Guadalajara (AFP) – At the Guadalajara Zoo in Mexico, animals predict some of the winners of World Cup matches. Elephants chose Mexico over South Africa, gorillas selected Uruguay over Spain, a puma picked South Korea over the Czech Republic, and giraffes chose the Democratic Republic of the Congo over Colombia, explains the zoo’s veterinarian Ivan Reynoso.
Havanna (AFP) – Former Cuban President Raul Castro attends an event for the 65th anniversary of the creation of the Ministry of the Interior in Havana, in his first public appearance since being indicted by the United States on murder charges in May. While Cuba has been under a US trade embargo since 1962, President Donald Trump has drastically ramped up pressure in recent months, cutting off its fuel supplies and threatening to take over the island.
St. Petersburg (AFP) – Russia unveils a new amusement ride in Saint Petersburg named ‘Oreshnik’ after its hypersonic missile capable of carrying nuclear warheads. Russia has fired Oreshnik missiles — which travel 10 times the speed of sound — at Ukraine on at least three occasions. President Putin has said that Russia is considering expanding the use of the missiles against cities in Ukraine, saying the weapon has not yet been used in the “full sense of the word”.
Tirana (Albania) (AFP) – Thousands of Albanians protest in Tirana for a fourth consecutive day against a coastal tourism complex allegedly linked to US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner. The demonstrators argue that the estimated $1.2 billion project, led by Kushner and his wife Ivanka, will harm the environment, with plans for luxury hotels in the protected area of Vjosa-Narta on the southern coast. “We are not against the development of Albania, but we are for transparency, we are against construction in protected areas,” demonstrator Etleva Merko insists.
Saint Petersburg (AFP) – Russian President Vladimir Putin says that he sees “no point” in meeting Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky until a peace deal was ready, rebuffing the Ukrainian leader’s call for a face-to-face encounter. “I see no point in meeting. It only makes sense for the Ukrainian side to stop the advance of our armed forces. That’s it. And we need agreements,” Putin tells Russia’s flagship economic forum in Saint Petersburg, a day after Zelensky released an open later calling for a meeting.
Peru (AFP) – Under the scorching sun of the Peruvian Altiplano, 78-year-old Dominga Quenta, an Indigenous Aymara woman, no longer expects anything from Lima. With only days to go before the presidential runoff between right-wing candidate Keiko Fujimori and left-wing candidate Roberto Sanchez, people like her have long since stopped believing in politicians’ promises. “No one ever comes here; no one ever sees us. We fend for ourselves,” says Rufino Cutipa, a former teacher and local farmer.
Washington (United States) (AFP) – President Donald Trump says the United States will “take care” of Cuba as he addresses reporters in the Oval Office of the White House, calling the island’s communist government “very tough, very nasty”. “I like to do one thing at a time,” he says. “We’ll take care of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and as soon as that’s done, on our way back, we’ll just make a little brief stop over.”
Kathmandu (Nepal) (AFP) – A Nepali climber who dragged himself off Everest six days after being abandoned is recovering in hospital as family members call for an investigation into rescue efforts.
Pucallpa (Peru) (AFP) – Ballots and voting kits make their way to Pucallpa in Peru’s Amazon, where election workers load boxes onto boats that will travel by river to reach isolated communities ahead of the country’s presidential vote on june 7. IMAGES
Lima (AFP) – Keiko Fujimori arrives to cheering supporters at her final campaign rally, making a last push for votes as Peru heads into a tightly contested presidential election. IMAGES
Israel-Lebanon border (Israel) (AFP) – Smoke rises from south Lebanon as Israel continues to strike, despite the two countries agreeing to a conditional ceasefire that Lebanon’s president called the “last chance” for a durable end to the fighting.
La Paz (AFP) – Thousands of Bolivians queued for hours to buy chicken, a stark sign of how much families are struggling with shortages that have been worsened by protests. Bolivia’s conservative president said he had moved Wednesday to “strengthen” the army’s role in quelling anti-government protests that have paralyzed cities, caused widespread shortages and threatened to topple his fledgling government.
