AFP UK

New York (AFP) – New Yorkers — and their pets — try to stay cool as the city experiences sweltering temperatures after several days of heatwave.

Maskwacis (Canada) (AFP) – Pope Francis prays at the Ermineskin Cree Nation Cemetery in the community of Maskwacis, Canada.

Dikson (Russia) (AFP) – Veterinarians rescue a young female polar bear after the animal got a condensed milk can stuck in its mouth in Russia’s remote Dikson settlement in the Arctic. In images filmed on July 21st, a team from the Moscow Zoo sent by the Russian Natural Resources watchdog tranquillised the animal with a dart, removed the sharp metal from its mouth and treated the cuts to its tongue. The bear, named Monetochka, was transported from Dikson to its natural environment, with a supply of fish left for the animal to eat as it would not be able to hunt on its own for some time.

Qamishli (Syria) (AFP) – Syria’s semi-autonomous Kurdish administration hands Tajikistan 146 women and children related to Islamic State group jihadists, according to a Kurdish official, in the first such repatriation to the ex-Soviet state. The women “did not commit any crimes or terrorist acts in northeastern Syria,” says Kurdish foreign affairs official Fanar al-Kaeet.

Sado (Japan) (AFP) – Under a split-top mountain on the Japanese island of Sado lies a network of centuries-old gold and silver mines that have sparked a new diplomatic row with South Korea. Japan believes that lengthy history and the artisanal mining techniques used there merit recognition on UNESCO’s World Heritage List. But in Seoul, the focus is on what isn’t mentioned in the bid: the use of conscripted Korean labour during the Second World War, when Japan occupied the Korean peninsula.

Nassau (Bahamas) (AFP) – Seventeen suspected migrants from Haiti died in a boat accident off the coast of the Bahamas early on Sunday, says PM Philip Davis, adding “it is presumed that additional persons are missing. Search and recovery continue as we speak.” Human smugglers are known to use the Bahamas, a group of islands near the coast of the US state of Florida, as a jumping-off point for the potentially treacherous sea journey for Haitians seeking to reach the United States.

Xiamen (China) (AFP) – Images of people cooling down at the beach and under the shade as a heatwave strikes Xiamen city in southern China. The city authorities issued an orange alert for high temperatures as the mercury climbed to over 40 degrees Celsius in some parts of the city, according to local media. 

Athens (AFP) – In the grip of a heatwave with temperatures set to rise to 42 degrees Celsius (107 degrees Fahrenheit), tourists in Athens try to stay cool without missing out on the Greek capital city’s main attractions.

Green Bay (United States) (AFP) – Erling Haaland launched his Manchester City career with a goal as Pep Guardiola’s men beat Bayern Munich 1-0 in a weather-disrupted friendly at Lambeau Field in Wisconsin on Saturday.

Odessa (Ukraine) (AFP) – “Putin promised that they wouldn’t bomb and agreed they’d give safe passage so they could get the grain out – but what does he do, he bombs” says one Odessa resident after Russian missiles hit the Ukraine port. Kyiv called the attack a “spit in the face” of a day-old deal between the warring sides to resume cereal exports blocked by the conflict, and help ease a growing global food crisis.