AFP UK

Cardiff (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Two cars are set on fire in the streets of Cardiff after riots break out in the Welsh capital over the death of two teenagers in an accident. Scores of youths, some covering their faces with masks, threw rocks, paving slabs and fireworks at officers with riot shields in the city’s Ely area. Local authorities believe the riots followed rumours that the two teenagers had died in a crash while being chased by police.

Ciudad Juárez (Mexico) (AFP) – Authorities in the northern Mexican city of Ciudad Juarez, near the US border, clear a makeshift migrant camp, to move them to a shelter provided by the municipality.

Moscow (AFP) – “There were corpses in every courtyard” says Alyona, easily recalling the horrors of the siege of Mariupol, horrors her young family lived through “for 100 days”. Alonya lived in the southern Ukrainian port city as it was surrounded by Moscow’s forces, hiding in a basement with around 60 children. Even now, rebuilding their lives far from the fighting, in Moscow, the family is haunted by the two-month ordeal. “My daughter was talking around and she saw a dog eating a corpse. She would ask me: ‘Mum, what’s going on? Why is a dog eating a man?’ And I still don’t know what to tell her.”

Belgorod (Russia) (AFP) – The governor of Russia’s Belgorod region tells residents of the Grayvoronsky district via his Telegram channel that they “shouldn’t return home”, after several drones struck overnight. Drones struck the region where security operations pressed into a second day after a cross-border raid blamed on fighters from Ukraine.

Jakarta (AFP) – Indonesian President Joko Widodo meets his Iranian counterpart Ebrahim Raisi who’s visiting Jakarta for a two-day trip aiming to strengthen economic ties.

Popocatepetl volcano (Mexico) (AFP) – Ash blankets towns in central Mexico near Popocatepetl volcano as it continues to spew smoke and ash into the sky, a day after Mexican authorities raised the warning level to “yellow phase three”, which means “remain alert and prepare for a possible evacuation”.

La Paz (AFP) – Bolivian authorities seize 9.2 tons of Peruvian coca leaves, which had illicit purposes according to the Ministry of Interior.

Washington (AFP) – Republican US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy says Monday crisis talks with Democratic President Joe Biden to avert a looming debt default have been “productive” — but reveals no deal has been struck. SOUNDBITE

Cannes (France) (AFP) – Actress Salma Hayek attends the Women in Motion Awards, which honor female talent, during the Cannes Film Festival in France.

Dubai (AFP) – An exhibition in Dubai is showing off two rare precious stones ahead of Sotheby’s Magnificent Jewels auction in New York.

Tarkwa Bay (Nigeria) (AFP) – Running into the waves and towards the oil tankers lined up on the horizon, young Nigerian surfers take part in a national competition off the Lagos coast. Many of those competing were plunged further into poverty by mass evictions carried out by the Nigerian army in January 2020, and the event’s organisers say the sport can steer them clear of criminality and drug abuse. “It gives them the opportunity to showcase their talent” says Adewale Fawe, the President of the Nigerian Surfing Federation, “it becomes something positive in life.”

Las Rozas de Madrid (Spain) (AFP) – Spain has a “problem” with racism, the head of the country’s football federation says a day after Real Madrid’s forward Vinicius Junior was again the target of racist chants during a match. “As long as there is just one fan, a single undesirable, or a group of undesirables who hurl insults” says Luis Rubiales, “we have a serious problem.”