Fans react to New Zealand recording a historic 1-0 victory over Norway in the opening game of the Women’s World Cup. It was the country’s first-ever win at the World Cup and came in front of more than 42,000 in Auckland, the biggest crowd in New Zealand football history.
Phoenix (AFP) – Showers, ice treats and air-conditioned buildings: the Phoenix Zoo goes to “extra effort” to keep its animals cool during a record heat wave hitting Arizona’s capital. The temperature has been well above 110 degrees Fahrenheit (43 degrees Celsius) for 20 consecutive days.
Odesa (Ukraine) (AFP) – Ukrainian rescue workers sift through the smoking rubble left after a barrage of Russian missiles and drones hit the Ukrainian port city of Odesa for a third night in a row. A number of residential buildings as well as stores, cafes and banks in the city were damaged, while some continue to burn in the hours after the strikes. “One person died,” the region’s military administration chief Oleg Kiper tells AFP, adding that “their body was discovered just a couple of minutes ago under the rubble.”
Hsinchu (Taiwan) (AFP) – Artificial Intelligence will be the “defining mega-trend” for the global computing industry, Lisa Su, the head of chip giant AMD says during an honorary degree ceremony in Taiwan, where the majority of the world’s semiconductors powering the technology is produced.
Brussels (AFP) – Arriving at a Brussels meeting of EU foreign ministers, Brussels’ foreign policy chief Josep Borrell expresses concern about Russia’s recent exit from the Black Sea grain deal. Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine last year saw Black Sea ports blocked by warships until the United Nations and Turkey brokered a grain agreement in July 2022. The Kremlin exited the deal after months of complaining that provisions allowing the export of Russian food and fertilisers had not been honoured. The deal enabled the export of more than 32 million tonnes of Ukrainian grain over the last year, bringing relief to countries facing critical food shortages such as Sudan, Afghanistan and Yemen.
Montilla (Spain) (AFP) – In southern Spain, the intense summer heat is disrupting the vineyards and causing the harvest to arrive two weeks earlier than last year. At the Bodegas Robles winery, pickers work in the early hours of the morning to avoid the day’s heat.
Baghdad (AFP) – Protesters clash with security forces near the Swedish embassy in Baghdad during demonstrations ahead of a planned burning of a Koran in Sweden. SOUNDBITES
Moscow (AFP) – Russian president Vladimir Putin says “the continuation of the grain deal in the form in which it existed has lost all meaning.” Speaking at a meeting with the Russian government, Putin accused Western countries of turning the now-expired deal protecting Ukrainian grain exports through the Black Sea, which alleviated fears of food crisis, into political leverage.
Tokyo (AFP) – A courtroom win and new anti-discrimination law could be seen as signs Japan is warming to the protection of LGBTQ rights. But activists warn of a dark side. They say recent months have seen a rising tide of hateful online rhetoric, particularly targeting transgender women.
Shenzhen (China) (AFP) – Chinese e-commerce worker Twiggy He’s home is smaller than 10 square metres and located in her office car park, but with its open kitchen, bathtub and electric piano, her refitted van is the envy of her colleagues. The 28-year-old is one of a growing number of young people in major Chinese cities who have taken one look at sky-high real estate prices and sought an alternative arrangement.
