AFP Video

Kyiv (Ukraine) (AFP) – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky brands as “absolutely unacceptable and frankly anti-European” any move by the European Union to extend curbs on Ukrainian grain imports to protect local farmers who fear being undercut. Last week, Ukraine’s European neighbours urged the EU to extend a grain import ban until the end of the year, amid fears local farmers would suffer due to diverted Ukrainian supplies.

Messina (Italy) (AFP) – Italian firefighters battle wildfires on the island of Sicily, with one wildfire getting so close to Palermo airport that it shut down for several hours on Tuesday morning. A heatwave has hung over the south of Italy, with the island’s civil protection agency reporting a temperature of 47.6 degrees Celsius (117 degrees Celsius) in Catania on July 24.

Yachimata (Japan) (AFP) – As Japan’s population ages and dwindles, researchers say the country could be facing an ‘era of mass closures’ in which thousands of small businesses die off, with major consequences for the economy. One such firm is Kiyoshi Hashimoto’s machinery factory outside Tokyo, which he founded nearly four decades ago.

New York (AFP) – Deaf, hard-of-hearing and hearing people experience a live concert in New York with the aid of haptic suits, wrist and ankle bracelets. The wearable technology, provided by the company Music: Not Impossible, translates sound onto the skin via vibrations.

Malmö (Sweden) (AFP) – Swedish police remove climate campaigner Greta Thunberg and other fellow activists from a protest, hours after a court fined her for disobeying law enforcement at a rally last month.

El Kseur (Algeria) (AFP) – UGC images filmed from the heights of El Kseur, southwest of Bejaia, show forest fires and a plane in the middle of a thick smoke cloud, as the country continues to experience an unprecedented heatwave.

Los Angeles (AFP) – Tue Nguyen became a TikTok star by posting videos of herself cooking Vietnamese dishes during the pandemic. She’s now opened a restaurant.

Vinsobres (France) (AFP) – On the hills of Vinsobres, in southern France, grape vines and hundred-year-old oak trees thrive in harmony. The practice of planting trees and crops on the same plot could help mitigate the effects of frost in winter or episodes of extreme heat.

Malmö (Sweden) (AFP) – Swedish climate campaigner Greta Thunberg was fined for disobeying police at a rally last month, but says she acted out of necessity due to the climate crisis.

La Chaux-de-Fonds (Switzerland) (AFP) – A violent storm sweeps through La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland on July 24. Local news media reported widespread damage across the Swiss city, with winds of up to 200 km per hour.