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Ramallah (Palestinian Territories) (AFP) – Palestinians mark the eve of the holy month of Ramadan street lighting ceremony and a night prayer, amid fears of escalating violence in the region.

Santo Domingo (Cuba) (AFP) – Even after 20 years, rum-maker Cesar Marti feels the same pleasure each morning when entering his distillery in Santo Domingo, Cuba, where he is preserving a century-old tradition. Cuban rum is unique. The tradition was recently added to UNESCO’s intangible cultural heritage list.

Brugelette (Belgium) (AFP) – Measuring almost one metre fifty and weighing 70 kilos, a baby giraffe is born at the Belgian zoo Pairi Daiza. It is a welcome birth for this species classified as “vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

New York (AFP) – Australian water scarcity activist Mina Guli completes her 200th marathon outside the UN headquarters ahead of the UN Water Conference in New York City. “The strength in this is demonstrating our ability to come together as a community to do the hard things that are needed to solve this level water crisis,” Guli tells fans after crossing the finish line.

New York (AFP) – Images of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg arriving at the Manhattan District Attorney’s office in New York City and of the Louis J. Lefkowitz State Office Building, where a grand jury is set to reconvene as it weighs whether to charge ex-president Donald Trump over hush money paid to a porn star. IMAGES

Nations unies (Etats-Unis) (AFP) – Humanity has “broken the water cycle, destroyed ecosystems and contaminated groundwater,” the UN secretary-general says at the opening of the first major UN meeting on water resources in nearly half a century. “We are draining humanity’s lifeblood through vampiric overconsumption and unsustainable use, and evaporating it through global heating,” Antonio Guterres says, describing water as “a human right.” 

Nations unies (Etats-Unis) (AFP) – United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres declares the UN 2023 Water Conference open in New York, the first major conference on water resources in nearly half a century. 

Bucha (Ukraine) (AFP) – Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Tuesday made a surprise visit to Kyiv and Bucha, a town near the capital where Russian forces were accused of committing widespread atrocities. His trip comes as Chinese President Xi Jinping visits Moscow for talks with Russian leader Vladimir Putin, with the Ukraine conflict high on the agenda.

San Juan Teotihuacán (Mexico) (AFP) – From the air in hot-air balloons or at the bottom of the pyramids of Teotihuacan, Mexican and foreigner visitors gather at sunrise to welcome the spring on the day of the equinox. “Being here on the sun solstice is good to set an intention for the year, because this is the real new year,” says a tourist from Canada.

Tripoli (AFP) – As the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan approaches, people in Libya are preparing to go without coffee. Libyans have been drinking coffee since at least the 15th century, as beans from Yemen made their way along North African trade routes and into Europe. But when Italy occupied Libya in 1911, the country’s coffee culture adopted a new twist, with espressos taking the place of cardamom-tinted Arabic coffee.

Kampala (AFP) – Uganda’s parliament on Tuesday passed a bill that proposes tough new penalties for same-sex relationships, following a highly charged and chaotic session.

Nantes (France) (AFP) – In Nantes, thousands march with torches to protest against the government’s pension reform.