Kurume (Japan) (AFP) – At least two people have died and tens of thousands forced to evacuate after torrential rain hit southwest Japan. The downpours caused rivers to burst their banks and triggered deadly landslides. Japan’s Meteorological Agency has described the weather as the “heaviest rain ever experienced” in the region.
Salto (Brazil) (AFP) – It looks like a snowy winter scene, but the Tiete river — in Sao Paulo state, Brazil — is actually covered in a toxic foam. During Brazil’s dry season, the sewage that is dumped into the river creates the foam, which is composed of the phosphates and phosphorus present in biodegradable household products such as soap, detergent, toothpaste and shampoo.
Istanbul (AFP) – Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says he will back Sweden’s NATO candidacy if the European Union resumes membership talks with Ankara. “Open the way to Turkey’s membership of the European Union” he says, speaking at a press conference in Istanbul, “and then we will open it for Sweden”. Erdogan’s comments come on the eve of a NATO summit in Vilnius, the Lithuanian capital.
Bordeaux (AFP) – From football matches to first aid workshops, robots test their abilities at RoboCup, the world’s largest artificial intelligence competition, being hosted this year in Bordeaux. “Technology is really progressing exponentially” says Olivier Ly, the organiser of the event which welcomes 2,500 participants from around 50 countries.
The Hague (AFP) – Dutch Prime Minister, Mark Rutte, declares that he will be stepping away from politics following the collapse of his coalition government on Friday. The decision brings to an end the career of the longest-serving leader in the history of the Netherlands. “I made the decision that I will not be available again as party leader of the VVD” he says, announcing that he will step down after elections due to take place in mid-November at the earliest.
Tokyo (AFP) – They are drenched in sweat, their hands bloodied from clapping, and their voices hoarse from shouting — meet Japan’s predominantly male and unashamedly macho “leadership section” cheerleaders. The cheerleaders are part of a century-old tradition that some fear faces an existential crisis, with fewer students showing an interest in the hardcore art form.
Tokyo (AFP) – Protesters gather outside Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s office in Tokyo to demonstrate against plans to release wastewater from the Fukushima nuclear power plant into the sea. “It can’t be tolerated” says one of those protesting, despite assurances from the government and the UN’s nuclear watchdog that the discharges were in line with similar actions taken at sites elsewhere. Several reactors at Fukushima went into meltdown in 2011 after a tsunami overwhelmed the plant’s cooling system.
Lahore (Pakistan) (AFP) – 21 year old Pakistani mountaineer Shehroze Kashif faces sub-zero temperatures and biting winds in his race to scale the world’s highest peaks. He aims this year to become the youngest person to climb every peak above 8,000 metres (26,247 feet). Kashif, 21, aims this year to become the youngest person to climb every peak above 8,000 metres (26,247 feet), all of which are in Asia, with five in Pakistan.
Tachiarai (Japan) (AFP) – Aerial images of roads alongside the Chikugo river completely submerged after heavy rain in southwestern Japan. One person has been confirmed dead and hundreds of thousands of people have been urged to evacuate their homes as forecasters warned of the “heaviest rain ever” in the region. IMAGES
Manila (AFP) – In a country obsessed with beauty pageants, basketball and boxing, the Philippine national women’s football team hope to ignite interest in their sport when they make the nation’s FIFA World Cup debut. Long considered regional minnows, the Filipinas have rapidly improved under former Australian national women’s coach Alen Stajcic, who describes their achievements as “miraculous”.
