Colombo (AFP) – One of the longest queues in the Sri Lankan capital Colombo is for the exit, as thousands of people line up outside the immigration office seeking passports to escape the country’s economic crisis.
Minsk (AFP) – In an exclusive interview with AFP in Minsk, Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko says Russia, Ukraine and the West must agree to halt the Ukraine conflict to avoid “nuclear war” and insisted Kyiv should accept Moscow’s demands. EXCLUSIVE SOUNDBITES
Arlington (United States) (AFP) – The United States promises to send more precision rocket systems to Kyiv, soon after Moscow signaled it was aiming to seize more Ukrainian territory beyond the eastern industrial region of Donbas.
Maskwacis (Canada) (AFP) – Members of the Ermineskin Cree Nation in western Canada await the visit of Pope Francis, as the country reckons with the crimes and trauma that its residential school system inflicted upon First Nations children, who were forcibly enrolled.
Somerset (Massachusetts) (United States) (AFP) – US President Joe Biden warns that climate change represents a “clear and present danger” to the nation as he outlines new executive action aimed at tackling global warming.
Colombo (AFP) – Around 200 people gather to watch the contest outside the presidential secretariat in Colombo. But word quickly spreads that parliament had elected Ranil Wickremesinghe — a man now feared to be preparing a crackdown on their movement.
French President Emmanuel Macron arrives in La Teste-de-Buch, Gironde, to meet with firefighters, civil security agents, and elected officials as two huge wildfires in the department rage on.
Washington (AFP) – Ukrainian First Lady Olena Zelenska appeals to members of the US Congress for air-defense systems and weapons in her country’s fight against Russia’s invasion. “I am asking for weapons,” she says in an address at the US Capitol in Washington.
Paris (AFP) – The French government urges citizens to make the effort to save energy in the face of record high oil and gas prices, including by unplugging their wifi routers when heading off on holiday.
Colombo (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s parliament announces six-time prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe as the country’s new president, elected with 134 votes and the backing of his disgraced predecessor Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who fled abroad after his palace was stormed by angry protesters.
Tehran (AFP) – Cameras catch Russian President Vladimir Putin waiting for 45 seconds for his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan to arrive, ahead of a bilateral meeting in Tehran.
Ateca (Spain) (AFP) – The 10-day heatwave that hit Spain left “more than 500 people” dead, says Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez in Ateca, the site of one of multiple blazes that ravaged the country.
