Near Bakhmut (Ukraine) (AFP) – Standing on the roadside at sunset, a team of medics have snapped on their latex gloves, waiting for the arrival of wounded Ukrainian soldiers. Based in a frontline village, their job is to collect injured troops battling for Bakhmut, the centre of the war’s bloodiest fighting, who have been evacuated by military paramedics.
Nairobi (AFP) – Kenyan police fire tear gas at protesters as they press ahead with anti-government demonstrations despite a ban. The protesters defied a warning by the Inspector General of Police Japhet Koome that the demonstrations were “illegal”. Police clash with stone-throwing demonstrators in Nairobi’s largest slum Kibera, where protesters set tires on fire. In another slum, Mathare, protesters also face off against police as residents run for cover.
Nairobi (AFP) – Tear gas and water cannon are fired as opposition leader Raila Odinga’s convoy moves through Kawangware, a congested slum of the capital, Nairobi, sending people scattering, with police also firing canisters at cars carrying journalists. Odinga had called for protests every Monday and Thursday against the government of President William Ruto, who he claims stole last year’s election, and is failing to address the high cost of living. IMAGES
Rolling Fork (United States) (AFP) – After a deadly tornado ripped through Mississippi, shell-shocked residents of the hard-hit town of Rolling Fork grapple with how much their lives changed in the blink of an eye. “I’ve been in here 20 years and it’s gone,” says one resident. “Now I’ve got to start from the bottom and come back up.”
Taoyuan (Taiwan) (AFP) – Taiwan’s ex-president Ma Ying-jeou travels to China, embarking on the first cross-strait visit by a current or former leader of the island in more than seven decades. Ma’s 12-day trip will not involve any official meetings, his office said, with his focus on paying tribute to his ancestors and promoting youth exchanges. Ma is a senior leader of the KMT, which is currently in opposition in Taiwan and advocates for warmer ties with China, but denies being pro-Beijing.
Mexico City (AFP) – Each spring, as people in Japan celebrate the cherry blossom season, Mexicans enjoy their own version of the cherished tradition thanks to the century-old legacy of a Japanese landscape gardener. In Mexico, however, it is not cherry trees but blooming jacarandas that turn the capital into a sea of violet.
Jerusalem (AFP) – Israelis opposed to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s judicial overhaul plan set up bonfires and block a highway during a protest moments after the Israeli leader fired his defence minister.
Ornans (France) (AFP) – “Thank you for making me feel alive a little”, says one resident after a visit from Dounka the therapy horse. For a few hours, the nine-year-old brown mare brings good vibes and a sense of well-being to residents of a care home in eastern France.
Masaya (Nicaragua) (AFP) – Owners dress up their pets for a party that brings together hundreds of dogs in a Nicaraguan church, where they give thanks or ask Saint Lazarus for miracles for their sick friends.
Chasiv Yar (Ukraine) (AFP) – Galyna hunches over her small garden in Chasiv Yar, her frail silhouette in stark contrast with the powerful tanks rumbling past her home near the frontline in eastern Ukraine.
Moscow (AFP) – Russian President Vladimir Putin says he will deploy tactical nuclear weapons in neighbour and ally Belarus, bringing the arms to a country at the gates of the European Union and drawing the ire of the NATO alliance who condemned the announcement as “dangerous and irresponsible”.
Park City (United States) (AFP) – Actress Gwyneth Paltrow takes the stand in her US trial over a skiing accident seven years ago, telling a Utah courtroom that the man suing her had crashed into her from behind and was at fault for the collision.
