Sydney (AFP) – Australia gave millions of workers the legal right to “disconnect” on Monday, allowing them to ignore unreasonable out-of-hours calls, emails and texts from their bosses. But the reform got a cool welcome from top industry, the Australian Industry Group, who said the new laws are “deeply confusing”.
Lagos (AFP) – Miss Universe Nigeria contenders welcome into the “sisterhood” Chidimma Adetshina, who was forced to withdraw from the Miss South Africa pageant in early August after her Nigerian heritage sparked a national controversy and a government investigation in her home country.
Juiz de Fora (Brazil) (AFP) – Brazilian swimmer Gabriel dos Santos Araujo, also known as Gabrielzinho, is on a quest for a treble at the Paris Paralympics, after winning two golds and a silver at the Tokyo Games three years ago.
Kfar Naseh (Syria) (AFP) – In a camp in northern Syria, children displaced by the country’s 13-year-old war play and splash in volunteer-run mobile swimming pools that provide much-needed cool relief in the sweltering summer heat. The pools at Kafr Naseh camp, in the Aleppo countryside, have been set up by volunteers from the Smile Younited charity.
Jaisalmer (India) (AFP) – The Rajkumari Ratnavati girls’ school, in India’s sweltering Thar desert, is an oasis of cool thanks to a combination of age-old techniques and modern design. The building was designed by US-based architect Diana Kellogg and built by local artisans.
Tel-Aviv (AFP) – Thousands of Israelis protest in Tel Aviv as Gaza ceasefire talks resume in Cairo, calling for a ceasefire deal to secure the release of the remaining hostages.
Moscou (AFP) – Thousands of flag-waving Russians gather for a concert by the pro-Kremlin pop star Shaman, one of many events authorities hope will rally patriotism almost two-and-a-half years into the Ukraine conflict.
Tel-Aviv (AFP) – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warns that Sunday’s strikes in Lebanon were “not the final word” in his country’s military campaign against Lebanese armed group Hezbollah.
Kramatorsk (Ukraine) (AFP) – Ukrainian emergency services conduct search and rescue operations at the site of a hotel badly damaged by an overnight Russian strike in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kramatorsk. The Reuters news agency said that one team member was missing and two others were wounded in the strike.
Solingen (Allemagne) (AFP) – German police are hunting a man suspected of killing three people in a knife attack at a street festival on Friday night, with prosecutors saying a terror motive is “not excluded”. One person has been detained in connection with the stabbings, which took place at a “Festival of Diversity” in the western city of Solingen. The attack killed three people and injured eight, four of whom are said to be in serious condition, according to a statement.
Stoke Mandeville (Royaume-Uni) (AFP) – Several days before the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games begin, the Paralympic flame is lit next to the English hospital in Stoke Mandeville near London, where the idea for the competition was born. “Behind this flame, there is a powerful message of peace,” says Tony Estanguet, President of the Paris 2024 organising committee, who received the flame before it starts its journey to France.
Niamey (Niger) (AFP) – Heavy rain has caused severe flooding in the region around Niger’s capital, Niamey, submerging roads and cutting the capital off from parts of the rest of the country for several days. Worried residents fear that hastily reinforced dykes will not hold. “We are really scared,” says Mahamadou Abdourahamane Zongona, a resident of the Lamorde district in Niamey.
