AFP UK

Castel Gandolfo (Italy) (AFP) – Pope Leo XIV appeals for “respect” for human rights worldwide, calling on authorities to support the people of Gaza and advance reconstruction efforts. He also mentions the Global Sumud flotilla, a protest against the humanitarian aid blockade of Gaza, which saw hundreds of activists detained by Israeli authorities. The treatment of the activists was denounced by governments worldwide.

Santiago (Chile) (AFP) – Leaning on a cane or the barre in her Santiago dance studio, Evelyn Cordero lifts an arm and gently corrects the posture of her ballet students. “Even in my dreams, I dance,” says the 100-year-old. Cordero opened her dance school in 1994, having started to dance aged just four. Despite reaching age 100, she has no plans to hang up her ballet shoes yet.

London (AFP) – People in London respond as Britain registers its hottest day in May ever recorded, with temperatures hitting 35C in the capital, according to the Met Office. “I’m working in the kitchen, so it’s atrocious,” says Renata Stankeviciute, a Lithuanian chef living in England. Londoner Gurjit Gill says he is “thinking about actually maybe getting an AC unit, because the bedrooms at night time are quite unbearable.”

Sydney (AFP) – Sydney Harbour is lit up by immersive light installations and projections during Australia’s annual Vivid Sydney festival. The event, now in its sixteenth year, runs until 13 June.

Everest (Nepal) (AFP) – Italian climber Leonardo Avezzano carried a kite made of the Palestinian flag, scribbled with dreams of Gaza’s children, to the summit of Mount Everest, seeking to raise awareness of the war’s toll on its youngest victims. “The first thing that I had in mind to do was to raise the flag, raise the kite and basically dedicate this effort that we did for the children of Gaza,” says Avezzano. Palestinian-Jordanian climber Mostafa Salameh, who led the expedition, was unable to summit.

Brockworth (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Thrill-seekers from all over the world travel to Cooper’s Hill near the English city of Gloucester to compete in the UK’s annual cheese-rolling race, a tradition believed to date back centuries. Competitors rush down the steep hill in pursuit of a wheel of Double Gloucester, with the first one to the bottom winning the cheese. “It’s kind of like a water slide, but filled with rocks,” says one participant, after making it to the bottom.

Quetta (Pakistan) (AFP) – Residents of Quetta in southwestern Pakistan struggle to recover after a powerful bomb attack targeting a train damaged homes across the city just days before Eid al-Adha, the Islamic festival of sacrifice.

Audregnies (Belgium) (AFP) – Hundreds of distinctively coiffured participants gather in a park in southern Belgium for the annual European Mullet Championship to celebrate the once maligned hairstyle. Eventually the overall champions for 2026 were selected: the duo of Berenice, 44, and Samuel, 46 — better known to their fans as BesaMulet.

Mexico City (AFP) – Activists display images of some of Mexico’s “disappeared” people near its main football stadium, hoping to raise awareness as the country prepares to co-host the World Cup next month. About 130,000 people have been officially recorded as missing in Mexico since 2006, when the government launched its controversial anti-drug operation.

Mexico City (AFP) – Activists display images of some of Mexico’s “disappeared” people near its main football stadium, hoping to raise awareness as the country prepares to co-host the World Cup next month. About 130,000 people have been officially recorded as missing in Mexico since 2006, when the government launched its controversial anti-drug operation.

Audregnies (Belgium) (AFP) – Hundreds of distinctively coiffured participants gather in a park in southern Belgium for the annual European Mullet Championship to celebrate the once maligned hairstyle. Eventually the overall champions for 2026 were selected: the duo of Berenice, 44, and Samuel, 46 — better known to their fans as BesaMulet.

Mecca (Saudi Arabia) (AFP) – More than 1.5 million pilgrims have arrived in Saudi Arabia for the start of the annual hajj pilgrimage. Worshippers head to the Masjid al-Haram Great Mosque in Mecca to perform Tawaf Al Qudum, the arrival circumambulation around the Kaaba, marking the beginning of the pilgrimage rites. The start of the hajj comes as US President Donald Trump continues to send mixed signals over a possible agreement to extend an uneasy ceasefire with Iran, after conflict in the Middle East which included Iranian strikes on Saudi Arabia.