Moskau (AFP) – Euphemisms to talk about the dead, military jargon, patriotic poems and self-censorship: two and a half years of war in Ukraine have had an impact on Russian language and literature.
Peshawar (AFP) – Supporters of jailed ex-prime minister Imran Khan from his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party’s heartland province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa react to the government seeking to ban Khan’s political party. Former cricket star Khan’s arrest on corruption charges last year saw supporters storm military buildings and unleash a crackdown against his PTI party, culminating in elections marred by allegations of pre-poll rigging.
Nuseirat (AFP) – Israel continues its bombing of Gaza after its key military backer, the United States, renewed criticism of its ally over the high civilian casualty toll of the war. The Gaza war was triggered by Hamas’s unprecedented October 7 attack on Israel that resulted in the deaths of 1,194 people, according to an AFP tally. The militants also seized 251 hostages. Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed at least 38,713 people in Gaza, says the Hamas-run health ministry.
(AFP) – Workers remove what scientists believe is the body of a spade-toothed whale — a species so rare it has never been seen alive — from a New Zealand beach. According to the New Zealand conservation department, the first intact specimen was from a mother and calf stranding in 2010, and a further stranding in 2017 added one more specimen to the collection. It may take several weeks or months for the DNA to be processed and a final identification confirmed.
Milwaukee (AFP) – Donald Trump receives a hero’s welcome at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee as he makes his first public appearance since being wounded in an assassination attempt. The Republican Party formally confirmed Donald Trump as its nominee to take on President Joe Biden in November’s US election.
London (AFP) – In an AFP interview, Nobel Peace Prize laureate and activist Malala Yousafzai calls for Pakistan to stop deporting undocumented Afghans, especially women and girls, back to Afghanistan. The activist was speaking on her birthday, recognised by the UN as Malala Day.
(AFP) – Donald Trump has picked US Senator J.D. Vance, a best-selling author who once called him “America’s Hitler”, to be his running mate.
Hengdian (China) (AFP) – Braving loneliness and unfamiliar cities, young Chinese professionals are flocking to alternative career options. Their choices reflect broader changes in the world’s second-largest economy after decades of breakneck growth.
Diwaniyah (Iraq) (AFP) – Hundreds of Iraqis in the southern province of Diwaniyah protest against power cuts and water shortages during the extreme heat of summer.
Mogadishu (AFP) – The death toll from a car bombing at a cafe in Somalia’s capital that was packed with football fans watching the Euro 2024 final has risen to nine, according to security sources. 20 others have been wounded in the explosion.
