Brussels (AFP) – French President Emmanuel Macron says he and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz have urged Vladimir Putin to end Russia’s blockade of the Ukrainian port of Odessa under the terms of a UN resolution.
Dakar (AFP) – An inauguration ceremony is held in the port of Dakar for the Global Mercy, the world’s largest civilian hospital ship. The 174-metre-long vessel arrived in the port on the 27th of May and will stay in Senegal for four weeks to train health professionals before returning in 2023 to provide surgical care for the poor.
Geneva (AFP) – Four consecutive seasons of poor rains have left millions of drought-stricken people in Kenya, Somalia and Ethiopia facing starvation, UN aid agencies and meteorologists say, warning that the October to December rainy season “could also fail”.
Tripoli (AFP) – Young Libyans demonstrate their skateboarding skills at the first ever dedicated park in their capital, funded by the US embassy in Tripoli. “I’m really happy, because before there wasn’t a dedicated place for skating”, says high school student Rayan al-Omar about the newly-opened park, which has become an outlet for her generation which was deprived of means of entertainment for over a decade.
Huatulco (Mexico) (AFP) – Hurricane Agatha, the first of the season, lashes Huatulco on Mexico’s Pacific Coast as it barrels ashore, bringing strong winds, heavy rain and flood warnings. Agatha is the strongest storm to make landfall along Mexico’s Pacific coast in May since record keeping began in 1949, the US National Hurricane Center (NHC) said.
Dubai (AFP) – The first dog cafe in the Gulf emirate of Dubai serves ice cream, coffee, and cake exclusively to dogs.
Casablanca (Morocco) (AFP) – Moroccans celebrate after Wydad Casablanca defeated Egypt’s Al Ahly 2-0 on Monday to win the CAF Champions League.
Uvalde (United States) (AFP) – The Texas town of Uvalde pays tribute to Amerie Jo Garza, who had just turned 10 when she was killed in the Robb Elementary School shooting.
Brussels (AFP) – European Council president Charles Michel says EU backs a ban on most Russian oil imports, after a compromise deal with Hungary to punish Moscow for the war in Ukraine.
Paris (AFP) – France’s Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin defends the policing of the weekend’s Champions League final, saying officers had prevented deaths that might have been caused by crowd crushes outside the stadium in Paris.
Unknown (AFP) – The killer whale stranded for weeks in France’s River Seine between Rouen and Le Havre has been found dead and will be towed away for autopsy. The Sea Shepherd association says it located the animal on the surface thanks to information given by a sailor. Prior attempts to guide it back to sea failed and revealed it was severely sick, local authorities. Killer whales, which, despite their name belong to the dolphin family, are occasionally spotted in the English Channel but such sightings are considered rare, and even rarer in a river.
Bidford-on-Avon (United Kingdom) (AFP) – The bunting is being put up, the children are making willow crowns and the Morris dancers are practising in the rural English village of Bidford-on-Avon ahead of Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations. It’s a scene being repeated in towns and villages across Britain as the nation prepares to mark 70 years since the Queen’s coronation.
