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French leader to meet Iran's Raisi to urge revival of deal
French leader to meet Iran's Raisi to urge revival of deal
World
by  AFP

French President Emmanuel Macron will meet Tuesday with his Iranian counterpart as Paris warns the clerical state that it will not get a better proposal to revive a nuclear accord. The Elysee Palace said Macron will meet President Ebrahim Raisi on Tuesday on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York and with US President Joe Biden the next day.

Twilight of the Tigris: Iraq's mighty river drying up
Twilight of the Tigris: Iraq's mighty river drying up
World
by  AFP

It was the river that is said to have watered the biblical Garden of Eden and helped give birth to civilisation itself. Human activity and climate change have choked its once mighty flow through Iraq, where -- with its twin river the Euphrates -- it made Mesopotamia a cradle of civilisation thousands of years ago.

Covid curbs leave Hong Kong musicians on their 'last dollar'
Covid curbs leave Hong Kong musicians on their 'last dollar'
World
by  AFP

A thundering thrash metal riff reverberated through a Hong Kong bar, but the music was being live-streamed from a studio across town to obey pandemic rules that have outlawed small gigs for more than 650 days. "It is a huge, huge factor in the incubation of talent," he said of small venues and live bars.

Sport leaders eye Africa as talent source, investment target
Sport leaders eye Africa as talent source, investment target
Africa
by  AFP

Africa offers a vast underdeveloped market for global sports, with thousands of athletes ready to join international ranks if only there were major investment, industry leaders and stars say. Silver also stressed that in order to attract the "literally billions in investments that are needed," sport in Africa must be seen as economically viable.

Fear, defiance as fighting rages in Myanmar's north
Fear, defiance as fighting rages in Myanmar's north
World
by  AFP

Anti-coup fighters in Myanmar patrol the smouldering ruins of a burned village after what they say was a reprisal attack by junta troops struggling to crush resistance to last year's military coup. Rare footage obtained by AFP shows a region wracked by violence, and criss-crossed by junta troops, pro-military militias and anti-coup fighters, where internet access is regularly cut by authorities.

Drought decimates Texas' key cotton crop
Drought decimates Texas' key cotton crop
Business and Economy
by  AFP

On Sutton Page's ravaged cotton fields, there is almost nothing left to pick. This year, his harvest is "not well," he says, but in reality, the drought in northern Texas has proven to be a disaster, with most of Page's neighbors not even bothering to harvest their crop, leaving "bare, bare fields."