👋 გეგაჯგინას*
Welcome to Friday, where U.S. and Russian prisoners are released in the biggest exchange since the Cold War, the U.S. recognizes the victory of Maduro’s opponent in the contested Venezuelan presidential election and a proposed “cat tax” in Nairobi, Kenya causes a stir among pet owners. Meanwhile, Basile Dekonink in French daily Les Echos reports on how overtourism is suffocating Greece's most famous islands.
[*Gegacginas - Laz, Turkey and Georgia]
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“Ours to yours,” titles Russian daily Izvestia, devoting its front page to “how the largest prisoner exchange between Russia and the West took place.” In total, 16 U.S. prisoners and eight Russian prisoners from jails in seven different countries were swapped at an airfield in Ankara, Turkey. In Russia, President Vladimir Putin personally greeted the released Russians at Moscow's Vnukovo Airport, including Vadim Krasikov, who was serving a life sentence in Germany for carrying out an assassination in a Berlin park, and a Russian couple convicted of spying in Slovenia.
🌎 7 THINGS TO KNOW RIGHT NOW
• U.S. and Russia swap prisoners. In total, 24 people were released on Thursday in the biggest prisoner exchange between the two countries since the Cold War. Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan are among the 16 American prisoners who landed back in Maryland this morning. The Russian prisoners released included former FSB colonel Vadim Krasikov and convicted hacker Roman Seleznev.
• U.S. recognizes Edmundo Gonzalez as winner of Venezuela elections. The United States recognized the victory of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro’s opponent in Sunday’s presidential election. In a statement on Thursday, American Secretary of State Antony Blinken said “it is clear, to the United States and, most importantly, to the Venezuelan people, that Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia won the most votes.” In Venezuela, the dispute over the results of the election has sparked protests and clashes with police forces.
• More than 10,000 people arrested in Bangladesh. Bangladesh police forces arrested more than 10,000 people as part of a crackdown on nationwide student protests. At least 266 people have been killed and more than 7,000 injured since the protests began in June, when students started opposing the reintroduction of quotas for government jobs.
• 13 killed during protests over Nigeria’s economic crisis. At least 13 protesters were killed in Nigeria amid violent protests against food shortages and the suppression of government subsidies for gas and electricity. More than 300 people were arrested and one police officer was killed. Curfews have been imposed in the states of Kano and Katsina in the north of the country.
• Turkey blocks Instagram over censorship of Hamas-related content. Turkey’s national communications authority BTK has blocked access to Instagram for an indefinite time after a government official slammed the Meta-owned platform for “censorship.” Fahrettin Altun, the country’s communications director, commented on Instagram’s decision to block condolence posts related to the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh. Altun said Turkey “will continue to defend freedom of expression against these platforms” and reaffirmed the country’s solidarity with Palestine.
• Simone Biles secures her sixth Olympic gold medal. The American gymnast reclaimed the all-around individual title on Thursday, after helping her team get the gold medal earlier this week. Biles, who withdrew from several events at the Tokyo Games due to the “twisties,” scored 59.131 and finished 1.199 ahead of Brazilian Rebeca Andrade and secured her sixth Olympic gold and second in Paris.
• Kenya’s capital to introduce a “cat tax” plan. The Nairobi City Council’s proposal would require all cats to be registered by their owners, who would have to purchase an annual license costing 200 Kenyan shillings ($1.50), along with a proof of vaccination for the animal. While the proposal aims to improve the cats’ welfare, “purrents” are not all on board: “Leave my pussy alone!” a Kenyan photojournalist and Nairobi resident posted on X.
#️⃣ BY THE NUMBERS
2.16 °C
The Japan Meteorological Agency reported that the country has experienced its hottest July in recorded history, registering temperatures that were 2.16 °C higher than average. The previous record had been set last year, when temperatures hit 1.91 °C above average. At least 59 people have died of heatstroke in Japan since April, as the agency warned that it expected higher-than-usual temperatures nationwide in August as well.
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📰 STORY OF THE DAY
Santorini crushed: Top Greek islands finally say no more to tourists
Santorini and Paros are among the most visited places in the Mediterranean, a phenomenon that brought to the islands investments from around the world. Now disfigured by the unbridled development of tourism, many of Greece's most famous islands are under suffocating pressure and concerns are growing among locals, reports Basile Dekonink in French daily Les Echos.
🇬🇷 Born and raised in Santorini, Nikos Zoros, 64, doesn’t recognize his island anymore. Once poor and cut off from the rest of the world, this small island in the Aegean sea has become one of the world's most famous tourist destinations. Over the past 60 years, its steep cliffs, volcanic scenery and sunsets have attracted an endless stream of visitors. With them came prosperity. But in recent years, the situation has spiraled out of control. Since 2012, Zoros has been repeating that the island is “saturated."
💸 Last year, more than one out of 10 tourists coming to Greece stopped in Santorini, a total of 3.4 million people. In summer, the population density — more than 1,000 people per square kilometer — makes it difficult to supply water and electricity. Trash piles up. Rush hour traffic jams are on par with those in Athens. Soaring prices make it impossible for essential workers to find accommodation. The island has become inaccessible to the vast majority of Greeks.
⛴️ Even cruise ships have started to avoid the island that is said to have inspired Plato's myth of Atlantis. In April, Princess Cruises announced that its “Sun Princess” will not stop on the island this summer, due to port congestion. Santorini “is a problem,” Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis told Bloomberg in early June. But Santorini is not the only one. The Greek islands, with their postcard of sun and sea, tavernas and whitewashed houses, are under "suffocating pressure," according to the country's Ombudsman.
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📹 THIS HAPPENED VIDEO — TODAY IN HISTORY, IN ONE ICONIC PHOTO
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📣 VERBATIM
“I have never felt a punch like this.”
— Italian boxer Angela Carini abandoned her fight against Algeria’s Imane Khelif after 46 seconds in a bout that sparked controversy at the Paris Olympics. Khelif is one of two boxers permitted to fight at the event despite being disqualified from the women’s world championships last year for failing gender eligibility tests. Italy’s Prime Minister Georgia Meloni was quick to criticize the decision to allow Khelif to compete in Paris, saying “it was not an even contest.” IOC spokesman Mark Adams responded that Khelif and Taiwan's Lin Yu-ting are “women in their passports and it's stated in there that they are female.” Both boxers had also competed at the Tokyo Olympics three years ago.
👉 MORE FROM WORLDCRUNCH
• Why Hamas Is Destined To Grow Only More Radical Without Haniyeh — AL-MANASSA
• What Men Still Don't Understand About The Battle Of The Sexes — RECALCULATING
• Nepal's “Community Forest” Paradox, When Protecting Wildlife Leads To Captivity — GLOBAL PRESS JOURNAL
✍️ Newsletter by Chloé Touchard and Anne-Sophie Goninet
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