Utopia, Texas (United States) (AFP) – In a tiny Texas town called Utopia, a sign at the entrance to its only school warns that staffers are packing guns — a measure designed to prevent shootings like the one that left 19 kids and two teachers dead down the road in Uvalde.
Bujumbura (Burundi) (AFP) – It’s Tuesday in Burundi’s biggest city, and every week just before sundown, crowds young and old huff and puff in lockstep as a coach shouts encouragement and blasts his whistle. These public sessions are a familiar scene across Bujumbura, and have played a part in restoring divisions following the country’s violent upheaval in recent times.
Shanghai (AFP) – Shanghai residents gets haircuts and massages on the sidewalk, and wander around mostly-empty roads as they are released briefly from their Covid lockdowns as the city slowly starts to reopen. Some residents are given temporary entry-exit passes that allow them to leave their residential compounds for a few hours in a week, but remain locked down for the rest of the time.
Whitby (United Kingdom) (AFP) – A world-record number of people dressed as vampires gather in the grounds of Whitby Abbey in North Yorkshire, England. The event, organised by English Heritage, celebrates 125 years since Bram Stoker’s Dracula, inspired by the seaside town, was published in 1897.
Moscow (AFP) – Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov accuses Western countries of waging a “total war” on Russia, its people and its culture as Moscow pushes on with its “special military operation” in Ukraine.
Beijing (AFP) – China’s foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin accuses US Secretary of State Antony Blinken of “smearing” the country, after Blinken delivered a speech calling for action to counter Beijing’s influence. “Blinken’s speech is verbose and full of schemes,” Wenbin says.
Barrancas (Colombia) (AFP) – Back in Colombia, Luis Diaz’s family are dreaming of Champions League glory. His club, Liverpool, face Real Madrid in the final on Saturday May 28. As the country’s first indigenous football star, his rise to the top is an inspiration to those following in his barefoot footsteps on the dirt pitches of Barrancas.
Kyiv (Ukraine) (AFP) – Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky accuses Moscow of carrying out a “genocide” in the eastern Donbas region, where the city of Severodonetsk is under heavy Russian shelling.
Huelva (Spain) (AFP) – Spain’s Donana National Park, home to one of Europe’s largest wetlands, is threatened by intensive farming.
Suva (Fiji) (AFP) – Australian foreign minister Penny Wong speaks on Australia’s view of security in the Pacific following the signing of a controversial security pact with the Solomon Islands, which took Canberra by surprise last month.
Washington (AFP) – Gun control activists and lawmakers rally outside the US Capitol to call for action after a mass shooting left 19 schoolchildren and two teachers dead in Texas. “I’m here because I’m scared it’s going to be me next,” says a high school student who missed classes to attend the protest.
Uvalde (United States) (AFP) – The gunman who killed 19 children and two teachers walked into Robb Elementary School “unobstructed,” police say, contradicting previous statements by officials on the chain of events in Uvalde, Texas. “He was not confronted by anybody” before he entered the school, says Victor Escalon, regional director of the Texas Department of Public Safety.
