Nigeria's so-called tax collectors: Menacing and mafia-like (www.bbc.com)
The 34-year-old’s job is to collect “taxes” for what he calls the “community” from taxis and 18-seater buses that operate in that part of the city....
FDA approves AstraZeneca, Sanofi shot that protects infants and toddlers against RSV (ground.news)
Xi wants to make the Great Firewall of China even greater (www.theregister.com)
Over the weekend Chinese president Xi Jinping gave a directive to officials to build a Beijing-supervised “security barrier” around its internet....
Jill Biden heading to Paris next week as US rejoins UNESCO (thehill.com)
First lady Jill Biden will travel to France next week to speak at an event to mark the United States rejoining a United Nations-led education group, the White House said Monday....
Death toll in Kenya starvation cult case passes 400 (www.france24.com)
Death toll in Kenya starvation cult case passes 400...
Naples man honors Holocaust hero Raoul Wallenberg with statue in Sweden (news.yahoo.com)
Raoul Wallenberg...
Spain: polls suggest government change (www.euractiv.com)
Spain is heading to the polls next Sunday to elect a new national parliament, and one of the EU’s most powerful member states may get a new cabinet, as recent polls suggest that the left-of-centre coalition and their regionalist allies may lose seats necessary for the continuation of the incumbent minority government....
Tory MPs condemn delay to ban on LGBTQ+ conversion practices (www.theguardian.com)
Senior Conservative MPs have accused the government of a “moral failing” for delaying the long-promised ban on conversion practices that they say damage the lives of LGBT+ people....
DNA database to be used to crack down on dog faeces in French town (www.theguardian.com)
Spanish activists vandalize superyacht in Ibiza believed to belong to billionaire Walmart heiress (localnews8.com)
US gives ‘green light’ to European countries to train Ukrainians on F-16 fighter jets (www.kvoa.com)
Thai PM candidate Pita open to managing pace of reform agenda (www.reuters.com)
BANGKOK, July 18 (Reuters) - Thailand’s prime ministerial hopeful said on Tuesday he was willing to manage the pace of his Move Forward party’s ambitious reform drive if he becomes leader, but vowed no retreat from a plan to change a law that forbids insulting the monarchy....
Two dead in explosions on Crimea bridge, says Russia - as it blames Ukraine for attack (news.sky.com)
Russia pulls out of Ukraine grain deal, in potential blow to global food supplies (whdh.com)
US, S.Korean Officials Huddle for New Nuclear War Planning Talks (japannews.yomiuri.co.jp)
SEOUL (Reuters) – South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol said on Tuesday a new nuclear consultative group between South Korea and the United States would be a “starting point” to build a strong and effective deterrence against North Korea....
Greece wildfires: 1,200 children evacuated from summer camp as blaze nears (www.bbc.com)
More than a thousand children have been evacuated from a summer camp after wildfires broke out in Greece....
What happened to the Crimea bridge and why is it important? (www.aljazeera.com)
Traffic on the single bridge that links Russia to Moscow-annexed Crimea and serves as a key supply route for the Kremlin’s forces in the war with Ukraine came to a standstill on Monday after one of its sections was blown up, killing a couple and wounding their daughter....
Russia halts participation in Black Sea grain deal: Kremlin (www.aljazeera.com)
“The Black Sea agreements ceased to be valid today,” Peskov told reporters on Monday afternoon....
Minnesota mayor faces pressure to resign or meet LGBTQ+ group's demands after his comments on Pride (www.winnipegfreepress.com)
US chip lobby presses Biden to refrain from more China curbs (www.aljazeera.com)
The US-based Semiconductor Industry Association has called on President Joe Biden’s administration to “refrain from further restrictions” on chip sales to China as chief executives from the biggest US semiconductor firms planned to visit Washington this week to press their views on China policy....
AT&T and Verizon’s ancient lead cables have US lawmakers demanding action (arstechnica.com)
cross-posted from: lemdro.id/post/104472...
Australia baffled as unidentified mystery object washes up on beach (BBC News) (www.bbc.com)
The fatal contradictions of China-bashing (mronline.org)
The contradictions of China-bashing in the United States begin with how often it is flat-out untrue....