Khot (Armenia) (AFP) – Farmers from across Armenia gather for a sheep shearing festival in the southern Armenian Syunik region. Koryun Baghdasaryan, one of the competitors, says that while competition shearing is supposed to be fast, “the main thing is to shear accurately, avoid damaging the sheep’s skin and keep the wool clean”.
Rome (AFP) – Dozens of faithful celebrate Angelus prayer in the courtyard of the Gemelli hospital under the window where Pope Francis is hospitalized. Francis underwent a three-hour operation at the Gemelli hospital in Rome on Wednesday, the latest health procedure for the 86-year-old leader of the Catholic Church.
Bogotá (AFP) – Four indigenous children, rescued after wandering for 40 days in the Amazon jungle, recuperate in a Bogotá military hospital as the country continues to celebrate their “miracle” survival. Rescuers had been broadcasting a message recorded by the children’s grandmother, urging them not to move. According to the military, rescuers found the children about five kilometers (three miles) west of the crash site.
Tumbler Ridge (Canada) (AFP) – The British Columbia Wildfire Service has published aerial images of wildfires near the Canadian town of Tumbler Ridge. Nearly 17,800 square miles have burned since the beginning of the year, well above previous averages as the country warms quicker than the rest of the world amid climate change.
Annecy (France) (AFP) – The victims of a knife attack in the French town of Annecy are no longer in life-threatening condition, prosecutor Line Bonnet-Mathis says at a press conference. The Syrian refugee detained in the stabbing of six people including four young children in the French Alpine town of Annecy has been charged with “attempted murder”, the prosecutor also announced.
Kaohsiung (Taiwan) (AFP) – Taiwan’s armed forces hold drills in the southern port of Kaohsiung. The coastguard, military, police and airborne services simulated a hostage situation, accompanied by action-movie music and an ongoing narration of the “attack”. The island holds frequent military drills in the face of increasing military and political pressures from China, including near-daily Chinese warplane incursions into its air defence zone.
Colombia (Colombia) (AFP) – Images released by the Colombia Ministry of Defense twitter show rescuers lifting four children who were lost in the jungle for 40 days to a helicopter. The children will be transported to the municipal hospital for medical treatment, the defense department says.
Karpathos (Greece) (AFP) – The village of Olympos, north of the Greek island of Karpathos, is one of the few matriarchal societies in Europe where women are in charge. Isolated from the rest of the Dodecanese island, the spectacular hillside village has safeguarded this centuries-old tradition, which has survived the Ottoman Empire in the 16th century and Italian rule in the 20th.
Odesa (Ukraine) (AFP) – As flooding from the Kakhovka dam hits Ukraine’s southern Kherson region, the country’s State Border Guard Service releases images of rooftops and furniture floating in the waters near the port city of Odesa. IMAGES
Hong Kong (AFP) – One of two giant inflatable yellow rubber ducks – an art installation by Dutch artist Florentijn Hofman – deflates in Hong Kong’s Victoria Harbour a day after it was unveiled to the public. IMAGES
