Yreka (United States) (AFP) – Trees are burnt and buildings are in ruins after California’s biggest fire of the year rips through the Klamath National Forest in the northwest of Yreka. Hundreds of personnel were involved in the fight against the fast-moving McKinney Fire, which has torn through more than 55,000 acres (22,000 hectares) near the border with Oregon, forcing thousands from their homes.
Siem Reap (Cambodia) (AFP) – Families of endangered monkeys swing across the canopy of a jungle near Cambodia’s Angkor Wat temple complex — a sign of ecological rejuvenation decades after hunting decimated wildlife at the site.
Khimki (Russia) (AFP) – US basketball star Brittney Griner appears in court in Khimki, Russia, for a hearing in her trial for charges of drug smuggling. She was arrested at a Moscow airport in February for possessing vape cartridges with cannabis oil, as she traveled to to Russia to play club basketball with UMMC Ekaterinburg. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in a bid to find a way home for Griner as well as Paul Whelan, a former Marine jailed on espionage charges he denies. IMAGES
Kuala Lumpur (AFP) – US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi leaves a hotel in Kuala Lumpur under security escort. Pelosi arrived in Malaysia’s capital city on Tuesday, her second stop in an Asian tour that has sparked rage in Beijing over a possible visit to Taiwan. IMAGES
Porto Velho (Brazil) (AFP) – Aerial images of forest fires in the Brazilian Amazon which increased by 8% in July 2022 compared to the same month last year, according to official data released on August 1st. Satellites of the National Institute of Space Research (INPE) detected 5,373 fire outbreaks in the Amazon last month, compared to 4,977 in July 2021.
Washington (AFP) – President Joe Biden announces that the United States has killed the leader of Al-Qaeda, Ayman al-Zawahiri, in an airstrike in Kabul.
Redding (United States) (AFP) – Timelapse footage shows the rapid spread of the McKinney Fire, California’s biggest wildfire so far this year, which has killed two people and forced thousands to evacuate their homes.
Jeddah (Saudi Arabia) (AFP) – Female DJs are increasingly the stars of concerts and private parties across Saudi Arabia, an unthinkable phenomenon just a few years ago in the traditionally ultraconservative kingdom. Lujain Albishi, who performs under the name biirdperson, started experimenting on DJ decks during the pandemic. Her big break came last year when she was invited to perform at MDLBeast Soundstorm, a festival in the capital Riyadh that drew more than 700,000 revellers for performances including a set by superstar French DJ David Guetta.
La Teste-de-Buch (France) (AFP) – Helicopter images show the forest and campsites of the Gironde coastline, in southwestern France, which was ravaged by flames as well as the creation of a deforestation zone by firefighters to prevent the fire from spreading to the Landes. The wildfires burned nearly 21,000 hectares of forest in the region.
Manila (AFP) – The Philippines has no plan to rejoin the International Criminal Court, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr says, with the tribunal’s prosecutor seeking to resume a probe into the ex-president’s deadly drug war. “The Philippines has no intention of rejoining the ICC,” Marcos Jr told reporters, after previously indicating he would not cooperate with the investigation.
