Russia left out of Saudi peace talks on Ukraine (www.dw.com)
Officials from about 30 countries have been invited to participate in peace talks for Ukraine in the Saudi port city of Jeddah on August 5 and 6....
No Explosives Found on Rooftops of Zaporizhia Nuclear Plant (www.telesurenglish.net)
On Friday, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said that its experts had found no mines or explosives on the rooftops of two reactor units and turbine halls at the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant....
Human Rights Watch urges US to stop atrocities in Sudan’s Darfur (www.aljazeera.com)
A leading human rights group has urged the United States to stem “ongoing atrocities” in Sudan’s western region of Darfur as Washington holds the presidency of the United Nations Security Council in August....
Niger: ECOWAS finalizes potential military intervention plan (www.dw.com)
Defense chiefs of the West African regional group, ECOWAS, on Friday, agreed on a plan for intervention in Niger if its coup leaders do not restore constitutional order....
Food prices rise after Russia ends grain deal, India restricts rice exports (www.aljazeera.com)
Global prices for food commodities like rice and vegetable oil have risen for the first time in months after Russia pulled out of a wartime agreement allowing Ukraine to ship grain to the world, and India restricted some of its rice exports, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization has said....
China’s rising clout in Latin America setting off alarm bells: US general (www.scmp.com)
The US risks getting “out-competed” by China in Latin America, particularly in telecommunications and other critical infrastructure, setting off alarm bells for the US, a senior American military official said on Friday....
Voyager 2: Nasa fully back in contact with lost space probe (www.bbc.co.uk)
A feud between a patriarch and a militia leader adds to the woes of Iraqi Christians (apnews.com)
IRBIL, Iraq (AP) — Iraqi Christians have struggled since the Nineveh plains, their historic homeland of rolling hills dotted with wheat and barley fields, were wrested back from Islamic State extremists six years ago....
Ex-Pakistan PM Imran Khan Arrested After Being Sentenced To 3 Years In Jail; Disqualified For 5 Years (www.freepressjournal.in)
Bahamas Promises Police Aid for Haiti (www.telesurenglish.net)
The Bahamas would send 150 defense agents to Haiti if the United Nations (UN) approves such an offer. The news was released by the Bahamas Ministry of Foreign Affairs in a communiqué....
Crossing the Alps: An adventure report (www.dw.com)
On a July morning shortly before 9 a.m., my adventure of crossing the Alps began. Along with my father and a handful of other mountain sports enthusiasts, I traveled all the way to Wildental, Austria to take on the challenge....
Videos Show Russia Is Lying About Secret Attack on its Ship (www.thedailybeast.com)
India’s Kashmir clampdown continues four years after Article 370 abrogated (www.aljazeera.com)
Saturday marks four years of India scrapping the special status of Indian-administered Kashmir, New Delhi’s most far-reaching move against the disputed region in seven decades....
Russia court sentences Alexey Navalny, jailed opposition leader and Putin critic, to 19 more years in prison (www.cbsnews.com)
A Russian " " court " " on Friday issued its verdict in a new case against jailed opposition leader Alexey Navalny, convicting the politician of promoting “extremism” and extending his time in prison by 19 years, according to Russian state media and his own team.
Iran's oil shipments to China triple in 3 years despite sanctions (www.al-monitor.com)
In March, China brokered the agreement that resumed diplomatic relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia. China has been Iran’s top trading partner for 10 straight years.
Australia’s prime minister stands firm against the US on WikiLeaks founder’s prosecution (apnews.com)
Blinkered Blinken. USA Land of the free, my bollax
Ocean heat record broken, with grim implications for the planet (www.bbc.com)
The average daily global sea surface temperature beat a 2016 record this week, according to the EU’s climate change service Copernicus....
Spicemas Festival in the Full Swing of Grenada’s Celebrations (www.telesurenglish.net)
Spicemas has started this August 1st with a festive enthusiasm, which exalts the culture of Grenada in all its cultural, artistic and gastronomic richness....
Winter heat wave in Chile offers 'window' to warmer world • FRANCE 24 English (youtube.com)
A winter heat wave bringing historically high temperatures to Chile is a “window” to an increasingly warm future, according to scientists....
Superconductor Stock Frenzy Fizzles in Korea Amid Growing Doubts (www.bloomberg.com)
Ukraine Attempted to Attack Russia's Black Sea Base (www.telesurenglish.net)
On Friday, the Russian Defense Ministry said that two Ukrainian drones attempted to attack the naval base in Novorossiysk, a major Black Sea port, but were destroyed by Russian ships....
Putin opponent Alexei Navalny braces for new verdict as Kremlin clamps down (www.bbc.com)
Russian state prosecutors have called for a 20-year prison sentence for Navalny in an even more restrictive “special regime colony”. Such prisons are normally reserved for Russia’s most dangerous criminals.
Niger coup: Junta scraps military pacts with France (www.dw.com)
Mexico’s President Andres Manuel López Obrador has condemned Texas’s anti-migrant buoys, calling the border enforcement tactic on the Rio Grande river “inhumane” after bodies were found in the waters (www.cnn.com)
he floating barrier, which is intended to block migrants crossing from Mexico, was installed last month without federal authorization, according to the US Justice Department, which is suing the state of Texas over its use of the buoys....
Myanmar poet turned rebel leader seeks new territory; worries about 'ephemeral revolutionaries' (www.reuters.com)
