AFP UK

Undisclosed (Ukraine) (AFP) – Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered a surprise three-day truce from May 8-10, coinciding with Moscow’s large-scale World War II Victory Day celebrations. But Oksana Osaulko, a 44-year-old Ukrainian volunteering to feed her country’s troops, holds little hope. “On the part of Russia, I see no serious decisions and no truce,” she says. “They say one thing and do something else.”

Edinburgh (AFP) – The traditional Celtic Beltane Fire Festival, which takes place every year on Calton Hill in Edinburgh, marks the end of winter and the beginning of summer. In an elaborate display, participants celebrate through the night from April 30 to May 1.

Kavajë (Albania) (AFP) – Tourism is booming in the Baltic country of Albania, but the country’s coast is being threatened by rising sea levels due to climate change. In the protected area of Velipoja, close to the border with Montenegro, the sea has already eaten 210 metres into the coastal forest, threatening an entire ecosystem that cannot live in salt water. Albanian authorities say that rising sea levels pose severe flood risks to many of the country’s urban areas.

Jerusalem (AFP) – “I call on the international community to fulfil its role in protecting the minorities in Syria, especially the Druze, from the regime and its gangs of terror,” says Israeli Foreign minister Gideon Saar, following two days of deadly sectarian clashes near Damascus.

Rugezi (Rwanda) (AFP) – Rwanda faces many accusations of rights abuses, but it has been praised for its conservation work, which is key to its vital tourism sector. Spearheading efforts to preserve the Grey Crowned Crane is conservationist Olivier Nsengimana, whose work has seen the migratory bird make a comeback in recent years. N°43DK462

Beirut (Lebanon) (AFP) – Lebanon holds the the 21st edition of the Beirut Marathon after it was delayed from November 2024 due to the war between Israel and Hezbollah.

Odesa (Ukraine) (AFP) – A Russian drone strike overnight has killed at least two people and wounded 15 others in a residential area of Odesa. The strike came as the United States and Ukraine on Wednesday signed a minerals deal. Kyiv has accepted the minerals accord as a way to secure long-term investment by Washington.

Muzaffarabad (Pakistan) (AFP) – School playing fields in Pakistan’s Kashmir are being transformed into first aid camps for children to learn how to respond if war breaks out with India.

Kunduz (Afghanistan) (AFP) – Climate change, women’s rights, displacement, poverty: Afghanistan remains a priority as it faces overlapping crises, the UN’s relief chief Tom Fletcher tells AFP, deploring “brutal” aid budget cuts. 

Kunduz (Afghanistan) (AFP) – Climate change, women’s rights, displacement, poverty: Afghanistan remains a priority as it faces overlapping crises, the UN’s relief chief Tom Fletcher tells AFP, deploring “brutal” aid budget cuts. 

Saada (Yemen) (AFP) – “I don’t want to remember the scene,” says Abed Ibrahim Saleh, an Ethiopian migrant injured in deadly US strikes which Huthi-controlled media say killed 68 people in a migrant detention centre in Yemen. The US strikes are in response to attacks by the Huthis targeting Israeli and Western vessels in the Red Sea in what the rebels describe as solidarity with the Palestinians, starting shortly after Hamas conducted the worst-ever attack on Israel in October 2023.

Morwell (Australia) (AFP) – The trial opens for an Australian woman accused of murdering three people with a toxic mushroom-laced beef Wellington, in a case that has grabbed global attention. The accused served beef Wellington to four guests in 2023 on four large grey dinner plates, while she ate from a smaller, orange plate, the prosecutor says. Only one guest survived. Erin Patterson allegedly invited the four to her home and told them during the meal she had cancer, though medical tests later found no evidence she had the disease.