Paris (AFP) – France’s new right-wing prime minister, Michel Barnier, has started consulting all sides to cobble together a government capable of mustering a majority in parliament after two months of political deadlock. The 73-year-old, a former foreign minister who recently acted as the European Union’s Brexit negotiator, is the oldest premier in the history of modern France.
Janājah (AFP) – In Iraq, the date palm and its bounty are national icons, but they are being battered by drought. Once known as the country of “30 million palm trees”, Iraq’s ancient date-growing culture had already suffered from upheaval, especially during the 1980-88 war with Iran, before climate change became a major threat.
Oslo (AFP) – “Ukraine needs more military support now. The quickest way to end this war is to provide weapons to Ukraine” insists NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg at a press conference in Oslo. He made the comments while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was appearing in person at a meeting of Ukraine’s international backers in Germany.
Phayargyi (Myanmar) (AFP) – An Asian elephant has given birth to rare twins on a timber camp in southern Myanmar. The brother and sister were born at the the Wingabaw elephant camp near Bago on August 26. Fewer than 50,000 Asian elephants remain in the wild worldwide.
Vladivostok (Russia) (AFP) – Speaking during the annual Eastern Economic Forum in the Russian city of Vladivostok, President Vladimir Putin says he is ready for talks with Ukraine, on the basis of an aborted deal between Moscow’s and Kyiv’s negotiators reached in Istanbul in 2022. He also states Russia’s “primary” goal is to capture Ukraine’s Donbas region, as his forces advance fast westwards in the Donbas.
Winder (United States) (AFP) – A 14-year-old boy has killed four people, including two students, and wounded nine more when he opened fire at a high school in the US state of Georgia, the latest chapter in America’s gun violence crisis. The shooter was taken into custody and will be tried as an adult on murder charges.
Eldoret (Kenya) (AFP) – 33-year-old Ugandan Olympian Rebecca Cheptegei has died in Eldoret, Kenya, four days after being set on fire by her boyfriend in her home. The attack is the latest incident of gender-based violence in the East African country, where activists have warned of a femicide epidemic.
Vladivostok (Russia) (AFP) – Russian President Vladimir Putin says he will support US Vice President Kamala Harris in the November presidential election. Speaking during the annual Eastern Economic Forum in the Russian city of Vladivostok, Putin says current US President Joe Biden “recommended that all his supporters back Mrs Harris, so we will do the same, we will support her”. He adds that Donald Trump, Republican opponent, imposed more sanctions on Russia “than any president has ever imposed before.”
Ngaruawahia (New Zealand) (AFP) – New Zealand’s Maori chiefs anoint a 27-year-old queen as their new monarch, a surprise choice hailed as a symbol of change for the country’s Indigenous community. Nga Wai hono i te po Paki is the youngest daughter of King Tuheitia Pootatau Te Wherowhero VII, who died on August 30 after heart surgery.
Ngaruawahia (New Zealand) (AFP) – New Zealand’s Maori chiefs anoint a 27-year-old queen as their new monarch, a surprise choice hailed as a symbol of change for the country’s Indigenous community. Nga Wai hono i te po Paki is the youngest daughter of King Tuheitia Pootatau Te Wherowhero VII, who died on August 30 after heart surgery.
