WORLD

Paris, France | AFP |  A welcome temperature drop came to western parts of Europe on Sunday, after almost a week-long heatwave, but hundreds of Spanish firefighters and soldiers continued to battle three major blazes. France too had to contend with fire in the south of the country — and some …

Baghdad, Iraq | AFP |  Iraq is establishing a financial “loophole” to continue buying vital gas and electricity from Iran despite US sanctions, AFP has learned, mirroring a European mechanism that came into effect Friday. The “special purpose vehicle” (SPV) would allow Iraq to pay for imported Iranian energy in …

Seoul, South Korea | AFP | North Korea on Monday hailed the weekend meeting between leader Kim Jong Un and US President Donald Trump in the Demilitarized Zone as “historic”, as analysts said Pyongyang was looking to shape the narrative to its own agenda. The two leaders agreed to “resume and …

Tirana, Albania | AFP |  Albania will on Sunday hold bitterly disputed municipal polls that have snowballed into a democratic crisis, with the opposition boycotting the vote and refusing to recognise its results. The tense election run-up has seen bouts of violence as opposition supporters attacked polling stations around the country …

  Panmunjom, South Korea | AFP | Donald Trump stepped onto North Korean soil Sunday as he met Pyongyang’s leader Kim Jong Un in the Demilitarized Zone dividing the peninsula, in a symbolic diplomatic spectacle and a first for any American president. After shaking hands with Kim over the line …

Hong Kong, China | AFP |  Once dubbed “Asia’s Finest”, Hong Kong’s police are fighting allegations of using excessive violence against protesters, their headquarters besieged twice in the last week as calls for an independent inquiry into their tactics swell. Pro-democracy lawmaker Wu Chi-wai was aghast as thick clouds of …

Osaka, Japan | AFP | US President Donald Trump on Saturday invited North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to meet for a historic handshake at the demilitarised zone that divides the Korean peninsula, and said he would have “no problem” stepping over the border. The invitation issued on Twitter caught observers …

Lampedusa, Italy | AFP |  The Sea-Watch 3 charity ship carrying dozens of migrants rescued off Libya forced its way into the Italian port of Lampedusa on Friday night after a lengthy standoff, the charity said. Sea-Watch spokesman Ruben Neugebauer told AFP the boat’s German captain Carola Rackete, 31, was arrested …

London, United Kingdom | AFP | London’s iconic Tower Bridge celebrates its 125th anniversary on Sunday by showing off the weird and wacky alternative designs that were nearly built instead. The globally-recognised landmark which opens and closes for large boats plying the River Thames, has become one of the symbols of …

Carpentras, France | AFP |  Temperatures in France surpassed 45 degrees Celsius (113 degrees Fahrenheit) Friday for the first time on record as Europe sweltered in an early summer heatwave that has caused several deaths. With France, Spain, Italy and parts of central Europe hard hit by the record-breaking temperatures, officials …