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Muslim pilgrims in Mecca perform Tawaf ritual ahead of hajj

Mecca (Saudi Arabia) (AFP) – Thousands of Muslim pilgrims perform Tawaf, the ritual of circling the Kaaba at Mecca’s Grand Mosque, ahead of this year’s hajj pilgrimage. Over a million people are expected to join the pilgrimage, despite the intense summer heat, which has proven deadly in the past.

©AFP

Thousands march in Rome against security clampdown law

Rome (AFP) – Thousands of protesters march through Rome to protest a new security law imposed by Giorgia Meloni’s far-right government, denouncing it as repressive and designed to please her electorate. The law increases sentences for certain acts like protesting and strengthens protections for police officers implicated in violence cases.

©AFP

People ‘torn to pieces’ after airstrikes on Gaza City

Gaza City (Palestinian Territories) (AFP) – People run to take cover and smoke rises amid destruction, after Israeli airstrikes on Gaza City. People were “torn to pieces”, says one witness, with “severed heads and severed hands”. Israel recently intensified its offensive in what it says is a renewed push to destroy Palestinian militant group Hamas, whose October 7, 2023 attack triggered the war and killed 1,218 people in Israel, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures. More than 54,321 people, mostly civilians have been killed in Gaza since the start of the war, according to health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza.

©AFP

‘It is everything’: India’s traditional mud wrestling thrives

Satara (India) (AFP) – Traditional Indian mud wrestling, known as “kushti” or “dangal”, has millennia-old roots but remains hugely popular. The sport, which blends traditional hand-to-hand combat with Persian martial arts, has acted as a training ground for several Indian athletes to win wrestling medals at the Olympic Games.

©AFP

Harvard president reaffirms support for foreign students at graduation ceremony

Cambridge (United States) (AFP) – President of Harvard University, Alan Garber, gets a huge cheer as he shows support for foreign students at the Ivy League institution’s graduation ceremony. A judge has temporarily halted the Trump Administration’s efforts to block America’s oldest university from hosting and enrolling foreign students, who make up 27 percent of its student body. US President Donald Trump has made Harvard the central target of his campaign against elite US universities, which he has also threatened with funding freezes over what he says is liberal bias and anti-Semitism.

©AFP

Who are the candidates in South Korea’s snap presidential election?

Seoul (AFP) – South Korea’s liberal frontrunner candidate Lee Jae-myung will face off with his conservative opponent Kim Moon-soo in a presidential election triggered by the ousting of ex-leader Yoon Suk Yeol’s after a disastrous martial law declaration. South Korean voters are turning out in record numbers, with one in five already having cast early ballots ahead of election day on June 3.

©AFP

Inside the hyper-realistic doll craze sweeping Brazil

Campinas (Brazil) (AFP) – Gabi Matos walks through Taquaral Lake Park in Campinas, cradling a baby in her arms and cooing softly. But a closer look reveals the baby isn’t human — it’s a hyper-realistic doll, meticulously crafted by artists to look just like a real infant. In Brazil, demand for these lifelike replicas, which originated in the United States in the early 1990s, has surged in recent years. The craze has attracted criticism from both social media and Brazil’s Congress.

©AFP

Grey Crowned Cranes return to Rwanda thanks to conservation efforts

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

©AFP

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