Brasilia (AFP) – Dozens of supporters wave flags and chant outside former President Jair Bolsonaro’s home in Brasilia, where he remains under house arrest after defying a social media ban. The move by a Supreme Court judge escalates an ongoing showdown with Bolsonaro, who faces accusations of plotting a coup. IMAGES
Brasília (AFP) – In Congress, lawmakers cover their mouths with tape in protest over the house arrest order for Brazil’s far-right former president Jair Bolsonaro. A Brazilian judge placed Bolsonaro under house arrest for breaking a social media ban, escalating a dramatic standoff between the court and the politician, who is accused of plotting a coup. IMAGES
Geneva (AFP) – In front of the UN headquarters in Geneva, a reproduction of Auguste Rodin’s famous statue “The Thinker” is gradually being swallowed up in a sea of plastic waste. Canadian artist Benjamin Von Wong aims to draw attention to plastic pollution, as ten days of talks on the issue are held at the UN.
La Paz (AFP) – Supporters of former Bolivian president Evo Morales inaugurate their “blank vote” campaign headquarters, as they urge voters to spoil their ballots in protest. Morales has been barred from standing in the upcoming August 17 election due to term limits in the constitution, a move his camp sees as unjust. He led Bolivia three times between 2006 and 2019.
Khan Yunis (Palestinian Territories) (AFP) – Palestinians go through their scattered belongings after an Israeli strike hit some tents where displaced people have taken shelter, killing five people according to Gaza’s civil defence agency. “Every household in the Gaza Strip bears a wound, a deep wound,” says Adham Mohammad Younes, a relative of the victims.
Geneva (AFP) – The world stands at a “critical crossroads” on plastic pollution, says the director of Switzerland’s Federal Office for the Environment, as negotiators from 184 countries gather in Geneva to forge a landmark treaty on eliminating the plastic waste.
Hong Kong (AFP) – Parts of Hong Kong are hit with flooding after the highest-tier rainstorm warning is issued for the fourth time in eight days, beating the previous record of three such warnings in a year. The city logged its highest daily rainfall in August since records began in 1884, with just over 355 millimetres recorded at the Hong Kong weather observatory’s headquarters on 5 August.
Bulle (Switzerland) (AFP) – Cathy and Patrick found each other through a message left on a Swiss mountaintop. They owe their meeting to Thibaud Monney, a 29-year-old avid hiker who had the idea of placing small red notebooks at the top of peaks in Fribourg in western Switzerland – which has come to be known as ‘Mountain Tinder’. “Choosing a person in an image by swiping left or right didn’t appeal to me very much,” says the modern-day cupid.
Dhaka (AFP) – Once a heavily guarded palace, the former official residence of Bangladesh’s ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina is being turned into a museum as a lasting reminder of her autocratic rule. The luxurious Dhaka palace, known as Gono Bhaban, was stormed by thousands of demonstrators after she fled to India on August 5, 2024.
Brasília (AFP) – Images outside the condominium where Brazil’s former president Jair Bolsonaro lives, following a Supreme Court order placing him under house arrest for violating a social media ban. Bolsonaro, an ally of US President Donald Trump, is on trial at the Supreme Court for plotting a coup after failing to win reelection in 2022 against leftist Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. IMAGES
Jerusalem (AFP) – Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar says the decision of countries including France, Canada and the UK to take steps towards the recognition of a Palestinian state is a “pure prize for terror”. Speaking at a press conference in Jerusalem, Saar calls the announcements “immoral” and “politically foolish”.
Warsaw (AFP) – Instead of relaxing over the summer holidays, nearly 10,000 men and women have signed up for a month-long, paid “Vacation with the Army” programme, launched by Poland’s defence ministry to promote military service among young people as the country beefs up its security. Participants spend 27 days in a unit, after which they are paid €1,400 and awarded a rank and can continue service or become part of the reserve personnel. “You have to push yourself to the limit. No one has fainted yet, but the day has only just begun,” says Michal Piekut, 29, a master’s student in internal security at the University of Warsaw.
