AFP UK

Tallinn (AFP) – NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg expresses scepticism regarding China’s plan to end the war in Ukraine, arguing that Beijing “doesn’t have much credibility”.

Kyiv (Ukraine) (AFP) – General views of Kyiv’s Maidan Square on the one-year anniversary of Europe’s largest conflict since World War II. A year ago to the day, Russian President Vladimir Putin stunned the world by sending troops across the border, in a move seen as punishment for Kyiv’s pivot to the West.

Kyiv (Ukraine) (AFP) – Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky and Polish Prime minister Mateusz Morawiecki visit a Kyiv hospitals where wounded Ukrainian soldiers are being treated. Volodymyr Zelensky is also seen giving medals and decorations to the combatants and the hospital staff.

Paris (AFP) – Shaken in the last 20 years by competition from Asia, Portugal’s textile industry has found its footing again and become a major player, supplying firms not just in Europe but also in the United States. The industry has benefited from its flexibility and inexpensive labour along with a spirit of innovation focused on limiting damage to the environment.

Carmen de Carupa (Colombia) (AFP) – In Carmen de Carupa, 100 km north of Bogota, scientists have set up a reseach project in an attempt to save “native” potatoes, more resistant to climate change but threatened by lack of commercial interest in Colombia. In this region, extreme temperature changes and heavy rainfall as a result of global warming have forced many farmers to stop growing potatoes.

Kyiv (Ukraine) (AFP) – President Volodymyr Zelensky hails his nation and its people for fighting back against Russia over the past year on the one-year anniversary of the war. “Ukraine has surprised the world. Ukraine has inspired the world. Ukraine has united the world,” he says.

London (AFP) – British Prime minister Rishi Sunak leads a minute of silence outside 10 Downing Street on the first anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Tallinn (AFP) – European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen says that Russian President Vladimir Putin has “failed to achieve a single” goal after his invasion of Ukraine.

Najaf (Iraq) (AFP) – Tombstones stretch as far as the eye can see across Iraq’s Wadi-al-Salam cemetery, often described as the world’s biggest, which bears silent witness to life and death over 14 centuries.

Salisbury (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Ukrainian soldiers undergoing six weeks of training with British troops in England take part in a commemoration ceremony at a training centre near Salisbury on the anniversary of the Russian invasion.

Al Qanayyah (Syria) (AFP) – Places of worship were damaged by the recent deadly earthquakes in Syria’s rebel-held northwestern Idlib province, including the Saint Joseph’s church in the town of al-Qanayyah and the only mosque in the village of al-Maland.

Al-Ula (Saudi Arabia) (AFP) – Andy Warhol’s iconic portraits of stars are on display in AlUla, the Saudi desert town which is hosting the first exhibition in Saudi Arabia of works by the Pop Art giant.