Havana (AFP) – Cuban authorities gather outside the US Embassy in Havana in support of former President Raul Castro, who was indicted by the United States for the murder of several Americans in 1996. IMAGES
Istanbul (AFP) – Israel says it has deported all the foreign activists seized by its forces from a Gaza-bound flotilla, as the first group arrived in Turkey following global outcry over their treatment in custody.
Kyiv (Ukraine) (AFP) – People across Ukraine take to the streets in traditional embroidered shirts to mark Vyshyvanka Day — a powerful symbol of identity, unity and cultural resilience, especially amid Russia’s ongoing invasion. “This is an important holiday that reminds us and the whole world that we are Ukrainians, that we are a distinct nation,” says Oksana Kravets, a post office worker wearing a Vyshyvanka.
Phnom Penh (AFP) – Cambodians paint their faces and bodies and don leaf skirts to dance through the streets of Phnom Penh in celebration of the guardian Pring Ka-ek spirit festival and to pray for rain and good fortune. “I also pray to the spirit to help in preventing a war between Cambodia and Thailand,” festival-goer Sem Pov tells AFP. The two countries agreed to a fragile ceasefire in December after two rounds of border clashes killed dozens of people.
London Colney (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Mikel Arteta says finding out Arsenal had won their first Premier League title in 22 years was “one of the best feelings I ever had.” The players had gathered at their London Colney training ground to watch Manchester City’s draw with Bournemouth, but Arteta says he couldn’t bring himself to watch the game. “I went home and had a barbecue (…) my eldest son opened the garden door, started to run towards me, crying, and said: ‘We are champions, daddy. It was beautiful.”
La Paz (AFP) – Protesters in Bolivia demonstrate and stage roadblocks, demanding the resignation of President Rodrigo Paz. Small farmers, drivers, and other professions are demonstrating against price hikes, issues with bad fuel in gas stations, and a government they say is ruling by decree. The government has accused the protesters of trying to stage a “coup” but in his first remarks to the press in nearly a week Paz sounded a conciliatory note, setting up a body to give the protesters more of a say in policy.
Narayanganj (Bangladesh) (AFP) – People in Bangladesh are flocking to snap photographs with an unlikely social media star — an albino buffalo with flowing blond hair nicknamed “Donald Trump” due to be sacrificed within days. Owner Zia Uddin Mridha says his brother named the 700 kilogramme (1,500 pound) bull over its flowing helmet of hair resembling the signature look of the US president.
Beijing (AFP) – Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun reacts to the mooted call between Taiwan’s President Lai Ching-te and US leader Donald Trump, saying China “firmly opposes official exchanges” between the two sides. Lai has said he would be “happy” to talk to Trump, a conversation that would break more than four decades of diplomatic protocol and drew pre-emptive ire from China. Trump told reporters he would speak to the Taiwanese leader, as the White House weighs arms sales to the democratic island, a week after visiting Beijing.
Tanjung Bungah (Malaysia) (AFP) – Conservationists in Malaysia’s Penang state are installing canopy bridges to help endangered dusky langurs navigate busy roads and access more habitat. The Langur Project Panang has also recruited citizen scientists to monitor the monkeys, hoping to reduce tensions between the animals and the local community.
La Paz (AFP) – Thousands of Bolivians fill the streets of La Paz demanding President Rodrigo Paz’s resignation, continuing a wave of protest. Bolivia’s embattled government accused protesters of trying to “disrupt the democratic order.” IMAGES
London (AFP) – Arsenal fans in their thousands pour into the vicinity of the Emirates Stadium in north London to celebrate their first league title in 22 years. After finishing second for the past three seasons, Mikel Arteta’s side have finally made it over the line to win the London club’s first English title since Arsene Wenger’s “Invincibles” in 2004. “It don’t feel real. It feels like I’m going to wake up tomorrow and be like, yeah, it was a dream, but we did it. We actually did it”, says one fan, George Owusu-Afriyie.
Beijing (AFP) – President Vladimir Putin hails an “unprecedentedly high level” of relations between China and Russia as he begins talks with his counterpart Xi Jinping in Beijing. Putin is received by Xi outside Beijing’s opulent Great Hall of the People in much the same fashion as Trump last week, complete with chanting children and military fanfare.
