London (AFP) – A Super Blue Moon rises in the night sky next to London’s Tower Bridge. It is the second in a three night run in which the full moon is both a supermoon – when the moon is closest to Earth, and a blue moon – the third full moon in a season with four.
Senegal (AFP) – Sitting next to his crop of recently harvested mangoes, Senegalese farmer Mame Abdou Diop uses his phone to shoot a promotional video for his growing number of social media followers. What started out as fun for the young agricultural entrepreneur is turning into a real opportunity to boost sales.
Porticello (Italy) (AFP) – Emergency workers bring a body ashore during the search operation for six missing people following the sinking of a superyacht off the Sicilian coast. Two bodies have now been found by the divers, according to a source close to the search, bringing the confirmed death toll to three. The 56-metre British-flagged “Bayesian” was anchored with 10 crew and 12 passengers on board when it was struck by a waterspout, akin to a mini-tornado, before dawn on 19 August.
New Delhi (AFP) – In a dingy New Delhi pedestrian subway, patients waiting for treatment at nearby hospitals line the ground as queues grow with Indian doctors protesting the rape and murder of a colleague.
Chicago (AFP) – Former president Barack Obama takes aim at Donald Trump in his speech at the Democratic Party’s nominating convention, mocking him as a “78-year-old who hasn’t stopped whining” with a “weird obsession with crowd sizes.”
Puerto Cabello (AFP) – On a beach in northwestern Venezuela’s Puerto Cabello, near the El Palito refinery, the sand and rocks along the shore are stained with thick, dark puddles. With an oil spill affecting fishing and tourism in the region, some fishermen are taking the environmental issue into their own hands while waiting for state oil giant PDVSA to help.
Paris (AFP) – “There is no clear-cut threat to the Paralympic Games,” says outgoing French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin with regard to the risks that could affect the Paralympic Games, organised from 28 August to 8 September. Security for some delegations, including Israel, “will be provided in the same way as for the Olympic Games,” he adds.
Campobello di Mazara (AFP) – Sicilian lemon producer Rosario Cognata is furious: his fruits are burning and rotting due to droughts, while only a few kilometres from his field lies a dam of rainwater that is frequently discharged into the sea instead of being made available to help his crops. This dam, called ‘Trinita’, was built in 1959 and still has no certification to guarantee that it is in good working order. While Sicilians have always known drought, global warming is accentuating its frequency and intensity.
London (AFP) – London Zoo carries out its annual weigh-in of animals including Humboldt penguins, Asiatic lions, and Bactrian camels, with the data collected from over 10,000 animals and almost 400 species shared on a database with zookeepers across the globe in efforts to help the preservation of endangered species.
Caracas (AFP) – A Super Blue Moon appears in the sky across the world on August 19, 2024. It is a celestial occurrence which combines two events: a supermoon, when the moon is closest to Earth, and a blue moon — the third full moon in a season of four.
