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UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan arrived in Berlin on Wednesday for a state visit to Germany. German military aircraft escorted his plane after it entered German airspace. An official reception followed, including a 21-gun salute and a guard of honour. The visit marks the first state visit to Germany by a UAE president. Sheikh Mohamed is in Germany for meetings with the country’s senior political leadership.

The international measure focuses directly on the widely utilized Mercator map projection, which was originally developed in the 16th century by Flemish cartographer Gerardus Mercator for maritime navigation purposes. While effective for nautical direction, the mathematical scaling of the Mercator model progressively exaggerates landmass sizes farther from the equator while compressing regions near it. According to documentation published by the United Nations General Assembly, these technical distortions continue to permeate modern educational textbooks, news media broadcasts, digital mapping platforms, and official government publications worldwide.

Structured training supports breeding standards
Accepted breeders and their teams will receive specialist instruction through Abu Dhabi Nature Academy. Courses and workshops will cover responsible houbara breeding, animal welfare, biosecurity and the management of breeding facilities. The training will also address operational practices used in managed breeding programs. Participants who complete the required courses can receive certificates, while specialists will continue providing technical guidance during their involvement in the initiative.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Russian President Vladimir Putin in Bishkek during the 26th Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Summit. The August 31 meeting covered political ties, trade, defence, energy, space, mobility and contacts between people. Modi and Putin also discussed regional conflicts and cooperation through major multilateral forums. The talks marked their first in-person meeting of 2026 and continued a series of high-level exchanges between India and Russia.

The visit coincides with the 70th anniversary of formal Egypt-China diplomatic relations. Egypt and China established diplomatic ties in 1956, making Egypt the first Arab and African country to recognize the People’s Republic of China. El-Sisi highlighted the anniversary in remarks released before Xi’s arrival. Xi also addressed the milestone ahead of the visit. Both presidents pointed to seven decades of bilateral cooperation and the expansion of relations since the comprehensive strategic partnership began.

The report says almost 19% of the world’s children now live in conflict zones. That compares with about 10% during the 1990s. By the end of 2024, conflict and violence had displaced 48.8 million children worldwide. The total was nearly triple the roughly 17 million recorded in 2010. It includes refugee and asylum-seeking children, along with millions uprooted within their own countries by conflict and violence. Climate hazards are adding another layer of risk for children around the world. Nearly half of all children, or 1.1 billion, face at least three overlapping climate hazards. Almost every child faces at least one such hazard, according to UNICEF’s 2026 climate risk assessment. More than 4 million children face as many as six overlapping threats. The hazards include drought, extreme heat, heatwaves, floods, fires, tropical storms and sand and dust storms. Digital environments have also expanded the range of threats facing children, according to the UN assessment. About one in three internet users worldwide is under 18. More than 300 million children each year experience online sexual exploitation and abuse, according to data cited by the UN office. At least 1.2 million children said artificial intelligence had turned their images into sexually explicit deepfakes during the previous year. Other risks include cyberbullying, fraud, identity theft, trafficking and harmful content. A 2025 poll by M’jid’s office gathered responses from more than

Economic cooperation formed a major part of the talks. Bilateral trade reached $1.3 billion in 2025, up 33%, according to the Uzbek government. Both countries set a target of raising annual trade to $5 billion by 2030. The number of joint ventures has increased sevenfold in recent years. India and Uzbekistan also have 14 direct flights each week, while four Indian universities currently operate in Uzbekistan. The leaders called for broader industrial and business links.

The Nepal authority said rescue teams have brought 10,451 people to safety, including 252 foreign nationals. It listed 592 foreigners among those still missing, alongside 933 workers from hydropower projects along the Bhote Koshi and Trishuli corridors. Officials recorded 267 injured people, while 156 had left medical care after treatment. Nepal has deployed more than 20,000 security personnel for search, rescue and relief work across affected districts. Helicopters are also moving survivors and emergency supplies between isolated communities.

Magnitude 5.1 earthquake strikes Longchang City in China Sichuan province as local emergency management agencies initiate preliminary impact assessments across the county level territory. Regional emergency services dispatchers confirmed that no immediate reports of casualties, injuries, or structural property destruction were filed in the hours following the tremor. Local civil defense departments mobilized inspection units to evaluate public infrastructure, including municipal water supplies, power grids, gas pipelines, and transport corridors across Neijiang. State media reporting relayed by Xinhua News Agency verified that rural townships nearest to the epicenter reported minor ground shaking without disruptions to local utilities.

Algeria wildfires kill 12 and injure 54 amid severe heat. Wildfires across northeastern Algeria have killed at least 12 people and injured 54, authorities said Wednesday night. Fire crews faced dozens of active blazes as authorities moved families from threatened areas near forests and residential districts. By 8 p.m. local time Wednesday, officials had recorded at least 159 vegetation fires across several provinces. Bejaia remained one of the main centers of the emergency, with fires affecting several municipalities in the mountainous coastal province.