Dhaka (AFP) – As Argentina claimed a decisive 2-0 World Cup victory over Poland early Wednesday, thousands of fans were erupting in celebration thousands of kilometres away on a grassy field in Bangladesh. From young children to retirees, many clad in blue and white or waving Argentinian flags, the throng stood for nearly the entire match as they watched on giant screens in the main square of the capital’s Dhaka University.
Police patrol at the intersection near the hospital where former Chinese leader Jiang Zemin is rumoured to have died. Jiang died on Wednesday in Shanghai at the age of 96, state media reported, hailing him as a great communist revolutionary who helped quell the 1989 pro-democracy protests. IMAGES
A Chinese flag flies at half-mast outside the ministry of foreign affairs building in Bejing following the death of former leader Jiang Zemin. Jiang died Wednesday at the age of 96, state media reported, hailing him as a great communist revolutionary who helped quell the 1989 pro-democracy protests. IMAGES
France’s President Emmanuel Macron and his US counterpart Joe Biden walk out of Fiola Mare restaurant in the Georgetown neighbourhood after private dinner in Washington. IMAGES
Arlington (United States) (AFP) – French President Emmanuel Macron attends a ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery, in Virginia, before addressing the French community and meeting US President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden for dinner.
French President Emmanuel Macron presides over a decoration ceremony at the French embassy in Washington, DC, presenting US veterans with Legion d’Honneur medals and thanking them for their service.
Vatican City (AFP) – An acrobatic dance group from Kenya, “The Black Blues Brothers”, perform for Pope Francis during his weekly general audience on St. Peter’s Square, with both the Holy Father and the public clapping their show. IMAGES
Rabat (AFP) – “We are very happy,” says Veronique Roger-Lacan, Permanent Delegate of France to UNESCO, after the UN agency awarded the French baguette heritage status. It comes at a challenging time for the industry with France losing some 400 artisanal bakeries every year since 1970.
Lambayeque (Peru) (AFP) – Archeologists have rediscovered a pre-Hispanic fresco depicting mythological scenes in northern Peru that they had only seen in black and white photographs that were more than a century old. The mural’s existence became known in 1916, through black and white photographs taken by German ethnologist Hans Heinrich Brüning.
Paris (AFP) – The French baguette — “250 grams of magic and perfection”, in the words of President Emmanuel Macron, and a quintessential part of French life — was given UNESCO heritage status on Wednesday.
Bucharest (AFP) – “China is very important to push Russia to an agreement,” says Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani at the start of a NATO ministerial meeting in Bucharest. The second day of talks is due to focus on Russia’s Eastern neighbours, the Western Balkans but also China.
Antofagasta (Chile) (AFP) – It may be one of the driest places on Earth — a brutal, alien landscape where life seems impossible. But Chile’s massive Atacama Desert is a unique and fragile ecosystem that experts say is being threatened by piles of trash dumped there from around the world. Mountains of discarded clothing and rows upon rows of scrapped tires and cars blight at least three regions of the desert in northern Chile.
