



Taiwan started recycling plastic more than a decade ago and today it boasts more than 70 percent recycling rates, according to the Environmental Protection Administration. / AFP PHOTO / Chris STOWERS



France celebrated their second World Cup win 20 years after their maiden triumph on July 15, 2018, overcoming a passionate Croatia side 4-2 in one of the most gripping finals in recent history. / AFP PHOTO / POOL / LUDOVIC MARIN

Nicaraguan pro-government forces launched an operation in the country’s south that left at least 10 people dead and around 20 injured on Sunday, a human rights group said. / AFP PHOTO / MARVIN RECINOS

Former US president Barack Obama will deliver the Nelson Mandela Annual Lecture, urging young people to fight to defend democracy, human rights and peace, to a crowd of 15,000 people at the club as the centrepiece of celebrations marking 100 years since Nelson Mandela’s birth. Obama has made relatively few public appearances since leaving the White House in 2017, but he has often credited Mandela for being one of the great inspirations in his life.
/ AFP PHOTO / MARCO LONGARI

Chinese customs authorities said they seized 156 prehistoric mammoth tusks from a truck entering from Russia in one of the country’s largest such hauls. / AFP PHOTO / STR / China OUT

An Indonesian volcano known as the «child» of the legendary Krakatoa erupted on July 19, spewing a plume of ash high into the sky as molten lava streamed down from its summit. Anak Krakatau — a small volcanic island that emerged from the ocean a half century after Krakatoa’s deadly 1883 eruption — has rumbled back to life in recent weeks, spitting flaming rocks and ash from its crater. / AFP PHOTO / FERDI AWED



The Beluga XL, the new cargo plane of the Airbus family has taken off from Blagnac, in the south of France, for its first test flight. The launch of the aircraft triggered thunderous applause in an audience of more than 10,000 people, mostly employees and subcontractors of the European aircraft manufacturer. / AFP PHOTO / ERIC CABANIS

A Turin hit by Cristiano Ronaldo fever awaits the striker as Juventus prepare to unveil the surprise signing, that after the end of the World Cup, puts all eyes on the Italian champions and Serie A. / AFP PHOTO / Miguel MEDINA

