Japan to release Fukushima water into ocean starting Aug 24 ( www.reuters.com )
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Ecuador Votes to Ban Oil Drilling in the Amazon in Historic First ( www.globalcitizen.org )
Europe's heatwave turns deadly as 18 burned bodies found in Greek fires ( www.reuters.com )
Iran unveils armed drone resembling America’s MQ-9 Reaper and says it could potentially reach Israel ( apnews.com )
A Summer Rite in Spain: Coping With the British Tourist Invasion ( www.nytimes.com )
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Short circuit: how Europe turns a blind eye to Russia smuggling dual-use microchips ( theins.ru )
In spite of sanctions, microchips from U.S. companies Texas Instruments and Analog Devices continue to be imported into Russia, where they have military applications. These violations are hiding in plain sight, in registered customs data.
80% of bosses say they regret earlier return-to-office plans: ‘A lot of executives have egg on their faces’ ( www.cnbc.com )
Many company executives now regret their initial return-to-office plans, as 80% say they would have approached it differently if they understood employee preferences. While some firms are requiring more in-office time, citing collaboration needs, others are scaling back requirements due to retention issues. Successful companies...
Saudia Arabia, border guards killed hundreds of Ethiopian migrants and asylum seekers, rights activists say ( www.hrw.org )
In some instances, Saudi border guards asked migrants what limb to shoot, and then shot them at close range. Saudi border guards also fired explosive weapons at migrants who were attempting to flee back to Yemen.
Saudi Border Guards Accused of Killing Hundreds of African Migrants ( www.nytimes.com )
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"Wave of murder, rape and domestic violence": Russian women living in fear as Wagner’s convicted murderers return home as free men ( www.theguardian.com )
North Korea punishes women for wearing shorts, declaring them ‘capitalist fashion’ ( www.rfa.org )
China’s police warn fearful investors not to protest, stepping up efforts to clampdown on criticism ( www.afr.com )
China’s police warn fearful investors not to protest...
China helping to arm Russia with helicopters, drones and metals ( www.telegraph.co.uk )
One Chinese company sent 1,000 drones to Russia in the two months before the war, according to figures compiled by Molfar Global, an open source research organisation. The drones were sent to a Russian firm called Samson, which similarly describes itself as a wholesaler of games and toys and appears to be a shell company,...
‘One big adventure’: the Russian minister who fled the draft to drive trucks in the US ( www.theguardian.com )
After years navigating the byzantine corridors of provincial Russian power, Denis Sharonov now works as a truck driver, steering his way through the vast highways of the US.
Lottery sales in China soar, as youth seek to scratch an economic itch amid faltering fiscal forecasts ( hongkongfp.com )
Lottery sales in China soared to almost 274 billion yuan in the first half of the year, an increase of more than 50 percent year-on-year, with analysts pointing to a growing economic malaise as a possible explanation.
Most of the Texas border buoys, installed to deter migrants, are in Mexican territory, study shows ( www.nbcnews.com )
New Covid vaccines are on the way as 'Eris' variant rises ( www.reuters.com )
Some public health experts hope that Americans will welcome the new shot as they would a flu jab. But demand for the vaccine has dropped sharply since 2021 when it first became available and more than 240 million people in the U.S., or 73% of the population, received at least one shot....
China's sliding yuan could be next 'black swan event' for markets, hedge fund EDL says ( www.reuters.com )
EDL Capital, which manages about $1 billion, said factors weighing on the yuan include geopolitical tensions driving Western countries to re-home supply chains that will starve China of foreign investment. China’s labour market has also grown less competitive versus other Asian countries such as Vietnam and India, while a...
Russia shuts down human rights group Sakharov Center ( www.aljazeera.com )
Evergrande: China property giant files for US bankruptcy protection ( www.bbc.com )
Most cell sites back up in Maui ( www.rcrwireless.com )
German prosecutor investigates possible poisoning of Russian journalist ( www.theguardian.com )
In an article published with Russian-language outlet Meduza and US publication n+1 on Tuesday night, journalist Elena Kostyuchenko said she was tipped off by a source in Ukrainian military reconnaissance last March about Russian plans to assassinate her. Kostyuchenko, who was at the time reporting for the now-shuttered...