Bangkok (AFP) – At an indoor skatepark in central Bangkok, 12-year-old Vareeraya Sukasem gazes down the concrete ramp and in one smooth swift motion, propels her pink skateboard towards her target -– a steel handrail. The young Thai skateboarder, who will be one of the youngest athletes to compete in the Paris Olympics in August, is drilling her signature move, known as “the feeble”.
Washington (AFP) – Democratic governors offer their continued support for US President Joe Biden in a meeting with him to discuss the fallout from his disastrous debate performance.
Israel-Gaza-Grenze (AFP) – Israeli Minister of Defence Yoav Gallant says the army will “reach a state of full readiness to take whatever action is required in Lebanon” as fears rise of an all-out war between Israel and Hezbollah. The two sides have traded cross-border fire since Hamas’s October 7 attack on Israel, but the rhetoric has grown more hostile in recent weeks.
Tiflis (AFP) – Georgian twin sisters Elene and Anna are among tens of thousands of Georgian children who were illegally sold in a decades-long baby trafficking scandal. The scheme saw babies stolen from their mothers — many of whom were told they had died — and then sold to adoptive parents in Georgia and abroad.
Santo Domingo (AFP) – Images of high tides and debris along the seafront of the Dominican Republic’s capital, Santo Domingo, following the passage of Hurricane Beryl. Beryl is the first storm since US National Hurricane Center (NHC) records began to reach the Category 4 level in June and the earliest to reach Category 5 in July. IMAGES
(AFP) – At her peaceful home in rural South Korea, Seen Aromi practices yoga, sleeps in as long as she wants and encourages her more than 200,000 YouTube followers to not feel guilty for enjoying single life.
Washington (AFP) – The White House reiterates that Joe Biden’s poor debate appearance was due to nothing more than a “bad night” as Democrats shocked by the president’s performance urge him to be transparent about his mental fitness.
Melbourne (AFP) – A police helicopter spots a stolen gorilla statue in the cluttered backyard of a suburban home in Australia. The 1.5 metre lifelike statue of Garry the Gorilla was pilfered from a retirement home in Melbourne last month, Victoria Police said in a statement.
Hathras (India) (AFP) – At least 120 people, most of them women, have been crushed to death at an overcrowded Hindu religious gathering in northern India. The stampede marks the country’s worst such tragedy in more than a decade.
Hathras (India) (AFP) – Workers clean up debris at the muddy site in India’s Hadras where at least 120 people were crushed to death at an overcrowded Hindu religious gathering.
New Delhi (AFP) – Raped by her husband on her wedding night aged 17, Divya described her repeated suffering an all-too-common account in India, permitted by a terrifying colonial-era legal loophole. “I told him I have never had sex, and asked him if we can take it slowly and try to understand it. He said no, the first night is very important for us men.” 19-year-old Divya said.
Santiago (AFP) – Buin Zoo in Chile’s capital Santiago unveils a rhino calf named Silverio to the public, making him the third white rhino ever born in South America.
