New York (AFP) – US Secretary of State Antony Blinken says that no new nuclear agreement is on the table with Iran, after quiet new diplomacy between the adversaries. “There is no agreement in the offing, even as we continue to be willing to explore diplomatic paths,” Blinken says at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York.
Paris (AFP) – All eyes may be on 2024, but France’s fencers have a busy schedule this summer, when they’ll be taking part in the European Games in Krakow from 28 to 30 June, before heading to the World Championships in Milan from 22 to 30 July. It’s all part of their preparations for the Paris Olympics, where the French fencers “could win between seven and ten medals”, according to the federation’s president, Bruno Gares.
Tel Aviv (AFP) – As dawn broke over the occupied West Bank, Mamoun Abu al-Rob and his son Adam cross into Israel, where the director of the “Road to Recovery” Israeli group Yael Noy was waiting to take them to a hospital where Adam is to receive follow-up treatment after suffering from eye cancer. The Israeli group takes dozens of Palestinians daily — mostly children — from West Bank and Gaza crossing points to Israeli hospitals for treatment unavailable in the Palestinian territories.
Kyiv (Ukraine) (AFP) – The presence of Wagner troops in Belarus could pose a potential “threat” to nearby Baltic and eastern European countries, says Polish President Andrzej Duda during a visit to Ukraine. Belarus welcomed Wagner head Yevgeny Prigozhin into exile following an aborted rebellion against Russia, widely seen as the biggest threat to Kremlin authority in decades.
Trinidad (Cuba) (AFP) – Despite the end of the pandemic, Cuba is still struggling to regain the flourishing tourism that is vital to its economy. The town of Trinidad, a major attraction, has been hard hit, with barely enough foot traffic nowadays to sustain its tourist industry.
Nanterre (France) (AFP) – The Paris suburb of Nanterre suffered a night of tension and urban violence after a 17-year-old was shot in the chest by a police officer who then appeared to lie about the circumstances of the killing. The government has said it will deploy 2,000 riot police to deal with any unrest.
Marseille (AFP) – A teen’s deadly shooting by police this week was “inexplicable” and “unforgivable”, French President Emmanuel Macron says during a visit to Mediterranean city Marseille after a night of violent. The teenager, named only as Nael M., was shot in the chest by a police officer who then appeared to lie about the circumstances of the killing.
London (AFP) – In 2021, artists Lumli and Lumlong fled Hong Kong without telling anyone for fear of being reported and arrested. But even living in London, the couple still feel threatened by Beijing, like many other Hong Kongers in exile in the UK. “We’re not totally safe here” says Lumlong, “if the (UK) government don’t stand up strong against the CCP, we will never be safe”.
London (AFP) – The last portrait painted by Gustav Klimt has been sold in London for £74 million ($94.3 million). The celebrated Austrian symbolist’s “Dame mit Facher” (Lady with a Fan) set a new European art auction record. Described as a “beautiful, rich and alluring portrait of an unnamed woman”, the portrait was found on his easel in his studio when he died unexpectedly in February 1918 aged 55.
Linares (Chile) (AFP) – As climate change and global population growth pose ever greater challenges for agriculture, Israeli technology offers a wealth of inventions and advanced tools to help farmers adapt.
Seoul (AFP) – South Korea is the last East Asian country to officially still use a method of calculating age that determines babies are aged one at birth, counting their months in the womb as their first year of life. Under that system everyone gets a year older with the turn of the year rather than on their actual birthday, meaning a baby born on December 31 would be considered two years old on January 1 in Korean age. From Wednesday South Korea will use the international system that calculates age according to a person’s actual date of birth, meaning everyone will officially become a year or two younger.
Kramatorsk (Ukraine) (AFP) – At least four people have died and more than 40 have been injured in a Russian strike that hit a restaurant in the city centre of eastern Ukrainian Kramatorsk, according to the Ukrainian emergency service. Some people are still believed to be trapped under the rubble as rescue continues. The blast at the Ria Pizza restaurant was popular with both soldiers and journalists in the town of 150,000 people, one of the largest still under Ukraine control in the east.
