combs guilty of two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution, each of which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison. SEAN ‘DIDDY’ COMBS
London (AFP) – UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer faces questions after his government passed key welfare reforms, avoiding a humiliating defeat by making last-minute concessions to internal rebel MPs. “The reformed welfare system that we’re putting in place will be better for individuals, better for the taxpayer, and better for the economy,” he says during a session of Prime Minister’s Questions.
Kopenhagen (AFP) – In Copenhagen, a city programme is rewarding eco-friendly tourists and locals for picking up rubbish, taking public transport or staying in the city longer than three days. From mid-June until late August, the CopenPay initiative offers around 100 activities in exchange for free or reduced prices on a selection of experiences. “It’s pretty cool, and also you’re doing something helpful, and also you’re having a good time,” says Rocio Gomez, a tourist from Mexico.
Culiacán (Mexique) (AFP) – Police carry out checks at a roadside in Culiacan, Mexico, where the bodies of 20 people, several of them decapitated, were found earlier. Authorities say rival factions of the Sinaloa drug cartel are clashing in the area. Violence has soared in the northwestern state since the capture of cartel co-founder Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada almost a year ago. IMAGES
London (AFP) – Tennis fans queue to enter the Wimbledon Championships, with temperatures expected to climb to at least 33 degrees Celsius. On the competition’s opening day, organisers urged people not to travel without a ticket, as the queue already contained thousands hoping to get in.
Mexico City (AFP) – The only known giant panda not owned by China, Xin Xin, celebrates her 35th birthday at the Zoo of Chapultepec in Mexico City. She is the last in a line of giant pandas brought to Mexico in 1975. Since 1980, China has operated a different policy in which it only lends pandas for a short time and in return for a payment towards wild panda conservation efforts.
Seville (Spain) (AFP) – UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urges leaders to “get resources flowing, fast” at the opening of a UN aid conference in Spain, as US-led cuts jeopardise the fight against poverty and climate change. Guterres tells delegates that two-thirds of UN sustainable development goals set for 2030 are “lagging” and more than $4.0 trillion of annual investment is needed to achieve them.
Bizanet (France) (AFP) – Firefighters battle a wildfire by air in the Aude region of southern France. The fire broke out yesterday and is now under control, according to authorities. Southern Europe has been in the grips of an intense heatwave now for several days – as southern Spain yesterday recorded highs of 46 degrees Celsius, a record June high for the country.
