AFP UK

Sheffield (United Kingdom) (AFP) – “I was of, course, very proud. A Chinese person winning the world championship in this sport — as an amateur enthusiast, it was such a wonderful feeling,” says Zhu Guangqi as he plays snooker in a billiard club in Beijing. Zhao Xintong’s stunning World Snooker Championship triumph went viral back home. The 28-year-old Zhao became the first Asian to win the prestigious title with an 18-12 victory over Mark Williams in the final at the Crucible in Sheffield on Monday.

Curacavi (Chile) (AFP) – Rescue workers in Chile search a central mountainous area on foot and using drones to locate an air ambulance that crashed with six people aboard. The aircraft, which was transporting a patient, lost contact with authorities near Cerro El Roble mountain in the Curacavi area, just outside Santiago. IMAGES

Brasilia (AFP) – Fresh out of hospital after a major abdominal surgery, far-right former president Jair Bolsonaro leads a rally in Brasilia to demand amnesty for his supporters convicted in the 2023 riot in the capital. Hundreds of supporters of Bolsonaro, who is seeking to make a comeback, take part in a march towards the site of the January 2023 assault on the seats of power in Brasilia. IMAGES

Rome (AFP) – As the conclave begins in the Vatican, a group of women protest by releasing pink smoke to demand a greater role for women in the Catholic Church. “We are saying to the cardinals, you cannot keep ignoring fifty percent of the catholic population”, says one protester, Miriam Duignan.

Muzaffarabad (Pakistan) (AFP) – Funeral prayers are held in Muzaffarabad, the main city of Pakistan-administered Kashmir, for a mosque caretaker killed in an Indian strike. The assault overnight was part of the worst violence between arch-rivals India and Pakistan for two decades. New Delhi had been widely expected to respond militarily to the April 22 attack on tourists in Indian-administered Kashmir by gunmen it says were from Pakistan-based group Lashkar-e-Taiba, a UN-designated terrorist organisation.

Mitchell’s Plein, Cape Town (South Africa) (AFP) – Emergency service workers in Cape Town risk their lives each time they go to work. In nine “Red Zones”, ambulances need police escorts before they can respond to emergency calls. The detour to get protection can have deadly consequences for some patients. “Sometimes you arrive when the person has already gone,” says paramedic Inathi Jones.

Damascus (AFP) – At Basel al-Sati’s souvenir shop in a central Damascus market, socks bearing caricatures ridiculing ousted Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad and his once-feared family are selling like hot cakes. “I want to bring joy to people who have been deprived of happiness for so many days and years,” he says.

Paris (AFP) – “We cannot end this war in Ukraine without a continued involvement of the United States of America,” says German Chancellor Friedrich Merz. At a joint press conference with French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris, Merz warns that European countries were “not in a position” to replace Washington’s role.

London (AFP) – Westminster, Britain’s parliament, lights up in red, white and blue to mark 80 years since the end of World War II. On the other side of the landmark, images of Victory in Europe Day are projected onto Big Ben.

Rawalpindi (Pakistan) (AFP) – The death toll from Indian missile strikes in Pakistan and firing along the border has risen to 26, military spokesman Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry says. SOUNDBITE

Poonch (India) (AFP) – People flee Poonch in Indian-administered Kashmir as heavy shelling hits, killing at least eight in the town, which is situated close to the de facto border with Pakistan. Dozens of munitions, about one per minute for an hour, landed on the town, hitting several buildings, according to an AFP correspondent. IMAGES

Hyderabad City (Pakistan) (AFP) – Pakistani protesters burn an Indian flag in a demonstration in Hyderabad after New Delhi launched missile strikes on its arch-rival in a major escalation between the nuclear-armed neighbours. IMAGES