Vilnius (AFP) – World leaders arrive on day two of a NATO summit in Vilnius, the Lithuanian capital, where alliance leaders are expected to discuss Ukraine’s potential membership. So far, no concrete path towards Kyiv joining has been agreed, but NATO powers “are ready to provide security guarantees”, says Charles Michel, European Council president.
Geneva (AFP) – Pakistan and other Organisation of Islamic Cooperation countries secured an urgent debate at the UN’s top rights body on Tuesday after a Koran was burnt outside Stockholm’s main mosque. However, some Western nations reluctantly felt that the draft resolution encroaches too far on free speech.
Phnom Penh (AFP) – In white tuk-tuks kitted out with megaphones and banners, supporters of a tiny Cambodian opposition party wind down a dusty Phnom Penh street, rallying votes ahead of the country’s one-sided election. It will be a herculean task for the little-known Grassroots Democratic Party to win any seats in Cambodia’s 125-member National Assembly at the July 23 election — widely dismissed as a sham.
Yongin (South Korea) (AFP) – A South Korean zoo has announced the birth of two giant panda twins — the first to be born in the country — triggering an outpouring of excitement online. The female twins were born at the Everland theme park near the capital Seoul on Friday, the zoo revealed in a video posted on its YouTube channel. The video, uploaded Tuesday, shows the mother, Ai Bao, in labour, rolling around her cage before giving birth to two tiny panda cubs.
Yongin (South Korea) (AFP) – A South Korean zoo has announced the birth of two giant panda twins — the first to be born in the country — triggering an outpouring of excitement online. The female twins were born at the Everland theme park near the capital Seoul on Friday, the zoo revealed in a video posted on its YouTube channel. The video, uploaded Tuesday, shows the mother, Ai Bao, in labour, rolling around her cage before giving birth to two tiny panda cubs.
Madrid (AFP) – As Spain is facing a new summer heatwave, about 800 homeless people have to deal with temperatures up about to 38 degrees Celsius (100 Fahrenheit) in Madrid, and above 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) in other parts of the country.
Nairobi (AFP) – Kenyan President William Ruto greets his Iranian counterpart Ebrahim Raisi in Nairobi, as Raisi kicks off his Africa tour. The rare visit to Kenya, Uganda and Zimbabwe marks the latest diplomatic effort by the Islamic Republic to forge new alliances and ease its international isolation. IMAGES
Washington (AFP) – The city of Washington, DC is hosting 12 original sketches and drawings by Leonardo da Vinci that are being shown in the United States for the first time and illustrate the Renaissance master’s interests and research into fields including geometry and physics. “He fancied himself an engineer before he fancied himself an artist, and the evidence is in his drawings,” says Richard Reyes-Gavilan, the executive director of the District of Columbia Public Library, the institution hosting the exhibition.
Milton (Canada) (AFP) – Scientists designated a small body of water near Toronto, Canada as ground-zero for the Anthropocene, the proposed geological epoch defined by humanity’s massive and destabilizing impact on the planet.
Kathmandu (AFP) – The bodies of all six people aboard a tourist helicopter which crashed Tuesday soon after take-off in Nepal’s Everest region are brought back to the capital Kathmandu.
