WORLD

Moscow, Russia | AFP | Twenty years ago on Friday, Russian president Boris Yeltsin appointed his fourth prime minister in less than 18 months: Vladimir Putin, then a relatively unknown security services chief with scant experience of politics. The departing Yeltsin was casting around for a successor and few could have …

Dhaka, Bangladesh | AFP |  Five-year-old Mohammad Ahnaf lies in a makeshift bed in the balcony of a major hospital in Bangladesh’s capital Dhaka, fighting for his life as dengue fever ravages his little body. But his mother Shimul Akhter knows he is one of the lucky ones as Bangladesh grapples …

El Paso, United States | AFP |  Trump consoled victims of mass shootings in Ohio and Texas on Wednesday, but despite promising a message of unity, he continued to rail at opponents while facing protests that his rhetoric on race has fueled extremism. Trump flew to El Paso, Texas, where a …

Kosice, Slovakia | AFP |  As day breaks through smudged tram windows, Slovak workers heading to the U.S. Steel Kosice plant mull their fate after hearing the company plans to sack a fifth of them. Some stare silently at the morning haze behind the chimneys of the sprawling communist-era factory. With …

Washington, United States | AFP |  There might be life on the Moon after all: thousands of virtually indestructible creatures that can withstand extreme radiation, sizzling heat, the coldest temperatures of the universe, and decades without food. These terrifying-sounding beings aren’t aliens but instead microscopic Earthlings known as tardigrades, who likely …

Saint Petersburg, Russia | AFP | When LGBT activist Yelena Grigoryeva found her name on a hit list of a “gay-hunting” group, she did not appear to take the threat seriously. The group called itself “Pila”, meaning “saw”, after the series of Hollywood horror films of the same name, in which …

London, United Kingdom | AFP | Will he, won’t he — and can he be stopped? Westminster is abuzz with talk of whether Britain’s new Prime Minister Boris Johnson will use an election to force through his Brexit plan. Many MPs are deeply opposed to his threat to take Britain out …

Beijing, China | AFP | China warned Tuesday it would take unspecified countermeasures if the United States goes ahead with plans to deploy ground-based intermediate-range missiles in the Asia-Pacific region. The comments come days after US Defense Secretary Mark Esper said Washington was now free to deploy the weapons following its …

Shanghai, China | AFP |  China’s decision to let its currency weaken against the dollar on Monday sent global markets diving further into the red and provoked a Twitter tirade from US President Donald Trump. The deteriorating picture appeared to worsen as official Chinese media reported Beijing ceased purchases of …

Barcelona, Spain | AFP | A Spanish charity that saved 121 migrants in the Mediterranean last week vowed Monday to continue sea rescue operations, the latest NGO to defy moves by European nations to shut down a route exploited by trafficking gangs. Proactiva Open Arms founder Oscar Camps called on EU …