WORLD

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 …

Washington, United States | AFP | US President Donald Trump on Monday told a nation mourning the death of 31 people in two weekend mass shootings that he rejected racism and white supremacist ideology, moving to blunt criticism that his anti-immigrant rhetoric fuels violence. As flags flew at half mast at …

Washington, United States | AFP | Black men in the United States are 2.5 times more likely to be killed by the police than their white counterparts, according to a new study published Monday that quantified racial disparities in law enforcement violence. High-profile killings including those of Michael Brown, Charleena …

Paris, France | AFP | July 2019 was the hottest month across the globe ever recorded, according to data released Monday by the European Union’s satellite-based Earth observation network. “While July is usually the warmest month of the year for the globe, according to our data it also was the warmest …

Kingersheim, France | AFP |  Christine, a retiree from southwest France, has been attending marches with climate activists since November. Now she’s taking things a step further with a stay in a training camp for activists. Participants have 12 days to learn a range of techniques developed by veteran activists: …

Washington, United States | AFP |  Retired union organizer Anna Burger lives by a busy road just a minute’s walk from a metro station in the US capital Washington, but every morning she wakes up to a birdsong symphony. Butterflies, squirrels and even the occasional deer also come to visit the …