Tehama (United States) (AFP) – Firefighters in California battle the state’s largest blaze of 2024, which has prompted thousands of evacuations and burned an area larger than the city of Los Angeles. The Park Fire outside of Chico has been raging since late July.
Dhaka (AFP) – Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus was sworn into office Thursday as Bangladesh’s interim leader, vowing to guide the country back to democracy after a student-led uprising ended the 15-year rule of Sheikh Hasina.
Caracas (AFP) – Venezuelans prepare to hold a vigil in the capital Caracas, calling for political prisoners to be freed in the country. Venezuela’s election authority declared President Nicolas Maduro the winner of the July 28 vote despite not releasing detailed results, sparking protests that have left at least 24 people dead. IMAGES
Brighton (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Images captured in Brighton, southern England, on 7 August show police officers escorting a small number of anti-immigration protesters away from a larger anti-racism demonstration, on an evening in which a wave of anticipated street violence failed to materialise. Around 100 far-right and counter protests were advertised on social media and thousands of specialist police officers were put on standby ahead of potential clashes.
Paris (AFP) – The captains of the French and Spanish men’s Olympic football teams say they are gunning for the gold medal, on the eve of the final. Spain’s Abel Ruiz describes the possibility as a “huge dream”, while Franc’s Alexandre Lacazette says “the fact that we’re here is down to our belief.”
Vienna (AFP) – The Vienna leg of Taylor Swift’s mammoth tour has been cancelled after Austrian police uncovered and disrupted a terror plot targeting one of the three shows set to be held in the city. Authorities say a 19-year-old man, who had sworn allegiance to Islamic State, has been arrested, with police finding chemicals at his home. A second man believed to have contacted the suspect has also been arrested.
Amman (AFP) – The UK’s Development Minister Anneliese Dodds expresses the government’s concern over a possible escalation of conflict in the Middle East. “An escalation of the conflict would be in no one’s interest,” she says during a trip to Jordan, where she is visiting a UN warehouse containing aid for Gaza.
London (AFP) – Thousands of anti-racism demonstrators took to the streets around the UK on 7 August to oppose days of far-right violence that has placed police on high alert and resulted in hundreds of arrests. In cities around the country, including London and Birmingham, demonstrations were organised near migrant support centres after lists of potential locations were shared on social media by right-wing activist groups.
El Bajo (Venezuela) (AFP) – A putrid smell hangs over the black-stained shores of Lake Maracaibo in Venezuela, where an oil slick is emblematic of the steep decline in the country’s once-enviable petroleum industry. N°364M2TN
Rio de Janeiro (AFP) – Images of a fire in the Pavao-Pavaozinho favela in Copacabana, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. IMAGES
