WORLD

Bihac, Bosnia and Herzegovina | AFP |  Stranded in Bosnia, thousands of migrants face yet one more hurdle on their journey towards the European Union: the scorching summer heat in the Balkans. Under a leaden sky, Saleh Alhasan and his friends hurry to reach the shade of the woods after failing …

Mirny, Russia | AFP | Diamonds are forever, and so is the permanently frozen ground of Yakutia in north eastern Siberia, home to huge diamond deposits that ensure Russia’s supremacy in world production of the luxury stone. In the city of Mirny, the sun shines almost continuously during the region’s white …

Athens, Greece | AFP | Greek voters are casting their ballots on Sunday in the country’s first national election of the post-bailout era, with leftist Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras’s Syriza party expected to be ousted by the conservative opposition. Polling stations opened at 07.00 am local time (0400 GMT)and will close …

Electric scooters: not so eco-friendly after all? Paris, France | AFP |  E-scooters touted as zero-carbon urban transport are flooding city streets worldwide, but just how green they are remains an open question. The companies — from multinationals to local start-ups — distributing them insist the omnipresent two-wheel vehicles are a …

Paris, France | AFP | They appeared in June last year as Paris was waking up from its annual all-night Festival of Music: hundreds of green-and-black electric scooters dotting the pavements of the capital. The timing was perfect, with the city struggling with a botched revamp of its main bike-sharing service …

Paris, France | AFP |  Acute malnutrition, forced labour, torture: NGOs have sharpened their tone against the shocking conditions endured by refugees and migrants in Libya, where over 40 people were killed in an air strike on a detention centre. Tuesday night’s strike on the centre at Tajoura near the capital …

Stockholm, Sweden | AFP |   Honour, debts, and prestige are serving as the pretext for an increasing number of deadly shootings that challenge the ideals of equality and social harmony on which modern Sweden was built. “You strengthen your own gang by eliminating an external threat and you gain prestige,” …

London, United Kingdom | AFP |  London summoned Beijing’s ambassador for a dressing down Wednesday in a rapidly escalating diplomatic feud over protests in Hong Kong as China told Britain to keep its “hands off” the city and “show respect”. The demonstrations sweeping the former British colony have also revived tensions …

Rome, Italy | AFP |  Russian President Vladimir Putin arrives in Rome Thursday for a lightning visit including talks with the pope and Italy’s populist government, which has called for an easing of sanctions despite Moscow’s ongoing crisis with the West. Rome’s historic centre is on security lockdown for the visit …

New York, United States | AFP | Boeing, under scrutiny after two crashes that claimed 346 lives, announced Wednesday it would give $100 million to communities and families affected by the 737 MAX disasters. Describing the sum as an “initial investment” over multiple years, the company said it would work with …