AFP Video

Baghdad (AFP) – Animals in Baghdad Zoo swelter as temperatures in the Iraqi capital breach 50 degrees Celsius. Siberian tigers, more suited to freezing conditions, try to cool off in pools while parrots drink from water bottles in an attraction that hasn’t seen renovation since the 1970s. “Visitors complain about old cages” says Haider Al-Zamili, the zoo’s director. In recent years, with summers defined by intense heat and drought, the zoo has lost numerous animals to harsh conditions.

Niamey (Niger) (AFP) – Niger’s coup leaders announce that they have “gathered the necessary evidence to prosecute the deposed president” Mohamed Bazoum for “high treason and undermining Niger’s internal and external security”. Colonel Major Amadou Abdramane also criticises the “illegal, inhumane and humiliating sanctions imposed by ECOWAS,” the West African bloc.

New York (AFP) – Taiwanese Vice President William Lai says “when Taiwan is safe, the world will be safe”. Speaking in New York, in front of members of the local Taiwanese community, Lai assures those listening that “we will never be afraid or back down” in the face of “authoritarianism”. Lai is in New York as he travels to Paraguay to attend the inauguration of president-elect Santiago Pena.

Solan (India) (AFP) – At least 24 people have died in flooding and landslides in parts of northern India, officials say, after days of torrential rain destroyed buildings and washed away bridges and vehicles. 16 people have died in Himachal Pradesh over the past 24 hours and at least eight people have been killed since Friday in neighbouring Uttarakhand. Flooding and landslides are common during India’s monsoon season, but experts say climate change is making the phenomena more frequent.

Tokyo (AFP) – Foreign tourists are flocking to Japan for a look inside the insular world of sumo. Japan’s national sport — hundreds of years old and steeped in tradition — has long been a source of fascination outside the country, but interest has spiked in recent years, with some in the industry making the most of the new attention.

Lahaina (United States) (AFP) – Many of those who fled the fast-moving wildfire that killed dozens of people on the Hawaiian island of Maui say they received no warning notice.

Kabul (AFP) – Two years since the Taliban regained power in Afghanistan, life is very different for many people. Women in particular have seen their freedoms curtailed. Nonetheless, others are happy over the improved security situation following the departure of US troops, despite persistent economic hardship.

Buenos Aires (AFP) – Far-right lawmaker Javier Milei celebrates with his supporters after he was chosen in the primary election as a candidate for the upcoming presidential election in October. Milei emerged as the leading candidate, taking more than 30 percent, with 93 percent of the votes counted. IMAGES

Nicosia (AFP) – Chained swings eerily creak in the breeze at the deserted Tivoli amusement park in Cyprus, an island that has caught the eye of the global urban explorer community. Along with the abandoned park, the island’s UN-controlled buffer zone is a major attraction to urbex adepts — a form of trespassing that officials strongly warn against.

Tangerang (Indonesia) (AFP) – Plastic waste has completely covered beaches while water levels in the Indonesian capital has significantly decreased through the tropical nation’s prolonged dry season. “Most of us here are fishermen with smaller boats that are used to fishing just around here. But the waste drove the fish away,” says Arta Kusuma. Searing heat intensified by global warming has affected tens of millions of people in parts of Europe, Asia and North America in July, according to the UN.