London (AFP) – “Systematic dishonesty” and “persistent failure” were among the chief causes of the Grenfell Tower fire, which killed 72 people in June 2017, rules an inquiry into the disaster. Unveiling his 1,600-page report, Martin Moore-Bick, a retired judge chairing the inquiry, explains that multiple parties contributed to the fire, “in most cases through incompetence, but in some cases through dishonesty and greed.”
Taipei (AFP) – Taiwan is not the “only target” of Chinese “intimidation and coercion,” says Raymond Greene, director of the American Institute in Taiwan and new de-facto US ambassador to the democratic island. Speaking in Taipei, Greene says the threat is “not only in the military sphere”, but also includes “legal measures” and “cyber threats.”
Lviv (Ukraine) (AFP) – Seven people have been killed and 40 others injured in a Russian strike on the western Ukrainian city of Lviv, near the Polish border, with officials reporting that three children from one family, as well as their mother, are among the dead. Air raid sirens rang out before sunrise on Wednesday 4 September as Russia launched missiles and drones at targets across Ukraine. Kyiv has said that civilian infrastructure was hit in Lviv and the central city of Kryvyi Rig.
Kallio (Greece) (AFP) – With its formerly submerged buildings now visible and drying in the sun, the Greek village of Kallio’s emergence is a sign of severe drought. The settlement was flooded in the 1970s during the creation of the artificial lake Mornos, Athens’ main water supply reservoir. But with Greece seeing its mildest winter and hottest July on record in 2024, following years without rain or snow in the region, the lake has receded, some locals say, by 40 metres.
Spin Boldak (Afghanistan) (AFP) – Sitting on the floor of a dilapidated workshop in the Afghan border town of Spin Boldak, a group of men break apart discarded electronics to search for the smattering of gold inside. It’s a profitable, but ultimately doomed trade as modern electronics are increasingly built with cheaper metals.
Poltava (Ukraine) (AFP) – More than 50 people were killed and hundreds wounded in a Russian missile attack on the Ukrainian city of Poltava, authorities said, in one of the single deadliest strikes of the two-and-a-half-year war.
Shanghai (AFP) – A new trend in China sees women hiring other women to go on dates with them dressed as their favourite male video game characters. Eighteen-year-old cosplayer Xu Yunting met 19-year-old Feng Xinyu for a whole day of activities, with Xu dressed as Jesse from “Light and Night”. This is the third time these women have had such an encounter.
Indonesians welcome Pope Francis to Jakarta as he kicks off a 12-day tour of the Asia-Pacific region, with further stops planned in Papua New Guinea, East Timor and Singapore. The 87-year-old will spend three days in Indonesia, the world’s most populous Muslim-majority country, with his visit devoted to inter-religious ties.
Nakhon Si Thammarat (Thailand) (AFP) – Thailand has caught some 1,300 tons of blackchin tilapia as authorities battle to stamp out the destructive invasive fish species, enlisting locals and even ducks to help. In July, eradicating the fish, which is native to West Africa, was declared a national priority and a parliamentary investigation is underway to determine the cause of the outbreak.
The arrest and charging of Telegram founder Pavel Durov “raises a lot of human rights concerns” says a spokesperson for the UN Human Rights Office Ravina Shamdasani. Russian-born Durov was detained in France on 24 August and charged with violations related to the messaging app. Speaking to reporters at a weekly UN briefing, Shamdasani explains that any restrictions on social media need to be “in line with international human rights standards.”
With megaphones and banners in hand, protesters gather outside the house of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, demanding a deal to allow the release of hostages still held in Gaza. Pressure has been mounting on the Israeli government in recent days after the killing of six captives, whose bodies were discovered in the southern Gaza Strip on Sunday 1 September.
Perched on makeshift beds, chatting or reading, evacuees at a displacement centre in Russia’s Kursk region pass the time. Galina Tolmacheva and her family are among some 130,000 people forced to flee in the Russian border region, where Ukrainian forces have been conducting an offensive since 6 August. “We fled in what we were wearing,” she says, adding that her family had to set their livestock free and “leave everything.”
