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.
Décines-Charpieu (France) (AFP) – The legendary Rolling Stones, on their 60th-anniversary European tour, braved the heat of the Groupama Stadium, near Lyon, to offer a farewell show to their fans.
Berlin (AFP) – Brad Pitt presents his new film “Bullet Train,” in which he plays a down-on-his-luck secret agent on a mission in a Japanese high-speed train.
Drafi (Greece) (AFP) – A wildfire rages through Mount Penteli, on the outskirts of Athens, Greece. Greek authorities evacuated eight villages north of the capital city, reporting 39 fire outbreaks across the country in just 24 hours.
Wennington (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Residents of Wennington, in southern England’s Kent, tell of how the police kicked down doors to rescue animals as fire spread rapidly, consuming houses and cars. The fire comes on the day the UK sees temperatures breach 40C for the first time ever.
Washington (AFP) – The US accuses Russia of moving ahead with plans to annex additional Ukrainian territory. “Russia is laying the groundwork to annex Ukrainian territory that it controls in direct violation of Ukraine’s sovereignty,” spokesman John Kirby says.
