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Can this battery-swapping bike tech unchoke cities? We took a ride
Across Asia, by far the most popular form of personal transport is the motor scooter. Thailand has 20 million of them, Vietnam 45 million, and Indonesia more than 80 million. They are cheap and convenient – but polluting. To cut emissions, cities need to switch to a clean, electric alternative. But how? One Taiwanese company,…
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Operation Lone Star: Girl, 3, dies on Texas migrant bus
EPA By Charlene Anne Rodrigues BBC News US health officials are investigating the death of a three-year-old Venezuelan girl travelling with her parents on a bus carrying asylum seekers from Texas to Chicago. Thousands of migrants have been sent from Texas to Democratic Party-run US cities under a controversial scheme. The girl was taken to…
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Ecuador murder: Fernando Villavicencio’s running-mate steps in to contest election
Reuters By Graeme Baker BBC News The running-mate of a murdered Ecuadorian politician is to contest the presidential election in his place. Fernando Villavicencio was shot three times in the head after a campaign rally in Quito. Police say all suspects are Colombian. His Construye party said it would put Andrea Gonzalez forward as its…
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Watch: Drone footage shows mass devastation in Maui
Video footage captured by a drone shows the destruction caused by wildfires that swept through the historic town of Lahaina, on the Hawaiian island of Maui. Dozens of people on the island have died in the wildfires, with scores of buildings and vehicles also being destroyed. The coastal town attracts some two million tourists a…
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Niger coup: President Mohamed Bazoum ‘in good spirits’ despite detention
AFP By Graeme Baker BBC News Niger’s president is in “good spirits” despite being held in “difficult” conditions by the junta that deposed him, his doctor has said after a visit. Mohamed Bazoum, his son and wife have been held in the basement of his palace in Niamey since the coup on 26 July. “Living…
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South Africa mass shooting: Manhunt launched in KwaZulu-Natal
Getty Images By Cecilia Macaulay BBC News A massive manhunt has been launched in South Africa after a mass shooting in which six people died, police say. Four suspects allegedly shot the victims in Umzali, KwaZulu-Natal, before midnight on Friday, initial information suggests. One of the suspects believed that one of the victims had his…
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Fukushima nuclear disaster: Activists march against Tokyo’s waste plan
Reuters Hundreds of people in South Korean took to the streets of Seoul on Saturday to protest against Japan’s contentious plan to release treated nuclear wastewater into the Pacific Ocean. Tokyo is set to release the water from the tsunami-hit Fukushima nuclear plant later this month. It has been approved by the UN nuclear watchdog,…
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Ukraine war: Crimea bridge targeted by missiles, Russia says
Reuters By Antoinette Radford & Graeme Baker BBC News Two Ukrainian missiles have targeted a bridge linking Russia to the annexed Crimean peninsula, Moscow says. Unverified videos on social media show plumes of smoke rising near Kerch bridge. Russia’s defence ministry said S-200 missiles had been used and shot down causing no damage. Ukraine has…
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US returns huge haul of stolen artefacts to Italy
Italian Ministry of Culture By Antoinette Radford BBC News The United States has returned more than 250 ancient artefacts to Italy after police discovered that they had been stolen. The art unit of Italy’s police force found the items had been looted and sold to US museums and private collectors in the 1990s. Among the…
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Perseid meteor shower to light up night sky
EPA By Michael Sheils McNamee BBC News Stargazers are in for a treat on Saturday night as the Perseid meteor shower lights up the sky. The phenomenon brings up to dozens of meteors an hour, created when debris from comet 109P/Swift-Tuttle collides with the Earth’s atmosphere and burns up. This year the event is peaking…