Lima (AFP) – Peruvian President Dina Boluarte’s convoy leaves the Peruvian Prosecutor’s building in Lima after she appeared before prosecutors for questioning over her Rolex watches, expensive jewelry, and unexplained bank deposits, in a scandal that has shaken the country’s fragile government. IMAGES
Warsaw (AFP) – Polish Deputy Foreign Minister Andrzej Szejna demands a criminal investigation by Israel after what he describes as the “murder” of seven food charity workers, including a Polish citizen, in a Gaza airstrike. “We demand a transparent, criminal and not only a disciplinary investigation, at the end of which the guilty parties will be punished,” Szejna adds.
Groza (Ukraine) (AFP) – Residents of the village of Groza, in Ukraine’s northeastern Kharkiv region, are still in grief over a devastating missile strike that killed 59 people last October — and suspicious towards residents deemed pro-Russian. Local authorities say two of their own — brothers Volodymyr and Dmytro Mamon — gave Moscow the coordinates that enabled Russian forces to fire an Iskander missile at a local soldier’s wake. “What for? You goddamned idiots,” Volodymyr Mukhovaty, who lost Tanya, his wife of 47 years in the strike asks.
Voskepar (Armenia) (AFP) – Locals in the village of Voskepar bordering Azerbaijan are on edge over their neighbour’s claims to their lands. The small village’s residents are gathering daily to share their fears since Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan signalled in March his readiness to make territorial concessions to Baku to put some momentum into stalled peace talks, which could leave Voskepar isolated.
Damascus (AFP) – Every evening during Ramadan, members of a motorbike club hit the streets of Damascus — not just born to ride but eager to help the needy during the Muslim holy fasting month. “We target the most disadvantaged areas,” says Tarek Obaid, head of the Hope Bikers Syria. Some 50 members of his club have been volunteering with charities in the Syrian capital, delivering hot meals to the disadvantaged during Ramadan.
Leuven (Belgium) (AFP) – Speaking at an EU-US Trade and Technology Council in Leuven alongside European officials, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken says that while the US welcomes Israel’s move to allow temporary aid deliveries into northern Gaza, “the real test is results”, marking a shift in Washington’s policy over Israel’s war against Hamas militants.
Quito (AFP) – Images of the Mexican embassy in Quito after Ecuador asked the country’s ambassador to leave the country, declaring her “persona non grata” over President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador’s of Ecuador’s elections in which a candidate was assassinated. IMAGES
Saint-Mathieu-du-Parc (Canada) (AFP) – An abundance of critical minerals in Canada’s Quebec province is attracting a lot of interest from mining companies but their claims –- sometimes on residential properties –- are causing worries for homeowners.
Lezhë (Albania) (AFP) – Long considered a Garden of Eden for migratory birds, the Vain Lagoon along the northern Albanian coast has been increasingly abandoned by a range of species as rising temperatures wreak havoc on wetlands across the country.
Brussels (Belgium) (AFP) – Standing at 1.91 metres, 18-year-old Sarah Chaari is world No. 1 in taekwondo under 67 kilos. She won her ticket to the Paris Olympics at the prestigious Manchester Grand Prix last December.
Moscow (AFP) – Speaking during a congress meeting in Moscow, Russian President Vladimir Putin says the Kremlin has “every reason to believe that the main goal of those who ordered the bloody, horrific terror attack in Moscow was to inflict damage on our unity,” referring to a deadly attack on the capital’s concert hall in March. Moscow has repeatedly tried to blame Kyiv or the West for the attack, claims that Ukraine and Western leaders have denied.
Hualien (Taiwan) (AFP) – People staying at a government-run shelter set up at an elementary school describe how they escaped their buildings after a magnitude 7.4 earthquake hit Taiwan’s Hualien a day earlier. “That one was scary, the other ones were quite okay. The other earthquakes so far in Taiwan were quite okay. That one was different,” says Hendri Sutrisno.
