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.
Kyiv (Ukraine) (AFP) – In his daily evening address, Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelensky says “the catastrophic course of events could have nonetheless been stopped, if the world powers did not flirt with Russia, but really pressed to end the war.”
Tivaouane (Senegal) (AFP) – The Public Prosecutor of Thies in Senegal, Abdoulaye Ba promises to be unrelenting with whomever is found responsible for a fire which caused the death of eleven newborn babies in a hospital in Senegal’s western city of Tivaouane.
Oxon Hill (United States) (AFP) – DC restaurateur Mark Bucher has acted fast to help those in need during a a shortage of baby formula, sourcing 100,000 bottles of ready-to-drink formula and placing them in community fridges in and around Washington, DC.
Ramallah (Palestinian Territories) (AFP) – Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, who was killed in the West Bank earlier this month, was shot by the Israeli army in a “war crime,” says the attorney general of the Palestinian Authority (PA), Akram al-Khateeb, during a press conference.
Minneapolis (AFP) – Hundreds of people gather to honor the memory of George Floyd at the site where he was murdered by a white police officer in Minneapolis two years ago, with an official street sign added to designate the intersection “George Perry Floyd Square.”
Uvalde (United States) (AFP) – Dora Mendoza, whose 10-year-old granddaughter Amerie Jo Garza was killed in the Elementary School shooting in Uvalde, Texas, pleads with authorities to address the country’s gun violence epidemic. “Do something about it, I beg you,” Mendoza says.
Islamabad (AFP) – Pakistan’s ousted prime minister Imran Khan warns the government to stage fresh elections within 6 days or face more mass protests, after leading thousands of supporters to the capital Islamabad.
Irpin (Ukraine) (AFP) – Ivan Khvatov and Olesya Khvatova were originally due to marry on March 17. Then Russia’s invasion of Ukraine got in the way. Now they are the first Ukrainians to have a civil wedding in the devastated city of Irpin since the war began.
Suva (Fiji) (AFP) – Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong promises the new Australian government is committed to action on climate change as she arrives in Fiji after her centre-left government was sworn in. Wong admits that “Australia has neglected its responsibility” on climate change under past governments.
Mykolaiv (Ukraine) (AFP) – Since fighting severed a pipeline in April, cutting tap water to large parts of the Ukrainian city of Mykolaiv, water trucks have become the only source of water for many. Some residents are forced to carry twenty litres of drinking water home at a time, whilst others have to haul their precious cargo by bike.
Davos (Switzerland) (AFP) – At the World Economic Forum in Davos, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz says he is convinced that Russia “will not win” its war in Ukraine, nor will President Vladimir Putin be allowed to impose a “dictated peace” on its pro-Western neighbour.
