Geneva (AFP) – The United Nations voices deep concern over what it says is a climate of fear in Venezuela following the country’s disputed presidential election results. A UN human rights spokesperson says they are troubled by the high number of arbitrary detentions and the disproportionate use of force.
Kyiv (Ukraine) (AFP) – Ukraine says it is not interested in “taking over” territory it has captured during its cross-border incursion into Russia’s Kursk region, calling Ukrainian operations there “absolutely legitimate”. “Ukraine is not interested in taking over the territory of the Kursk region, but we want to protect the lives of our people,” says Ukrainian foreign ministry spokesperson Georgiy Tykhy during a press conference.
Chiayi City (Taiwan) (AFP) – Growing up on Taiwan’s west coast where mollusc farming is popular, Eddie Wang saw discarded oyster shells transformed from waste to function — a memory that inspired him to create a unique and environmentally friendly fabric called “Seawool”.
London (AFP) – After a goat, pelicans, and a cat, a rhinoceros has been added to a menagerie of animals created by graffiti artist Banksy on the streets of London in recent days. This time the work appeared on Westmoor Street, in the Charlton area of the British capital.
Penteli (Greece) (AFP) – A massive wildfire in Athens’ northeastern suburbs has forced thousands of residents to flee their homes and sparked a Greek government appeal for international help.
Mendoza (Argentina) (AFP) – Images of a property in Mendoza where two French rugby players accused of rape in Argentina, Hugo Auradou and Oscar Jegou, are being held under house arrest after their release. The prosecutor’s office said that the players must remain in the country until the end of the trial. IMAGES
Mendoza (Argentina) (AFP) – French rugby players Hugo Auradou and Oscar Jegou leave the Mendoza residence in which they arer serving house arrest in Argentina. Auradou and Jegou, accused of rape and detained in Argentina, were released but must remain in the country until the trial is over, according to a court ruling. IMAGES
Tel Aviv (AFP) – “We are in a period of vigilance and preparation, at a time when the threats from Tehran and Beirut could materialise,” says Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant to the members of the Foreign Affairs and Security Committee. International pressure mounted for a ceasefire in Gaza, with Britain, France and Germany issuing a joint plea for an end to fighting between Israel and Hamas with “no further delay”.
Bayt Dajan (Palestinian Territories) (AFP) – Hussein Jamil, who held a permit to work in Israel for 22 years until the war in Gaza broke out, swears he will never go back to work in the country after setting up greenhouses in Bayt Dajan, near Nablus. In the northern West Bank’s commercial capital, dozens of men have returned to the traditional pursuit of working on the land, rather than board buses to the queues and heavily guarded checkpoints that lead into Israel.
Novo-Ogaryovo (Russia) (AFP) – “The West is at war with us,” says Russian President Vladimir Putin, as he chairs a meeting of government officials on the situation in the Kursk region, where Ukraine launched a surprise offensive into Russian territory last week. Kyiv, Putin says, “with the help of its Western masters, is carrying out their will”. More than 120,000 people have been evacuated away from the fighting, which has seen Ukrainian troops capture more than two dozen settlements.
